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Thread: Richard Kenneth Djerf - Arizona Death Row

  1. #1
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    Richard Kenneth Djerf - Arizona Death Row




    Facts of the Crime:

    On September 14, 1993, Djerf forced himself into the Luna residence at gunpoint. Djerf believed Albert Luna, Jr. had burglarized his house. Patricia Luna and her five-year-old son were at home.

    Djerf secured Mrs. Luna and her son by tying their arms and legs and gagging them. When Rochelle Luna arrived several hours later, Djerf took her to her bedroom where he raped and killed her.

    When Albert Luna, Sr. arrived at home, Djerf forced him into his bedroom at gunpoint. Djerf handcuffed Mr. Luna to a bed and smashed his head with a baseball bat, and then removed the handcuffs because he believed Mr. Luna was dead.

    Djerf then returned to the kitchen where Mrs. Luna and Damien Luna remained. Mr. Luna regained consciousness and charged the Defendant. Djerf then killed Mr. Luna, and shot Mrs. Luna and Damien in the head.

    Djerf was sentenced to death in Maricopa County in 1996.

  2. #2
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    On November 19, 2008, Djerf filed an appeal in the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit over the denial of his habeas petition in Federal District Court.

    http://dockets.justia.com/docket/cir.../ca9/08-99027/

  3. #3
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    On March 26, 2019, oral argument will be heard in Djerf's appeal before the Ninth Circuit.

    https://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/calenda...5-27&year=2019

  4. #4
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    The panel hearing Djerf's appeal will be made up of Judges McKeown (Clinton), Gould (Clinton) and Ikuta (G.W. Bush).

    https://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/calenda...5-28&year=2019

  5. #5
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    In today's opinions, the Ninth Circuit DENIED Djerf's appeal.

    http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastor...4/08-99027.pdf

  6. #6
    Senior Member CnCP Legend Mike's Avatar
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    Article on denial

    Man’s ‘cold-blooded’ murder conviction upheld

    By Miranda Faulkner
    The Glendale Star

    A federal court rejected the appeal of a former Glendale resident who is on death row for murdering four Phoenix family members in their home in retribution for a petty theft by another of the family members.

    The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said late last month that the crimes committed by Richard Djerf presented “one of, if not the, strongest” arguments for imposition of the death penalty it had seen in years.

    The court rejected Djerf’s arguments that his attorneys had failed to present evidence of a troubled childhood, noting that while Djerf’s childhood might not have been “idyllic… there was no evidence of severe abuse, trauma or other troubling experiences that might warrant leniency.”

    Attorneys in the case did not respond to requests for comment.

    Djerf was working in a supermarket in January 1993 with a friend, Albert Luna Jr., whom he later accused of stealing a gun and electronics, including a television, VCR and stereo equipment, from his Glendale apartment. Djerf reported the theft to police, who took no action, according to court documents.

    Several months later, Djerf decided to get his revenge. He showed up at the home of Luna’s family on the morning of September 14, 1993, carrying a vase of fake flowers as a way to talk himself into the house.

    When Luna’s mother, Patricia, answered the door, Djerf tied up her and Luna’s 5-year-old brother, Damien, asking the mother who should die first and forcing her to load the family vehicle with valuables.

    After several hours, Luna’s 18-year-old sister came home. Djerf bound and raped her before stabbing her to death and then telling Patricia what he had done to her daughter.

    A short time later, Albert Luna Sr. came home. Djerf handcuffed him and beat him with a baseball bat, leaving him for dead.

    But the father was not dead. When Djerf returned to the kitchen and attempted to electrocute Damien and snap the boy’s neck, the father charged at him with a pocketknife. A fight broke out, and Djerf shot the father and then the mother and young son — but not before asking the mother who should die first, according to court documents.

    Djerf attempted to cover his tracks by dousing the bodies and house in gasoline, leaving two stove burners on and placing cardboard on top, before fleeing in the family vehicle. But the house did not catch fire, and Albert Jr. came home to discover the grisly scene.

    Djerf was arrested several days later after bragging about the murders to his girlfriend and others.

    He was charged with four counts of first-degree murder, first-degree burglary, kidnapping, sexual assault, aggravated assault, attempted arson, theft and unlawful use of a weapon.

    After getting rid of his attorneys and representing himself, Djerf pleaded guilty to four counts of murder in August 1995 and was sentenced to death in May 1996.

    In his latest appeal, Djerf argued that his attorneys at trial failed to work with him and that the attorney who represented him at sentencing failed to pursue defenses of mental health problems and a troubled family history.

    But the appeals court was having none of it. The ruling by Circuit Judge M. Margaret McKeown said that Djerf’s attorneys did “considerable work on his behalf during their months of representation” and that records show “regular visits between and communication between counsel and Djerf.”

    As for his claim of mental health issues, McKeown noted that while evaluations by three doctors showed Djerf “fell over and hit his head with a large knot” as a child, it did not appear to result in brain dysfunction.

    The final medical report on Djerf said there is “an absence of a sufficiently severe mental defect that would have precluded his appreciating the wrongfulness of his acts or resulted in an inability to conform his behavior to the requirement of the law,” the ruling said.

    Whatever mistakes may have been made in his defense were more than outweighed by the “heinous, cruel or depraved” nature of his crimes, McKeown wrote.

    “With clear premeditation and preparation, Djerf imposed appalling psychological and physical suffering upon four strangers from a single family before killing them in cold blood,” she wrote in her opinion. “The state’s aggravation case stands out as one of, if not the, strongest we have reviewed in recent years.”

    http://www.glendalestar.com/news/art...72c21d680.html
    "There is a point in the history of a society when it becomes so pathologically soft and tender that among other things it sides even with those who harm it, criminals, and does this quite seriously and honestly. Punishing somehow seems unfair to it, and it is certain that imagining ‘punishment’ and ‘being supposed to punish’ hurts it, arouses fear in it." Friedrich Nietzsche

  7. #7
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    On October 2, 2019, the Ninth Circuit DENIED Djerf's petition for en banc rehearing.

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketP...ix%20Index.pdf

  8. #8
    Moderator Bobsicles's Avatar
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    Djerf’s deadline to file his final appeal is February 28, 2020.

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/search....ic/19a688.html
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  9. #9
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    On May 4, 2020, the United States Supreme Court DENIED Djerf's certiorari petition.

    Lower Ct: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
    Case Numbers: (08-99027)
    Decision Date: July 24, 2019
    Rehearing Denied: October 2, 2019

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/search....c/19-7856.html

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