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Thread: Leslie D. Small - Delaware

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    Leslie D. Small - Delaware




    State seeks death penalty in Lewes woman’s murder case

    The state is seeking the death penalty for Leslie D. Small in connection with the November murder of a 78-year-old Donovan Smith mobile home park resident.

    Small’s attorneys argue the Delaware death penalty statute is unconstitutional.

    They also filed a motion saying that because prosecutors said they had no objection to the court’s setting bond for Small, they are now precluded from seeking the death penalty in this case.

    Small’s attorneys also filed motions seeking to exclude statements he made to police because police failed to notify him of his Miranda rights.

    Small, 51, of Milton, is charged with brutally murdering June McCarson while he was working as a taxicab driver.

    Court documents state Small provided McCarson with transportation Nov. 11. He is accused of driving her to her residence and later stabbing her to death in her home.

    In February 2010, a Sussex County grand jury indicted Small on one count of first-degree murder, one count of possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a felony, one count of first-degree robbery during the commission of a felony, one count of second-degree burglary and one count of possession of a deadly weapon by a person prohibited.

    Delaware State Police arrested Small around 2 a.m., Nov. 13, after tracking him to a motel in Milford.

    Documents filed with the court by Small attorneys Stephen Callaway and John Daniello argue that for the death penalty to be imposed in Delaware, the state must convict the defendant of first-degree murder and must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that at least one aggravating circumstance exists.

    The state must also prove – by preponderance of the evidence – that the aggravating circumstances outweigh the mitigating circumstances.

    Callaway and Daniello state Delaware’s death penalty law is flawed because it leaves the decision as to whether aggravators outweigh mitigators up to a judge rather than a jury and because the factors are weighed by a preponderance of the evidence, which is legally considered a lower standard than beyond a reasonable doubt.

    “Those two things are the fundamental flaws which render Delaware’s law unconstitutional,” the attorneys wrote.

    The story of the crime
    Investigators learned Small had driven McCarson on errands in his taxicab early in the evening of Nov. 12. Court documents state Small admitted to driving McCarson to the bank where he saw her get cash.

    Court records indicate Small then drove her to a beauty salon and pharmacy near Lewes.

    Court documents also state Small told investigators what happened after he took McCarson home.

    Court documents said the victim suffered numerous stab wounds to her upper body and neck and had been beaten about the head.

    Callaway and Daniello also are also asking the court to suppress as evidence any statements Small made to investigators because he was “critically impaired” at the time and did not understand his Miranda rights – the right not to speak to an officer and the right to request an attorney.

    They also point out that during the second of two interviews, at 3:39 a.m. Nov. 13, police did not read Small his rights. During that interview, Small’s attorneys argue that Small said he was under the influence of crack cocaine and he “did not knowingly and intelligently waive his Miranda rights.”

    Court documents state that nearing the end of the 25- minute video-recorded interview, Small told investigators when he “came down,” he would be able to understand the trouble he was in.

    During the interview, court documents state that Small was not wearing shoes or socks, and when the interview concludes, he attempts to stand up but stumbles and falls into the wall.

    “After being told by the defendant he was high on drugs (crack cocaine) and after observing the defendant and his demeanor, police failed to obtain a sample of the defendant’s blood to determine if the defendant was under the influence of any drugs or alcohol,” wrote Small’s attorneys.

    http://www.capegazette.com/storiescurrent/201008-01-15/03003-leslie-small-case.html

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    Court denies Small’s attempt to avoid possible death penalty

    State prosecutors will continue to seek the death penalty for a Milton man if a jury convicts him of first-degree murder. Leslie D. Small, 52, is charged with the November 2009 murder of a 78-year-old Donovan Smith mobile home park resident.

    The park is just outside Lewes city limits.

    Small’s attorneys argued the Delaware death penalty statute is unconstitutional. In court documents they state the statute does not meet due process requirements.

    Due process does not have a fixed meaning but generally questions whether law and legal proceedings are rationally related to a legitimate goal.

    Due process also applies to the state’s depravation of an individual’s life, liberty or property.

    David Hume IV, deputy attorney general, in a document filed Aug. 17 in Superior Court, argues that in 2005, the Delaware Supreme Court addressed due process requirements.

    “The defendant’s claim lacks merit. The defendant’s motion is nearly identical to a motion to declare the death penalty unconstitutional in State v. Derrick Powell,” Hume wrote.

    He stated the motion filed by Powell’s attorney to declare the death penalty unconstitutional was denied by Superior Court Judge T. Henley Graves because “there is no reason to reanalyze an issue that has been previously decided.”

    Powell, 23, is charged with first-degree murder in connection with the Sept. 1, 2009 slaying of Georgetown Patrolman Chad Spicer.

    “A judge makes the final decision and the weighing is by a preponderance of the evidence instead of reasonable doubt,” Graves wrote.

    Small’s attorneys are also seeking to suppress statements he made to police.

    In court documents they claim police failed to notify Small of his Miranda rights, which allow him to remain silent, and also give him the right to the presence and advice of an attorney before interrogation by law enforcement authorities.

    Hume, in court documents, stated that Small has a serious criminal history, including robberies of elderly female victims, and is versed in the nuances of the criminal justice system.

    He states that a detective gave Small multiple opportunities to review his Miranda rights, and he repeatedly said he knew his rights and didn’t need them read to him.

    Hume asked the court to deny Small’s request to suppress his interview with police.

    Small was working as a taxicab driver when he allegedly stabbed June McCarson to death in her trailer home after taking her on errands.

    In February, a Sussex County grand jury indicted Small on one count of first-degree murder, one count of possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a felony, one count of first-degree robbery during the commission of a felony, one count of second-degree burglary and one count of possession of a deadly weapon by a person prohibited.

    Small is being held in Sussex Correctional Institution in lieu of $2 million bond.

    Jury selection is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 8, in Superior Court in Georgetown. The trial is expected to last six weeks.

    http://www.capegazette.com/storiescurrent/201009-01-15/03016-leslie-small.html

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    Murder trial of cab driver set to begin Monday, Feb. 28

    Jury selection in the murder trial of Leslie D. Small is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m., Monday, Feb. 28, in Superior Court in Georgetown.

    The state is seeking the death penalty for Small in connection with the murder in November 2009 of a 78-year-old Donovan Smith mobile home park resident. Small, 51, of Milton, is charged with brutally murdering June McCarson while he was working as a taxicab driver.

    Court documents state Small drove McCarson to several places around Lewes and after taking her home stabbed her to death.

    In February 2010, a Sussex County grand jury indicted Small on one count of first-degree murder, one count of possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a felony, one count of first-degree robbery during the commission of a felony, one count of second-degree burglary and one count of possession of a deadly weapon by a person prohibited.

    Small’s attorneys unsuccessfully sought to exclude statements he made to police because they failed to notify him of his Miranda rights – the right to remain silent.

    Court records show a witness told investigators Small said he helped McCarson into her home with her bags, and once inside “something took over his body.” He tried to strangle her with a towel, but she wouldn’t die.

    According to the witness, Small said he located a pair of scissors, stabbed McCarson and watched as she took her last breath.

    http://www.capegazette.com/storiescu...all-trial.html

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    The murder trial for a Milton man continues in Georgetown

    The murder trial for Leslie Small of Milton continues in Georgetown this week. Leslie Small is charged with 2 counts of first degree murder as well as 1st degree robbery and 2nd degree burglary and other charges. The 51 year old is charged with the murder of 78 year old June McCarson after he drove her to various locations in his taxi cab. When he dropped McCarson at her Donovan Smith mobile home park residence, he stabbed the woman to death in her home. The state is asking for the death penalty.

    http://www.wgmd.com/?p=19435

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    UPDATE:

    Jury selection for the Leslie Small murder trial will resume this week. The court says they ran out of jurors. More potential jurors will report on Tuesday.

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    Jury Selection Continues For Leslie Small

    12 jurors have been selected for the murder trial of 51-year-old Leslie Small who’s charged with first degree murder for killing 78-year-old June McCarson of Lewes in November 2009. However, six alternates still need to be chosen before that trial can begin in Georgetown.

    Small allegedly drove McCarson home and stabbed her in her Donovan Smith Mobile Home Park residence. The state is seeking the death penalty for the Milton cab driver.

    His trial is expected to start next week.

    http://www.wgmd.com/?p=20504

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    Testimony began today in the Leslie Small capital murder trial.

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    Trial starts in Sussex slaying

    In the final hours of June McCarson's life she had her hair done, went to the bank to deposit a check and get $500 in cash and stopped by a Happy Harry's drugstore.

    Then she had cabdriver Leslie D. Small take her to her mobile home just outside Lewes.

    There, according to Deputy Attorney General David Hume, Small grabbed the 78-year-old, threw her to the floor, strangled her and, when he saw that she was still alive, stabbed her in the face and neck 20 times with a pair of scissors.

    Hume outlined the state's case against Small in his opening statement to the jury in Small's murder trial Tuesday morning. The 52-year-old defendant could face the death penalty.

    Small's lawyer, E. Stephen Callaway, asked jurors to carefully question the state's allegation that Small went to McCarson's home with murder on his mind. A first-degree murder conviction requires the state to prove that the victim was killed intentionally.

    The trial, in Sussex County Superior Court in Georgetown, is expected to last until mid-April, Judge Richard F. Stokes said. Jury selection took three weeks.

