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Thread: Mica Alexander Martinez - Oklahoma Death Row

  1. #1
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    Mica Alexander Martinez - Oklahoma Death Row


    Mica Alexander Martinez


    Double murder trial underway in Comanche County

    The double-murder trial of a man charged with killing a Comanche County couple nearly four years ago is under way in in Lawton.

    Prosecutors say Mica Martinez attacked and beat Carl Miller and Martha Miller inside their home southwest of Lawton in October 2009. The Millers died later at a hospital.

    Martinez has pleaded not guilty and defense attorneys say he was heavily intoxicated at the time— which they say clouded his mind.

    The son of Martha Miller — Shawn Monk — testified that he awoke to loud noises and went to his mother's room to investigate when he encountered Martinez coming out of the room. Monk says the two men fought until Martinez sat down on a couch and Monk called police.

    Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

    http://www.timesunion.com/news/crime...#ixzz2VwUrtxXZ
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    Martinez guilty of murdering Cache couple

    It took a jury 82 minutes longer to find Mica Martinez guilty of two counts of murder and one count of assault with a deadly weapon Thursday than it took for Martinez to take the lives of Carl and Martha Faye Miller early Oct. 12, 2009.

    Just two hours of deliberation was enough for all 12 jurors to decide the 32-year-old defendant intended to kill the Millers and assaulted their son, Shawn Monk, creating one of the most heinous crime scenes investigators at the Comanche County Sheriff's Office have seen in many years.

    Interestingly enough, both the prosecutor, Comanche County Assistant District Attorney Eddie Valdez, and the defense attorneys, Craig Corgan and Perry Hudson, encouraged the jury to find Martinez guilty, but they argued over one issue that could literally mean life or death for the defendant did he intend to kill the Millers and was he of a depraved mind at the time?

    "He deserves the maximum punishment for his behavior with Shawn Monk," Hudson said during his closing. However, the defense argued that Martinez was severely intoxicated at the time of the attack and did not premeditate the murders, so he should only be sentenced to second-degree murder. "Add a notation in the margin of your verdict form that you want both life sentences to run back-to-back. ... Send a message and tell Martinez he should spend the rest of his life in prison."

    But a dozen people disagreed. Mica Martinez intended to kill the Millers. And now, he might be sentenced to die for the crime. The death penalty phase of the trial is scheduled to begin this morning.

    After the reading of the verdict, there were lots of hugs, hand-holding, tears and sobs among the family and friends of the homicide victims. Members of Martinez's family stayed quiet and attentive. Both families respectfully declined to make any comments to the media.

    Investigators say Carl Miller likely sat in his garage drinking coffee and smoking a cigarette the morning of Oct. 12, 2009, just as he usually did. He was in his pajamas. Sometimes he had trouble sleeping so he watched television.

    Dispatchers first received a call from Martha Miller that someone was outside shooting a gun at 4:59 a.m.; Shortly afterward, a passerby called to report a suspicious vehicle out front of the Miller's home. At 5:37 a.m. Monk called to report an intruder in the home was there at gunpoint.

    But exactly what happened in the 38 minutes of that particular morning that left Miller and his wife dead may never be known.

    During closing arguments Valdez spliced bits of evidence with speculation to create a version of events that most likely happened the morning the Miller family was attacked. In his version, Carl Miller was in the garage having coffee and a cigarette like usual when he heard Martinez outside firing a gun.

    His wife called police to report the shooting, and the couple tried to see what was going on outside.

    The last words ever recorded by Martha Faye Miller were that they had just opened the garage door and "I think he sees us."

    Valdez believes Carl Miller walked out onto the gravel driveway to get a better look at the vehicle parked across the intersection when Martinez came after him for calling the police. At one point during a previous interview, Martinez had said nobody "threatens me and gets away with it."

    That's when the house slipper was dropped on the ground and the Millers went back inside the house to close the garage door. Martinez, Valdez said, knocked Carl Miller, a frail 64-year-old man, to the ground and bludgeoned him with his rifle.

