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Thread: Heather Leavell-Keaton - Alabama Death Row

  1. #21
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Heather Keaton first woman sentenced to death in Mobile County

    Heather Keaton, who was convicted of killing her two stepchildren, was sentenced to death on capital murder and manslaughter charges on Thursday.

    The judge read the death penalty sentence for the killing of Chase and Natalie DeBlase. A jury convicted Keaton in May of capital murder for the death of Chase DeBlase, and manslaughter in the death of Natalie DeBlase.

    Keaton will be the first woman in Mobile County to face the death penalty.

    In January, her common-law husband, John DeBlase, was sentenced to death by lethal injection for his role in the murders.

    http://www.wtvm.com/story/29842924/h...f-stepchildren
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  2. #22
    Senior Member CnCP Addict TrudieG's Avatar
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    With the appeals process and the slow Alabama system both have got a good 20 more years to live what a shame those poor children didn't even make it to 5 years old. This case screams execute them now!!!

  3. #23
    Senior Member CnCP Legend CharlesMartel's Avatar
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    Heather Keaton Could Face Capital Murder Trial Again

    MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — Heather Keaton, the woman sentenced to death for murdering the two children of her common law husband, may go back to trial.

    Simply put, certain pieces of evidence and documents are missing from the case file. And without those, the defense cannot file an appeal of the death sentence.

    Those documents include questionnaires filled out by the jurors that have their personal information listed including their names, addresses, and phone numbers.

    Today in court, we were told by testimony of the clerk of court that the questionnaires were placed in a box to be mailed to the court of criminal appeals in Montgomery. However, the label came off the box and the box has gone missing with all that sensitive information.

    Also missing are pieces of evidence from both defense and prosecution, as well as documentation of ex parte motions that are kept under seal and not meant for the public.

    We heard the judge say today this capital murder case has not been handled like any other capital case in the past.

    Normally, documents are scanned into the case file and then discarded. In this case, there may have been documents that were discarded before they were scanned. The clerk has been tasked to take a week to index all documents from the trial and give the information to the defense and the prosecution.

    If there are still items missing, the defense could ask for a reversal and go back to trial.

    http://wkrg.com/2017/08/01/heather-k...r-trial-again/

  4. #24
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Court strikes down woman’s death sentence in murders of 2 children in Mobile County

    By William Thornton
    AL.com

    A woman sentenced to die by a Mobile County jury will be headed back to court later this month after her sentence was overturned.

    Heather Leavell-Keaton, the first woman in Mobile County history to be sent to death row, will face a hearing Oct. 13 in Mobile County Circuit Court where she will be resentenced for her 2015 capital murder conviction.

    Leavell-Keaton, along with her common-law husband John DeBlase, were convicted of torturing and killing his two children, four-year-old Natalie and three-year-old Chase, in 2010.

    The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals Tuesday ruled that Leavell-Keaton did not have a chance to address the court prior to her sentencing back in 2015. Leavell-Keaton displayed no emotion during her sentencing, according to a report at the time.

    “To be clear, the trial court is not to hold a full capital-conviction sentencing hearing, which has already occurred,” the court ruled. Instead, the court will allow her to speak, take into consideration anything she may say, and sentence her to either death or life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, the court ruled.

    According to prosecutors, Natalie was choked to death in March 2010 after being duct-taped and placed in a suitcase which was set in a closet for 12 hours. Her body was later dumped in a wooded area near Citronelle.

    Chase was choked to death in June 2010 when he was taped to a broom handle and left in the corner of the couple’s bedroom overnight. His body was found in the woods outside Vancleave, Miss.

    Prosecutors claimed that Leavell-Keaton was jealous of Natalie and bristled when friends and family members called her a princess. Chase was killed when he asked where Natalie was.

    https://www.al.com/news/2020/10/cour...le-county.html
    "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.”
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  5. #25
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Heather Keaton's attorneys file motions to bar death penalty in murder resentencing

    A flurry of filings in the capital murder resentencing of Heather Keaton have occurred in the last week.

    On Friday, attorneys for Keaton filed no less than 4 motions to bar the death penalty when she is resentenced for the 2011 murders of her step children, 4-year-old Natalie and 2-year-old Chase DeBlase.

    The motions argue multiple theories on why Keaton should not be sentenced to death.

    First, defenses argue that the state used inconsistent theories of the murders to secure her conviction. They argue that at John DeBlases’ trial, the children’s father, the State alleged that DeBlase strangled his 2 children. DeBlase was convicted and sentenced to death.

    At Keaton’s trial, the defense argues that the State gained the conviction against Keaton by arguing she poisoned the children.

    “These incompatible theories went to the core of the State’s case for conviction and death, and thus violated due process,” the motion argues.

    Next, the defense motion to bar the death penalty due to non-unanimous jury verdict argues that because the jury’s verdict was 11 for death and one for life in prison, the death penalty should be barred.

    Third is the motion to bar the death penalty due to lack of jury findings regarding the weight of mitigating and aggravating circumstances. Defense attorneys argue that because only 11 jurors found that aggravating circumstances outweighed mitigating circumstances, it was not a unanimous finding of mitigating circumstances.

    Lastly, attorneys argue that her trial was fundamentally unfair and unreliable.

    Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall filed a motion opposing each of the defense's arguments on Monday.

    Marshall argues that the instructions from the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals are clear. Keaton is to given the opportunity to allocute, to speak on her own behalf, and after allocution, the court is to “sentence Keaton to either death or life in prison without the possibility of parole.”

    The State contends that the Appeals court order does not give the lower court the authority to hear arguments on any of the defense motions.

    Despite explicitly clear instructions from the CCA, on Friday, October 16, at 7:00 p.m., Keaton’s counsel filed the above referenced motions. All 4 motions are irrelevant to the proceedings before this Court. This Court is to hold a resentencing at which Keaton is to be allowed to allocute and allocute only. Any other action taken is beyond the scope of remand, and therefore, would be void for lack of jurisdiction.

    Keaton’s death sentence was vacated in early October because the appeals court found that Keaton was not afforded the opportunity to make a statement on her own behalf at sentencing and that violated her constitutional rights.

    The resentencing is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. Wednesday before Judge Brandy Hambright.

    (source: WPMI news)
    "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

  6. #26
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Convicted child killer given new sentencing hearing gets same result

    By Brendan Kirby
    WALA News

    MOBILE, Ala. – A Mobile woman convicted of killing her two step-children is heading back to death row.

    The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals had ruled that Heather Leavell Keaton was entitled to a new sentencing hearing because the judge had not given her a chance to make a statement before initially imposing the death penalty.

    Keaton got her day in court Thursday – but the result was the same. Retired Mobile County Circuit Judge Rick Stout, who presided over the original trial in 2015, again sentenced her to death.

    Keaton was the first woman in Mobile County ever sentenced to death.

    According to testimony at her trial, she and common-law husband John DeBlase tortured and killed Chase DeBlase and Natalie DeBlase. Both were young children at the time.

    The children’s father, John DeBlase, also is on death row.

    https://www.fox10tv.com/news/convict...ock_id=1002690
    "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

  7. #27
    Moderator Bobsicles's Avatar
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    Keaton’s conviction and death sentence affirmed by the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals.

    https://law.justia.com/cases/alabama...r-14-1570.html
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  8. #28
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    Writ of certiorari was denied by the Alabama Supreme Court on October 21, 2022.

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketP...0of%20Time.pdf
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

    Tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter - Linkin Park

    Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt

    I’m going to the ghost McDonalds - Garcello

  9. #29
    Moderator Bobsicles's Avatar
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    Distributed for conference 5/25/23

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/search....c/22-6895.html
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

    Tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter - Linkin Park

    Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt

    I’m going to the ghost McDonalds - Garcello

  10. #30
    Senior Member CnCP Legend Mastro Titta's Avatar
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    In today's orders, the United States Supreme Court DENIED Leavell-Keaton's petition for certiorari.

    Lower Ct: Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama
    Case Numbers: (CR-14-1570)
    Decision Date: December 17, 2021
    Discretionary Court Decision Date: October 21, 2022

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/...23zor_d1o3.pdf

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