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Thread: Dontae Callen - Alabama Death Row

  1. #1
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    Dontae Callen - Alabama Death Row


    Aaliyah Budgess, 12




    Jury weighing death penalty, life sentence for Birmingham man convicted of fatally stabbing aunt, 2 cousins

    The jury in the capital murder trial of a 20-year-old man charged in the 2010 stabbing deaths of his aunt and two cousins has begun deliberating whether to recommend the death penalty or life in prison without parole.

    The jury announced Thursday afternoon that they had found Dontae Callen guilty of three counts of capital murder: death of two or more people; death of a person under the age of 14; and deaths during the commission of first-degree arson.

    Callen was 18 when he was charged in the Oct. 29, 2010, stabbing deaths of his aunt, Bernice Kelly, 59; and his cousins Quortes Kelly, 33; and Aaliyah Budgess, 12, and setting fires in the apartment after the slayings.

    The trial, which began Monday before Jefferson County Circuit Judge Laura Petro, is now in the penalty phase.

    Ron Thrasher and Don Colee are representing Callen. Deputy Jefferson County District Attorneys Patrick Lamb and Julie McMakin are prosecuting the case.

    Lamb and McMakin argued that the jury should consider three circumstances when weighing their recommendation: Callen intentionally caused the death of two or more people; the offense was especially heinous, atrocious and cruel; and, by setting five fires, Callen knowingly put other residents of the apartment complex and first responders at risk.

    "This defendant didn't think of them and didn't think of the neighbors," McMakin said. "He only thought about himself and what he needed to do to get away with this crime."

    Colee and Thrasher told the jury they didn't intend to excuse Callen's behavior, but that they should take into consideration his youth, his difficult childhood and his mental and emotional struggles.

    "Nothing is going to bring (the victims) back," Thrasher said. "Killing Dontae Callen isn't going to bring them back. If he lives, there may be some kind of redemption that takes place. Executing my client won't do anything except continue the pain and suffering of this family."

    A mental health expert who testified for the defense said that after several evaluations, he determined Callen had low intellectual functioning and suffered dissociative episodes and post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from fear of abandonment instilled as a child.

    Lamb disputed the defense expert's findings, saying they differed greatly from evaluations conducted by other experts.

    At a hearing in May, Petro heard evidence from two mental health experts and ruled that Callen is not mentally retarded, making him eligible for the death penalty.

    Beatrice Brown, Bernice's sister and Callen's grandmother, testified about her grandson's unstable life, calling him a "lost child" who bounced from home to home after his mother decided she didn't want to raise him and his siblings.

    "I've tried and tried to understand what went on," Brown said. "For him to do this, something had to be wrong inside."

    Natasha Brown took the stand to speak for some members of the family, describing her mother Bernice and brother Quortes as kind, mild-mannered people who never had a bad word to say about anyone. Aaliyah was "a bright little girl" with a smile that could light up a room, she said.

    "We always knew she would make something of herself, but now we'll never see the young woman she would have grown into," Brown said. "We'll never see that smile on her face again."

    On Wednesday, jurors were shown video of Callen's questioning with Birmingham police investigator Warren Cotton.

    "I'm going to burn in hell," a sobbing Callen told the investigator, saying he didn't know why he stabbed his family members.

    Callen told police he was drinking beer with Quortes Kelly while the other two slept in different rooms.

    He said he started stabbing his cousin with a knife he had found on the floor and that he also stabbed Bernice Kelly when she awoke and confronted him, then Aaliyah when she woke up.

    Callen told police he set fire to some clothing and left the apartment, discarding evidence including knives and bloody bedding along a path from Kelly's Kingston apartment to the Avondale apartment where he was staying.

    http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2013/07/...enalty_li.html
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  2. #2
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Jury recommends death penalty for Birmingham man, 20, in stabbing deaths of aunt, 2 cousins

    A Jefferson County jury recommended this afternoon that a 20-year-old man charged in the 2010 stabbing deaths of his aunt and 2 cousins should die by lethal injection.

    The jury, which on Thursday convicted Dontae Callen of 3 counts of capital murder, voted 11-1 for the death penalty after about 3 1/2 hours of deliberation.

    Circuit Judge Laura Petro will consider the jury's recommendation when she decides Callen's official punishment at an Aug. 20 hearing. The alternative sentence is life without parole.

    Callen was 18 when he was charged in the Oct. 29, 2010, stabbing deaths of his aunt, Bernice Kelly, 59; and his cousins Quortes Kelly, 33; and Aaliyah Budgess, 12, and then setting fire to the apartment.

    Deputy Jefferson County District Attorneys Patrick Lamb and Julie McMakin prosecuted the case.

    Lamb said the victims' family members thought death is the appropriate recommendation because of the nature of the crimes.

    "This was one of the most horrific cases I've ever seen, and it certainly merited the most serious punishment under the law," Lamb said.

    Defense attorney Ron Thrasher said he and his co-counsel Don Colee are greatly disappointed in the verdict, and that he expects an appellate review of the issues Callen faced in the case.

    "We're disappointed, but we respect the jury taking the extraordinary amount of time they spent on the case," Thrasher said.

    Callen was convicted of 3 counts of capital murder: death of 2 or more people; death of a person under the age of 14; and deaths during the commission of 1st-degree arson.

    During the penalty phase of the trial, Lamb and McMakin argued that Callen intentionally caused the death of 2 or more people; the offense was especially heinous, atrocious and cruel; and, by setting five fires, Callen knowingly put other residents of the apartment complex and 1st responders at risk.

    "This defendant didn't think of them and didn't think of the neighbors," McMakin said. "He only thought about himself and what he needed to do to get away with this crime."

    Colee and Thrasher told the jury they didn't intend to excuse Callen's behavior, but that they should take into consideration his youth, his difficult upbringing and his mental and emotional struggles.

    "Nothing is going to bring (the victims) back," Thrasher told the jury. "Killing Dontae Callen isn't going to bring them back. If he lives, there may be some kind of redemption that takes place. Executing my client won't do anything except continue the pain and suffering of this family."

    A mental health expert who testified for the defense said that after several evaluations, he determined Callen had low intellectual functioning and suffered dissociative episodes and post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from fear of abandonment instilled as a child.

    Beatrice Brown, Bernice's sister and Callen's grandmother, testified about her grandson's unstable life, calling him a "lost child" who bounced from home to home after his mother decided she didn't want to raise him and his siblings.

    "I've tried and tried to understand what went on," Brown said. "For him to do this, something had to be wrong inside."

    Lisa Brown took the stand to speak for some members of the family, describing her mother Bernice and brother Quortes as kind, mild-mannered people who never had a bad word to say about anyone. Aaliyah was "a bright little girl" with a smile that could light up a room, she said.

    "We always knew she would make something of herself, but now we'll never see the young woman she would have grown into," Brown said. "We'll never see that smile on her face again."

    On Wednesday, jurors were shown video of Callen's questioning with Birmingham police investigator Warren Cotton.

    "I'm going to burn in hell," a sobbing Callen told the investigator, saying he didn't know why he stabbed his family members.

    Callen told police he was drinking beer with Quortes Kelly while the Bernice Kelly and Aaliyah slept in different rooms.

    He said he started stabbing his cousin with a knife he had found on the floor and that he also stabbed Bernice Kelly when she awoke and confronted him, then Aaliyah when she woke up.

    Callen told police he set fire to some clothing and left the apartment, discarding evidence including knives and bloody bedding along a path from Kelly's Kingston apartment to the Avondale apartment where he was staying.
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

  3. #3
    Senior Member CnCP Legend JLR's Avatar
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    August 20, 2013

    Birmingham man sentenced to death for slayings of three relatives

    By Kent Faulk
    The Birmingham News

    BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - A Birmingham man was sentenced to death this afternoon for his conviction in the 2010 stabbing deaths of three relatives, including his 12-year-old cousin.
    Dontae Callen, 20, was sentenced by Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Laura Petro.

    "This is a senseless, senseless case," Petro said during the hearing.

    Petro told Callen there has been no reasonable explanation given for his actions. "It is one of the more heinous cases I have seen. ... Three people are dead for absolutely no reason," she said.

    Callen was convicted of capital murder charges by a jury in July in the Oct. 29, 2010 stabbing deaths of his aunt, Bernice Kelly, 59; and his cousins Quortes Kelly, 33; and Aaliyah Budgess, 12, and setting fires in the apartment after the slayings.

    Callen had confessed to police.

    The jury had recommended that the judge sentence Callen to death.

    Before imposing the sentence, Petro heard from several of the more than dozen Callen relatives who were in the audience - several who argued against the death penalty and one, speaking on behalf of the others, who agreed with it.

    Lisa Brown, the daughter of Bernice Kelly speaking on behalf of her and Aaliyah Budgess' mother, said that she believed the jury's recommendation for death was just. "There was no reason for him to do what he did," she testified.

    There is no one who wins in this case," - Ron Thrasher, an attorney for Dontae Callen
    Brown said that she had a brother who is mentally disabled and she still has to tell him that their mother won't be coming back. "Each time I have to do that it just tears a piece of my heart out," she said.

    Callen's grandmother, Beatrice Brown, however, asked the judge to spare her grandson's life. "I don't know why he did this ... for him to do something like this he had to be out of his mind," she said.

    Deputy Jefferson County District Attorneys Patrick Lamb and Julie McMakin had prosecuted the case and had sought the death penalty.

    "If you apply the law in the state of Alabama this case requires the death penalty," Lamb said after the sentencing. "The family felt that justice required the imposition of the maximum penalty allowed under the law."

    Defense attorneys Ron Thrasher and Don Colee had argued for the judge to override the jury's recommendation for the death penalty. Among their arguments were that Callen hadn't been in trouble before, that he has a low IQ, he was only six weeks past his 18th birthday when the slayings happened, and that he didn't have a stable home life, bouncing around among family as a child and teen - including awhile with Bernice Kelly.

    Thrasher, after the hearing, said it will now be up to an appeals court. "I'm just against the death penalty and I think life without the possibility of parole is a more appropriate sentence," he said.

    "There is no one who wins in this case," Thrasher said.

    Petro has appointed Callen an appellate attorney and today set a hearing for Oct. 16 to consider a motion she expects to get for a new trial. That's the first step in the death penalty appeals process.

    http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2013/08/...ced_to_de.html

  4. #4
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Looks like myself and 100 other people viewed the episode of 48 Hours which featured Dontae Callen that just aired on A&E.
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

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    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Alabama appeals court affirms conviction of man in slayings of 3 relatives

    By Kent Faulk
    AL.com

    The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals on Friday affirmed the conviction of a Birmingham man sentenced to death for the 2010 stabbing deaths of his great aunt and two cousins.

    But the court ordered the trial judge to further expand in writing the reasons for the death sentence.

    Dontae Callen was sentenced Aug. 20, 2013 for his capital murder conviction in the Oct. 29, 2010 stabbing deaths of his great aunt, Bernice Kelly, 59, and his cousins Quortes Kelly, 33, and Aaliyah Budgess, 12, and setting fires in the apartment after the slayings.

    Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Laura Petro sentenced Callen after a jury voted 11-1 to recommend he be sentenced to death.

    Dr. Gary Simmons, a forensic pathologist with the Jefferson County Coroner's Office, testified that Bernice Kelly had been stabbed 18 times in her upper body; Quortes Kelly had been stabbed 33 times in his upper body; and Aaliyah Budgess had been stabbed 25 times to her neck and head.

    The appeals court stated in its order Friday that the trial judge should have expanded on her written findings of fact concerning two of the three aggravating circumstances.

    The appeals court stated that "by remanding this case to the circuit court, we do not wish to be understood as implying that [the murders were] not especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel when compared to other capital murders."

    Defense attorneys Ron Thrasher and Don Colee had argued for the judge to override the jury's recommendation for the death penalty at the sentencing. Among their arguments were that Callen hadn't been in trouble before, that he has a low IQ, he was only six weeks past his 18th birthday when the slayings happened, and that he didn't have a stable home life, bouncing around among family as a child and teen - including awhile with Bernice Kelly.

    http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/in...affirms_2.html
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    Administrator Aaron's Avatar
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    Alabama Court of Appeals Upholds Two Death Sentences

    The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals has upheld the cases of two inmates sentenced to death for murder.

    The court turned down the appeal of Dontae Callen, 24, in a decision Friday. Callen was convicted of killing an aunt and two cousins in Jefferson County in 2010.

    One of Callen’s victims was 12. The appeals court ruled that Callen’s death sentence wasn’t out of line with punishment in other capital cases.

    The court also upheld the Elmore County conviction of Calvin McMillan, 28. He was convicted of killing James Bryan Martin during a robbery in 2009.

    The judges upheld the decision of a lower court which rejected McMillan’s claim that he was too mentally deficient to stand trial and face a death sentence.

    http://www.alabamanews.net/2017/08/1...ath-sentences/
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    In today's orders, the United States Supreme Court declined to review Callen's petition for certiorari.

    Lower Ct: Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama
    Case Numbers: (CA-13-0099)
    Decision Date: August 11, 2017
    Rehearing Denied: December 8, 2017
    Discretionary Court Decision Date: November 16, 2018
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

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