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Thread: Gabriel Paul Hall - Texas Death Row

  1. #21
    Moderator Ryan's Avatar
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    Yes you're right Helen69, let's see what happens in the meantime of James Calvert and Mark Gonzales! Very much two potential Polunsky house members... Good news on Hall, Juan Garcia left Tuesday as Gabriel Hall enters.

  2. #22
    Senior Member Frequent Poster Fact's Avatar
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    Now we can dispose of that stupid abolitionist argument.

  3. #23
    Senior Member CnCP Legend JLR's Avatar
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    November 25, 2019

    Insult comic’s video at center of Texas death row appeal

    By Chuck Lindell
    The Austin American-Statesman

    Billed as a "one man verbal assault unit," insult comic Jeff Ross is best known for leading celebrity roasts on Comedy Central, but he's also at the center of a Texas death penalty appeal thanks to a cable TV special he shot inside a Bryan jail.

    Ross, trailed by a camera, was allowed to mingle with inmates for the 2015 special, and one of the first prisoners he approached was Gabriel Hall, who was awaiting trial for a brutal attack that left an elderly man dead and his wife severely wounded four years earlier.

    The footage of Hall never made it into "Jeff Ross Roasts Criminals: Live at Brazos County Jail," but it did get played for a different audience — the 12 jurors who had found him guilty of capital murder and who had to choose between sentencing Hall to death or life in prison without parole during the punishment phase of his 2015 trial.

    After more than seven hours of deliberations, jurors decided that Hall posed a future danger to society, a required finding before a death sentence could be imposed.

    Now defense lawyers are asking the state's highest criminal court to overturn that death sentence and order a new punishment phase trial, arguing that jurors never should have been allowed to watch the video of Ross interviewing Hall and several other prisoners as they sat around a table in the common area of their jail dorm.

    Hall's lawyers say the video was unfairly prejudicial to their client, was irrelevant to the question of his future dangerousness and was obtained improperly because jail staff had been told that nobody was to interview Hall without his lawyer present.

    In addition, the video clip gave jurors a misleading and contrived image of Hall at the hands of a professional showman who insults people for laughs, defense attorney Rob Owen told the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals during oral arguments in mid-September.

    "It contains Mr. Ross making fun of Mr. Hall's appearance and his demeanor. It contains belittling comments about his ethnic background, the fact that he is Asian. It contains attempts to provoke Mr. Hall into a response by saying things to him like, 'You must've done something crazy" to be in jail for four years awaiting trial, Owen told the court.

    Worse, Owen added, the video clip included comments from other prisoners that cast Hall in a negative light through no fault of his own — such as inmates who expressed contempt for law-abiding society, or one who portrayed prison life as enjoyable, something that might sway a juror contemplating a sentence of life in prison instead of lethal injection, he said.

    But prosecutors insisted that the Ross video was pertinent because it let jurors see Hall in unguarded moments that reflected his true nature.

    Several judges on the appeals court pushed back on that explanation during oral arguments.

    'Same person 4 years later'

    Doug Howell, a Brazos County assistant district attorney, told the court that the comedian's interaction with Hall hearkened back to the inmate's two taped confessions to police that had been shown earlier to jurors.

    "In both of those confessions, the defendant detailed the brutal killing, that he just flat out said, 'I enjoyed doing this,'" Howell said. "He is enjoying and is unremorseful about this brutal murder."

    Asked by Judge Kevin Yeary to explain why the Ross video was relevant, Howell said the footage was subpoenaed to counter defense lawyers who argued that Hall had shown remorse for the killings and taken responsibility for his actions.

    "If you compare his confessions, where he is just, you know, sitting there drinking a cup of coffee telling them what he's doing. Officers testified that you could tell he got excited (talking about) what he did," Howell said.

    The Comedy Central video showed that Hall "is the same person four years later, and I think that was highly relevant to the state proving future dangerousness," Howell said.

    Yeary interjected: "Still not hearing from you how that videotape demonstrates a lack of remorse."

    State law, Howell replied, allows punishment-phase evidence to be presented that reveals a defendant's character.

    "You would think that someone who had committed a brutal murder like he has done would not be joking around with a comic," he said. "(Hall) actively engaged with Mr. Ross and told his own jokes."

    "I'm sorry," Judge Mary Lou Keel said. "So by making jokes, you're saying that demonstrates a lack of remorse or it refutes the defensive theory (that Hall was) taking responsibility?"

    "Four years later, it's the same demeanor, it's the same showing of remorselessness," Howell replied.

    Yeary again asked why the video was relevant, noting: "It seems like the confessions themselves are the most poignant evidence that rebuts a claim that he was remorseful, right?"

    "But that's four years old" by the time Hall was tried for the 2011 attacks, Howell said.

    Asian heritage mocked

    During his turn before the judges during oral arguments, defense lawyer Owen said one of the most troubling aspects of the Comedy Central video was the way Ross repeatedly referred to the Asian heritage of Hall, who was born in the Philippines and adopted in the United States.

