Reinaldo Javier Rivera - Georgia Death Row

[Guest]

Tiffany Shereese Wilson, 17


Melissa Faye Dingess, 17


Tabitha Leigh Bosdell, 18


Sgt. Marni Glista, 21


Chrisilee Barton said her attacker stabbed her three times in
the throat, apparently with a steak knife.




Summary of Offense:

Sentenced to death for the brutal killing of Army Sgt. Marni Glista, 21, who died from her injuries on September 9, 2000.

[Heidi]

Serial killer Rivera still awaiting final judgment

Updates come in the mail every few months on letterhead from the Georgia attorney general’s office. But, they rarely say anything new the family of a slain army sargeant cares to hear about death row inmate Reinaldo Rivera.

The last update explained holdups with the death penalty related to concerns that a drug used in executions might cause the inmate pain.

“His pain that he suffers is far less than the pain caused Marni and Chrisilee,” said Wendy Knopp, older sister of Rivera’s first victim, 21-year-old Army Sgt. Marni Glista.

Sgt. Glista’s family waits on the death sentence to be carried out as the lengthy judicial process continues.

“We’re going on 11 years since Marni’s death,” said Knopp, of Puyallup, Wash. “It would be nice to have that final closure, but it’s not up to us either.”

A Richmond County Superior Court jury sentenced Rivera to death in January 2004 for Glista’s murder. Glista was found unconscious and barely breathing inside her home on Sept. 5, 2000, after being attacked the day before. She died Sept. 9 at Doctors Hospital. Glista was strangled, according to the indictment.

Rivera confessed that he raped and killed three other women. A fourth, Chrisilee Barton, survived a brutal stabbing and gave investigators clues that led to his capture.

Especially near the anniversary of Glista’s death and her July birthday, the family wonders what her life would be like today if not for Rivera.

“She was married. Would she have kids; what would her career path look like?” Knopp said.

The death sentence appeal of the serial rapist and killer moved to the Georgia Supreme Court where a decision to review his request for habeas corpus should be issued by the end of March.

Most recently, Rivera’s lawyer for the habeas petition was granted a 10-day extension by the courts on Sept. 6 to file a brief regarding the inmate’s mental competency. His lawyer, Brian Kammer from the Georgia Resource Center in Atlanta, stated that he needed more time to write a well-researched brief given the court’s demands and his workload for other death penatly cases, Hansen said.

Kammer denied a request for interview.

The state has six months to rule on the case after the court term to which it has been assigned this month, according to Jane Hansen, public information officer for the Georgia Supreme Court. The case will be argued through written briefs after the court denied a request to hear oral arguments in June, she said.

As Glista’s family waits on this chapter in their lives to close, they cling to their faith in God and the courts.

“For me and my family, we have a tremendous amount of faith in Christ. He is the final judge and jury,” Knopp said. “I hope the sentence is carried out. I do believe in the justice system.”

At this point in the appeals process, Rivera, who sits on death row in Jackson, Ga., is asking the Georgia Supreme Court to challenge the most recent ruling against him.

On March 31, Superior Court Judge William Fears ordered a final ruling denying Rivera’s petition for habeas.

Rivera insisted from his first confessions that he wanted a death sentence.

According to the judge’s final order, Rivera “consistently, both at trial and during these habeas proceedings, indicated that he has no desire to appeal his convictions and sentences.”

Peter Johnson, an Augusta criminal defense attorney who represented Rivera during his original trial, said Rivera’s appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court, if authorized, must continue with the original grounds of the habeas trial.

“If they deny it, then he is dead in the water,” Johnson said.

According to Johnson, the only other option for Rivera would be taking the case to the U.S. Supreme Court where he would need to raise a constitutional question with the trial. Johnson said he did not know enough about Rivera’s habeas petition to determine if that’s possible.

Richard Dieter, executive director for the Death Penalty Information Center, said the U.S. Supreme Court does not accept many death penalty appeal cases.

If Rivera chooses to take his appeal to federal courts, the process could take even more time moving through district and circuit courts and the U.S. Supreme Court, Dieter said.

“Each one of those steps could take six months or longer,” he said. “Any time an inmate can say I don’t want to appeal.”

http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/cr...final-judgment

[Heidi]

Courts deliberate mental competency of serial killer Reinaldo Rivera

Serial killer Reinaldo Rivera’s change of heart about his readiness to be executed has caused a long deliberation over the necessity of a court-ordered mental evaluation.

The Georgia Supreme Court ordered a mental evaluation after Rivera asked the court to drop his appeal of habeas corpus. Rivera, who sits on death row in Jackson, Ga., wanted to dismiss his lawyer and waive rights to future appeals.

On May 22, the day before refusing an evaluation by a state expert, Rivera signed a handwritten affidavit in which he said he could not “in good conscience proceed with my motion.” Since then, lawyers for both sides of the case have presented arguments on whether the court should complete the evaluation. A final ruling has not been made.

Rivera’s lawyer, Robyn Painter of the Georgia Resource Center, said the evaluation is not needed because Rivera acted to withdraw his motion to dismiss counsel and appeal, the grounds under which the court ordered the evaluation.

Assistant Attorney General Theresa Schiefer said it is necessary for the court to make a finding but that it can do so without expert evaluation. Previous proceedings leave no room to doubt Rivera’s competency.

A Richmond County Superior Court jury sentenced Rivera to death in January 2004 for the murder of Army Sgt. Marni Glista.

Glista was found unconscious and barely breathing inside her home Sept. 5, 2000, after being attacked the day before. She died Sept. 9 at Doctors Hospital. Glista was strangled, according to the indictment.

