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Thread: Kevin Don Foster - Florida Death Row

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    Kevin Don Foster - Florida Death Row


    Mark Schwebes




    Summary of Offense:

    Kevin Foster was the leader of a group called the Lords of Chaos, of which Peter Magnotti, Christopher Black, Derek Shields, Christopher Burnett, Thomas Torrone, Bradley Young, and Russell Ballard were all members. The stated purpose of the group was to create disorder, through criminal acts, in the Fort Myers community.

    On April 30, 1996, the members decided to vandalize Riverdale High School and set the auditorium on fire. While the others remained outside, Foster, Black, and Torrone entered the high school and stole staplers, canned goods, and a fire extinguisher to enable them to break into the auditorium. Around 9:30 p.m., Riverdale’s band teacher, Mark Schwebes, arrived at the auditorium and confronted the group. Schwebes seized the stolen items and told them that he would report the incident to the campus police the next day. Schwebes then left to have dinner with a friend, David Adkins. Black declared that Schwebes “has got to die,” to which Foster replied that if Black could not do it, he would. The group decided to go to Schwebes’ home and kill him there. Foster went home to get his shotgun, and the group obtained Schwebes’ address and telephone number through a telephone operator. After verifying the address by identifying Schwebes’ voice on the answering machine, the group obtained a map to confirm the address, gloves, ski masks, and a license plate that had been stolen earlier, so as to enable their escape. Black, Shields, Magnotti, and Foster agreed to participate in the murder, and at 11:30 p.m., the group drove to Schwebes’ house.

    Foster and Shields walked to the door, and Foster hid as Shields knocked on the door. When Schwebes answered the door, Foster stepped between Schwebes and Shields and shot Schwebes in the face and then shot him again in the pelvis. Two of Schwebes’ neighbors testified to hearing a car with a loud muffler leave immediately after hearing the two shots fired and seeing the car drive away. Shields’ car had a bad muffler. Police found Foster’s shotgun, a ski mask, gloves, and a newspaper clipping of the murder in the trunk of Magnotti’s car. Foster’s fingerprints were found on the shotgun, the gloves, and the newspaper. Burnett and Magnotti’s fingerprints were also found on the newspaper. All of the group members who participated in the murder and conspiracy cooperated with the State and testified to the facts of the case. Schwebes’ friend, David Adkins, testified that he saw Schwebes’ vehicle parked at the spot where Schwebes had confronted the group.

    Foster was sentenced to death in Lee County on May 17, 1998.

    Co-defendant information:
    Pursuant to plea agreements with the State, Black and Shields were sentenced to life imprisonment; Magnotti was sentenced to thirty-two years imprisonment; Burnett was sentenced to two years in county jail for non-homicidal offenses; Torrone was sentenced to one year in county jail, ten years probation, one hundred hours of community service, and restitution.

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    July 24, 2010

    Lee County killer fights death sentence----Appeal hearings set for this fall

    The attorneys for Lords of Chaos ringleader Kevin Foster, attempting to get his 1st-degree murder conviction and death penalty sentence overturned, are gearing up for hearings this fall that will determine if he gets relief.

    At a hearing Friday, Lee Circuit Judge Edward Volz Jr. gave Foster's attorneys until Aug. 27 to reply to the state's response to their motion. On Oct. 22, Volz will hold a hearing during which attorneys will argue why Volz should or shouldn't hold a full-scale evidentiary hearing for any or all of the 11 points Foster's attorneys have made.

    Foster, now 33, was a teenager in 1996 when he and 3 other Riverdale High School students conspired to kill band director Mark Schwebes. Their plan of vandalizing the high school on the night of April 30, 1996, was foiled when Schwebes, 32, caught Christopher Black and gang member wannabe Thomas Torrone loitering, took their vandalism tools and said he was going to report them at school the next day.

    The group drove to Schwebes’ home, where Foster forced Derek Shields to knock on the door. Foster stepped out of the shadows and shotgunned Schwebes in the face, then he shot Schwebes again in the buttocks after he fell to the ground.

    Foster was convicted and sentenced to death after a 9-3 vote by his jury in 1998. During his appeal to the Florida Supreme Court, Foster raised 6 issues, all of which were denied as his conviction and sentence were upheld.