    After he took Carl's wallet, he led Martha to the bedroom, where he raped her and beat her until she was disfigured. Pictures of Martinez's hands taken the following morning showed they were scratched and swollen like an orange. When Shawn Monk came from a back bedroom and asked what's going on, Martinez went back to the garage to make sure he had finished off Carl, Valdez asserted.

    http://www.swoknews.com/news-top/loc...g-cache-couple

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    Senior Member CnCP Addict Stro07's Avatar
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    Penalty phase testimony concludes in Martinez trial

    LAWTON, Okla. - Testimony has wrapped up in the penalty phase of the Mica Martinez double murder trial. Monday the defense rested its case in their fight to save Martinez from the death penalty and Tuesday it will be up to the jury.

    Jurors found Martinez guilty last Thursday in the murders of Carl and Martha Miller. On Friday, the prosecution presented its witnesses, including two family members of the victims, trying to persuade the jury to sentence Martinez to death.

    Monday the defense took over the courtroom and presented witnesses who begged the jury to spare Martinez's life. His attorney's told jurors they wanted them to see Martinez as a flawed human being who made some terrible mistakes but was not a monster. They asked jurors to keep an open mind as witnesses testified as to why Martinez' life has value and why it should be spared.

    Martinez sat stone faced as his attorneys told jurors that they were about to get an in-depth insight into his mind and later, his heart. Jurors first heard from Norma Villanueva, a clinical social worker and mitigation specialist, who did an extensive profile on Martinez. She told jurors several critical issues in his life led to his violent behavior. She says Martinez was crushed when he learned as a teenager that his mother was actually his maternal grandmother and that his sister was actually his mother.

    Villanueva said the bullying he claims he suffered in school combined with alleged sexual abuse damaged his already broken self esteem, causing him to turn to alcohol, drugs and other violent behaviors. She told jurors that his mother was the foundation of the Martinez family and when she died, it sent him over an emotionally unstable cliff.

    The prosecution questioned Villanueva's methods and asked her why she did not test Martinez for anger issues. He also asked why she did not consider validated reports of violence from his ex-girlfriends and acquaintances in her report.

    The defense then brought Martinez's young sons, Malachi and Timothy, who told jurors that he is a good father who remains in contact with them from jail. Katherine Sobo, Martinez's older sister, was the last witness to beg jurors to spare his life. She testified that shortly before the murders, she told Martinez to get help for his out of control drinking. She said her brother has problems but maintained that he is a good father, brother, and son.

    The prosecution asked whether she knew about his violent behavior, even towards their father. She admitted that she was surprised to hear some of that but didn't waiver in her plea to the jury for her brother's life.

    Several jailers also took the stand to testify that Martinez has been following the rules behind bars and has been pretty low key. Martinez has displayed no emotion during the entire trial, in fact he was often seen looking down. In court Monday, he began to twitch as his sister was testifying.

    Before jurors were sent home for the day, the judge told them they have a serious and important decision to make. Closing arguments are set for Tuesday morning, and then the jury will begin deciding whether Martinez lives or dies.

    http://www.kswo.com/story/22608866/d...-martinez-life
    Last edited by Stro07; 06-18-2013 at 10:25 AM.

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    Senior Member CnCP Addict Stro07's Avatar
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    Mica Martinez sentenced in Cache murders

    Just as defense attorney Craig Corgan said during his closing arguments in the punishment phase of the double-murder trial for Mica Martinez, the night of Oct. 12, 2009, when Martinez attacked and beat Carl and Martha Faye Miller, eventually causing their deaths, was like a stone thrown into a pond.

    The effects of that night continue to ripple across the pond's surface until they eventually touch every part of the shoreline, and the waves will continue crashing until the pond is calm again.

    The Miller family felt the first round of crashing waves the morning they learned their parents, treated at two separate hospitals, likely wouldn't survive their injuries. The waves spread out to Martinez's family after he was arrested and denied bond. The Miller children, one of whom actually was attacked by the same man who murdered his parents, said another round came in the months after the murders, when they no longer felt safe in their homes, were waking up at all hours of the night and panicked at walking outside at night.