    A transcript of the video shows Ross conferring the nickname "Slim Sushi" on Hall; playing on Asian stereotypes by asking if Hall was in jail for computer hacking; and asking if the inmate was Harold or Kumar, referring to film characters portrayed by Korean-born actor John Cho and Kal Penn, whose parents are Indian immigrants, Owen said.

    The frequent reminders invited any juror who harbored "even a slight discomfort with Asian people" to weigh that in their internal deliberations, he said.

    "Once you license the jury to consider the fact of somebody's ethnic background, you don't know where that's going to go," said Owen, a former University of Texas law professor now in private practice in Chicago. Hall also is represented on appeal by the UT Law School's Capital Punishment Clinic.

    After Yeary acknowledged that the ethnic references were something he was struggling with in the case, Owen said problems persisted despite efforts by the trial judge, who allowed jurors to view almost nine minutes of the original 18-minute clip after ordering many of the most caustic interactions to be redacted.

    What was left was still bad, "and that was a problem," Owen said.

    "The parts he cut out are so toxic, it could leave you with the mistaken impression that what was left was, by comparison, not as toxic," Owen said. "It's like oh, it's not that bad when you compare it to these awful things. But on it's own, it's terrible."

    Owen also argued that the Ross video improperly opened Hall to guilt by association by including comments from other inmates who said prison was great — allowing time to dream about fishing and sex while sleeping away much of your sentence under medication.

    Picking up on that argument, Keel asked prosecutor Howell why "things the defendant didn't say and can't be attributed to him — how were those relevant?"

    "It shows the defendant's character and demeanor while this conversation is going on. It's not just between him and Ross," Howell replied. "Without those conversations in the middle, there would be no context for what is going on back and forth."

    The Court of Criminal Appeals has no deadline to issue its ruling.

    Even if the court agrees to order a new punishment phase trial for Hall, the inmate's capital murder conviction would remain, making him eligible for two outcomes — another death sentence or life in prison without parole.

    https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.sta...emplate=ampart

  4. #24
    Moderator Bobsicles's Avatar
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    Death sentence and conviction affirmed on direct appeal.

    https://search.txcourts.gov/handdown...ate=12/08/2021
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

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  5. #25
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Appeals court upholds admission of inmate's Comedy Central interview at his death penalty trial

    A trial judge didn’t err by admitting footage of an inmate’s conversation with a Comedy Central comedian during the penalty phase of the inmate’s murder trial, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled last week.

    In a Dec. 8 opinion, the top Texas court for criminal cases rejected arguments by Gabriel Paul Hall that the video violated his Sixth Amendment right to counsel, was irrelevant to punishment phase issues, and created a danger of unfair prejudice that outweighed any relevance.

    Hall was convicted in 2015 of murdering a retired Texas A&M University professor in October 2011 by stabbing him multiple times and shooting him in the forehead, according to the opinion and prior coverage by BuzzFeed News. Hall was 18 at the time of the crime and had confessed to killing the professor and slashing the throat of the professor’s wife, who survived the ordeal. He was sentenced to death.

    Jurors had found that Hall posed a future danger to society, which was needed for a death sentence, according to prior coverage of the case by the Austin American-Statesman.

    Hall’s comments arguably evinced a lack of remorse, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals said.

    Comedy Central comedian Jeff Ross was at the Brazos County Detention Center in February 2015 to film a comedy special. The jail permitted the Comedy Central personality to photograph or record any inmate who had signed a release.

    Ross spoke with Hall and other inmates in a 17-minute conversation.

    One exchange could lead a fact finder to conclude that Hall viewed his crime as petty, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals said.

    It began when Ross mentioned the Texas death penalty and said it was “a scary state.” Another inmate said Texas wasn’t bashful about handing out death sentences, and Hall agreed. “Yeah, they’ll, uh, they’ll hang you for the, they’ll hang you for—well, they, they’ll basically, screw you over, over the most, uh, petty s- - -.”

    In another exchange, Ross made a joke that a rational fact finder could interpret as making light of his crime, according to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Here is the conversation:

    “Ross: … What are you in here for?

    Appellant: Ah …

    Ross: Hacking somebody’s computer?

    Appellant: Something like that, yes.

    Other inmate: ‘Hacking’ being the operative word.

    Appellant: Yeah. Yeah, used a machete on someone’s screen, so.”

    In a 3rd exchange, Hall displayed what a rational fact finder could construe as a disregard for human life, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals said. The conversation began with Ross pointing at Hall and declaring that he seemed like a “scary dude.” Here is what followed:

    “Appellant: Oh, come on, I wouldn’t hurt a fly.

    Ross: What’s that?

    Appellant: I wouldn’t hurt a fly.

    Ross: Really? What about a human?

    Appellant: Eh, they’re annoying. We’ll leave ’em to their own devices, so.”

    During oral arguments in September 2019, Hall’s lawyer argued that Ross was a professional showman who delivered a misleading image of Hall, according to the Austin American-Statesman.