    On this appeal, which deals with errors his former attorneys allegedly made, Foster's attorneys Terri Backhus and Scott Gavin have now settled on 11 main arguments, outlined in a 150-page motion filed in May, for which they believe Foster deserves an overturned conviction and sentence.

    In response, assistant attorney general Stephen Ake conceded Foster's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel during the penalty phase deserves an evidentiary hearing, but he argued against the other 10 points.

    Foster, the only defendant from the group facing the death penalty, is being held at Union Correctional Institution in Raiford. Shields, Black and Peter Magnotti all entered plea agreements. Black and Shields are in prison for life, while Magnotti is scheduled to be released in 2025.

    (Source: The News-Press)

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    Lords of Chaos ringleader will return to court in Lee County

    Attorneys appeared in court this morning for the final hearing before convicted Lords of Chaos ringleader Kevin Foster will make his return to a Lee County courthouse.

    Attorney Terri Backhus of Tampa argued against the state’s request for any e-mails between deceased public defender Robert Jacobs and psychiatrists who evaluated Foster before the penalty phase of his trial. He was sentenced to death in 1998 by a 9-3 vote.

    Lee Circuit Judge Edward Volz Jr. ordered that the Public Defender’s Office dig up any e-mails between Jacobs and the two psychiatrists who treated Foster. Deputy public defender Kathleen Fizgeorge told Volz she doesn’t know how long that would take, but said it would be “quite a big project.” Volz told her to have it done by March 15. Foster is scheduled to appear in court April 26.

    Of the 11 issues Backhus attempted to bring up in an effort to spare Foster’s life, only one has survived — that Foster’s attorneys didn’t do enough research for the penalty phase of his trial. The penalty phase is a mini trial in which attorneys try to convince a jury to either recommended life or death for a person convicted of first-degree murder. The guilt phase is the trial during which evidence is presented to prove a person’s guilt or innocence.

    Backhus believes Foster suffered organic brain damage, an issue that wasn’t properly explored by his defense attorneys.

    Foster, now 33, was a teenager in 1996 when he and three other Riverdale High School students conspired to kill band director Mark Schwebes. Their plan of vandalizing the high school on the night of April 30, 1996, was foiled when Schwebes, 32, caught Christopher Black and gang member wannabe Thomas Torrone loitering, took their vandalism tools and said he was going to report them at school the next day.

    The group drove to Schwebes' home, where Foster forced Derek Shields to knock on the door. Foster stepped out of the shadows and shotgunned Schwebes in the face, then he shot Schwebes again in the buttocks after he fell to the ground.

    http://www.news-press.com/article/20...urt-Lee-County

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    Lords of Chaos' Foster back in court to fight death sentence

    Lords of Chaos ringleader Kevin Foster returns to a Lee County courtroom for the first time in more than a decade Tuesday as his ability to get off death row hangs in the balance.

    Foster, 33, was 18 in 1996 when he shotgunned to death Riverdale High School band leader Mark Schwebes, 32, at Schwebes’ Pine Manor house. Foster led the gang of teens, who carried out destruction throughout Lee County. On April 30, 1996, Foster and members of the group planned to vandalize and burn the school. But Schwebes caught two members of the group, confiscated their items and said he would report them to a school resource officer. That led Foster to plan the murder.

    Foster was convicted in March 1998 of first-degree murder and sentenced two months later to death after a 9-3 recommendation by the jury. His direct appeal was upheld by the Florida Supreme Court in 2000 and now an appeal that attacks his trial attorneys’ work is pending.

    Starting Tuesday, Foster’s appellate attorney, Terri Lynn Backhus of Tampa, will try to convince Lee Circuit Judge Edward Volz Jr. that Foster deserves a new penalty phase trial. The argument is his attorneys didn’t present enough evidence about Foster’s family and mental health defects when trying to convince a jury to recommend life over death.

    Foster’s witness list for this week’s hearing includes Foster’s sister Kelly Foster, former The News-Press reporter Jim Greenhill, Foster’s father and adoptive father as well as medical experts and Foster’s Lords of Chaos co-defendants. It’s unclear whether Foster himself will participate.

    “Trial counsel failed to adequately investigate and prepare for the penalty phase,” according to a motion filed by Backhus. “The jury did not have the benefit of testimony from competent mental health experts to assist in explaining Mr. Foster’s history, background or the crime.”

