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Thread: Aric Shayne Woodard - Pennsylvania Death Row

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    Aric Shayne Woodard - Pennsylvania Death Row





    York County district attorney seeks death penalty in baby's death

    Prosecutors say they plan to seek the death penalty against a central Pennsylvania man charged in the death of a toddler he was babysitting last year.

    The York County district attorney’s office filed notice Tuesday of intent to seek capital punishment if 39-year-old Aric Woodard of York is convicted of first-degree murder in the Nov. 7 death of 2-year-old Jacques Twinn.

    Prosecutors allege that Woodard beat the boy while looking after him at a York home. Court documents said he reported finding the boy in a bathtub.

    District Attorney Tom Kearney told the court that the death penalty would be warranted because of the victim’s age and what prosecutors say was severe beating amounting to torture.

    Defense attorney Joanne Floyd has said she doesn’t believe that Woodard beat the child.

    http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/ind..._attorney.html
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    Capital trial starts Monday for York man accused of killing toddler

    The capital murder trial of a York City man accused of fatally beating a toddler he regularly baby-sat is set to begin at 9 a.m. Monday with opening statements.

    On Thursday afternoon, prosecutors and defense attorneys finished seating a 12-person jury and four alternates, according to Dawn Cutaia. She and fellow attorney Joanne Floyd represent defendant Aric Shayne Woodard.

    Woodard, 40, of West Jackson Street, remains in county prison without bail, charged with first-degree murder and related offenses in the Nov. 7, 2011, death of 2-year-old Jaques Twinn.

    York City Police allege Woodard, who goes by Shayne, beat Jaques to death while baby-sitting him in a home in the 100 block of West Boundary Avenue.

    In seeking the death penalty, prosecutors have cited two aggravating factors: Jaques' young age and that his death allegedly amounted to torture.

    The background: Woodard was baby-sitting Jaques and his 1-year-old sister when he ran to neighbors and had them call 911, police said.

    An ambulance rushed Jaques to York Hospital, where hospital personnel were told that Woodard reported the tot nearly drowned, according to preliminary hearing testimony.

    But an autopsy determined Jaques was beaten to death, police said, and suffered wounds to his brain, face, ears, stomach, back, buttocks and legs. He also suffered internal abdominal injuries, officials have said.

    Mess made: Woodard told police he left the children alone to go to a nearby store.
    When he returned, he found Jaques sitting on the kitchen floor, smearing feces all over himself, according to York City Detective Al Clarkson.

    Woodard told investigators he became frustrated and smacked the boy, then "snatched him up by the ear" and ordered him to go upstairs and clean himself, Clarkson said.

    Woodard told detectives that when he checked on Jaques, the boy was sitting in the bathtub, slumped over and unresponsive, according to Clarkson.

    Clarkson said he determined Woodard was the only adult with Jaques between about 8 p.m. Nov. 6, 2011, and when 911 was called about 2:30 p.m. Nov. 7, 2011.

    Frustrated? According to Clarkson, Woodard had feelings for Jaques' mother, Hayley Twinn, but she did not feel the same. He also said Woodard considered the children his own.

    "(Woodard) became frustrated that day," Clarkson has said. "He knew she was out with somebody else, and he realized she was using him to watch her kids while she was out with another guy. Whether that's the reason he snapped and did this? Well, that's something we're going to have to try to prove."

    Defense attorney Floyd has said there's no definitive answer as to when the injuries were inflicted on Jaques, or who inflicted them.

    Mom charged: York City Police charged Twinn, 21, of East King Street, with two counts of child endangerment, alleging she put her two children in danger by leaving them with Woodard.

    Police allege Twinn knew Woodard was basically squatting in what essentially was an abandoned house in poor condition, but that she regularly allowed him to watch her 1- and 2-year-old children there anyway.

    http://www.yorkdispatch.com/breaking...ccused-killing
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    Defendant cries upon seeing autopsy photos in murder of toddler

    Aric Shayne Woodard put his head down on the defense table and cried when autopsy photos of 2-year-old Jaques Omari Twinn's body were shown to the jury Tuesday.

    Many of the people sitting on the defense side of the York County courtroom also avoided looking at the pictures, lowering their heads or covering their eyes.

    Woodard, 40, is on trial in the beating death of Jaques, the son of a friend, who he was baby-sitting. The toddler died Nov. 7, 2011.

