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Thread: Terrance Lee Anderson - Missouri Death Row

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    Terrance Lee Anderson - Missouri Death Row


    Debbie Jean Brittian Rainwater


    Stephen Rainwater




    Summary of Offense:

    Convicted and sentenced to death in the July 1997 murder of Debbie Rainwater. Anderson also was convicted of killing Stephen Rainwater and sentenced to life in prison without possibility of probation or parole for his death.

    Anderson was resentenced to death on December 31, 2008.

  2. #2
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    December 31, 2008

    Poplar Bluff man's death sentence upheld by jury in Cape Girardeau County

    A Poplar Bluff, Mo., man was returned to death row Monday afternoon after he again was sentenced to die for killing his infant daughter's grandmother.

    Terrance L. Anderson was sentenced to death in accordance with the verdict, said assistant attorney general Robert Ahsens III.

    A Cape Girardeau County jury had reached that verdict in November after hearing testimony from multiple witnesses for the state and defense.

    The jury's death sentence was identical to what another Cape Girardeau County jury handed down in January 2001 after it convicted Anderson of 1st-degree murder in the July 1997 death of Debbie Rainwater. Anderson also was convicted of killing Stephen Rainwater and sentenced to life in prison without possibility of probation or parole for his death.

    In July 2006, the Missouri Supreme Court overturned the 32-year-old's death sentence and ordered a new penalty phase be held in his case before Presiding Circuit Judge William Syler.

    Before formally sentencing Anderson, Syler considered a motion for judgment of acquittal, or in the alternative, motion for a new trial filed by Anderson's attorney, Sharon Turlington with the Capital Public Defender's Office.

    "There was not a great deal of discussion about [the motion]; the court is familiar with the points they raised," Ahsens said. He said the court denied the motion for new trial and proceeded to sentencing.

    Ahsens said Syler could have sentenced Anderson to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

    "He had that option [but] most judges follow the verdict of the jury, and Judge Syler did that," he said.

    Sentencing in cases such as Anderson's doesn't "normally take that long," Ahsens said.

    Syler, who Ahsens described as an experienced judge, went over Anderson's post-conviction rights, "pronounced sentence — he's probably on his way back to prison."

    At the time of the murders, Anderson and the Rainwaters' then-17-year-old daughter, Abbey Rainwater, had dated and had an infant daughter together.

    The Rainwaters were killed July 25, 1997, at their home. Armed with a stolen handgun, Anderson forced his way into the Rainwater home, where he shot Debbie Rainwater in the head as she held his infant daughter. Anderson then ambushed Stephen Rainwater in the front yard when he arrived home.

    When Anderson forcibly entered the Rainwater home, the couple's daughters, Abbey and Whitney, then 11, as well as two of Abbey's friends, were there. After Abbey Rainwater ran for help, Anderson used Whitney, his daughter and one of the friends in an attempt to lure his ex-girlfriend and the other friend out of hiding.

    During November's penalty phase, Ahsens said, he put on evidence of the crime, as well as "some information about the impact of the murder on the girls and the rest of their families."

    The defense, he said, argued Anderson was operating under "extreme emotional distress over the difficulties he was having with Abbey Rainwater."

    One of the defense witnesses was Anderson, who testified on his own behalf.

    Ahsens said Anderson admitted he had gone to the Rainwater home "with the purpose to kill both of the Rainwaters, and kill Abbey as well."

    Anderson's testimony, he said, included "a lot of inconsistencies between what he said, what other people said and what the physical evidence demonstrated."

    (Source: The Daily American Republic)

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    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Inmate Personal Information

    DOB: 11/29/1975
    Race: Black
    Gender: Male

    Crime and Trial Information

    * County of conviction: Butler (on transfer
    from Cape Girardeau)
    * Number of counts: Two
    * Race of Victims: White/White
    * Gender of Victims: Male/Female (death
    sentence for female victim, life for male)
    * Date of crime: 7/25/1995
    * Date of Sentencing: 5/16/2001

    Legal Status

    Current Proceedings:
    Rule 29.15 PCR
    Filed: 07/19/2010
    Petition for Cert
    Filed: 7/19/2010

    Attorneys

    Valerie Leftwich
    Missouri Public Defender System

    Court Opinions

    State v. Anderson, 79 S.W.3d 420 (Mo. banc), cert. denied, 537 U.S. 898 (2002); Anderson v. State, 196 S.W.3d 28 (Mo. banc 2006) (remanded for retrial of penalty phase), cert. denied, 549 U.S. 1223 (2007); State v. Anderson, 306 S.W.3d 529 (Mo. banc 2010) (appeal after new sentencing hearing).

    Legal Issues

    On appeal from penalty phase retrial:
    1. whether defendant was prejudiced by erroneous omission of certain language from pattern instruction on “verdict mechanics”;
    2. whether state was prohibited, based on its failure to include aggravating circumstances in the information, from seeking death penalty at new penalty phase;
    3. whether defendant was “acquitted” at first penalty phase, so as to give rise to double jeopardy protections against death sentence at new penalty phase;
    4. whether pathologist's testimony about autopsy of other victim was admissible;
    5 whether death penalty scheme impermissibly shift edburden of proof in connection with weighing of aggravating and mitigating evidence;
    6. whether state is required, after proving beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of at least one

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    Terrance Anderson brings his death penalty case to the High Court this week

    A Poplar Bluff man’s capital murder case will go before the Missouri Supreme Court this week. 36-year-old Terrance Anderson sits on death row after he was sentenced to die for killing his infant daughter's grandmother in December 2008. A Cape County jury condemned him to death a month earlier. The jury's death sentence was identical to what another Cape County jury handed down in January 2001 after it convicted Anderson of 1st-degree murder in the July 1997 death of Debbie Rainwater. Anderson also was convicted of killing Stephen Rainwater and sentenced to life in prison for his death. At the time of the murders, Anderson and the Rainwaters' 17-year-old daughter, Abbey, had dated and had an infant daughter together. Anderson’s attorney will argue before the Missouri Supreme Court Thursday morning in Jefferson City. They are seeking relief for ineffective counsel and that Anderson’s mental health was not considered at sentencing by Judge William Syler. Anderson wants a new penalty phase before a new judge and his conviction reduced to life in prison. The hearing is at 9:30 AM.

    http://pro.kzim-am.tritonflex.com/co...1&post_id=8261
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    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Missouri high court orders judge off death row case

    The state Supreme Court has ordered a southeast Missouri judge to step aside from a case involving a death row inmate because of the appearance of impropriety.

    The high court ruled Tuesday that Cape Girardeau County Circuit Judge William Syler must recuse himself from hearing a motion for a new sentencing hearing for Terrance Anderson.

    Anderson was convicted of first-degree murder for the 2001 shootings of Debbie and Stephen Rainwater, who were the grandparents of his child. He was sentenced to death for Debbie Rainwater's slaying.

    Anderson recently sought a new sentencing hearing from Syler.

    The Supreme Court said Syler made comments in court about a personal conversation with the jury foreman. The high court said that could be viewed as improper and Syler should no longer preside over the case.

    http://www.columbiamissourian.com/a/...eath-row-case/
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    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    MO Supreme Court to Consider 21 Year Old Death Penalty Case

    By Jason Taylor
    OzarksFIRST.com

    JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Supreme Court heard arguments in Jefferson City Wednesday in a death penalty case that has bounced up and down through the state’s court system for 20 years.

    In 2001, Terrance Anderson was convicted for the 1997 killing of his girlfriend’s parents, Stephen and Debbie Rainwater. He was sentenced to death for the first-degree murder of Debbie and life in prison without parole for the death of Stephen.

    Initially, the Supreme Court upheld the lower courts decision. But it ordered new sentencing in 2006 when it was revealed that a juror had indicated Anderson’s attorneys would have to prove he didn’t deserve the death penalty.

    The lower bench again sentenced him to death in 2008, and the Supreme Court affirmed that penalty in a 4-3 decision. But in 2013, the high court again found his sentencing to be unfair, this time because the judge had conversed about the case extensively as it was ongoing with the jury foreperson.