    The state will counter with Chief Assistant State Attorney Randy McGruther, who prosecuted Foster, and experts of their own to show Foster’s defense attorneys did their job.
    Backhus didn’t return calls seeking comment last week. McGruther declined comment on behalf of the office.

    Schwebes’ sister, Pat Schwebes Dunbar, said she understands the need for appeals, although the process is frustrating. What may be difficult is seeing those guilty of crimes, who are now as old or older than her brother was when he was killed.

    “Mark deserves a representative for him and this is the best I can do for my brother,” she said. “It’s the only thing I can do for my brother at this point.”

    Backhus will present evidence of a tumultuous birth and life for Foster — information the jury never heard.

    Foster at birth had birth shock, which causes babies to have little oxygen in the blood, and respiratory distress syndrome, which causes air sacs in the lungs to be stiff and collapse. Arguably, those conditions caused brain damage, which delayed development of the part of his brain that controls impulse control, risk taking and understanding consequences.

    His mother, Ruby Foster, had four husbands, some of whom were violent and others, like his biological father Joe Bates, who were never involved in Foster’s life.

    Backhus’ research shows, as a teenager, Foster shot himself in the stomach and talked about suicide, once jumping off a bridge into the Caloosahatchee River.

    Growing up, Foster and his friends would gather with little supervision growing up — a respite from an awkward school situation.

    “Individually they were nothing, but together they had an identity and a group they belonged to,” documents state. “Kevin saw his friends as an extension of his family.”

    Backhus’ motion speaks harshly of the representation by former Public Defender Robert Jacobs and former Assistant Public Defender Marquin Rinard. She argued the two did little to prepare for the penalty phase of Foster’s case — the time each side argues to jurors for or against a death sentence after a first-degree murder conviction. It states Jacobs, who suffered from Parkinson’s disease, confused witness names and seemed unprepared.

    “Kevin was prejudiced by his lack of preparation,” the motion states. Jacobs died in 2007, while Rinard, who declined comment, is a private attorney in Cape Coral.

    Backhus claims had attorneys presented the information, they could have convinced three more jurors to recommend a life prison sentence. Had the jury been split, now-deceased Lee Circuit Judge Isaac Anderson would have had to sentence Foster to life.

    “They run the gamut from the sublime to the ridiculous,” the judge wrote of the defense’s mitigating evidence in his order sentencing Foster to death.

    http://www.news-press.com/article/20...ll|text|Home|p

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    Lords of Chaos' Foster in Lee court today to fight death sentence

    Lords of Chaos ringleader Kevin Foster will be at the Lee County Justice Center for the first time in more than a decade this morning as Lee Circuit Judge Edward Volz Jr. will listen to argument and testimony about whether Foster deserves a review of his death sentence.

    Foster, now 33, was sentenced to death in 1998 by a 9-3 margin.

    He was convicted of the 1996 killing of Riverdale High School band teacher Mark Schwebes after Schwebes discovered Lords of Chaos members planning to torch the school. Foster and his crew also destroyed the Coca-Cola bottling plant in Fort Myers and set fire to The Hut restaurant in Buckingham.

    In court documents, his appellate attorney argues that had Foster's attorneys did adequate research into his mental makeup and family history, Foster's jury may not have voted to put him to death. Had three jurors voted for a life sentence and the jury split, now-deceased Lee Circuit Judge Isaac Anderson would have been forced to sentence Foster to life in prison.

    This week, Foster's attorneys are asking Volz for a new penalty phase. The hearings are scheduled to last four days.

    http://www.news-press.com/article/20...ll|text|Home|p

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    Lords of Chaos' Foster's trial attorney: 'We didn't give up'

    Read dispatches from the courtroom today as Lords of Chaos ringleader Kevin Foster appears before a Lee Circuit Judge to determine whether Foster deserves a review of his death sentence.

    Foster trial attorney Marquin Rinard testified he spent most of his time preparing for the guilt phase of the trial.

    "We didn't give up — we weren't giving up and playing dead," he testified. "There was a hope we'd be successful."

    He characterized the penalty phase preparation as being mostly to "humanize" Foster to his jury after they found him guilty of first-degree murder.

    Rinard said Robert Jacobs took the lead on both the guilt and penalty phases of Foster's trial and he estimated he focused 85 percent of his time on the guilt phase.