    Dr. Samuel Land, a forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy, testified that Jaques died of blunt force trauma to the head and torso. The boy's injuries included fatal lacerations to his liver and brain trauma, he said, adding they are the types of injuries he usually only sees in victims of vehicle crashes.

    Land testified that some of the toddler's injuries were days older than the injuries that killed him and that he found newer injuries on top of older healing ones.

    The boy also had a hugely distended belly in the autopsy photos. Land said that was because his abdomen and kidney-area were filled with half of a liter of blood. Jaques' skin had a mottled appearance in the photos because of the all-over bruising.

    "I can't tell how many times this child was injured," Land said.

    At York Hospital, while waiting on word of Jaques' condition, Woodard told a chaplain, according to police, that he had spanked the boy when he soiled himself and sent him upstairs to the bathroom.

    Woodard went on to say he checked on the boy minutes later and found him seated in the bathtub with his head between his legs and his face in the water.

    Land said Jaques did not drown. He added a "neurologically intact" 2-year-old would have been able to lift his head from the water.

    Land said the autopsy revealed "the wiring" between the two halves of Jaques' brain had been torn. He said that, coupled with the other injuries, would have made it apparent to any caregiver that the boy needed immediate medical attention.

    On Monday, Jaques' mother, Hayley Twinn, testified she could not afford to take her children to day care and trusted Woodard to watch them. Twinn is charged with endangering the welfare of a child and remains subject to recall by the defense.

    The prosecution has one remaining witness who will be called today. He is lead investigator Detective Alan Clarkson.

    http://www.ydr.com/local/ci_24364267...ler?source=rss
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    York baby sitter guilty of first-degree murder, faces death penalty

    Despite screaming and cursing for at least an hour as he waited in a courtroom holding cell, Aric Shayne Woodard remained calm -- though not quiet -- after being brought to the courtroom, even as jurors announced they'd found him guilty of first-degree murder.

    The same jury will have to decide whether to sentence Woodard to death or to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Jurors deliberated about 4-1/2 hours before reaching their verdict.

    The trial's penalty phase is set to begin Monday morning.

    Jurors also had the option of finding Woodard guilty of either third-degree murder or involuntary manslaughter, but rejected those choices.

    Prior to the verdict being read, 13 sheriff's deputies positioned themselves throughout the courtroom -- something Woodard did not fail to notice.

    "All this for me?" he asked as he was led to the defense table. He laughed and smiled.

    "Everybody be scared."

    Woodard remained calm and never lost the smile on his face as he listened to the jury's verdict.

    Mocked prosecution: After jurors left the courtroom, Woodard faced York City Detective Al Clarkson and first assistant district attorney Jennifer Russell and clapped his hands at them, still smiling.

    "Good job, good job," he said mockingly.

    Woodard also mildly chided his own defense attorneys, then turned around to console his family and friends, some of whom were crying.

    He made eye contact with The York Dispatch reporter and asked, "You writing all this down?"

    Earlier this week, during a break in trial, Woodard told Clarkson he hated him, according to Clarkson.

    "He can hate me all he wants," the detective said after the verdict. "He's going to jail for the rest of his life -- at least."

    The case: Russell convinced jurors that Woodard, 40, of West Jackson Street, fatally beat 2-year-old Jaques Twinn on Nov. 7, 2011, while baby-sitting the boy and his 1-year-old sister.

    Clarkson said Woodard, who goes by Shayne, left the children alone to go to a nearby store and that when he returned, he assaulted the child after realizing Jaques had smeared feces on the kitchen carpet.

    Woodard had feelings for the children's mother, Hayley Twinn, but she did not reciprocate, Clarkson said.

    "(Woodard) became frustrated that day," the detective has said. "He knew she was out with somebody else, and he realized she was using him to watch her kids while she was out with another guy."

    Earlier this week, forensic pathologist Dr. Samuel Land testified at length to the numerous injuries he documented while performing an autopsy on Jaques.

    They included injuries to the child's brain, face, ear, stomach, back, buttocks and legs, as well as internal abdominal injuries that included a badly lacerated liver.

    Alternate theory: Trial defense attorney Joanne Floyd argued Jaques drowned in the bathtub, and that the injuries he suffered were primarily from aggressive, prolonged CPR.

    A forensic pathologist for the defense testified that was his medical opinion.

    The other half of the defense team, Dawn Cutaia, will now take over for the penalty phase.

    'Distraught': Cutaia said Woodard has instructed her not to present any mitigating evidence at the penalty phase, which increases the chance he will receive the death penalty.

    "My client is emotionally distraught ... and I'm not going to rely on his ability to make a decision right now," she said.

    Cutaia said she will discuss the issue with Woodard, but said no matter what he decides, she still believes she must try to save his life.

    "Whether he wants me to or not, I believe I have an ethical obligation to put on mitigating evidence," she said.

    http://www.yorkdispatch.com/breaking...-degree-murder
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    Jury delivers death sentence in toddler beating

    The only reaction Aric Shayne Woodard had to his death sentence on Monday was to turn around and frown at a woman behind him who began quietly crying.

    Woodard, 40, was convicted Thursday of first-degree murder in the Nov. 7, 2011 beating death of 2-year-old Jaques Omari Twinn. Monday, after about two hours of deliberations, the jury chose death over life in prison for Woodard.

    He will remain in York County Prison until his formal sentencing hearing on Nov. 21.

    A death sentence conviction automatically is appealed to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

    "Obviously, we feel the jury returned the just verdict in this case based on the evidence presented throughout the trial," First Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Russell said.

    Joanne Floyd, the attorney who represented Woodard at trial, said she was "stunned" by the death penalty verdict.

    His penalty phase attorney, Dawn Cutaia, said, "I thought our witnesses were compelling. But it's hard to overcome the (aggravating factor) of torture. He (Jaques) was such a small guy, and he (Woodard) was a big guy.

    Woodard did not testify in his own defense last week, and following his conviction, he told Cutaia he did not want a defense in his penalty phase.

    When Woodard told Cutaia on Monday that he wanted to testify in the penalty phase, she immediately informed Judge Michael Bortner that she was concerned he would ask the jury to give him the death sentence.

    Woodard made it through his time on the stand without directly saying that. But, after testifying how much he loved Jaques and his sister, Janiyah, Cutaia asked him if he had anything else to say. He responded, "You know what I want to say, can I say it please?"

    Bortner cautioned him that he could not so Woodard directed his attention toward the judge.

    He told Bortner: "You know how I feel." Bortner replied that Woodard had made his position known.

    On the stand, Woodard looked at the jury that convicted him and said, "I'm not mad at one person on that jury. I would have found me guilty from the evidence presented."

    He went on to say not all of the evidence and not all the witnesses he wanted to call were presented.

    He explained that when he saw Hayley Twinn's young children, he "fell in love from a distance."

    "There was nothing better in my life than Jaques and Janiyah," he said.

    He said that he told Jaques to call him Shayne but that Jaques just laughed and said, "No, you're Daddy."

    Woodard said he "was going to prove to the whole world (and to another woman) that I was the best man to take care of a family."

    In her closing argument, Russell told the jury the only "appropriate verdict is death."

    She said the medical and scientific evidence made it clear that Woodard's intent was to inflict pain and kill Jaques.

    Woodard had been given his cellphone, confiscated the day of his arrest, to play an audio recording of him talking with Jaques during his testimony.

    On the recording, the jury heard Woodard say things and a happy-sounding Jaques would repeat the phrases, including "Choo choo train" and "I be cool because I'm a big boy."

    Woodard retained possession of the phone during Russell's closing, apparently scrolling through it and at one point kissed the screen.

    Cutaia argued in her closing statement that the prosecution had not established that Jaques was tortured. She said there is a legal definition of torture and that is more than "pain and suffering."

    Woodard left the courtroom surrounded by deputies. Several in the group of 10 to 15 people who supported him throughout the trial called out, "I love you."

    http://www.ydr.com/local/ci_24405519...oddler-beating
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    Man gets death penalty in Pa. toddler murder

    A central Pennsylvania man has been sentenced to die for the beating death of a toddler he was baby-sitting two years ago.

    A jury in York County convicted 40-year-old Aric Shayne Woodard in October of first-degree murder in the death of 2-year-old Jaques Twinn. The jury also recommended the death penalty instead of a sentence of life in prison.

    Prosecutors said Woodard beat the boy to death in November 2011 while looking after him at a York home.

    The York Dispatch (http://bit.ly/1cBiFp4) said Woodard slumped in his chair and smiled in apparent amusement during his sentencing hearing on Wednesday. Woodard claimed he is innocent and said he was "set up" but didn't offer any details.