    McCarson, who lived alone in a trailer park just outside Lewes, called the Comfort Cab Co. for a ride on the morning of Nov. 11, both sides agree.

    Small handled the call, driving her to and from her hair appointment at the Bayside Beauty Salon and then to run errands. He took her to the drive-up window at Wilmington Trust, where she presented a check for $1,248, of which she got $500 in cash.

    And then, according to Hume, he took her to Happy Harry's. Security video at the bank and the pharmacy captured McCarson's activities, he said.

    Hume told jurors that Small took her home, went inside and in a robbery attempt ended up strangling her and stabbing her to death. The struggle was so violent McCarson had a broken back and a broken bone in her neck, he said.

    McCarson's body was later discovered lying in a pool of blood on the living room floor.

    A Meals on Wheels volunteer who brought her lunch at 11 a.m. noticed the front door unlocked and ajar, Hume said. She looked inside, saw the signs of a struggle and called 911, he said.

    A neighbor who had been walking his dog alerted police that a cab had been in the driveway earlier in the day. Small was arrested early the next morning at the Traveler's Motel in Milford.

    State investigators allege that Small used the money he stole from McCarson to buy cocaine.

    Hume said Small told police investigators that he tried to strangle her but "she was still going."

    Police found a pair of scissors in McCarson's driveway. Her purse and a bloody towel were found dumped by the side of the road, Hume said.

    Callaway warned jurors to not be "so inflamed and upset by the evidence that you loose your impartiality."

    He also reminded them that the state's allegations of Small's intent are very important, and they should weigh the evidence carefully.

    "The state didn't allege he took a weapon in with him," he said, referring to Hume's statement that Smith grabbed the scissors from a kitchen drawer.

    http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/2...Sussex-slaying

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    Jury hears about slain Del. woman's final hours

    In the final hours of June McCarson's life she had her hair done, went to the bank to deposit a check and get $500 in cash and stopped by a Happy Harry's drugstore.

    Then she had cabdriver Leslie D. Small take her to her mobile home just outside Lewes.

    There, according to Deputy Attorney General David Hume, Small grabbed the 78-year-old, threw her to the floor, strangled her and, when he saw that she was still alive, stabbed her in the face and neck 20 times with a pair of scissors.

    Hume outlined the state's case against Small in his opening statement to the jury in Small's murder trial this week. The 52-year-old defendant could face the death penalty.

    Small's lawyer, E. Stephen Callaway, asked jurors to carefully question the state's allegation that Small went to McCarson's home with murder on his mind. A first-degree murder conviction requires the state to prove that the victim was killed intentionally.

    The trial, in Sussex County Superior Court in Georgetown, is expected to last until mid-April, said Judge Richard F. Stokes. Jury selection took three weeks.

    McCarson, who lived alone in a mobile home park just outside Lewes, called the Comfort Cab Co. for a ride on the morning of Nov. 11, both sides agree.

    Small handled the call, driving her to and from her hair appointment at the Bayside Beauty Salon and then to run errands. He took her to the drive-up window at Wilmington Trust, where she presented a check for $1,248, of which she got $500 in cash.

    And then, according to Hume, he took her to Happy Harry's. Security video at the bank and the pharmacy captured McCarson's activities, he said.

    Hume told jurors Small took her home, went inside and during a robbery attempt ended up strangling her and stabbing her to death. The struggle was so violent that McCarson had a broken back and a broken bone in her neck, he said.

    McCarson's body was later found by a Meals on Wheels volunteer lying in a pool of blood on the living room floor.

    Small was arrested early the next morning at the Traveler's Motel in Milford.

    State investigators allege that Small used the money he stole from McCarson to buy cocaine.

    Hume said Small told police investigators that he tried to strangle her but "she was still going."

    Police found a pair of scissors in McCarson's driveway. Her purse and a bloody towel were found dumped by the side of the road, Hume said.

    Callaway warned jurors to not be "so inflamed and upset by the evidence that you lose your impartiality."

    He also reminded them that the state's allegations of Small's intent are very important, and they should weigh the evidence carefully.

    "The state didn't allege he took a weapon in with him," he said, referring to Hume's statement that Smith grabbed the scissors from a kitchen drawer.

    http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/2...-s-final-hours

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    Small convicted

    A former Milton Cab driver has been convicted of 1st degree murder by a jury in Sussex County.

    52-year-old Leslie Small was convicted on seven counts for killing 78-year-old June McCarson in her Lewes home in November 2009. Prosecutors say Small drove McCarson home, strangled her, then stabbed her 20 times with a pair of scissors.

    The penalty phase is set to begin on Thursday April 7th. The state is seeking the death penalty.

    http://www.wgmd.com/?p=21453

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