Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 18

Thread: Zachariah Scott Marcyniuk - Arkansas Death Row

  1. #1
    Guest
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    5,534

    Zachariah Scott Marcyniuk - Arkansas Death Row


    Katie Wood, 24




    Facts of the Crime:

    Was sentenced to death on December 12, 2008 for the murder of University of Arkansas student Katie Wood. Marcyniuk broke into Wood's apartment the morning of March 9, 2008 and waited for her to come home. The two had dated previously, but Wood had broken up with Marcyniuk some time before. During testimony, Marcyniuk said he did not remember much, only wrestling with Wood on the kitchen floor. Then he said he remembered seeing blood everywhere and that he then dragged Wood to the bathroom and then crawled out the window. The basis for the death penalty sentence was the especially cruel and depraved manner in which Marcyniuk killed Wood and his prior felony conviction involving the use or threat of violence against a former girlfriend who had rejected him.

  2. #2
    Guest
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    5,534
    December 10, 2008

    FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) - A man accused of stabbing a University of Arkansas student to death in March has been convicted of capital murder.

    Jurors who returned the verdict this evening were told by the judge to return tomorrow morning to begin the penalty phase in the trial of 29-year-old Zachariah Scott Marcyniuk of West Fork.

    Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. The only other penalty for a capital murder conviction in Arkansas is life in prison without parole.

    Katie Wood of Greenbrier, who was Marcyniuk's ex-girlfriend, was found fatally stabbed in her Fayetteville apartment on March 9th. Marcyniuk did not deny that he killed the 24-year-old woman, but his lawyers claimed the slaying did not amount to capital murder.

    Prosecutors say Marcyniuk broke into Wood's apartment and lay in wait for her to come home.

    Marcyniuk testified in his trial that he doesn't remember stabbing Wood.

    http://www.wreg.com/global/story.asp?s=9501392

  3. #3
    Guest
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    5,534
    December 11, 2008

    FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) - A jury has sentenced a man to death for fatally stabbing a University of Arkansas student in March.

    A jury deliberated for less than four hours before settling on the death penalty for Zachariah Scott Marcyniuk, 29, of West Fork. The only other sentence the jury could have given Marcyniuk under Arkansas law was life in prison without parole.

    Katie Wood, 24, of Greenbrier, who was Marcyniuk's ex-girlfriend, was found fatally stabbed in her Fayetteville apartment March 9. Marcyniuk did not deny that he killed Wood, but his lawyers claimed the slaying did not amount to capital murder.

    Prosecutors say Marcyniuk broke into Wood's apartment and lay in wait for her to come home.

    http://www.nwaonline.net/

  4. #4
    Guest
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    5,534
    June 2, 2010

    LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- The Arkansas Supreme Court said it is upholding the conviction and death penalty of a Fayetteville man accused of stabbing a University of Arkansas student to death in 2008.

    Zachariah Marcyniuk was sentenced to death in 2008 for killing his ex-girlfriend, Katie Wood.

    Wood was found stabbed and beaten to death in her Fayetteville apartment.

    After his conviction in 2008, Marcyniuk apologized to Wood's mother for killing her daughter.

    http://www.4029tv.com/news/23759170/detail.html

  5. #5
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    33,217
    Ark. convict challenging his death sentence

    FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) - A 31-year-old man convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend in 2008 is appealing his death sentence, saying he received ineffective counsel.

    The Northwest Arkansas Times reports that Zachariah Marcyniuk (MAR'-se-nick) says in a filing in Washington County Circuit Court that he deserves a new trial or to have his death sentence vacated and another sentencing hearing. A jury convicted him in the death of 24-year-old Katie Wood.

    He contends his attorneys did not ask prospective jurors if they would automatically vote to impose the death penalty upon a conviction, no matter the circumstances. He also says his attorneys did not adequately investigate or call witnesses and failed to use juror questionnaires, adequately prepare witnesses or request a change of venue.

    Prosecuting Attorney John Threet says he's prepared to dispute Marcyniuk's allegations.

    http://www.katv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13562285

  6. #6
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    33,217
    Inmate Personal Information

    DOB: 07/31/1965
    Race: Black
    Gender: Male

    Crime and Trial Information

    * County of conviction: Pulaski
    * Number of counts: One
    * Race of Victim: White
    * Gender of Victim: Female
    * Date of crime: 02/09/1993
    * Date of Sentencing: 10/16/1995

    Legal Status

    Current Proceedings:
    Post‐conviction proceedings

    Attorney

    Janice Vaughn
    Arkansas Public Defender

    Court Opinions

    Marcyniuk v. State, 2010 WL 2131968 (Ark. May 27, 2010).

    Legal Issues

    (1) whether the circuit court erred in denying defendant's motions for directed verdict,
    (2) whether the circuit court erred in allowing certain photographs into evidence and permitting the State to enlarge photographs of the victim on a projection screen, and
    (3) whether the circuit court erred in denying his motion to suppress statements appellant made during a traffic stop

  7. #7
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    33,217
    Death-row inmate convicted in death of University of Arkansas student seeks new trial

    An Arkansas inmate sentenced to death for killing a University of Arkansas student is seeking a new trial.

    A judge in Fayetteville is considering the request from Zachariah Marcyniuk, who was sentenced to die by lethal injection for the killing of his ex-girlfriend, Katie Wood.

    The Northwest Arkansas Times reports (http://is.gd/Qa7tBC) that the hearing began Wednesday and continues Thursday. Marcyniuk claims his trial attorney did not ask prospective jurors whether they would automatically vote to impose the death penalty upon a conviction.