    Read more about the case here


    The case was once again sent to the lower court with a replacement for the judge who was instructed to recuse himself. The Supreme Court left the death sentence in place but ordered a new hearing on Anderson’s request to have his case canceled.

    Anderson has appealed to the high bench once again after the circuit court denied his request.

    The murders occurred in southeast Missouri’s Poplar Bluff, but the case was tried 85 miles away in Cape Girardeau on a change of venue from Butler County to Cape Girardeau County.

    Anderson’s attorneys originally sought a second-degree murder conviction after what happened on July 25, 1997.

    According to court documents, Anderson took a gun to the home of his girlfriend, Abbey Rainwater, who lived with her parents, Stephen and Debbie. Earlier in the day, Abbey had told Anderson that she had gotten a restraining order to keep him away from her and their three-month-old daughter and that visitation would be arranged through the court.

    After arriving at the residence, Anderson kicked in the door. Mother Debbie was holding the baby and told Abby to run. Debbie then got on her knees and begged for her life, but Anderson placed the gun against the back of her head and fired it, killing Debbie instantly.

    Anderson subsequently took the child and went into the front yard. He pointed the gun at the baby’s head and yelled that he would shoot if Abbey did not come out.

    Father Stephen, who had been driving around the neighborhood with a gun after becoming suspicious when he previously answered the door to find no one, returned home. The two men got into an argument resulting in Anderson shooting Stephen in the forehead, killing him.

    Court documents reveal bad blood existed between Anderson and Stephen. Stephen had been on disability and suffered from bipolar manic depression. Anderson had moved in with the Rainwaters for four months but was asked to leave because of conflict.

    According to court filings, in previous testimony, one of Anderson’s friend answered the phone with Stephen on the other end. Stephen thought he was talking to Anderson and referred to him as “nigger” and said he was going to “whoop your ass”. The friend said Stephen further stated that the “black and white thing” didn’t work and Terrance (Anderson) and Abbey shouldn’t be together and Abbey needed “to be with her own kind.”

    Anderson still was holding the infant after killing Stephen on the night of July 25th. The police arrived quickly after neighbors called 911 when hearing a disturbance of pounding on a door while the doorbell was ringing. Anderson initially yelled at the police to put down their guns but surrendered on their command and handed over the baby.

    At this week’s Supreme Court hearing, Anderson’s attorney, William Swift, argued that the lower court had made mistakes that kept juries from reversing his death sentence. He said the lower bench erred in denying his claim that a previous lawyer had been ineffective in several ways.

    He claimed the defense team in Anderson’s second trial failed to investigate the proceedings of his first trial, notably what the original lawyers in his first trial did or did not do in representing him.

    Among other things, Swift said a psychiatrist and clinical specialist at Yale University, Dr. Dorothy Lewis, was not called in the second trial to testify about the impact on Anderson of his stepfather Robert’s violent, abusive behavior.

    Lewis’ background history investigation of Anderson found no prior history of violence before the murders and suggested Robert’s abusive behavior was linked to Anderson’s unstable state of mind at the time of the crime. She had noted that one of the numerous child injuries suffered by Anderson, a spiral tibial fracture, can only be caused by intentional child abuse.

    Before the high court, Swift said the injury conclusively proved that Anderson was mistreated at a young age. “Confronted with the actual substantive abuse to Terrance (Anderson) himself, I don’t see how a jury, a reasonable juror could step back and say, ‘This didn’t happen’, because you have objective medical evidence,” said Swift.

    The attorney also informed the judges of numerous addition wounds sustained by Anderson, proclaiming the abuse was overwhelming. “You don’t get a spiral tibial fracture unless it’s physical abuse,” Swift said. “You don’t get the puncture wound that Terrance had. You don’t get the scarring that he has or the cigarette burns on his body.”

    Swift further said competent counsel in the second trial would have called on Lewis to provide mitigating evidence that Anderson “suffered from a psychotic depression characterized by paranoia and delusions while living in dysfunctional family circumstances.”

    He also argued that the previous attorney was ineffective for failing to call stepfather Robert’s wife to testify about his violent behavior.

