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Thread: Samuel B. Randolph IV - Pennsylvania

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    Samuel B. Randolph IV - Pennsylvania





    Facts of the Crime:

    Samuel Randolph was convicted for the shooting deaths of Thomas Easter and Anthony Burton.

    Randolph was sentenced to death in Dauphin County on May 15, 2003.

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    No. 05-8984 *** CAPITAL CASE ***
    Title:
    Samuel B. Randolph, Petitioner
    v.
    Pennsylvania
    Docketed: February 2, 2006
    Linked with 05A469
    Lower Ct: Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Eastern District
    Case Nos.: (432 CAP)
    Decision Date: September 6, 2005

    ~~~Date~~~ ~~~~~~~Proceedings and Orders~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Nov 21 2005 Application (05A469) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from December 5, 2005 to February 3, 2006, submitted to Justice Souter.
    Nov 28 2005 Application (05A469) granted by Justice Souter extending the time to file until February 3, 2006.
    Jan 31 2006 Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due March 6, 2006)
    Mar 6 2006 Brief of respondent Pennsylvania in opposition filed.
    Mar 16 2006 DISTRIBUTED for Conference of March 31, 2006.
    Apr 3 2006 Petition DENIED.

    http://www.supremecourt.gov/Search.a...es/05-8984.htm

  3. #3
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    Double murder conviction, death penalty for fatal shootings at Harrisburg bar voided by U.S. judge

    Saying his civil rights were trampled, a federal judge on Wednesday overturned the murder convictions and death penalty imposed on a Harrisburg man for the fatal shootings of two men inside a city bar.

    The ruling by U.S. Middle District Chief Judge Christopher C. Conner comes 17 years after a Dauphin County jury found Samuel Randolph guilty of killing Thomas Easter and Anthony Burton and severely injuring several other people at Todd and Pat’s Bar on Sept. 19, 2001.

    Investigators said the killings came after Randolph committed two unsuccessful drive-by shootings that were prompted by a fight between Randolph, Easter and another man at another Harrisburg bar 18 days earlier.

    Conner found that Randolph, now 48, deserves a new trial because he was the victim of an inflexible court schedule during his first trial in 2003.

    In short, Conner found Randolph was denied the right to be represented by the attorney of his choice when a county judge refused his request to delay the start of his 2003 trial so his newly-hired lawyer could prepare.

    Several delays had already been granted in the case and Randolph had a severe conflict with the attorney who originally had been appointed to represent him, the federal judge wrote. Yet another delay should have been approved to safeguard Randolph’s rights after his new private attorney sought to take over days before the trial was scheduled to start, Conner found.

    Instead, Randolph was represented at trial by the appointed attorney with whom he was at odds, Conner noted. Then, after being found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder, Randolph said he didn’t want that lawyer to represent him during the penalty phase of his trial. He was allowed to represent himself, presented no arguments and the jury handed down the death verdict

    Randolph’s initial appeals to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and U.S. Supreme Court failed.

    In addressing Randolph’s latest appeal, Conner found the denial of Randolph’s constitutional right to the attorney of his choice was especially dire because “this case was not a run-of-the-mill criminal prosecution. Randolph was facing the death penalty for not one, but two counts of first-degree murder.”

    He found there was “not a single countervailing reason” for the denial of Randolph’s final request for a delay of his 2003 trial. Indeed, Randolph’s new lawyer had sought only a three-hour delay in the start of jury selection, Conner noted. There was “no objectively valid reason” for rejecting that request, since such a delay would hardly have upset the county court’s schedule, he wrote.

    Conner gave prosecutors 90 days to determine whether to retry Randolph. District Attorney Fran Chardo said he is still reviewing Conner’s decision to determine a course of action.

    Conner’s ruling could be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit.

    https://www.pennlive.com/news/2020/0...mpression=true

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    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    Chief Judge Conner is a G.W. Bush appointee.

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    New trial granted on a Sixth Amendment right to counsel violation.

    https://law.justia.com/cases/federal...021-07-20.html
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    Once sentenced to death, Harrisburg man granted release from prison, says he’s innocent of double murder

    By Becky Metrick and Jenna Wise
    PennLive.com

    Dauphin County authorities ordered the release Thursday of a Harrisburg man who spent more than 20 years incarcerated for a double homicide conviction, after the Dauphin County district attorney withdrew the charges against him.

    Samuel Randolph was convicted and originally sentenced to death in a 2003 trial for the killings of Thomas Easter and Anthony Burton at Todd and Pat’s Bar on Sept. 19, 2001.

    Randolph originally fled the state but was arrested in Virginia months later, according to Chardo. He was extradited back to Pennsylvania on Nov. 30, 2001 and had been incarcerated ever since.

    Last year, the Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit affirmed a 2020 decision by U.S. Middle District Judge Christopher C. Conner, who overturned Randolph’s conviction and ordered a new trial, saying he was denied his constitutional right to the lawyer of his choice.

    On Wednesday, Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo filed paperwork to dismiss the case but emphasized this is not an exoneration of Randolph. Randolph’s sister Sherie Randolph confirmed Thursday he was released, but prison records still listed him as in custody.