    Both families felt the waves again two weeks ago when the murder trial began, and evidence of the brutal crime was revisited. Carl was beaten in the head in his garage as his wife apparently watched, helpless. Martha was beaten in her bed and viciously raped.

    Another round of waves crashed on both the victims' families and Martinez's family Tuesday afternoon, when a jury finished four hours of deliberation and returned with two death sentences as punishment for each murder.

    Tears flowed from both sides of the gallery. Hands extended to shoulders and other hands, squeezing in relief or terror. One woman ran sobbing from the courtroom after Martinez was led from the courtroom following the reading of the verdict, the mother of his children trembling.

    While the pond likely won't be calm again, the Miller family said they feel their decision to take the difficult route and go to trial instead of approving the defense's offer of a plea bargain was the right one that has brought them some tiny bit of relief.

    The jury, after finding Martinez guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of assault with a deadly weapon last week, heard another round of evidence from the state and defense before being asked to decide whether he should die for the crimes.

    Comanche County Assistant District Attorney Eddie Valdez presented three aggravating factors the actions of Martinez that put multiple people at great risk of death, the crime was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel and that Martinez would continue to be a threat to others to support a death sentence verdict. The jury found that the first two were met in each murder count, but did not find the state proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Martinez would continue to pose a threat to others.

    Valdez said the first aggravating factor was obvious, considering both Carl and Martha Miller died as a result of injuries inflicted by the defendant. The killings, he argued, were brutal for victims who were both over age 50, less than 5-feet-6 and just over 100 pounds each. He beat them so hard, he cracked the stock of the gun, and DNA reports indicated the sexual assault was also perpetrated with the weapon.

    Any and all legal definitions of heinous, atrocious or cruel, which included extremely wicked, vile, designed to deliberately create pain or suffering in others or for the enjoyment of others' suffering, would apply, Valdez argued.

    http://www.swoknews.com/news-top/loc...-cache-murders

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    Formal sentencing on July 15 at 3 p.m.

  6. #6
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    Martinez sentenced to death

    While the mandatory appeals process for death sentences can take years before an execution is carried out, a Comanche County judge signed a death warrant Monday afternoon ordering double-murder convict Mica Martinez to be executed in a matter of months.

    Martinez appeared before Comanche County District Court Judge Mark Smith Monday afternoon for his formal sentencing hearing. A jury last month had found him guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of assault with a deadly weapon for the October 2009 murders of Carl and Martha Faye Miller and the attack on their son, Shawn Monk.
    Comanche County Assistant District Attorney Eddie Valdez has said the attacks upon the Millers was one of most violent crimes he'd seen in decades.

    Smith followed the jury's recommended sentences and signed the warrant sentencing Martinez to death for both murder counts and to 10 years for the assault charge.

    Smith's order calls for Martinez to die by lethal injection on Sept. 30 within the walls of the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. However, The Death Penalty Information Center reports that death row inmates in the U. S. typically spend more than a decade awaiting execution.

    The death sentence will automatically be appealed, as all death sentences are in Oklahoma. Defense attorney Craig Corgan said he plans to have the notice of intent to appeal prepared within 10 days.

    http://www.swoknews.com/news-top/loc...ences-to-death
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    Oklahoma death row inmate asks court for new trial

    BY TIM TALLEY
    The Associated Press

    A death row inmate on Tuesday asked the state Court of Criminal Appeals to reduce his first-degree murder conviction or grant him a new trial in the killings of a southwestern Oklahoma couple.

    An attorney for Mica Martinez argued that the 35-year-old deserves to have his conviction reduced to second-degree murder or be tried a second time because his original attorney changed defense strategy in the middle of the first trial and was ineffective.

    Martinez was convicted in the October 2009 slayings of Carl Miller, 64, and Martha Miller, 55, at their home in the Comanche County community of Cache. "It wasn't reasonable," attorney James Lockard of the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System said, referring to the trial defense strategy during oral arguments before the court at the Oklahoma City University School of Law.

    But Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Crabb urged the five-judge court to allow Martinez's conviction and death sentence to stand, arguing that the deaths were especially heinous, atrocious or cruel — elements that are required for the death penalty in Oklahoma. She said those factors outweigh any mitigating ones in Martinez's favor.

    "This is not a very strong mitigation case," Crabb said, as students and faculty members from the OCU law school listened to her arguments.

    Son subdues attacker

    Prosecutors alleged during Martinez's trial that the Millers were brutally beaten and that Martha Miller was sexually assaulted. They said the couple's adult son was sleeping at the time but woke up and confronted Martinez. He managed to subdue Martinez and called sheriff's deputies.

    Lockard said evidence in the case indicated Martinez was highly intoxicated when the victims were killed, and defense attorneys developed a trial strategy that Martinez was too drunk to form the specific intent to kill that was required to convict him.

    "There is strong circumstantial evidence of his intoxication at the time. His mind is not capable of making decisions," Lockard said.

    Blood sampling questioned


    But he said a sample of Martinez's blood taken hours after he was taken into custody did not show a high alcoholic content because the alcohol in his system had dissipated. Lockard added that Martinez's trial attorneys abandoned their defense strategy and jurors never received legal instructions on considering the defendant's voluntary intoxication when deliberating a verdict.

    He said police officers should have known intoxication would be an issue in the case. That comment prompted Judge Arlene Johnson, of Oklahoma City, to ask whether law enforcement officers have a duty to quickly collect blood from a suspect. "Time is of the essence," the judge said.

    "You would be imposing a great, great burden on police," Crabb replied.

    http://newsok.com/oklahoma-death-row...451022/?page=2

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    Senior Member CnCP Legend CharlesMartel's Avatar
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    Oklahoma court upholds man's death penalty in couple's death

    OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has rejected a death row inmate's request to reduce his first-degree murder conviction or grant him a new trial in the killings of a southwestern Oklahoma couple.

    The appeals court handed down the decision Tuesday in the case of 35-year-old Mica Martinez. Martinez was convicted in the October 2009 slayings of 64-year-old Carl Miller and 55-year-old Martha Miller at their home in the Comanche County community of Cache.

    Among other things, the court rejected defense arguments that Martinez's conviction should be reduced to second-degree murder or that he receive a new trial because his trial attorney changed defense strategy in the middle of the trial and was ineffective.

    Martinez's appellate attorney, James Lockard of the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System, declined comment on the ruling.

    http://www.newschannel10.com/story/3...-couples-death

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    On November 8, 2016, Martinez filed a habeas petition in Federal District Court.

    https://dockets.justia.com/docket/ok...6cv01278/98294
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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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    Senior Member CnCP Legend JLR's Avatar
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    November 25, 2020

    McGirt-related hearings stricken from court

    By Scott Rains
    The Oklahoman

    Hearings for two high-profile cases seeking vacation of prison sentences on the basis of a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling regarding tribal lands and the Major Crimes Act have been stricken from the docket.

    Joshua Tony Codynah, 32, and Micah Alexander Martinez, 39, were slated to have evidentiary hearings in their cases at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday before Comanche County District Judge Emmit Tayloe.

    On Monday, Tayloe said their hearings had been sticken from the docket. They have each filed a request for an extension before the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals.

    “I will reset the hearing after the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals issues an order giving me further direction,” Tayloe said.

    The two men were each convicted of murder. Codynah was sentenced to life in prison for one count and Martinez received the capital of death death for two counts of murder.

    Both men are seeking relief from the courts by citing the July 7 McGirt v. Oklahoma decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. In that decision, pertaining to the Major Crimes Act, much of the eastern part of Oklahoma is considered to remain Native American lands as the prior reservations for the Five Civilized Tribes. The ruling reasserted that there was never a disestablishment of the reservations as part of the Oklahoma Enabling Act of 1906.

    Codynah and Alexander are each asserting that due to being tribal members and the crimes happening on what was the Kiowa-Comanche-Apache reservation, the McGirt ruling provides substance to effectively throw out their cases in Comanche County.

    https://oklahoman.com/article/314069...ve-by-killings

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