    Swift further stated that Anderson’s second trial attorney was ineffective because he advised Anderson to take the stand when other witnesses could effectively “humanize him” before a jury. He said Anderson was compromised because the prosecuting attorney repeatedly portrayed him as a liar, especially deserving of death.

    Attorney Richard Starnes represented the state before the Supreme Court. He disputed most all of Swift’s claims.

    Starnes said there was no proof that stepfather Robert was responsible for the injuries sustained by Anderson. “Was there abuse? Probably, the (spiral tibial) fracture is kind of familiar. Did Robert cause it? We don’t know the answer to that,” said Starnes.

    In court documents, Starnes noted that Robert worked for the Poplar Bluff School District and served on the City Council, and even though Anderson was a 10-month-old when he came into Robert’s life, Robert treated him like his own child.

    Starnes also attempted to tear down the credibility of Dr. Lewis, noting Anderson and his sister denied some of the claims Lewis made in her reports. “She did not have a good grasp of the facts and she was misrepresenting counsel’s clients,” Starnes said.

    Anderson’s appeal was one of four cases heard by the Supreme Court Wednesday (September 5th). The judges could render a decision at any time in the future.

    https://www.ozarksfirst.com/news/mo-...ase/1439527590
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  7. #7
    Senior Member CnCP Legend Mike's Avatar
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    Missouri Supreme Court upholds death sentence in case that’s been litigated for decades

    By Jason Taylor
    MissouriNet

    The Missouri Supreme Court in Jefferson City has upheld the death sentence for a man whose case has bounced up and down through the state’s court system for 20 years.

    In its fourth time considering the case of Terrance Anderson from southeast Missouri’s Poplar Bluff, the high bench backed up a lower court’s rejection of claims made by Anderson’s attorney.

    The Supreme Court’s unanimous decision was written by Judge George W. Draper III. Anderson was convicted in 2001 for the 1997 killing of his ex-girlfriend’s parents and was sentenced to death for murdering the mother.

    In its decision handed down Tuesday, the Supreme Court dismissed contentions from Anderson’s attorney that his previous trial lawyers were ineffective for failing to call witnesses, for failing to object more quickly to questions during cross-examination, and for not objecting to the introduction of certain evidence.

    The high bench also said Anderson’s previous lawyers were not irresponsible in asking him to testify and concluded that his appellate attorney had reason to not question whether the death sentence was appropriate.

    The high judges also said Anderson did not present evidence showing the lower court failed to properly consider his claims.

    The Supreme Court had twice previously ordered new sentencing for Anderson after it found discrepancies in lower court proceedings.

    Initially, the Supreme Court upheld the lower court’s 2001 decision. But it ordered new sentencing in 2006 when it was revealed that a juror had indicated Anderson’s attorneys would have to prove he didn’t deserve the death penalty.

    The lower bench again sentenced him to death in 2008, and the Supreme Court affirmed that penalty in a 4-3 decision.

    But in 2013, the high court again found his sentencing to be unfair, this time because the judge had conversed about the case extensively as it was ongoing with the jury foreperson.

    The case was once again sent to the lower court with a replacement for the judge who was instructed to recuse himself. The Supreme Court left the death sentence in place but ordered a new hearing on Anderson’s request to have his case canceled.

    Anderson appealed to the high bench once again after the circuit court denied his request.

    The Supreme Court’s latest hand down is a response to that appeal.

    The murders occurred in southeast Missouri’s Poplar Bluff, but the case was tried 85 miles away in Cape Girardeau on a change of venue from Butler County to Cape Girardeau County.

    Anderson killed the parents of his ex-girlfriend the same day she secured a restraining order again him and told him visitation of their three-month-old child would be arranged through the courts.

    https://www.missourinet.com/2018/11/...d-for-decades/

  8. #8
    Senior Member Frequent Poster joe_con's Avatar
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    He is no longer listed on the MODOC Offender website, might be an error.

  9. #9
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    On January 25, 2019, Anderson filed a habeas petition in Federal District Court.

    https://dockets.justia.com/docket/mi...cv00014/168000

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