Rivera confessed that he raped and killed three other women. A fourth, Chrisilee Barton, survived a brutal stabbing and gave investigators clues that led to his capture.

Superior Court Judge William Fears ordered a final ruling March 31, 2011, denying Rivera’s petition for habeas.

From his first confessions, Rivera insisted he wanted a death sentence. According to the judge’s final order, Rivera “consistently, both at trial and during these habeas proceedings, indicated that he has no desire to appeal his convictions and sentences.”

The case moved to Supreme Court but on Feb. 27, the habeas court that heard the original petition was asked to conduct a hearing on Rivera’s request for dismissal and a mental evaluation, if needed.

In an April 18 hearing with Fears, Rivera testified that he wanted to “set (the) execution date as soon as possible.”

Rivera also told the judge that he takes two prescribed medications on a regular basis for bipolar disorder and manic depression. The judge ordered 60 days to complete Rivera’s mental evaluation.

When Rivera said he wanted to continue the appeal, a second hearing was held June 13, where the judge allowed the lawyers to make a case for how the court should proceed.

http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/cr...einaldo-rivera

[Heidi]

Serial killer Reinaldo Rivera continues habeas corpus appeal

Confessed serial killer Reinaldo Rivera has another chance to continue his appeal of habeas corpus as lawyers on both sides of the death penalty case continue to battle over a court-ordered mental evaluation.

Rivera’s lawyers, Robyn Painter and Brian Kammer, objected to an order by Superior Court Judge William Fears ruling that Rivera was competent. The judge granted Rivera’s request to continue with his appeal Aug. 3.

On Sept. 18, the lawyers asked the Georgia Supreme Court to expand the scope of the case and entered new evidence, including an evaluation that found Rivera experienced cognitive deterioration while on death row.

According to Painter and Kammer, Fears erred by communicating about the final order only with Assistant Attorney General Theresa Schiefer and not with Rivera or his counsel.

The judge based his ruling on no data from mental health professionals, they said.

A Richmond County Superior Court jury sentenced Rivera to death in January 2004 for the murder of Army Sgt. Marni Glista.

Glista was found unconscious inside her home Sept. 5, 2000, after being attacked the day before. She died four days later at Doctors Hospital. Glista was strangled, according to the indictment.

Rivera confessed to raping and killing three other women. A fourth, Chrisilee Barton, survived a brutal stabbing and gave investigators clues that led to his capture.

In February, the Georgia Supreme Court ordered a mental evaluation after Rivera asked the court to drop his appeal. Rivera, who sits on death row in Jackson, Ga., wanted to dismiss his lawyer and waive rights to future appeals.

Lawyers for both sides presented arguments on whether the court should complete the evaluation after Rivera signed a handwritten affidavit May 22 saying he did not want to proceed with his motion to drop the appeal.

In his final order, Fears said evaluations throughout the trial never cast doubt on Rivera’s ability to make decisions regarding his case.

Schiefer filed a motion with the state Supreme Court Sept. 20 arguing that the court should not consider the evaluation Rivera’s lawyers are trying to enter. She said the defense did not enter the evidence during a June hearing.

The high court hasn’t ruled on whether it will hear the case based on new evidence.

http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/cr...l?v=1349045057

[Moh]

On September 9, 2013, Rivera filed a habeas petition in Federal District Court.

http://dockets.justia.com/docket/geo...cv00161/61595/

[Helen]

Initial attempt to dismiss serial killer's appeal falls short

The state’s initial assault on the final appeal filed by convicted serial killer Reinaldo Rivera has proved unsuccessful.

Related Stories:

Convicted murderer Reinaldo Rivera files appeal in U.S. District Court in Augusta
Serial killer Reinaldo Rivera continues habeas corpus appeal
Courts deliberate mental competency of serial killer Reinaldo Rivera
Serial killer Rivera still awaiting final judgment

Attorneys at the Georgia attorney general’s office filed a motion asking the judge to dismiss Rivera’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Such a writ orders a person in custody to be brought before a court.

The attorneys contend that Rivera missed a one-year deadline to appeal the Georgia Supreme Court’s ruling that affirmed his 2004 conviction and death sentence.

In an order filed Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge J. Randal Hall wrote that Rivera had not missed the deadline because an attorney filed a state habeas corpus petition for him, even though Rivera wrote to the court that he was abandoning all appeals.

Rivera’s case has continued to be appealed since his January 2004 conviction and death sentence for the rape and murder of 21-year-old Army Sgt. Marni Glista.

Although Rivera stood trial only for Glista’s death on Sept. 9, 2000, he confessed to the rapes and slayings of Melissa Dingess on July 17, 1999; Tiffany S. Wilson on Dec. 4, 1999; and Tabitha Bosdell on June 29, 2000. The victims were 17 when they crossed Rivera’s path.

An Augusta 18-year-old was to be Rivera’s fifth victim on Oct. 10, 2000, but she survived the sexual assault, strangulation and stabbing.

Rivera confessed to the crimes and led sheriff’s investigators to the remains of Dingess in Aiken County and Bosdell in Columbia County.

He contended from the time of his arrest that he expected a death sentence. He insisted on telling the jurors – over his attorneys’ objections – that he wanted a death sentence. He vowed to abandon any appeal after the mandatory appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court, but his appeals continued.

Rivera’s federal habeas corpus petition was filed in September.

http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/cr...t?v=1405674134

[Bobsicles]

I have a co-worker who worked and was friends with him during his killings. She wants him executed. It’s a shame that his habeas hasn’t been heard yet

[Ryan]

Yes, very understandable! The legal appeals will take up to 10-15 years yet through State and Federal Courts.