    "We knew we needed to do the best we could to humanize Mr. Foster," Rinard testified. "That was one of my main memories as to what it was we were going to try to do."
    2:15 p.m.

    Kelly Foster is testifying about the childhood she and her brother, murderer Kevin Foster, had.

    She testified that as her mother and John Foster began breaking up, it became violent. She said Kevin Foster had to rip him off his mother several times. And John Foster was having affairs and flaunting them in front of the teenagers.

    As the situation at home became worse, Kelly Foster testified, Kevin Foster began rebelling and spending more time with friends. It was at that time Foster shot himself in the stomach and jumped off a bridge into the Caloosahatchee River when a close friend died, giving him a bad Staph Infection.

    Not long after, Foster was arrested in connection with Mark Schwebes' murder.

    Kelly Foster characterized Robert Jacobs' thoughts of she and her mother as an "inconvenience."

    "We were an annoyance to him," she said. "He thought my mom was an emotional wreck."

    She said Ruby Foster was unemployed for two years after Kevin Foster's arrest and focused solely on her son's case, reviewing documents and trying to aid the defense team.

    Kelly Foster was studying criminal justice in college and used that training to try to help. She testified that Marquin Rinard was more helpful than Jacobs.
    "Out of the two attorneys, Mr. Rinard seemed to have more patience and an open ear," she said.

    1:15 p.m. update

    Kelly Foster is testifying about the childhood she and Foster had.

    She is testifying about Ruby Foster's four husbands and their effect on their lives.

    Foster testified that Foster's husbands each had psychological issues, some that were manifested in anger in rage. Brian Burns, who isn't the biological father to either, is considered their father, Kelly Foster said.

    Others, including Ron Newberry — Kelly's biological father — and Jack Bates — Kevin's biological father — provided little support.

    Burns, whom Ruby Foster met in Dallas in the 1970s, once broke Ruby Foster's nose and damaged their rental house while the kids were home.

    "It was traumatic," she said.

    Kevin Foster's father Jack Bates was not in the picture and Foster's fourth husband, John Foster, legally adopted Kevin Foster, she testified.
    12:56 p.m. update

    Kevin Foster's older sister, Kelly Foster, is the defense's next witness.

    She took the stand around 12:55 p.m.

    Kevin Foster flashed a brief smile at his sister as he was led into the courtroom by deputies.
    Fromt this morning on news-press.com

    Only two witnesses were called to testify this morning during the appeal hearing of Kevin Foster, but Foster’s attorneys established that Foster’s mother Ruby had influence on the penalty phase of his trial.

    Foster was convicted in 1998 of first-degree murder in the killing of Riverdale High School band teacher Mark Schwebes. He was sentenced to death the same year by a 9-3 vote.

    At issue this week at the Lee County Justice Center is whether his trial attorneys did enough research into his life, family and mental capacity in trying to convince his jury to spare his life. After being convicted of first-degree murder, the attorneys argued to the jury whether to recommend life or death.

    The hearing will continue at 1 p.m.

    Retired Public Defender’s Office investigator Roberta Harsh testified that Foster’s attorneys focused extensively on Foster’s case once he was arrested.

    Former paralegal James Wootten, who prior to being hired by the office was in prison and is now in prison for robbery, was the defense’s second witness.

    He testified Ruby Foster was very involved in the case.

    “Kevin, in her eyes, was framed by his friends,” he testified. “Kevin could not have done this; would not have done this. And there's no way on this Earth that anyone was going to make her believe it was remotely possible. And we had to deal with that.”

    The defense team decided to present a theory that Foster was a “good kid worth saving” after exploring school records and asking Ruby Foster and Kevin’s sister Kelly whether Kevin was abused or had mental illness.

    “No was the answer to every one of those questions, especially when Kevin's mother and sister were brought in,” he said. “Ruby would explode and say, ‘There is nothing wrong with my child. My child is normal.’”

    On cross examination, Wootten testified that now-deceased former Public Defender Robert Jacobs was in charge of the defense and not Ruby Foster. He also testified that he never noticed Jacobs suffering from tremors, which is a point in the motion for a new penalty phase.

    Wootten, who is housed at Union Correctional Institution with Foster, also testified they talk often and that he hasn’t noticed any mental illnesses or depression in Foster.

