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Thread: Joseph Kenneth Colone, Jr. - Texas

  1. #11
    Moderator Bobsicles's Avatar
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    Death sentence vacated by the TCCA on Brady and Chabot claims.

    https://search.txcourts.gov/handdown...ate=03/02/2022
    Last edited by Bobsicles; 03-02-2022 at 12:20 PM.
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  2. #12
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Texas court overturns Beaumont death sentence

    By Meagan Ellsworth
    Beaumont Enterprise

    The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has overturned the conviction of a Beaumont man who was sentenced to death for capital murder five years ago. Now he will now get a new trial.

    Joseph Kenneth Colone Jr., won his appeal based on allegedly mishandled evidence and false testimony during the Mary 2017 trial that ultimately resulted in his sentence.

    Colone is accused of killing a mother and her teenage daughter.

    According previous Enterprise reporting, Colone Jr. claimed that he did not get a fair trial in Jefferson County, where "a powerful combination of individuals" decided he should die.

    The three-page opinion delivered on Wednesday by the court concluded that evidence used in the state’s case against Colone, specifically a “dark knit glove” and a “blue towel” from the crime scene, were mishandled prior to DNA testing. If true, this could have violated Colone’s due process.

    The court said Colone also claimed that one of the DPS analysts who testified during the trial either “knowingly or unknowingly” gave a “false impression” when he suggested that there was nothing “awry” with “the manner in which DPS handled the glove and towel.”

    According to court documents, due process is violated when the state knowingly or unknowingly uses materially false testimony to obtain a conviction.

    The Office of Capital and Forensic Writs, which handled the post-conviction writ, in a statement said it became clear that the DNA evidence had been mishandled during a series of postconviction depositions, and the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office joined with Colone’s attorneys to recommend that he should get a new trial. Unlike an appeal, a writ allows new evidence to be presented.

    The statement said the evidence allegedly containing Colone’s DNA had been left in an unrefrigerated cooler for 30 days. In that time, the cold packs had thawed, and “an unidentified, ‘foul-smelling’ liquid coated the bottom of the cooler.” Additionally, FedEx envelop containing the evidence was “damp and soggy.”

    “This case shows that no one involved in the criminal justice system - not lawyers, not judges, not jurors -- can take forensic evidence for granted - not even DNA evidence,” OCFW Executive Director Benjamin Wolff said in a statement. “It is also a reminder that the justice system is as fallible as the people involved and that even the highest profile cases need scrutiny to avoid wrongful convictions. We are gratified that the Court remedied this miscarriage of justice.”

    Colone previously was sentenced for fatally shooting Mary Goodman, 41, and her 16-year-old daughter Briana Goodman at their Hartel Street home in July 2010. According to a probable cause affidavit filed in the case, retaliation was believed to be the motive in the deaths.

    “The judgment of conviction … is set aside,” Wednesday’s opinion said.

    Colone was represented in trial by defense attorneys Robert Loper and Gerald Bourque. Bourque said Colone’s family is “ecstatic” about the decision.

    He pointed to a potential other suspect that was the state’s “star witness” during the initial trial. But when pressed, Bourque noted that it’s juries, not lawyers, that decide who is guilty in a case.

    He confirmed the case will come back down to the trail court. It is unclear if it will be in the court of Judge Raquel West, who heard the first trial, and if Bourque will be reassigned to represent Colone.

    “Right now, everything is up in the air other than the fact that we are starting over,” he said, adding that the case has been a battle since the beginning.

    Now, that fight continues.

    Bourque commended the appellate division of the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office for the confession of the error in this particular event, congratulated the Office of Capital and Forensic Writs and spoke on the significance of the appeal court’s decision to overturn a capital murder conviction with a death sentence.

    “It is virtually unheard of,” Bourque said. “I would say, it was a one-in-a-thousand result.”

    It’s also a significant win for him and his team.

    “I’m 72 years old,” Bourque said. “I have fought these wars for 30 years.”

    This may be one of my,” he paused, “happier moments.”

    While it doesn’t happen very often, the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office wasn’t surprised about this verdict.

    “We knew it was coming,” said Assistant Criminal District Attorney Wayln Thompson. “This was a technical issue that came up … involving a notation that was made in the laboratory file that our lawyers at trial were not aware of at the time. And, it was information that the defense attorneys were entitled to, in order to at least to prepare their defense based around it. From the defense lawyer’s perspective it would have impacted their preparations for trial — how they went about preparing defense.

    “What it means, is basically it is going to be back to square one and we are going to retry the case.”

    Thompson is confident that the DA’s office has the right suspect to prosecute and they feel they can address the concern about the evidence without impacting the admissibility for the DNA results.

    Thompson said Colone is in custody as the case returns to the indictment and both legal teams move proceed once again.

    https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/n...e-16971858.php
    "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."
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  3. #13
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Family of Beaumont mother, daughter murdered in 2010 heartbroken about overturned conviction

    “My sister and my niece don't have a fighting chance. This guy is doing everything to set himself free.”

    By Gloria Walker
    KMBT News

    BEAUMONT, Texas — Family members of a Beaumont mother and daughter who were killed in 2010 said a recent decision from the court of appeals has only deepened the pain they've felt for more than 10 years.

    On Wednesday, March 2, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned the 2017 capital murder conviction of Joseph Cologne, Jr.

    Cologne was sentenced to death in 2017 for the 2010 murder of Mary Goodman and her then 16-year-old daughter Brianna Goodman. The decision to overturn the conviction came on what would have been Brianna Goodman’s 28th birthday.

    Friends of family of the mother and daughter are heartbroken. They are frustrated about having to relive the painful trial experience all over again.

    “It’s frustrating, because we thought it was over in 2017,” Andre Goodman, family member of Mary and Brianna Goodman, said. “All we want is closure. It ain't like they are lost somewhere. All we want is closure, that's it. It don't even look like we are going to get that.”

    Andre Goodman said his family has not stopped thinking about his sister and niece since the day they were murdered inside of their home. They have also not been able to stop thinking about Cologne.

    “We housing him for 12 years," Andre Goodman said. "You know, my sister and my niece don't have a fighting chance. This guy is doing everything to try to set himself free.”

    Family of Mary and Brianna Goodman said it still feels like yesterday.

    “And poor little Brianna, she was just a kid,” Andre Goodman said. “She was just a kid. You know, she was just a kid. You killed a little kid. They was good, and Brianna and my dad, aww man, that was my dad's pride and joy.”

    The appeals court argued that there was mishandled evidence that could possibly lead to a different sentence instead of the death penalty.

    Criminal District Attorney Bob Wortham said he is confident in the sentence.

    “This was the only case I had approved for a death penalty case, because I don't really believe in the death penalty,” Wortham said. “But there are times when it's the only option, and in this case, it was the only option.”

    Mary and Brianna Goodman were a joy to their family. Joys that the family lost much to soon.

    “We miss them,” Andre Goodman said. “We miss them dearly. Mary just had a big heart and Brianna did too.”

    https://www.12newsnow.com/article/ne...a-31e0d512b61d
    "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

  4. #14
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Man formerly convicted in 2010 death of woman and her daughter in Beaumont asks to be released on bond

    Joseph Colone, Jr. was sentenced to death in 2017 for the 2010 murder of Mary Goodman and her daughter Brianna Goodman. His conviction was overturned in 2022

    By Lupita Villarreal
    12newsnow.com

    BEAUMONT, Texas — A man whose capital murder conviction was overturned has asked to be released on bond while he awaits a new trial.

    Joseph Colone, Jr. was formerly sentenced to death in 2017 for the 2010 murder of Mary Goodman and her then 16-year-old daughter Brianna Goodman at their residence in the 4600 block of Hartel Street in Beaumont's South End.

    On Wednesday, March 2, 2022, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned Colone's 2017 capital murder conviction.

    Colone appeared in court the morning of Wednesday, November 2, 2022 seeking to be released on bond.

    The defense filed a motion for a bond to be set and the court is considering it

    Judge Susan Brown, a visiting judge out of Harris County, will decide whether to move forward with this motion.

    The decision to overturn the conviction came on what would have been Brianna Goodman’s 28th birthday.

    He was tried before Judge Raquel West in 252nd District Court in 2017 and found guilty by a jury in the 2010 death.

    Colone's public defenders said in a statement that his 2017 trial was "unfair" because of errors related to forensic evidence.

    "These were two witnesses,” District Attorney Bob Wortham previously told 12News. “They lost their life, because they had the nerve to come forward and tell us what was going on. And who the guy that actually did the robbery and, so he executed our two witnesses."

    Prosecutors said in court that Colone killed them at home after Mary Goodman said she witnessed him rob a Beaumont game room.

    "This is the worst case that I've seen since I've been DA," Wortham said.

    DNA evidence helped the state win their case especially when they found Mary Goodman’s blood inside Colone’s getaway car and on a glove they said he was wearing at the murder scene, according to prosecutors.

    It took the jury about two hours to make their decision to sentence him to death.

    "As my eight years of sending as DA, this was the only case I had approved for a death penalty case because I don't really believe in the death penalty,” Wortham said. “But there are times when it's the only option. And in this case, it was the only option."

    https://www.12newsnow.com/article/ne...7-3386203f75f4
    "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

  5. #15
    Senior Member CnCP Legend Mike's Avatar
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    "There is a point in the history of a society when it becomes so pathologically soft and tender that among other things it sides even with those who harm it, criminals, and does this quite seriously and honestly. Punishing somehow seems unfair to it, and it is certain that imagining ‘punishment’ and ‘being supposed to punish’ hurts it, arouses fear in it." Friedrich Nietzsche

  6. #16
    Moderator Ryan's Avatar
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    Remanded back to trial court for new trial 10/28/22.

    https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/death_row...ger_on_dr.html
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  7. #17
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    BREAKING: Joseph Colone sentenced to 30 years for murders of mother and daughter

    By Scott Lawrence
    Fox 4 News

    JEFFERSON COUNTY — A man who once sat on death row for one of the most gruesome murders in Beaumont history, could get out of prison in two years.

    In 2017, a jury convicted Joseph Colone of capital murder and a judge sentenced him to death for the July 2010 shootings of Mary Goodman and her daughter, Briana, at their duplex near Lamar University.

    Prosecutors said he killed Mary Goodman because she was going to testify against him in a game room robbery case, and that he killed Briana because she was at their home on that same day in 2010.

    In 2022, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals threw out the conviction, ruling that evidence the defense might have been able to use was suppressed, because it wasn't properly stored and degraded over time.

    During a court hearing Thursday, Colone pled guilty to murder and a visiting judge sentenced him to 30 years.

    He could become eligible for parole in two years because of time served. He has remained in prison since 2010.

    In its March, 2022 ruling, the Court of Criminal Appeals wrote:

    "As we noted in our opinion on direct appeal, the State’s case against applicant included evidence that police investigators found a “dark knit glove” and a “blue towel” at the crime scene. DNA analysis by the DPS Crime Laboratory showed that Applicant “could not be excluded as a contributor to DNA found on the glove and blue towel.”

    In June 2019, applicant filed his initial post conviction application for a Writ of Habeas Corpus under Article 11.071. Among many other claims, applicant claimed that the State suppressed material evidence showing that the DPS Crime Laboratory had mishandled the glove and towel prior to their being subjected to DNA testing, holding that the suppression of favorable evidence by the prosecution, even if unintentional, violates due process. He also claimed that, whether knowingly or unknowingly, one of the DPS analysts who testified at trial gave the jury a false impression when he suggested that there was nothing “awry” with the manner in which DPS handled the glove and towel.

    In March 2021, the parties jointly submitted agreed findings of fact and conclusions of law that, if adopted, would counsel in favor of relief on applicant’s Brady and Chabot claims. In July 2021, the habeas court adopted the parties’ agreed findings of fact and conclusions of law. The habeas court forwarded those findings and conclusions to this court in August 2021, duly recommending that this court grant applicant relief on the basis of his Brady and Chabot claims. We agree with the habeas court that relief is warranted in this case. Therefore, relief is granted. The judgment of conviction in Case No. 10-10213 in the 252nd District Court of Jefferson County, Texas, is set aside. Applicant is remanded to the custody of the Sheriff of Jefferson County to answer the charges as set out in the indictment."

    https://fox4beaumont.com/news/breaki...er-and-daugher
    "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

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