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Thread: Teddy Chester - Louisiana

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    Teddy Chester - Louisiana




    Facts of the Crime:

    Convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of cab driver John Adams on December 27, 1995.
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    Last edited by Michael; 01-13-2014 at 04:51 AM. Reason: picture

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    July 21, 2010

    Kenner man seeks to waive his appeal rights and be executed

    A Kenner man on death row for killing a cab driver during an armed robbery attempt in Metairie 15 years ago says he wants to give up his appeal rights and have his death sentenced carried out.

    Teddy Chester, 32, who in recent years has tried unsuccessfully to get new attorneys appointed to handle his post-conviction proceedings and then fought to represent himself without a lawyer, announced his decision in papers he filed in court last month. He wrote he is of "sound body and mind" and wants to "forgo any and all of my post-conviction remedies and proceed directly to execution."

    "He's basically saying, 'Kill me,'" Gary Clements, director of the Capital Post-Conviction Project of Louisiana, told Judge Ellen Kovach of the 24th Judicial District Court during a hearing Wednesday.

    When Kovach questioned Chester about his wants, he said nothing about an execution.

    "I want to bypass all my appeals," he told the judge while flanked by 2 correctional officers who escorted him to Gretna from the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola.

    Chester was 19 when he was convicted of 2nd-degree murder and sentenced to die for killing John Adams, 34, who was found in his cab in the 700 block of Calhoun Street 3 days after Christmas in 1995. A 2nd man, Elbert Ratcliff, was later convicted of 2nd-degree murder in the case. Ratcliff and Chester blamed each other for the killing.

    Whether Chester is serious largely rests on the results of mental evaluations.

    "What his true intentions are, your honor, I wouldn't venture to guess," Assistant District Attorney Terry Boudreaux told Kovach.

    Chester has sought to have an attorney appointed to his case fired, but Kovach has ruled that the indigent cannot pick and choose lawyers. Clements called Chester's execution request "another attempt" to get a new lawyer.

    "I don't think it's a genuine motion to have himself executed," Clements said.

    Chester's request is reminiscent of Gerald Bordelon, 47, who gave up his appeal rights and was executed in January. He was convicted of kidnapping, raping and strangling his 12-year-old stepdaughter in Livingston Parish in 2002.

    The state Supreme Court last year said in granting Bordelon's request that any person convicted of a crime has the right to waive their appeals, but "the unique severity of capital punishment requires unique procedures for assuring that any waiver is made knowingly and intelligently."

    As such, the court noted that a sanity commission "must show by clear and convincing evidence" that the person understands what they're doing. Kovach noted the court's Bordelon decision and ordered an "extensive evaluation" for Chester by forensic psychologist Rafael Salcedo and forensic psychiatrist Richard Richoux.

    Clements called for "repeated" evaluations and also said he wants to determine whether Chester is mentally retarded. If found to be so, Chester would not be eligible for the death penalty under a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court decision. If such a finding would be made, Chester automatically would be sentenced to life in prison, Clements said.

    "We believe it is something that is present," Clements said of retardation.

    (Source: The Times-Picayune)

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    August 21, 2010

    Kenner man sentenced to death in cabbie's murder is seeking a new trial

    By Paul Purpura
    The Times-Picayune

    A Kenner man's conviction and death sentence for killing a cab driver in Metairie nearly 15 years ago should be tossed out in part because a prosecutor during the trial, former Judge Ronald Bodenheimer, misled the jury with questionable DNA evidence and did not properly disclose information tied to the genetic material, an attorney says in papers filed in court Wednesday.

    As such, Teddy Chester, 32, deserves a new trial in the Dec. 27, 1995, death of John Adams, 34, who was shot in the back of the head in his cab during an attempted armed robbery. Chester was convicted of first-degree murder and sent to Louisiana's Death Row, and his conviction since has been upheld on appeals. But his case warrants a new look in light of newly obtained information, wrote Gary Clements, director of the Capital Post-Conviction Project of Louisiana.

    Chester appeared in court Wednesday for an unrelated hearing on whether three doctors appointed to his case last month have the expertise to evaluate his mental state in light of his request in June to waive his right to appeal and proceed to his execution.

    Chester's conviction largely was based on the DNA evidence obtained from blood spots found on his cap and the testimony of Chester's ex-girlfriend and her sister, Clements said. The sisters had questionable motives for testifying against Chester, and the blood, containing a mixture of DNA that included Adams', cannot be traced to Chester, he said.

    "That Mr. Chester was convicted on the basis of false and misleading forensic evidence, moreover, is unfortunately not surprising given that one of his prosecutors, who presented much of the evidence, was Ronald Bodenheimer, who was later convicted of planting evidence, among other public corruption charges," Clements wrote.

    Bodenheimer later became a 24th Judicial District Court judge and was arrested in 2002 by the FBI in part on charges that he conspired to plant illegal narcotics on Eric Boe, who opposed the judge's Venetian Isles Marina in eastern New Orleans.

    Bodenheimer later pleaded guilty to corruption charges, including to trying to frame Boe, and received a 46-month prison sentence.

    This is not the first death penalty case in which Bodenheimer was accused of cheating to win a conviction. Glen Seals, 46, who was sentenced to die for killing a cab driver in Elmwood in 1991, accused Bodenheimer three years ago of hiding evidence. Seals was convicted a second time last year for the murder and is serving life in prison.

    Another death-row inmate, Manuel Ortiz, 52, convicted of a murder-for-hire scheme that left his wife and her friend dead in Kenner in 1992, alleges that Bodenheimer cheated so he deserves a new trial. A ruling on Ortiz's claims is pending.

    Jefferson Parish prosecutors had not seen Clements' request and had no comment. Judge Ellen Kovach of the 24th Judicial District Court gave Assistant District Attorney Terry Boudreaux until Sept. 9 to file a response.

    Clements said a new witness claims he saw Elbert Ratcliff get out of Adams' cab after the shooting, holding a gun, and then saw Chester get out. Chester was convicted in May 1997 of being the killer, while Ratcliff was convicted of second-degree murder and is serving a life sentence in prison. Chester admitted to being in the cab but said Ratcliff pulled the trigger. The prosecutors rejected that claim, saying that Adams' DNA on Chester's cap proves he was the shooter.

    Clements claims that Bodenheimer presented false DNA evidence to the jury in convicting Chester, and the trial attorneys erred in doing nothing to investigate the genetic tests. Further, Clements wrote, the DNA testing destroyed the blood evidence on the cap, leaving nothing else to test, and a vial of Adams' blood was destroyed without the defense attorneys being notified.

    Clements cites a recent review of the state's DNA evidence against Chester that revealed "myriad problems with both the process and the results," problems the prosecution team did not share with Chester's attorneys. That, Clements wrote, violated Chester's right to a fair trial.

    Meanwhile, Kovach ruled Wednesday that a team of doctors is qualified to evaluate Chester in light of his request to represent himself -- and then waive his right to appeal and be executed. Clements sought the hearing to question the doctors' expertise, and he also alleges that Chester is mentally retarded and therefore immune from the death penalty under a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court decision.

    http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/..._to_death.html

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    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Kenner killer fights his attorneys who fight his death sentence

    Teddy Chester's attorneys, family and psychologists say he is mentally retarded, and so should be exempt from execution for fatally shooting cab driver John Adams during a robbery attempt in Kenner 18 years ago. But Chester, who turned 36 Sunday as a Death Row inmate at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, will have none of it.

    In a Jefferson Parish courtroom this week, Chester persistently refuses to cooperate with his attorneys, disregarding their advice against testifying and accusing witnesses of lying when they described him as intellectually disabled, a slow learner unable to care for himself as a child who never made it past the eighth grade. Chester even asked whether he could stop attending the hearing, where his defense team argues for a ruling that could spare his life.

    "They're exercising their rights -- not mine," Chester told Judge Ellen Kovach of the 24th Judicial District Court. "I'm sitting here handcuffed, shackled -- discomfort -- for no reason."

    Chester's attorneys, of The Capital Appeals Project in New Orleans, which represents indigent people sentenced to die, and his psychologists say his obstinate reaction to the legal argument is typical for people diagnosed as mentally retarded. "As a rule, they hate the label, which is understandable," psychologist Stephen Greenspan of Colorado testified this week.

    Such people have spent a lifetime refuting such a diagnosis, the experts said. Chester, they say, would rather give up his appeals than accept the label.

    "Would they rather die?" attorney Sarah Ottinger asked California psychologist Dale Watson. "Sometimes," he replied.

    The district attorney's office isn't conceding that Chester is mentally retarded. It is fighting to leave the death sentence intact.

    At issue this week is the U.S. Supreme Court's 2002 decision in Atkins v. Virginia. In it, justices ruled that executing mentally retarded people violates the 8th Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.

    Generally, such people have an IQ below 75. Chester's measures date from his early teenage years, when he scored a 63 on a test in connection with a government disability claim.

    Greenspan said Chester refused to be evaluated more recently. Greenspan testified he reached his conclusions of mental retardation by reviewing medical records and speaking with the convict's family. He said Chester's school records provide the red flag.

    "It's one of the worst examples of school failure, over a period of years, that I've seen," Greenspan testified Tuesday. "Certainly this is a kid who should have been in special education since day one."

    More recently, Katie Ard, a psychologist employed by the Louisiana Department of Corrections at Angola, measured his IQ at 96. She testified Wednesday that the Chester's intellect is "in the average range."

    The psychologists retained by the defense team conceded that people can malinger, or lie, in attempts to score low on mental retardation assessments. "It's possible sometimes for someone to fake it," Greenspan testified. "I've seen it."

    But Greenspan said he thinks Chester's diagnosis is on target. "I'm pretty confident that these are valid scores," he testified. Questioned by Assistant District Attorney Terry Boudreaux, Greenspan was at a loss to explain Chester's more recent high score.

    "I do find this to be puzzling," Greenspan testified. "Because it's certainly not in line with everything we know about Mr. Chester."

    The hearing resumes Thursday at 1:30 p.m., and Kovach could rule quickly on whether Chester is mentally retarded. If she rejects the claim, Chester remains on Death Row as his attorneys fight the sentence on other grounds. If she finds that Chester is, in fact, intellectually disabled, he would be automatically sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison.

    Chester was 18 years old when Adams was killed. He says he is innocent.

    He and Elbert Ratcliff of River Ridge were convicted of killing Adams, 34, during the robbery attempt on Dec. 27, 1995. Each blames the other.

    Both were indicted on charges of first-degree murder, but prosecutors tried Ratcliff for second-degree murder. He was convicted of that charge in 1997 and is serving a mandatory life sentence in prison. Now 43, Ratcliff ,is still fighting his conviction, court records show.

    Chester was convicted of being the shooter. He has sought to fire his court-appointed attorneys at The Capital Appeals Project several times in recent years, alleging they are violating his "conditions of employment," and says he wants to represent himself. Kovach has denied the requests, as recently as this week.

    Also, Chester insists he wants to testify. His attorneys -- Ottinger, Blythe Taplin and Michael Admirand -- oppose it and have argued this week that he has no legal right to testify in post-conviction proceedings, unlike the trial phases of criminal prosecutions.

    Kovach disagreed and said she'll let Chester testify. But she appears to have gone to lengths to ensure Chester understands the effect that his testimony could have on her decision on whether he remains on Death Row.

    "They are experts," she told him. "This is what they do. They've handled many cases like this. You are not an expert."

    http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/...orneys_wh.html
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

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

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    Kenner killer on Death Row not mentally retarded, Jefferson Parish judge rules

    By Paul Purpura
    The Times-Picayune

    Even as his attorneys fought in a Jefferson Parish courtroom to overturn his death sentence, by arguing he's mentally retarded, convicted Kenner killer Teddy Chester resisted their efforts step for step. On Death Row for fatally shooting cab driver John Adams 18 years ago, Chester, 36, denies he's intellectually disabled and even gave convincing legal argument as he sought to wrest control of his case from the attorneys who sought to spare his life.

    On Friday, Chester got what he wanted. After hearing testimony psychologists and other witnesses, Judge Ellen Kovach of the 24th Judicial District Court ruled Chester is not mentally retarded.

    Kovach left intact the death sentence Chester was given in 1997 for shooting Adams in the back of his head during an armed robbery attempt. Had Kovach sided with Chester's attorneys and found him to be mentally retarded, Chester automatically would have been sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison. Now he'll remain an inmate on Death Row at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola.

    Chester's attorneys, with The Capital Appeals Project in New Orleans, still have other arguments to make in fighting his first-degree murder conviction. Among them is Chester's assertion that he was wrongly convicted of a murder that he says his friend, Elbert Ratcliff of River Ridge, actually committed on that morning in December 1995. Ratcliff was convicted of second-degree murder and is serving a life sentence in prison. He alleges that Chester was the gunman.

    In court records, the attorneys say they have unearthed witnesses who support Chester's assertion of innocence. Those include a witness purporting to have seen Ratcliff with the gun, and others who say they heard Ratcliff boast he killed Adams and pinned it on Chester. Chester's trial attorneys did not have this information, the appellate attorneys say.

    Chester in recent years has fought his court-appointed attorneys. He has sought to represent himself so he could stop his appeals and be executed. Kovach has denied his requests.

    His lead attorney, Sarah Ottinger, said Thursday that Chester has taken his attorneys off his list of approved visitors at the prison. She said he also has taken the attorneys off the list of people approved to call him or to mail items to him, meaning he isn't getting legal documents.

    http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/...tally_ret.html

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    Kenner death row inmate seeks to fire his attorneys and end his appeals - again

    By Paul Purpura
    The Times-Picayune

    Louisiana death row inmate Teddy Chester, who as a Kenner teenager was convicted of and sentenced to die for killing a cab driver in Metairie 18 years ago, has launched another bid to fire his attorneys, represent himself and end his appeals. In court papers filed Monday (May 12) in the 24th Judicial District Court in Gretna, Chester, 36, claims his court-appointed attorneys are "representing their own agendas against the death penalty."

    His lead attorney, Sarah Ottinger, executive director of the Capital Appeals Project in New Orleans, could not be reached immediately for comment Tuesday.

    His complaints mirror those he raised four years ago, when he asked a judge to let him represent himself so he could waive his post-conviction process and be executed. His attorneys then doubted his veracity.

    Chester was convicted in 1997 of first-degree murder and sentenced to die, for killing John Adams, 36, during an armed robbery two days after Christmas in 1995. Adams' body was found in his cab, in the 700 block of Calhoun Street.

    Chester's cohort, Elbert Ratcliff, was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison for his role in the crime. He and Chester blamed each other for the killing.

    Chester's attorneys insist he's innocent, and his current attorneys have said they have witnesses who saw Ratcliff with the gun and heard him later boasting that he killed Adams.

    In 2010, Chester sought to fire his attorneys, waive his appeals and have his death sentence carried out. Judge Ellen Kovach of the 24th Judicial District at the time declined to allow him to fire his attorneys, saying inmates aren't entitled to choose their court-appointed lawyers.

    In November, Kovach shot down Chester's attorneys' argument that he is mentally retarded and so is immune from the death penalty under a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court decision. During a series of hearings that preceded Kovach's ruling, Chester insisted he's not intellectually disabled. He sought then, too, to proceed with his appeals by representing himself.

    Ottinger told Kovach in November that Chester had taken the attorneys off his visitation list at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, where the state's death row is housed. Kovach suggested then that he try to get along with his attorneys.

    In a letter he wrote to the judge in March, Chester said he tried to get along with his attorneys and even placed Ottinger and an investigator back on his visitation list. But he also complains about the attorneys and says that "the choice to be executed in the state of Louisiana is not illegal and is for the accused to make."

    He asks for a hearing at which he can argue his wants anew. No hearings have been set.

    http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/...ate_seeks.html

  7. #7
    Weidmann1939
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    I think for Teddy Chester and others on death row across the country. Firing their attorneys and representing themselves is the only way they have of regaining a measure of control in their lives.

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    Senior Member CnCP Legend Mike's Avatar
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    Man on death row for 1995 slaying of cab driver in Metairie exhausts state appeals

    Teddy Chester, who was sentenced to death for the 1995 slaying of a cab driver in Metairie, has long expressed his desire to end his appeals and subject himself to execution.

    However, it wasn't until Friday that the Louisiana Supreme Court denied his attorneys' attempts to overturn their client's death sentence, most likely marking the end to the appeals available to him under the state court system.

    Meanwhile, in extraordinary remarks published Friday, one of the Supreme Court justices said that if it were solely up to him, he would send the case back to the Jefferson Parish courthouse in Gretna so that a judge there could sign a death warrant for Chester.

    Echoing recent sentiments from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, state Supreme Court Justice Scott Crichton wrote that "interminable delays in the execution of a death sentence may at some point constitute cruelty toward the convicted."

    "A review of this matter reveals the extensive due process afforded to Chester which, as of 2016, has spanned twenty exhaustive years and involved numerous taxpayer-subsidized lawyers at unspeakable monetary cost to our state," Crichton wrote. "It is time for justice to be served for this vicious, cold-blooded murder committed so many years ago."

    Chester, now 39, does have the opportunity to seek what is known as post-conviction relief under the federal court system. In filings that prompted Crichton's remarks, Chester indicated he does not want to pursue that avenue, though a statement from his lead appellate attorney suggested that his legal team will.

    That attorney, Cecelia Kappel, said she agrees with Crichton that "the solitary confinement of more than 20 years of someone who is actually innocent of the crime that he is convicted of is cruel and unusual."

    She added, "Moving forward, I am hopeful we can obtain swift review from the federal courts, because he is long overdue for his claims to be heard."

    http://www.theadvocate.com/new_orlea...4d2bc2d52.html
    "There is a point in the history of a society when it becomes so pathologically soft and tender that among other things it sides even with those who harm it, criminals, and does this quite seriously and honestly. Punishing somehow seems unfair to it, and it is certain that imagining ‘punishment’ and ‘being supposed to punish’ hurts it, arouses fear in it." Friedrich Nietzsche

  9. #9
    pro pro
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    Does that mean he'll be executed soon or is there a waiting line?

  10. #10
    Moderator Ryan's Avatar
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    Hard to tell if LA has the drugs available to hand.

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