    The defense’s next witness will be Marquin Rinard, who was busy this morning in court in Charlotte County, which caused the delay. The court broke around 10:30 a.m. and will continue at 1 p.m.

    http://www.news-press.com/article/20...ll|text|Home|p

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    Testimony given about Lords of Chaos ringleader Foster's childhood

    11:54 a.m.

    Bates testified for a few minutes about how he thought Foster's mother Ruby wasn't a fit parent. But after Bates and his wife left Amarillo for work, they stopped having contact with Kevin and Kelly.

    Next on the stand was Ronald Newberry, Ruby Foster's first husband, who is Kelly Foster's biological father, but not Kevin's.

    He testified that Ruby married Joe Bates the day after they got divorced. She was "hyperactive" he said.

    "She liked to do things on the spur of the moment sometimes," Newberry testified.

    Newberry said he saw Kevin and Kelly as they were growing up in Amarillo. Ruby Foster would often leave her children with her previous husbands.

    From times when he would watch the kids, he said he thought Kevin Foster was normal.

    "He was just a regular kid from what I observed," he testified. "A happy kid."

    The next witness will be Dr. Faye Sultan, who is expected to last all afternoon, Foster's attorneys said.

    The hearing will break until 1 p.m.
    11:18 a.m.

    Bordini testified Foster suffers from major depression, anti-social personality disorder and encephalopathy, which is a disorder of the brain.

    He met with Foster in 2006, 10 years after the killing.

    While he didn't review records of the trial or prison records, he looked at medical and school records and administered a battery of psychological tests.

    He didn't examine Foster for his insanity at the time of the crime, but only how he functions mentally.

    Now on the stand is Jack Bates Sr., Foster's biological grandfather.
    9:43 a.m.

    The hearing's first expert witness, Dr. Ernest Bordini, a neuropsychologist, is testifying this morning.

    Bordini said he examined Foster on Death Row over a two-day period.

    He testified that Foster was born premature and lost oxygen at birth, which caused his skin to go blue and require oxygen to be administered.

    "It's significant," Bordini said. "It's a high risk for neuro-developmental issues."

    He testified that Foster had self-esteem problems and wanted to do better than others.

    "Mr. Foster was not an individual who tended to exaggerate or claim he has a lot of psychological issues," Bordini testified. "I think he's reluctant to acknowledge faults."
    8:52 a.m.

    The second day of Kevin Foster's evidentiary hearing has started at the Lee County Justice Center.

    On the stand this morning is Linda Ruth Albritton, Kevin Foster's aunt from Amarillo, Texas. She is testifying about Foster's grandfather, who disowned Ruby Foster after she divorced her first husband.

    Testimony Tuesday revealed that Kevin Foster's grandfather wanted him to die.

    "You just didn't mention Ruby's name because it just seemed to make him upset," Albritton testified.

    Foster's appellate attorneys are looking to get Foster a new penalty phase based on the argument that his trial attorneys didn't do enough research into his family history and mental makeup. They are trying to secure a life sentence instead of the death sentence Foster currently has.

    He was convicted in 1998 of killing Riverdale High School band teacher Mark Schwebes in 1996.

    http://www.news-press.com/article/20...news|text|Home

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    Experts disagree about killer’s brain damage

    In the third day of testimony in the postconviction evidentiary hearing for Kevin Foster, the judge heard testimony from more doctors and Foster's biological father. Foster is on death row for the 1996 murder of Riverdale band teacher Mark Schwebes.

    During the trial, Foster alleges his attorneys failed to mention his brain damage. He wants the judge to vacate the sentence and give him a new penalty phase.

    Foster's biological father, Joe Bates, testified Thursday morning that Foster was born prematurely and had to stay a couple of weeks at the hospital.

    "They brought Kevin out in an incubator thing and said, 'Bates, here's your kid,'" said Bates.

    Bates separated from his wife a few years later, but still saw his son. He described Foster's demeanor as a child.

    "To me he was hyper, I would say at times uncontrolled more so than a normal child," said Bates.

    The defense team brought in a neuropsychology expert who says based on a doctor's evaluation in 2006, Foster was born highly intelligent with an IQ close to genius.

    Based on a brain image, the expert says Foster suffers from brain damage that may suggest he was hit in the back of the head.

    "He's performing 2 deviations worse than average on that test. That is a very strong indication of brain damage. That doesn't happen in people who are that intelligent," said Ruben Gur, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania.

