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Thread: Michael Allen Hamilton - California

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    Michael Allen Hamilton - California




    Facts of the Crime:

    On November 2, 1981, at the junction near Terra Bella and Highway 65 in Tulare County, a gruesome discovery was made at around 10:30 p.m. A young woman was discovered murdered in a white GMC Pickup truck. The young woman, found by her husband, had been shot twice with a shotgun. Michael was immediately detained and questioned for three days and then released because it is common for authorities to suspect the spouse in such murders. He was later rearrested on November 17, 1981, charged and convicted a year later for the murder of his wife Gwendolyn and their unborn son.

    Hamilton was sentenced to death in Tulare County on December 17, 1982.

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    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    September 18, 2009

    SAN FRANCISCO — A federal appeals court has overturned a convicted wife killer's death sentence, ruling that his trial lawyer provided exceptionally poor representation.

    The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Michael Allen Hamilton's first-degree murder conviction Friday, but ordered authorities to either convert his sentence to life in prison without parole or conduct another trial to determine his sentence.

    Hamilton was convicted of the 1981 shotgun slaying of his pregnant wife, who also was mother to his four children. The family lived in Bakersfield at the time.

    The unanimous three-judge panel of the appeals court ruled that Hamilton's lawyer failed to present evidence of his traumatic childhood in an attempt to persuade the jury to reject the death penalty.

    http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stori...;%20the%20west

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    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    September 21, 2009

    Two local women whose family was devastated by a 1981 murder said Monday old wounds were violently re-opened when the killer's sentence was overturned. Michael Hamilton was convicted of killing his pregnant wife Gwendolyn almost 30 years ago.

    Last week a federal appeals court said authorities must convert his death penalty sentence to life in prison. But Gwendolyn's family says that's not good enough.

    "I wish it was over already, I have my own family to take care of," said Gwendolyn Hamilton's daughter Julie who was 3 at the time of her mom's murder. Gwendolyn was 7 months pregnant when she was shot to death with a shotgun on the side of the road in Tulare. Twenty-nine years later, the pain is still fresh. Gwendolyn's family says they wish they could put her brutal murder behind them, but it's tough with yearly hearings and constant appeals.

    The decision by the 9th District Court of Appeal in San Francisco, ''just opens more doors for Mike to present more evidence at more hearings,'' said Barbara Holmes, Gwendolyn's sister.

    ''Not that I'm afraid the verdict will be overturned, it's just, how long can my family go through reliving this?"

    Kern County District Attorney Ed Jagels says he's not surprised by the court's decision. "Historically it has been the most pro criminal least public safety oriented court in the country. It is jam packed with extreme anti-death penalty judges," said Jagels. None the less, it was a shock to Gwendolyn's family who wants Hamilton to pay and for them to be given the chance to move on.

    The Tulare County DA is waiting to hear if the 9th Circuit Court will take any further action on the case. If not it comes back to them and they have the opportunity to retry the penalty phase.

    http://www.kget.com/news/local/story...kQ.cspx?rss=91

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    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    July 28, 2010

    Michael Allen Hamilton, the man convicted of murdering his wife in Terra Bella in 1981, was back in court last Thursday in preparation for a new trial to determine his fate.

    A decision to sentence Hamilton to death was overturned when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th District Court ruled his defense attorney did not present sufficient evidence during the penalty phase of his client’s trial. A trial date for a new penalty was supposed to be set last Thursday, but was postponed to Aug. 24.

    Assistant Tulare County District Attorney Shani Jenkins said Hamilton’s murder conviction will not be overturned or reconsidered, but his penalty could potentially change. A jury must determine whether he should be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, or given the death penalty again.

    “This has been going on for about six months, and was finally remanded back to us on the 22nd,” she said. “The case was put over for the trial setting to determine how much time the actual trial is going to take. This is an interesting case.”

