Results 1 to 10 of 10

Thread: Ropati Afatia Seumanu - California Death Row

  1. #1
    Guest
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    5,534

    Ropati Afatia Seumanu - California Death Row

    T02150.jpg
    Ropati Seumanu in 2011


    Facts of the Crime:

    Sentenced to death on December 12, 2000 in Alameda County for his participation in the robbing and killing of 25-year-old Nolan Pamintuan on May 17, 1996.

  2. #2
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Germany
    Posts
    13,014
    Seumanu's case has been fully briefed on direct appeal before the California Supreme Court since April 14, 2009.

    http://appellatecases.courtinfo.ca.g...doc_no=S093803

  3. #3
    txkrause
    Guest
    Can anyone give me an update on what this means? I am new to the workings of Death row, as I am Pen-pal.

  4. #4
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    Oh Lord....LOL
    "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. #5
    Senior Member Member DStafford's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    138
    Quote Originally Posted by txkrause View Post
    Can anyone give me an update on what this means? I am new to the workings of Death row, as I am Pen-pal.
    I'm not sure what you're referring to, and I don't understand all the ins and outs of the appeals process, but I'll blat out my thoughts and others can amend/correct what I say:

    Death sentences automatically come with appeals - or chances to overturn your conviction. However, there have to be valid reasons for this to happen. Examples, the offender is retarded or insane, had a bad lawyer, the prosecutor did some shady things, there's new evidence... like that. This process goes on for YEARS. And then, when all the appeals run out, you get an execution date. Unless you're in California. They never follow through on executing anyone.

    So you should have your pen pal for the rest of his murderous life.

    -Dawn
    Last edited by DStafford; 01-28-2015 at 03:34 PM. Reason: Typo

  6. #6
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Germany
    Posts
    13,014
    On May 26, 2015, oral argument will be heard before the California Supreme Court in Seumanu's direct appeal.

    http://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/SJUN215A.pdf

  7. #7
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Germany
    Posts
    13,014
    Death sentence upheld for killer of man a day before his wedding

    The state Supreme Court upheld the death sentence Monday of a Hayward gang member who robbed and murdered a man on the night before the victim’s wedding in 1996.

    Besides rejecting defense claims of errors that affected the outcome of Ropati Seumanu’s trial, the court unanimously denied his lawyers’ argument that lengthy delays in the courts’ review of capital cases in California has created an unconstitutional system in which prisoners spend decades on Death Row while a handful are arbitrarily selected for execution. A federal judge endorsed that view last year in another defendant’s case, which an appeals court is scheduled to take up next week for a potential statewide ruling. But California’s high court said it has seen no evidence in Seumanu’s case that the process is arbitrary or unfair.

    “Allowing each case the necessary time ... to permit this court’s careful examination of the claims raised is the opposite of a system of random and arbitrary review,” said Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar in the 7-0 decision. She said Seumanu’s lawyers could raise the issue in future proceedings if they produced more evidence.

    Seumanu was 22 when he, his brother and two teenagers stole a car one night in May 1996 and confronted Nolan Pamintuan, 25, who had just returned from a pre-wedding dinner with his fiancee, the court said. They took a watch his fiancee had given him as a wedding gift and $300 that they forced him to withdraw from a bank ATM. Seumanu then killed him with a shotgun blast to the chest, the court said.

    His brother, Tautai Seumanu, pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 28 years to life in prison, and the two teenagers were given shorter sentences for manslaughter, kidnapping and robbery. They each testified or told police that Ropati Seumanu killed Pamintuan, the court said.

    Ropati Seumanu, who served as a deacon in the First Samoan Gospel Church, where his father was pastor, was also described by a witness as the leader of a gang called Sons of Samoa, affiliated with the Crips. The court said he had committed numerous assaults with his fists in the years before the murder.

    In Monday’s ruling, the court faulted Deputy District Attorney Angela Backers, the Alameda County trial prosecutor, for several acts of misconduct. Werdegar said Backers had acted unethically by telling the jury that Seumanu’s lawyers were putting on a “sham” defense and didn’t believe their client’s alibi, and had also violated legal standards by asking jurors to view the case through the eyes of the victim, “begging for (his) life.”

    But the court said the prosecutor’s misdeeds did not affect the verdict, which was based on strong evidence of guilt.

    http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/...ay-6462672.php

    The decision is here.

  8. #8
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Germany
    Posts
    13,014
    Seumanu's habeas case has been fully briefed before the California Supreme Court since March 3, 2014.

    http://appellatecases.courtinfo.ca.g...doc_no=S203852

  9. #9
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    33,217
    In today's orders, the United States Supreme Court declined to review Seumanu's petition for certiorari on direct appeal.

    Lower Ct: Supreme Court of California
    Case Nos.: (S093803)
    Decision Date: August 24, 2015
    Rehearing Denied: October 14, 2015
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

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

  10. #10
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Germany
    Posts
    13,014
    On September 13, 2017, the California Supreme Court DENIED Seumanu's habeas petition.

    http://appellatecases.courtinfo.ca.g...doc_no=S203852

    On September 21, 2017, Seumanu filed a habeas petition in Federal District Court.

    https://dockets.justia.com/docket/ca...cv05483/317345

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •