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Thread: Isidro Miguel Delacruz - Texas Death Row

  1. #21
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    Judge denies request for mistrial in Delacruz capital murder case; sentencing continues

    By Ngan Ho
    The San Angelo Standard-Times

    Sentencing in the case of Isidro Delacruz picked back up Monday, with the judge dismissing requests by the defense to declare a mistrial or grant a continuance because of new evidence.

    Delacruz, 27, was convicted of capital murder last month in the slaying of 5-year-old Naiya Villegas, the daughter of his ex-girlfriend. The child died after her throat was slit at her mother's home in the 2700 block of Houston Street on Sept. 2, 2014.

    119th District Judge Ben Woodward had halted trial last Wednesday after an administrator with the San Angelo Independent School District — who was supposed to testify last Tuesday about Delacruz's academic performance — presented prosecutors with 30 new pages of school records when he arrived at the courthouse.

    Prosecutors had requested and received 205 pages of school files relating to Delacruz from SAISD in September 2014. The files included Delacruz's class schedules, state assessment tests, grade reports, and attendance, disciplinary and health records.

    Asked to find any other SAISD records regarding Delacruz, the administrator gave prosecutors 527 total pages Tuesday evening.

    Prosecutors said some of the originally received files and the 30 additional pages were contained in the 527 pages.

    Court-appointed attorneys Robert R. Cowie and William P.H. Boyles, of the Regional Public Defender, filed motions the next day for a mistrial and a sixth continuance based on the receipt of the additional school files.

    They argued the untimely production of the records violated Delacruz's rights and hindered their ability to provide effective counsel to their client.

    51st District Attorney Allison Palmer argued a mistrial would be an extreme remedy and wasn't appropriate. She argued there were no trial errors and granting a mistrial would be a great injustice.

    Palmer also argued against the sixth continuance request, saying the defense had more than enough time to review and prepare for trial, considering the number of trial delays in Delacruz's case.

    "Granting a delay of several days' time for the defense to employ the records in whatever way they see fit is a less drastic alternative that cures any issue," Palmer said.

    Law enforcement personnel testified Monday about Delacruz's criminal record and behavior problems at the Tom Green County Jail.

    An officer with the San Angelo Police Department told jurors Delacruz has numerous arrests on drug charges as well as criminal mischief and evading arrest.

    An official with the county's probation office said Delacruz had at least five probation officers in charge of him. She said he broke probation rules numerous times by drinking alcohol and failing to pay $3,000 in fees and restitution, for example.

    Deputies with the Tom Green County Jail then told jurors Delacruz has had behavior problems since his arrest on day of Naiya's death.

    Deputies found a razor blade, which was taken from a shaving blade, in Delacruz's cell, for instance. Delacruz also made numerous calls to his ex-girlfriend shortly after he was arrested. Jail officers blocked her number after she reported it to a staff member.

    Jailhouse phone calls between Delacruz and an acquaintance showed he had driven drunk on one occasion as well.

    Sentencing proceedings continue Tuesday. Delacruz faces the death penalty or life in prison.

    https://www.gosanangelo.com/story/ne...ase/500821002/

  2. #22
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    Sentencing phase of Isidro Delacruz capital murder trial on hold again

    By Ngan Ho
    The San Angelo Standard-Times

    Sentencing in the case of Isidro Delacruz will continue Wednesday.

    Jurors showed up briefly Tuesday morning at the Tom Green County Courthouse before 119th District Judge Ben Woodward dismissed them for undisclosed reasons.

    Woodward had halted trial for several days last week because defense attorneys needed time to examine some additional school records related to Delacruz, which were given to prosecutors last minute.

    Delacruz, 27, was convicted of capital murder last month in the slaying of 5-year-old Naiya Villegas, the daughter of his ex-girlfriend. The child died after her throat was slit at her mother's home in the 2700 block of Houston Street on Sept. 2, 2014.

    Trial began March 19. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

    https://www.gosanangelo.com/story/ne...ain/503251002/

  3. #23
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    Friends, psychologist called to testify in defense of Isidro Delacruz

    By Ngan Ho
    The San Angelo Standard-Times

    Isidro Delacruz's sentencing hearing picked back up Wednesday after a one-day delay, with defense attorneys making a case for why their client shouldn't get the death penalty.