    It’s been 28 years since jurors found Hamilton guilty of shooting to death his pregnant wife, Gwendolyn, and their unborn son, and ditching her body in a white truck at the junction near Terra Bella and Highway 65.

    Hamilton will appear in court again at 8:30 a.m. Aug. 24 in Dept. 6. in Visalia.

    http://www.recorderonline.com/news/h...-decision.html

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    Senior Member CnCP Legend JLR's Avatar
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    Does anyone have any updates on this one please?

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    Administrator Michael's Avatar
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    No updates, just an old picture and more info about the case...

    Death penalty reversed in 1981 Terra Bella area murder


    A federal appeals court has thrown out the death penalty for a man sentenced nearly 17 years ago for the shotgun killing of his pregnant wife on a roadside near Terra Bella.

    3 judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit cited sentencing-phase failures by Michael Allen Hamilton's Tulare County public defender, David Liebowitz.

    Liebowitz failed to provide information about the defendant's severely abusive childhood and mental health problems, the judges ruled.

    That information might have swayed some jurors to sentence him to life in prison rather than the death penalty, the court ruled.

    Gwen Hamilton of Bakersfield was shot to death Nov. 2, 1981, on Highway 65, south of Avenue 95. Prosecutors said Michael Hamilton was having an affair with another woman and planned to kill his wife to end the marriage and collect her $100,00 life insurance policy.

    He was convicted in 1982 of the murder and is one of 16 Tulare County-sentenced inmates on Death Row at San Quentin State Prison.

    Working with his sister, Hamilton hired an acquaintance to shoot Gwen Hamilton from a passing car while she, her husband and their children were parked on a roadside near Porterville, according to court documents. The accomplice failed to shoot despite passing by several times while Michael Hamilton pretended to inspect a flat tire with Gwen holding a flashlight. Other murder attempts followed until, on the third night, Michael Hamilton left his wife in their pickup truck, returned with accomplices and shot her with a shotgun. Then he reloaded and shot her again, the ruling states.

    The couple's unborn child died with Gwen.

    Hamilton's sister, Carolyn Hamilton of Porterville, and the other accomplice, Gilbert Garay promised $10,000 for his part in the killing struck a deal with prosecutors that landed them 16 years-to-life prison sentences on charges of 2nd-degree murder in exchange for testifying against Michael Hamilton.

    Both the California Supreme Court and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California upheld Hamilton's conviction and death sentence. Tulare County Superior Court Judge Patrick O'Hara, who in 1982 was the county deputy district attorney who prosecuted the case, said the evidence against Hamilton was overwhelming.

    The Circuit Court judges agreed, and denied in their ruling on Friday Hamilton's request to have his murder conviction overturned for reasons that include claims of juror bias and misconduct. The judges did overturn his death sentence, saying that representation by his public defender during the sentencing hearing was inadequate.

    "[Liebowitz] had never before worked on a death penalty case, had never attended a death penalty seminar, and did not recall looking into the [American Bar Association] standards before or during his representation of Hamilton," the judges state in their unanimous 66-page ruling.

    It goes on the say that the defense failed to meet minimal standards in challenging the death penalty by not sufficiently investigating the background and mental health history of Hamilton, 58, and presenting the findings to the jury. According to the 9th Circuit judges, Liebowitz failed to:

    Tell jurors that Hamilton and his sisters were forced to witness their parents' sexual acts, that one sister was sexually molested by both parents and that sexual abuse was "rampant" in his immediate and extended family.

    Locate and interview a sufficient number of witnesses who knew Hamilton and might have discussed his life growing up.

    Adequately prepare the only witness in the penalty phase, Hamilton's mother. The judges described her as "one of the worst witnesses that defense counsel could have presented to the jury."

    Bring in expert witnesses to explain Hamilton's background.

    Present information on Hamilton's bouts with the juvenile justice system in Kern County, along with school and psychiatric records that could have been used to shed light on his mental health problems. A school psychologist concluded that the 12-year-old Hamilton was "in critical need of immediate therapeutic treatment."