    Pennsylvania's last execution was in 1999.

    http://www.ydr.com/state/ci_24751844...toddler-murder
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    Mother pleads to endangerment in son's death


    Jaques Twinn's mother left him in the care of the man who killed him

    By Rick Lee
    The York Daily Record

    The woman who left her two children in the care of Aric Woodard — who killed one of them — pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

    In a negotiated plea agreement, Hayley Amanda Twinn, 22, of York, was sentenced to two concurrent terms of five years probation.

    Her son, 2-year-old Jaques Omari Twinn, was beaten to death in November 2011 by Woodard.

    Woodard was convicted of first-degree murder and has been sentenced to death.

    Twinn testified for the commonwealth at Woodard's trial, stating that she had left Jaques and his younger sister with Woodard before, including overnight.

    In tears she told the jury that Woodard "was my friend. I trusted him."

    The defense provided the information for the jury that while Woodard was watching Twinn's children, she was with another man.

    Jaques died of blunt force trauma, which included fatal injuries to his liver and brain, according to testimony at trial.

    The prosecution argued at trial that Woodard, now 40, was a man in love with a woman who did not love him and that he took his anger out on the boy.

    http://www.ydr.com/local/ci_25021557...ent-sons-death

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    Today, The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania upheld Mr. Woodard's conviction and death sentence. Unsurprisingly to PA court watchers, Justice Baer, a fierce advocate for children, wrote for the court.

    http://www.pacourts.us/assets/opinio...76854.pdf?cb=1

    Chief Justice Saylor filed a dissent that raises an interesting legal question even though I disagree with him.

    http://www.pacourts.us/assets/opinio...76852.pdf?cb=1
    Last edited by Fact; 12-03-2015 at 04:59 PM.

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    On October 3, 2016, the United States Supreme Court DENIED Woodard's certiorari petition.

    Lower Ct: Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Eastern District
    Case Nos.: (692 CAP)
    Decision Date: December 3, 2015
    Rehearing Denied: January 25, 2016

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/search....es/15-9545.htm

    On November 9, 2016, Woodard filed a habeas petition in Federal District Court.

    https://dockets.justia.com/docket/pe...cv02262/109605
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    "They will hurt you. They will hurt your grandma, these people. The root cause of this is there's no discipline in the homes, they don't go to school, you know, they live off the government, no personal accountability, and they just beat people up for no reason, and it's disgusting." - Former Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters

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    Notice of execution signed for York murderer

    By Christopher Dornblaser
    The York Dispatch

    A notice of execution has been signed for a York City man who killed a 2-year-old in 2011.

    Aric Shayne Woodard, 43, formerly of West Jackson Street, was convicted of first-degree murder for fatally beating Jaques Omari Twinn on Nov. 7, 2011, while baby-sitting the boy and his little sister.

    Jaques was the son of Hayley Twinn of York and Tyrone Kemp of Baltimore.

    According to a release from the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, Secretary John Wetzel signed a notice for the execution of Woodard. The date of execution is March 4, the release states.

    Woodward was sentenced to death on Dec. 18, 2013.

    According to charging documents filed at the time, police were called to a home in the 100 block of West Maple Street about 2:25 p.m. Nov. 7, 2011, for a child in cardiac arrest.

    Jaques was rushed to York Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 3:05 p.m.

    York City Detective Al Clarkson said at the time that Woodard left the children alone to go to a nearby store and that when he returned, he assaulted the child after realizing Jaques had smeared feces on the kitchen carpet.

    Woodard had feelings for the children's mother, Hayley Twinn, but she did not reciprocate, according to Clarkson.

    "(Woodard) became frustrated that day," the detective has said. "He knew she was out with somebody else, and he realized she was using him to watch her kids while she was out with another guy."

    In addition to Woodard, three other notices of executions were signed, according to the release.

    The notices of execution for Patrick Ray Haney, Richard Andrew Poplawski, and Wayne A. Smith also were signed. Those executions are scheduled for early March as well.

    Shortly after taking office Gov. Tom Wolf began issuing reprieves to condemned inmates, citing concerns about flaws in Pennsylvania's capital punishment system. He has said the moratorium will remain in effect at least until he receives a report from a legislative commission that has been studying the topic for about five years, according to the Associated Press.

    The last execution in Pennsylvania was in 1999.

    http://www.yorkdispatch.com/story/ne...erer/96751064/

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