    In his court filing, Chardo wrote that it has been nearly 20 years and 4 months since Randolph was imprisoned and that multiple people who testified would not be able to be witnesses again if he did take the case back to trial.

    Chardo pointed out that the detective that originally filed the charges and the detective in charge of evidence collection have both died. An eyewitness who previously identified Randolph has said he will refuse to testify.

    The victims’ families were consulted, Chardo wrote in the filing. He also asserted that he has a firm belief Randolph is responsible for the killings.

    Now 50, Randolph spoke with PennLive last week about his treatment in prison, his innocence, and the measures he has taken to protest his incarceration.

    Randolph said last year Chardo offered him an “Alford” plea, which would have allowed him to maintain his stance that he was innocent while subjecting him to all the consequences of a guilty plea.

    “I didn’t do this. Innocent people don’t plead guilty — as bad as I want to go home,” he said. He was worried that with two murder counts against him, he wouldn’t be able to get a good job, buy a house or any number of other things that people with felony convictions are often blocked from doing. ”That would bother me.”

    Investigators said the killings ended a feud that involved several drive-by shootings at the time.

    The problem was, Randolph’s attorney requested a short delay at the start of his trial in the form of a three-hour pause before jury selection. The request was denied by the presiding judge.

    Judge L. Felipe Restrepo agreed with Judge Conner that denying the delay resulted in Randolph being represented by a court-appointed attorney, with whom he had conflicts.

    Restrepo said the continuance would not have been unfair to the prosecution or permitted Randolph to unreasonably “hamper and delay” the state’s efforts to administer justice.

    He also found that the Pa. Supreme Court’s decision rejecting Randolph’s claim that his right to counsel was violated was “unreasonable.”

    Chardo said in the end the appellate court’s decision did not stem from any issues with the evidence in the case.

    Although this decision was made last summer, Randolph was only moved to Dauphin County Prison in March pending a new trial.

    He said he was going to fight the charges and that as a Christian he held strongly onto his faith.

    ”I do see God is going to provide a way,” Randolph said. “I don’t know how or when.”

    Another key part of Judge Conner’s 2020 decision was overturning the death sentence.

    Randolph said he was being tortured while on death row but always believed he would be freed.

    “They had me on death’s doorstep a couple of times,” Randolph said. Randolph has maintained prison guards slammed him to the ground nearly a decade ago, damaging his spine and leaving him paralyzed in the lower half of his body. Chardo said authorities believe Randolph is faking his injuries.

    Randolph was on a hunger strike at Dauphin County Prison because if he had any bowel movements, he said wouldn’t be able to move back and forth to the toilet.

    Once freed, Randolph wants to reconnect with his family and his children who grew up while he was in prison.

    “I just want to get out and put this all behind me,” Randolph said.

    He also hopes that he can get the medical care that will allow him to walk again.

    Randolph said he believes that Chardo knows he is innocent. “If he knew I actually did this, there’s no way [he’d offer a plea deal],” Randolph said.

    Chardo was clear in the court filing: there is no statute of limitations on a first-degree murder charge, and the commonwealth reserves the right to refile charges in the future.

    https://www.pennlive.com/news/2022/0...le-murder.html

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    Harrisburg man seeks medical help for injuries sustained on death row

    A Harrisburg man was released from prison last year after serving more than two decades of a death sentence. He says an attack by prison guards left him paralyzed.

    By Marshall Keely
    WPMT

    HARRISBURG, Pa. — Samuel Randolph's days are filled with constant pain.

    "I'm existing, but I'm really not living my full life," Randolph said.

    Randolph was convicted in the shooting deaths of two men at a Harrisburg bar back in 2001, a crime he says he didn't commit. He was sentenced to capital punishment and spent more than two decades on death row in solitary confinement.

    He says an attack in 2009 left him paralyzed from the waist down.

    "I was assaulted on my way to the yard by three correctional officers. I was handcuffed behind my back and defenseless," he said. "Three of them assaulted me. When they picked me up and slammed me to the ground, two of them fell on my spine and my legs and I haven't walked since."

    Randolph said he spent the rest of his time in prison locked in his cell, barely able to move.

    "Guilty or innocent, nobody deserves to be treated like this," said Dena Jangdhari of the Pennsylvania Prison Society.

    "They just put me through pure torture that I wouldn't want to see anybody endure or have to go through," Randolph added.

    In 2020, a U.S. district judge overturned Randolph's conviction, finding the judge who presided over his trial violated Randolph's right to choose his attorney.

    Randolph was released from prison in April 2022, after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the case. Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo dismissed the charges, noting two officers involved in the case had since died and a key witness would not testify.

    Randolph has his freedom but wants his life back. A California surgeon has agreed to help for free, but Randolph says he needs $100,000 for medical transportation and physical therapy.

    "This man deserves a chance to walk, to play with his grandbaby, to be able to stand up and hug his son," Jangdhari said.

    So far, 500 people have contributed close to $30,000 to help cover Randolph's medical expenses.

    https://www.fox43.com/amp/article/ne...a-94f8a7516e49
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

    Tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter - Linkin Park

    Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt

    I’m going to the ghost McDonalds - Garcello

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