    The following year, another psychologist hired by the juvenile court in Kern County diagnosed Hamilton as "suffering from schizophrenic paranoid disturbances and feelings of depression and hopelessness," according to the 9th Circuit ruling.

    "Michael [Hamilton] was repeatedly subjected to gross maltreatment and incredible psychological abuse; and surely, by all reasonable standards, his parents' behavior was both deviant and depraved," the ruling states.

    Yet the defense indicated to the jury only that the defendant came from a "broken" home, the ruling continues.

    Liebowitz spent nearly 30 years with the county Public Defender's Office and retired last year as a supervising public defender. Efforts to contact him Monday were unsuccessful.

    "In my summation, he was an excellent attorney," said Michael Sheltzer, the Tulare County public defender.

    O'Hara, who had not read the ruling Monday, said Liebowitz "did a fine job on a tough case."

    But had the jury been presented a fuller picture of the mitigating evidence, the 9th Circuit judges ruled, there is a reasonable probability at least one of the jurors would have voted against the death penalty.

    "Having provided the jury with no reason to show mercy, defense counsel's naked pleas to spare Hamilton's life were futile," the ruling states.

    County prosecutors have asked the state Attorney General's Office which represents the county in the appeals process to request an en banc review of the Friday decision, Assistant District Attorney Shani Jenkins said. In such a review, 35 federal circuit court judges would review the case and decide if Friday's ruling should stand, said Fresno attorney Katherine Hart, who represented Hamilton in his appeal.

    Hamilton has the right to request an en banc review of the 9th Circuit judges' decision not to overturn his murder conviction, Jenkins said.

    (Source: The Visalia Times-Delta)

  8. #8
    Senior Member CnCP Legend JLR's Avatar
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    Thank you for the article Michael.

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    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    Valley family supports death sentence for father in mother's murder

    FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A family forced to take sides against a man accused of causing the death of their mother.

    "He won't even admit to taking any part in it," said Connie Cooper. "All he said is that he's innocent."

    More than 30 years ago, a Tulare County jury sentenced Michael Hamilton to die for the murder of his wife and their unborn baby.

    In the pictures on the wall of her home, Connie Cooper's daughter, Kaylee, is a year old -- the exact same age Connie was when her mother died. Cooper has just this single photo of her mom, and no memories. In fact, she never knew why both parents were out of her life until she was 12 and a homicide detective showed up at a family reunion. He told all four kids their father, Michael Hamilton, shot and killed their mother, Gwendolyn.

    "From then on out, that's all we knew about mom is how she died," said Cooper.

    Michael Hamilton took up residence on death row after a Tulare County jury condemned him. Three decades later, an appellate court overturned just the death sentence, so a jury will need to listen to new evidence about the abuse Hamilton suffered as a child before deciding whether he deserves the death penalty. The process starts this week. ABC30 legal analyst Tony Capozzi says an execution is unlikely.

    "He will probably be dead by the time an actual resolution of this case ever comes about," he said.

    Cooper and her siblings know that, too, but when prosecutors say their dad deserves to be on death row, they'll agree.

    "When you're dealt this hand of a lifetime that just seems to be a tragedy day in and day out until you're able to make your own life as an adult as best as you possibly can, death row is a fair trade," Cooper said.

    New details and new pain come from each appeal and each parole hearing for the other players in Hamilton's plot. And closure didn't come for cooper in time for her wedding, where her mother's photo served as a place setting. But marriage may have gotten her closer than ever to understanding a mother's love -- in the form of her mother-in-law.

    "I don't see her, not one single time, that she doesn't give me a hug and a kiss," Cooper said of her husband's mother. "And at 34 years old, I finally know what it's like."

    And now pushing four years old, Kaylee has known it from Day One.

    http://abc30.com/news/valley-family-...murder/761582/

  10. #10
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    Michael Allen Hamilton

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