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Thread: Robert Gene Rega - Pennsylvania

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    Robert Gene Rega - Pennsylvania




    Facts of the Crime:

    Sentenced to death in Jefferson County on June 21, 2002 for the December 2000 murder of Christopher Lauth. Mr. Lauth, 50, of Marienville, Forest County, had been working security at Gateway Lodge, a Jefferson County bed-and-breakfast in Cook Forest. Mr. Rega, then 41, a former night watchman himself at Gateway Lodge, conspired with several others to rob a safe containing $20,000 at the bed and breakfast. Mr. Rega shot Mr. Lauth as he knelt at gunpoint.

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    On August 18, 2009, Rega filed a habeas petition in Federal District Court.

    http://dockets.justia.com/docket/pen...cv01102/93645/

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    Convicted killer Rega files two new appeals

    Attorneys for convicted murderer Robert Rega have filed two new appeals on his behalf but only one of the appeals is related to the murder conviction.

    In June, 2002, Rega was sentenced to death for the December, 2000 murder of Christopher Lauth, a watchman at the Gateway Lodge in Cooksburg.

    The first appeal, filed by attorneys David Osborne and Hunter Labovitz of the Federal Community Defender Office in Philadelphia, relates to Judge John Foradora's denial of relief on his Post-Conviction Relief Act petition on the Murder case to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

    In November, Rega's attorneys filed a motion claiming Rega should have had access to the services of the Italian government during his trial based upon his heritage. Under the terms of the Treaty of Venice any American citizen of Italian ancestry, dating back three generations, may ask the Italian government for assistance.

    Judge Foradora denied all of the claims, including the defense claim that Rega would have benefited by aid from the Italian government.

    In his opinion, Judge Foradora said the defense motion faulting the counsel in his appeal for failing to discover his Italian citizenship did not alter the "ultimate course of events" for Rega.

    The Judge said the Italian government's "principled opposition to the death penalty" would have made assistance to Rega possible but not helpful since Rega himself had opposed any sort of inquiry into his psyche and that is no evidence Rega would have cooperated with mental health experts secured by the Italian consulate.

    The Judge said it was "merely an academic consideration" as to how Rega would have used any resources offered by the consulate. He said that Rega's original defense team was not ineffective because Rega had instructed them not to pursue a penalty phase defense.

    The remaining 22 claims were also denied.

    In an earlier appeal, Labovitz asked that Rega's convictions and sentences be vacated because he was denied due process and a fair trial as guaranteed by the Sixth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U. S. Constitution and Article One of the Pennsylvania Constitution, sections one, six, seven, nine, 17, 13 and 26. Those appeals were also denied.

    The brief on the new petition was due on May 18 on that and Jefferson County District Attorney Jeff Burkett will have 30 days to respond.

    An appeal for a federal habeas petition was filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh) in a subsequent case where Rega was convicted of having sex with four underage girls. A change of venue was granted due to the publicity of the murder trial and he was tried in Huntingdon County in May of 2003.

    Initially, there were four other cases against Rega but they were continued until the resolution of the murder charges.

    In the first case Rega was charged with burglary, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, criminal mischief and conspiracy to commit burglary.

    Charges in the second case included two counts of rape involving a person less than 13 years of age, 22 counts of statutory sexual assault, seven counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a person less than 16 years of age, two counts of indecent assault involving a person less than 13 years of age, four counts of selling or furnishing alcohol to a minor and 12 counts of indecent assault with a person less than 16 years of age.

    In the third case Rega was charged with conspiracy to commit robbery, conspiracy theft, conspiracy to commit assault, robbery, theft by unlawful taking and assault.

    Charges in the fourth case included arson causing danger of death of bodily injury, arson causing damage to personal property exceeding $5,000, criminal mischief, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, conspiring to commit arson and conspiring to commit theft.

    Burkett was initially required to respond to that filing by June 4, but he indicated he will be asking for an extension.

    Rega is housed at the State Correctional Institution, Greene awaiting execution.

    http://www.thecourierexpress.com/jde...w-appeals.html
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    Pennsylvania v. Rega

    Opinion Date: June 17, 2013

    Court: Pennsylvania Supreme Court

    Appellant Robert Rega was convicted of first-degree murder and other offenses for the shooting death of Christopher Lauth. Appellant received the death penalty. Appellant filed an application for post-conviction relief which was ultimately denied. On appeal, he raised eleven claims of error. The Supreme Court took each in turn, found no error, and affirmed the denial of post-conviction relief.
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

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

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    Governor Corbett Signs Execution Warrants of Two Men Convicted of Murder

    Harrisburg – Governor Tom Corbett today signed execution warrants for two men, one convicted of killing a night watchman during a robbery in Jefferson County, and the other convicted of killing two women, one – a witness to another homicide in Philadelphia.

    Robert Gene Rega was convicted in Jefferson County Court of first-degree murder for the execution-style shooting of night watchman, 50-year-old Christopher Lauth, during a robbery on the evening of Dec. 21, 2000.

    Laquaille Bryant was convicted in Philadelphia County Court of two counts of first-degree murder for the shooting deaths of Chante Wright and Octavia Green in the early morning hours of Jan. 19, 2008.

    Both men are incarcerated at the State Correctional Institution at Greene. Rega’s execution has been scheduled for Jan. 28, 2014. Bryant’s execution date has been scheduled for Jan. 29, 2014.

    The execution warrants signed today for Rega and Bryant were Governor Corbett’s 28th and 29th warrants signed since taking office.

    Executions in Pennsylvania are carried out by lethal injection. For more information, visit the Department of Corrections online at www.cor.state.pa.us and select “Death Penalty’’ from the left-side navigation bar.

    Case Background:

    Rega, now 47, was sentenced to death in June 2002 in Jefferson County Court.

    Motivated by a lack of money to buy Christmas presents for his children, Rega recruited several friends to go to a local motel and hold the night watchman hostage, and then forced the owner to give them money from the ATM and safe.

    The robbers went to the motel and confronted the night watchman, but the owner could not be found. Changing their plans, Rega stayed with the watchman as his companions loaded the safe into their car.

    Once he was alone with the watchman, Rega shot and killed Lauth. A pathologist’s report indicated Lauth was on his knees with his arms raised when he was shot four times, including the back and head.

    Bryant, now 32, was sentenced to death twice in May 2010 in the Court of Common Pleas, Criminal Division of Philadelphia County.

    Bryant pled guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of Chante Wright and Octavia Green in the early morning of Jan. 19, 2008.

    Wright had been a witness in an unrelated Philadelphia homicide that was scheduled to go to trial in May 2008. She had been living in Florida through the witness protection program, but left the program and returned to Philadelphia on January 18, 2008 to visit her ailing great-grandmother.

    On the day she returned, Wright repeatedly contacted Bryant. Wright and a friend, Octavia Green, picked Bryant up in their rental car and drove around the city. Around 2 a.m. on Jan. 19, 2008, Bryant – who was sitting in the rear seat of the car – pulled out a gun and shot each woman three times, killing both. Bryant later told a friend he believed he was going to be paid for killing Wright for her role as a witness in the other homicide.

    http://www.bradfordtoday.com/2013/12...ted-of-murder/

  6. #6
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    On December 12, 2013, Rega filed a habeas petition in Federal District Court.

    http://dockets.justia.com/docket/pen...cv01781/213834

  7. #7
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    On February 15, 2018, Rega's habeas petition was GRANTED and a new sentencing hearing ordered by US District Court Chief Judge Conti (G.W. Bush).

    https://docs.justia.com/cases/federa...1781/213834/91

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