    Prosecutors say Marcyniuk broke into Wood's apartment on March 9, 2008, and attacked her when she opened her front door. Wood was stabbed to death.

    The Arkansas Supreme Court upheld Marcyniuk's conviction and death sentence in May 2010.

    http://www.therepublic.com/view/stor...tudent-Killed/
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

  8. #8
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Germany
    Posts
    13,014
    Man convicted of killing UA student seeks new trial

    By John Lyon
    Arkansas News Bureau

    LITTLE ROCK — A man on death row for the killing of a University of Arkansas student should receive a new trial because his lawyer improperly abandoned a viable mental-illness defense during the trial, his attorney argued Thursday before the state Supreme Court.

    An attorney for the state argued that although Zachariah Marcyniuk’s trial lawyer told jurors they could convict his client of a lesser offense than capital murder, he never abandoned the defense of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.

    The Supreme Court heard oral arguments but did not immediately issue a ruling in an appeal by Marcyniuk, now 35, who was convicted in Washington County Circuit Court in December 2008 of capital murder and sentenced to die for the March 9, 2008, stabbing death of his ex-girlfriend, Katie Wood, 24.

    Prosecutors said Marcyniuk broke into Wood’s Fayetteville apartment, waited for her to come home and then attacked her when she walked in, stabbing her more than 50 times.

    Lee Short, an attorney handling Marcyniuk’s appeal, argued Thursday that after presenting expert testimony that Marcyniuk suffered from depression and borderline personality disorder, Marcyniuk’s trial lawyer, W.H. Taylor, told the jury that juries typically do not like a mental-illness defense and said the definition of second-degree murder “fits the crime.”

    In doing so, Taylor “tossed his experts under the bus” and improperly conceded a viable defense, Short argued.

    “You don’t have a right to plead your client guilty, and that’s exactly what took place here,” he said.

    Assistant Attorney General Valerie Fortner argued that the mental-illness defense was presented throughout the trial. She said the jury heard ample testimony about Marcyniuk’s mental condition, including expert testimony presented by the state that he was able to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law.

    Fortner argued that Taylor knew the mental-illness defense required a high degree of credibility and that he reasonably raised the possibility of a second-degree murder verdict because it would not involve the death penalty.

    “His goal was to save his client’s life,” she said.

    Justice Paul Danielson told Short, “I’ve seen lots of trials and I’ve seen lots of different tactics used and decisions made that I might not have done or whatever. How much can we go back and second-guess a lawyer that made a decision when they’re trying a case?”

    Short acknowledged that it is “tough” to second-guess a trial lawyer but said a lawyer crosses a line when he or she abandons a viable not-guilty defense and asks a jury to convict a client.

    “You can’t ask for guilt,” he said.

    The court did not indicate when it would rule. Gov. Mike Beebe has appointed Searcy lawyer Jimmy Simpson to replace Justice Courtney Goodson, who has recused from the case.

    http://arkansasnews.com/news/arkansa...eeks-new-trial

  9. #9
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    33,217
    Court upholds man’s conviction, death sentence in slaying of UA student

    The Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a man’s capital-murder conviction and death sentence in the 2008 slaying of a University of Arkansas student.

    The high court rejected arguments that Zachariah Marcyniuk was entitled to a new trial because his lawyer improperly abandoned a viable mental-illness defense during Marcyniuk’s trial in Washington County Circuit.

    Marcyniuk, now 35, is on death row for the March 9, 2008, stabbing death of his ex-girlfriend, Katie Wood, 24. Prosecutors said he broke into Wood’s Fayetteville apartment, waited for her to come home and stabbed her more than 50 times, then locked her front door and climbed out a window.

    An attorney for Marcyniuk said in oral arguments before the Supreme Court last month that during Marcyniuk’s trial, his then-attorney, W.H. Taylor, presented expert testimony that Marcyniuk suffered from depression and borderline personality disorder but that Taylor later asked the jury to return a verdict of second-degree murder, in effect abandoning a viable defense of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.

    In its unanimous opinion Thursday, the Supreme Court said that argument was “flawed because it is an incorrect characterization of what occurred at trial.”

    The high court said Taylor explained in a hearing in circuit court that his strategy was to use evidence that Marcyniuk was suffering from a mental disease or defect to ask the jury to return a verdict of guilty of second-degree murder, a lesser offense than capital murder that could not be punished with death.

    “Thus, Taylor’s actions were in furtherance of his trial strategy, and we cannot say that his performance was deficient,” Justice Josephine Hart wrote in the Supreme Court’s opinion.

    The court also rejected arguments that Taylor failed to ask potential jurors important questions, failed to tell the jury it could show mercy to Marcyniuk, failed to call certain witnesses who could have testified about Marcyniuk’s good qualities, and prejudiced the jury by stating that a verdict of mental disease or defect could lead to Marcyniuk’s release.

    Marcyniuk did not show that the jury was biased or prejudiced or that Taylor’s performance was below standards of reasonableness, the court said.

    Justice Courtney Goodson did not participate. Special appointed Justice James Simpson joined in the decision

    http://arkansasnews.com/news/arkansa....LL39tdiY.dpuf
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

  10. #10
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Germany
    Posts
    13,014
    On July 9, 2015, Marcyniuk filed a habeas petition in Federal District Court.

    https://dockets.justia.com/docket/ar...cv00226/100677

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •