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Thread: Jeffrey Tyrone Riggs - Alabama

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    Jeffrey Tyrone Riggs - Alabama




    Facts of the Crime:

    Despite a jury's recommendation of a life sentence without parole, Circuit Judge Clyde Jones sentenced Jeffrey Riggs to death on June 14, 2010 for the 2008 shooting death of his fromer girlfriend, Norber Lea Payne. Riggs kicked in the kitchen door of Payne's apartment and shot her four times while her two teenage daughters slept in another room.

    Attorneys for Riggs argued that he had had no previous criminal history and that the killing stemmed from jealousy and was not premeditated. The judge said Riggs waited until a night when his own toddler was out of her mother's home before shooting Payne.

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    June 15, 2010

    Ala. judge overrides jury, imposes death sentence

    A judge sentenced a 40-year-old Birmingham man to death for killing his former girlfriend despite a jury's recommendation of a life sentence without parole.

    Circuit Judge Clyde Jones sentenced Jeffrey Riggs on Monday for the 2008 shooting death of Norber Lea Payne.

    Riggs kicked in the kitchen door of Payne's apartment and shot her four times while her 2 teenage daughters slept in another room.

    Attorneys for Riggs argued that he had no previous criminal history and that the killing stemmed from jealousy and was not premeditated.

    The judge said Riggs waited until a night when his own toddler was out of her mother's home before shooting Payne.

    (source: Associated Press)


    Spurned boyfriend given death sentence for capital murder

    At 2:19 A.M. on January 10, 2008, Jeffrey Tyrone Riggs, 38 at that time, kicked open the door to the bedroom of his estranged girlfriend, Norber Lea Payne and shot her 4 times through the head with a .50 caliber hand gun, while her 2 teen aged daughters slept in another room. She was also mother to a toddler by Riggs which was at his parents home that night.

    When day came, Riggs called the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and told them of the shooting and that he was now at his parents home. He was taken into custody and charged with capital murder. They also found the handgun which was used in the shooting in his parents home.

    Under Alabama law, a guilty of capital murder decision has but one of 2 sentences, either life imprisonment without parole, or the death sentence. Jurors are asked to make a decision in the matter but it can be changed by the judge. In the Riggs case, they jury recommended the life in prison by a 10-2 vote. The Circuit Judge Clyde Jones opted for the death sentence. Judge Jones made his decision based upon three factors:

    (1) The accused shot the victim while she slept in bed, with no possible chance to defend herself or to flee.

    (2) The size of the weapon, which the judge said was the largest handgun he had seen in his 30 years on the bench.

    (3) Since the trial had shown the victim had been threatened by the accused after she had begun dating another man, the judge deemed that this was an execution based on the idea, "If I can't have her, no one else will either."

    (source: Birmingham Crime Examiner)

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    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Death sentence reversed for Jefferson County man

    The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals has overturned the capital murder conviction and death sentence of a Jefferson County man.

    Jeffery Tyrone Riggs had been convicted in the January 2008 shooting death of his former girlfriend, Norber Payne, at her apartment in Center Point.

    The Court of Criminal Appeals agreed unanimously with Riggs' argument that the jury instructions should have included comments about the state's burden to prove that he didn't act in the heat of passion.

    Riggs contended that should have been part of the instructions because he testified that he shot Payne after she hit him in the eye with a door and after she came at him with what he thought was a knife.

    The ruling opens the door for Riggs to get a new trial.

    http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/ne...#ixzz2SGMtMV5G
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    Re-trial underway for Alabama Death Row inmate convicted of shooting woman 4 times

    The re-trial of a Birmingham man, who spent several years on Alabama's death row for the 2008 shooting death of his estranged girlfriend, began Tuesday.

    A prosecutor in opening statements to jurors described Jeffery Tyrone Riggs as "cold" and "callous" when he killed 40-year-old Norber Payne at her Center Point apartment on Jan. 10, 2008 after she had ended a seven-year relationship with him.

    "If he couldn't have her, nobody could," said Deputy Jefferson County District Attorney Julie McMakin.

    One of Riggs' attorneys, Deputy Jefferson County Public Defender Bill Dawson, told jurors that they will hear evidence of self-defense, that Riggs did not go there with the intent to kill Payne but shot when he saw the black handle of a knife - or fork - in her hand. "We submit it was a dark hallway and (happened) in a matter of five seconds. ... I'm telling you this is not a capital case," he said.

    McMakin said Riggs kicked in Payne's door, ran down the hall and "assassinated" her in her bed by shooting her four times with a .50-caliber Desert Eagle pistol before running away.

    McMakin quoted from Riggs' call minutes later to sheriff's dispatchers: "'This is Jeffery Riggs. I just shot my baby mama. You can come and get me.'"

    Payne's two daughters, ages 18 and 20, were in the apartment at the time. "They witnessed her taking her last breathe ... They have tried to forget the worst night of their life," McMakin said.

    To return a capital murder verdict jurors will have to decide whether Riggs was committing a burglary and intended to kill Payne.

    Dawson said it wasn't a burglary. Riggs had a key to the apartment and had stayed at the apartment the night before, he said.

    The night of the shooting Payne had slammed the door on Riggs, hitting Riggs in his face, following an argument, Dawson said. He had seen her with one of her co-workers, he said.

    Damage to the apartment door had occurred in the weeks before Payne died and that Riggs had even tried to repair it, Dawson told jurors.

    Also, Riggs had a legal pistol permit to carry the gun, a permit that he had renewed annually for 15 years, Dawson said.

    Public Defender Trial Attorney Texys Morris also represents Riggs. Deputy Jefferson County District Attorney Mike Anderton also is prosecuting the case.

    The trial is being held before Jefferson County Circuit Judge Clyde Jones.

    At his first trial in 2010 the jury convicted Riggs of capital murder and then recommended he be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. But Judge Jones overrode the jury recommendation and sentenced Riggs to death.

    In May 2013 the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals overturned Riggs' death sentence and conviction saying that Judge Jones did not accurately charge the jury, leading jurors to convict him of capital murder rather than the lesser crime of manslaughter.

    "(The circuit court) did not instruct the jury that to find Riggs guilty of capital murder, it must first find that the state proved beyond a reasonable doubt the absence of heat of passion," according to the appeals court ruling.

    Attorneys with the Equal Justice Initiative, a Montgomery nonprofit that focuses on criminal justice in the state, represented Riggs on his appeal.

    http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/in...l#incart_river
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Jury deliberating in re-trial of Alabama Death Row inmate in shooting of woman 4 times

    A jury today will continue its deliberations in the re-trial of a Birmingham man who spent several years on Alabama's death row for the 2008 shooting death of his estranged girlfriend.

    Jeffery Tyrone Riggs, 45, is charged with capital murder in the Jan. 10, 2008 shooting death of 40-year-old Norber Payne at a Center Point apartment. The couple had been in a seven-year relationship and had a child together.

    The jury began deliberations Tuesday afternoon after listening to Jefferson County Circuit Judge Clyde Jones' instructions on the law and closing arguments by defense attorneys and prosecutors.The trial had begun Jan. 26 with jury selection.

    Deputy Jefferson County District Attorney Julie McMakin said Riggs was "cold" and "callous", with no tears or emotion, when he called sheriff's dispatchers and told them "my name is Jeffery Riggs. I just shot my baby mama. You can come and get me."

    Riggs kicked in a door of the apartment and shot and killed Payne at close range with a .50-caliber Desert Eagle pistol while she lay naked on a bed, McMakin said. He did it because he was mad about her relationship with another man, she said. "If he couldn't have Norber Payne, nobody could have Norber Payne," she told the jurors in her closing remarks.

    One of Riggs' attorneys, Jefferson County Public Defender Trial Attorney Texys Morris, however, said that Payne's death was a "tragedy" for Riggs. "For Mr. Riggs the love of his life is gone," she said.

    "But tragedy doesn't have to lead to further tragedy, which a capital murder conviction would bring," Morris said.

    Morris argued Riggs killed Payne in self-defense.

    If convicted of the capital murder charge, Riggs could again wind up on death row. The jury also could consider convicting him of murder or manslaughter or rule it was self-defense and acquit him.

    Riggs testified Monday that he had gone to the apartment to talk to Payne. He said they were talking at the backdoor when he started asking her about her relationship with another man. Payne pushed the door into his face, Riggs said.

    "That's when everything went haywire," Riggs said.

    Riggs said he thought Payne had a knife, which defense attorneys say turned out to be a fork, in her hand. "If I didn't (shoot) she would have killed me," Riggs said.

    One of the key issues jurors will have to determine is whether Riggs was living at the apartment at the time of Payne's death. Burglary is an element of the capital murder charge against Riggs - that he kicked the door open and entered unlawfully. But a person can't burglarize their own home.

    Riggs said the apartment was his home, but Deputy Jefferson County District Attorney Mike Anderton pointed out during cross examination that when he was arrested that night Riggs gave Jefferson County Sheriff's Deputies another address as his home.

    During closing statements, McMakin also argued that Riggs didn't have a key to the apartment and that he had been kicked out because of an earlier violent incident.

    Morris said there was evidence Riggs had spent the night at the apartment the day before and that he did have a key. She said investigators did not look for male clothing in the apartment.

    Damage to the door was not from Riggs, but had come from an earlier burglary at the apartment, Morris said. Signs of the door's repair were still evident, she said.

    Deputy Jefferson County Public Defender Bill Dawson also had said earlier that Riggs had a permit to carry a gun for years.

    At his first trial in 2010 the jury convicted Riggs of capital murder and then recommended he be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. But Judge Jones overrode the jury recommendation and sentenced Riggs to death.

    In May 2013 the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals overturned Riggs' death sentence and conviction saying that Judge Jones did not accurately charge the jury, leading jurors to convict him of capital murder rather than the lesser crime of manslaughter.

    http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/in...l#incart_river
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Alabama Death Row inmate found guilty of capital murder again at re-trial for 2008 shooting death

    A Birmingham man could return to Alabama's death row after a jury this morning convicted him in a second for the 2008 shooting death of his estranged girlfriend.

    Jeffery Tyrone Riggs, 45, was found guilty of capital murder in the Jan. 10, 2008 shooting death of 40-year-old Norber Payne at her Center Point apartment. The couple had been in a seven-year relationship and had a child together.

    The jury deliberated about three hours Tuesday afternoon and another hour and a half today before rendering its verdict. The trial had begun Jan. 26 with jury selection before Jefferson County Circuit Judge Clyde Jones.

    This afternoon an Atkins hearing will be held to determine whether Riggs is intellectually disabled. If he is ruled to be intellectually disabled, he could not be sentenced to die and would not have to return to death row. He would instead automatically get a life without the possibility of parole sentence.

    If Judge Jones does not declare Riggs intellectually disabled then the jury would be brought back tomorrow for a hearing to determine whether jurors recommend a life without the possibility of parole sentence or death.

    At his first trial in 2010 the jury convicted Riggs of capital murder and then recommended he be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. But Judge Jones overrode the jury recommendation and sentenced Riggs to death.

    In May 2013 the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals overturned Riggs' death sentence and conviction saying that Judge Jones did not accurately charge the jury, leading jurors to convict him of capital murder rather than the lesser crime of manslaughter.

    http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/in...ate_found.html
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

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    Alabama Death Row inmate ruled eligible for death sentence in re-trial of girlfriend's slaying

    A judge ruled Thursday that Jeffery Riggs is not mentally disabled, a decision that allows a jury to consider a recommendation that he be returned to Alabama Death Row for the slaying of his girlfriend, who also was his cousin.

    Riggs, 45, was found guilty Wednesday of capital murder
    in the Jan. 10, 2008 shooting death of 40-year-old Norber Payne at her Center Point apartment. The couple had been in a seven-year relationship and had a child together.

    Riggs had been convicted and sentenced to death in 2010 but won an appeal for a second trial.

    After the current jury announced its verdict Wednesday afternoon, jurors were sent home so Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Clyde Jones could conduct a hearing to determine whether Riggs is mentally disabled. Persons deemed mentally disabled can't be executed.

    After listening to experts Wednesday afternoon and Thursday regarding Riggs' Intelligence Quotient and abilities, Jones ruled Riggs was not mentally disabled.

    The jury will now return Friday morning to determine whether it should recommend Riggs be sentenced to death or life without the possibility of parole. The jury at Riggs' first trial recommended life without parole, but Jones had overridden the recommendation and sentenced Riggs to death.

    A hearing to determine whether he was mentally disabled was not held before Riggs' first trial because his Intelligence Quotient (IQ) was 73, which is above the 70 IQ threshold in Alabama for determining whether a person can be executed.

    While that threshold is still there, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that states can no longer use just the rigid numbers to determine whether someone is mentally disabled. In borderline cases, the courts must consider other factors to determine whether a person is eligible to be sentenced to death, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled.

    Riggs was struck by a car when he was 9-years-old, suffering multiple broken bones and had a brain injury, a relative testified at his mental disability hearing. Riggs' and Paynes' fathers were brothers, according to testimony from the relative.

    One of Riggs' attorneys, Jefferson County Public Defender Trial Attorney Texys Morris argued for the judge to declare Riggs mentally disabled. Deputy Jefferson County Public Defender Bill Dawson also is defending Riggs.

    Deputy Jefferson County District Attorney Mike Anderton argued that in the 35 years since his accident had functioned well in the world. Riggs had earned his GED and a welding certificate, and a commercial driver's license. Riggs also had worked at increasingly difficult jobs, including head chef at an O'Charley's and the driver for a beverage company, he said.

    Riggs' IQ of 73 falls under the definition of mildly mentally retarded, but that number also comes with a margin of error of plus or minus 5.

    Deputy Jefferson County District Attorneys Blake Milner and Julie McMakin also prosecuted the case.

    http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/in...l#incart_river
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Senior Member CnCP Addict maybeacomedian's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Helen69 View Post
    Alabama Death Row inmate ruled eligible for death sentence in re-trial of girlfriend's slaying

    ... for the slaying of his girlfriend, who also was his cousin. ...

    ... The couple had been in a seven-year relationship and had a child together. ...
    Would this mean that his child is also his second-cousin?

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    Maybeacomedian please remember that Birmingham is part of Appalachia,and Alabama does permit first cousin marriage.

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    Jury recommends life without parole in re-trial of Alabama Death Row inmate

    Jeffery Riggs and the girlfriend he's charged with killing in 2008 are cousins who were forced to perform sex acts with each other as young children, a defense expert told jurors at Riggs' sentencing hearing today.

    Claims about the alleged sexual abuse, however, came only from Riggs, the expert said. But the expert said she believes the claims are credible.

    After hearing those and other claims a jury deliberated 30 minutes before voting 8-4 to recommend Riggs, 45, be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for the Jan. 10, 2008 shooting death of 40-year-old Norber Payne. The couple had been in an on-again-off-again seven-year relationship and had a child together, according to testimony.

    Judge Clyde Jones will take the jury's recommendation into consideration when handing down a sentence in the case on April 20. This is the second trial for Riggs. After the first trial Judge Jones overrode a jury's life without parole recommendation and sentenced Riggs to death.

    Riggs eventually won a new trial after several years on Alabama Death Row. An appeals court ruled the judge had not given the jury a correct instruction.

    Deputy Jefferson County District Attorney Mike Anderton said the prosecutors were pleased with the guilty verdict in the case. "We thought our evidence came out well in the course of the trial. It certainly proved he (Riggs) killed Norbert Payne in her own home and in her own bed after he burglarized her house."

    Deputy Jefferson County Public Defender Bill Dawson said they are relieved the jury did not recommend death "and still intend to avail ourselves of all appellate rights."

    Joanne Terrell, a professor at the University of Alabama School of Social Work and a trial mitigation expert, testified about some of the mitigating factors.

    Riggs was 9-years-old when he was struck by a car and suffered multiple broken bones and a brain injury, Terrell said. When he was around 10-years-old he was the victim of sexual abuse by the boyfriend of an aunt, she said.

    The boyfriend forced Riggs to have sex with female children while he watched, Terrell said. Payne was one of those children Riggs was forced to have sex with, she said.

    Riggs' and Payne's fathers were brothers. The two began a relationship as adults around 2002 and had a child together who is 8-years-old now, according to testimony. Riggs was married to another woman at the time he was seeing Payne.

    Riggs was drawn to Payne by a "trauma bond" because of the earlier sex abuse, Terrell said. That ultimately led to Riggs developing an obsession for Payne, he said.

    According to testimony at the trial Riggs shot Payne four times with a .50 caliber pistol after an argument about Payne's relationship with another man.

    Terrell, under cross examination by Anderton, said she learned about the sexual abuse allegations from Riggs. The only person Riggs said he told about the abuse is now dead, she said.

    But Terrell said she felt Riggs was telling the truth because he knew the nuances of sexual abuse.

    Anderton told jurors in closing statements that much of the information from Terrell came from Riggs own unverified self-reporting. Riggs changed his stories about several things, such as telling her he didn't drink much when he told another person he did, or when he told her he had hallucinations when he told someone else he didn't, he said.

    Payne was in her apartment with her two daughters when Riggs kicked the door in and shot Payne four times with a .50 caliber Desert Eagle pistol. The projectiles from the gun were bigger than quarters Anderton showed the jury.

    Riggs did not live at the apartment at that time and was mad because Payne was seeing another man, prosecutors said. "He (Riggs) decided to fix it so nobody could have her," Anderton said.

    "I submit to you that Norber Payne's death cries out for the death penalty in this case. It cries out for justice," Anderton said.

    Anderton told the jury he believes the aggravating circumstance of the burglary Riggs committed to get inside the apartment and kill Payne outweighs all the good things he had done. "Very few people have committed the atrocity that he has," he said.

    Defense attorneys had argued that Riggs had been talking at an apartment door when Payne pushed the door into Riggs. Riggs also claimed that Payne had been holding what he thought was a knife, but it turned out to be a fork.

    Riggs had no prior criminal history, was able to hold jobs as a chef and truck driver, coach little league, and despite quitting high school got his GED, defense attorneys and Terrell said. "This terrible thing that happened is completely out of character for him," Terrell said.

    Dawson told jurors that life without the possibility of parole is a sufficient punishment. The fact that Riggs and Payne were cousins "goes to the depth and the soul of what was probably going on in their lives," he said.

    The fact that Riggs and Payne were cousins and allegations of child sex abuse did not surface during Riggs' first trial, Riggs' mother told an AL.com reporter today.

    Texys Morris, a Jefferson County Public Defender trial attorney, talked to jurors about her opposition to the death penalty. She said that 82 percent of those executed in the U.S. since 1976 have been from the South.

    Riggs had lived more than 22 million minutes in his life and the tragedy that Riggs could lose his life over unfolded in less than two minutes, Morris said.

    http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/in...l#incart_river
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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