    Gur said he never met Foster, but used raw data given to him by a doctor who did a psychological test of Foster in 2006.

    But the state put three doctors on the stand who said it was unlikely Foster suffered from any brain damage.

    "The brain map at least what I've read here is inaccurate and invalid," said Leon Prockop, MD, University of South Florida Department of Neurology.

    Prockop was referring to testimony from Dr. Gur.

    Another psychologist the state called said he didn't see any brain damage and said he didn't believe Foster was born prematurely.

    "There is no evidence of brain damage. The only evidence there is, is that he suffered from respiratory distress. The incidence of respiratory distress leading to brain damage again is minimal, practically zero," said Dr. Michael Gamache, neuropsychologist.

    http://www.nbc-2.com/story/14534969/...n-brain-damage

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    Lords of Chaos ringleader's fate now up to judge

    As Kevin Foster was escorted back to the Lee County Jail, he didn't even glance into the gallery Friday on his way to resuming his life in prison at Union Correctional Institution at Raiford.

    For four days, Foster listened and took notes as experts testified about his rough family life, the defect in his brain and how he suffers from bipolar disorder. He also listened as state witnesses shot down the theory Foster suffers from debilitating disorders that weren't discovered 15 years ago.

    Attorneys spent four days and tens of thousands of tax dollars trying to convince Lee Circuit Judge Edward Volz Jr. whether Foster deserves a new penalty phase and chance at a life sentence. The judge told attorneys to provide written closing arguments within two weeks, but probably won't provide a written order on his decision for several months.

    Either way, the losing side will appeal to the Florida Supreme Court.

    Foster, the famed Lords of Chaos ringleader, was convicted in 1998 of the 1996 murder of Riverdale High School band director Mark Schwebes.

    Foster's gang of teen friends torched the Coca-Cola bottling plant in Fort Myers and The Hut restaurant in Buckingham before planning to do the same to the school. Schwebes caught several members before they could damage the school and Foster hatched a plan to kill him at his Pine Manor house. Foster fatally shot Schwebes at close range.

    Foster attorney Terri Lynn Backhus tried to show Volz that Foster's trial attorneys - Robert Jacobs and Marquin Rinard - didn't present enough evidence about his mental makeup and family history and instead relied on showing he was a "good kid worth saving." The penalty phase follows a first-degree murder conviction and provides attorneys a chance to convince the jury whether the defendant should be sentenced to life or death. Foster's jury voted 9-3 to put him to death.

    "I think we did what we set out to do," Backhus said. "What we're trying to show is had this evidence been presented to a jury, they would have had a better idea of who Kevin Foster was."

    She said experts she called provided analysis of family history, physical attributes, a pictorial history of brain testing and other aspects that present a more complete picture of Foster. At trial, Backhus said, the defense attorneys relied on Foster's mother, Ruby Foster, to prove he deserved a life sentence instead of death.

    "That's exactly the wrong thing to do - that's what happened in this case," Backhus said. "In death-penalty cases, it's just different. When someone's life is at stake, you have to do more. Death is different."

    But prosecutors David Maijala and Jennifer Gutmore were confident in their witnesses, who testified Foster doesn't suffer from the mental disorders defense experts said he does.

    "I think (the hearing) was successful in combatting what the defense witnesses said," Maijala said.

    Schwebes' sister, Pat Schwebes Dunbar, sat through the entire hearing and said some details were difficult to listen to, but she understands the process.

    "They're fighting for his life - I would be doing the same thing," Dunbar said. "I can't say I'm sympathetic, but I can understand that sort of thing."

    http://www.news-press.com/article/20...ll|text|Home|s

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    Judge denies Lords of Chaos ringleader's request to overturn death sentence

    Lee Circuit Judge Edward Volz has issued an order denying convicted killer Kevin Foster’s latest effort to overturn his death sentence.

    Foster, ringleader of the Lords of Chaos, was convicted of 1st-degree murder and sentenced to death in 1998 for the 1996 murder of Riverdale High School band teacher Mark Schwebes.

    Assistant State Attorneys Jennifer Gutmore and David Maijala handled the post-conviction proceedings.

    “We are very pleased with the outcome of the case and believe that it is just,” Gutmore said in a statement.

    (Source: The News-Press)

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