    The video “contains Mr. Ross making fun of Mr. Hall’s appearance and his demeanor,” said the lawyer, Rob Owen. “It contains belittling comments about his ethnic background, the fact that he is Asian. It contains attempts to provoke Mr. Hall into a response by saying things to him like, ‘You must’ve done something crazy’” to be stuck in jail waiting trial for 4 years.

    Hall’s video did not air on Comedy Central.

    (source: abajournal.com)
    "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

  6. #26
    Moderator Bobsicles's Avatar
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    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

    Tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter - Linkin Park

    Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt

    I’m going to the ghost McDonalds - Garcello

  7. #27
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    College Station man’s capital murder case will not be reheard

    The state’s highest criminal appeals court says a College Station man’s 2015 capital murder conviction will not be reheard.

    Gabriel Hall was sentenced to death for murdering Edwin Shaar and stabbing his wife Linda in their College Station home in 2011. Hall was an 18-year-old student at A&M Consolidated High School at that time. He is now 28.

    This week, the CCA denied rehearing in State v. Gabriel Hall, ending Hall's state level appeals. Hall was convicted in 2017 of Capital Murder and sentenced to Death.https://t.co/mbpmQvt4XT — Brazos County DA (@BrazosCountyDA) April 1, 2022

    In 2019, Hall’s defense attorneys took issue with a video the Brazos County jury was shown before he was sentenced to death. His appeal was first denied in December 2021.

    Now, Hall will have the opportunity to move to introduce new evidence through a writ of habeas corpus at both the state and federal levels. Hall remains on death row at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s Allan B. Polunsky Unit in Livingston.

    (source: KBTX news)
    "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

  8. #28
    Moderator Bobsicles's Avatar
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    Distributed for conference January 6, 2023.

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/search....c/22-5487.html
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

    Tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter - Linkin Park

    Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt

    I’m going to the ghost McDonalds - Garcello

  9. #29
    Moderator Bobsicles's Avatar
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    Comedian Jeff Ross' roast of convicted murderer at center of death penalty appeal to SCOTUS

    The comedy show footage used in Gabriel Hall's sentencing contained "numerous vulgar provocations," the attorneys' petition alleges.

    By Sara Netzley
    Entertainment Weekly

    The Roastmaster himself, comedian Jeff Ross is finding himself somewhere he probably never pictured: at the center of a death-row petition headed to the Supreme Court for consideration.

    An attorney for Gabriel Paul Hall — who was sentenced to death in 2015 for the murder of a retired professor and the man's disabled wife — is asking the Supreme Court to review Hall's sentence. The petition alleges that a comedy roast performed by Ross and featuring Hall was filmed while the inmate was awaiting trial, the footage was then used by the prosecutors to help prejudice the jury against Hall, leading to his death sentence.

    McKenzie Edwards, an attorney representing Hall, tweeted the petition on Wednesday, writing, "A Texas jail volunteered to let Comedy Central comedian Jeff Ross roast its inmates. It encouraged inmates to participate. Texas then used the footage to sentence my client, Gabriel Hall, to death. We're asking SCOTUS to review the constitutionality of Mr. Hall's sentence."

    Hall was being held at the Brazos County Detention Center in 2015 when Ross, an insult comic known as the "roastmaster general," taped the special Jeff Ross Roasts Criminals: Live at Brazos County Jail. The petition also alleges that the nine-person film crew was allowed to interview Hall without first informing his attorneys, who had requested that sheriff's deputies seek their consent before allowing Hall to have contact with anyone.

    The taped footage contained "numerous vulgar provocations by Ross and damaging responses from Petitioner (Hall)," according to the petition. Although Hall's segments weren't included in the final cut of the comedy show, the footage was played for the jury as evidence against Hall during sentencing.

    McKenzie, along with co-counsel Robert C. Owen and Raoul D. Schonemann, asks the Supreme Court to consider whether the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals erred in ruling that the State didn't violate Hall's Sixth Amendment rights to an impartial jury.

    The petition states, "The State gave a third-party civilian otherwise unobtainable physical access to Petitioner and then used the statements that civilian elicited from Petitioner as evidence against petitioner at the penalty phase of his capital murder trial."

    Hall confessed to committing the murders, which occurred when he was an 18-year-old Texas A&M Consolidated High School student. The unaired footage from the special shows him joking with Hall about whether he'd hurt a fly. But when Ross asked Hall about hurting people, Hall replied, "Eh, they're annoying. We'll leave 'em to their own devices, so," Law and Crime reported.

    The petition for a writ of certiorari will be considered by the Supreme Court during their conference on Jan. 6. If at least four of the nine justices believe that the case is worth considering, it will be added to their docket for a hearing.

    Representatives for Ross did not immediately respond to EW's request for comment.

    https://ew.com/celebrity/jeff-ross-r...enalty-appeal/
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

    Tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter - Linkin Park

    Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt

    I’m going to the ghost McDonalds - Garcello

  10. #30
    Administrator Aaron's Avatar
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    Sounds to me like Hall has himself to blame. Maybe joking to a comedian about killing people when you're about to go to trial for capital murder is, I dunno, a bad idea?
    Don't ask questions, just consume product and then get excited for next products.

    "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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