    Delacruz, 27, was convicted of capital murder last month in the slaying of 5-year-old Naiya Villegas, the daughter of his ex-girlfriend. The child died after her throat was slit at her mother's home in the 2700 block of Houston Street on Sept. 2, 2014.

    Several deputies from the Tom Green County Jail had testified Wednesday morning that they found three shanks hidden in Delacruz's mattress during a cell search in March 2016.

    Court-appointed attorneys Robert R. Cowie and William P.H. Boyles, of the Regional Public Defender, called a friend of Delacruz to testify after 51st District Attorney Allison Palmer finished calling witnesses in the afternoon.

    The man teared up when he recalled skateboarding with Delacruz wherever possible when they were teens.

    "He has always been my best friend," the witness said, with tears in his eyes. "We had intimate talks when we were together, drinking alone."

    The man said Delacruz used to stick up for him and protect him from the others kids who bullied him. He said they attended Lincoln Middle School and Lake View High School together.

    "Essentially, he was fun to be around," the witness said.

    A woman who used to work with Delacruz at a local restaurant also teared up when she talked about her encounters with him.

    "He was just a great guy, a great friend, a great co-worker," the woman said. "I just don't ever see him being (angry)."

    A clinical psychologist, Matthew Mendel, then talked about Delacruz's "horrific" childhood and how it impacted the person he is today.

    The psychologist said his testimony was to "basically help people understand how he became the way he is today" from the records he reviewed. "I'm explaining this particular human being."

    Mendel said Delacruz had a "horrific childhood" entwined with destructive family events, such as the time Child Protective Services took him and his brother from their parents for six months because of child abuse.

    He said Delacruz's generational family pattern of abuse might have affected what he normalized.

    Delacruz's grandmother, for example, sold his mother to a man at age 15. The mother experienced massive abuse from the grandmother, who is nonetheless revered in the family, Mendel said.

    The psychologist said Delacruz then endured tremendous physical abuse at the hands of his mother and father but still said of them, "my parents were pretty perfect."

    Mendel said he had never met anyone who had minimized his traumatic experiences more than Delacruz.

    https://www.gosanangelo.com/story/ne...ruz/507837002/
    Last edited by Moh; 04-12-2018 at 04:23 AM. Reason: "By" and spacing.

  4. #24
    Senior Member CnCP Legend CharlesMartel's Avatar
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    Family members of Isidro Delacruz take the stand in capital murder trial sentencing phase

    By Victor Guzma
    Conchovalleyhomepage.com

    San Angelo, TX - The sentencing phase in the Isidro Delacruz capital murder trial continued on Thursday with family members and friends taking the stand to talk about Delacruz's life growing up.

    Juan Delacruz — the father of Isidro Delacruz — was one of those people and began to tear up as he identified Isidro as his son.

    On March 29th Delacruz was found guilty of capital murder for an incident in September 2014 where 5-year -ld Naiya Villegas died after she was found by San Angelo police with cuts to her throat.

    The father of Isidro Delacruz said in court on Thursday that he tried to keep Isidro out of trouble and was worried about Isidro's relationship with Tanya Bermea — the mother of Naiya Villegas

    Juan Delacruz testified he told Isidro and Tanya at the end of their relationship to stay away from each other.

    The great grandmother of a son of Isidro's said in court she believed an injustice was done in court with Delacruz being convicted of capital murder.

    Isidro's youngest brother Lorenzo would say he did not believe Isidro committed the crime as well — however both testified they understood Isidro was ultimately found guilty of the crime and now faces a life sentence or the death penalty.

    Jurors are expected to see more witnesses called to the stand by defense attorneys on Friday.

    http://www.conchovalleyhomepage.com/...ase/1119384883
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  5. #25
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    Jury Sends Naiya Villegas's Killer Isidro Delacruz Straight to Death Row

    By Yantis Green
    San Angelo Live!

    SAN ANGELO, TX — Jurors in Isidro Delacruz’s capital murder trial deliberated for nine hours before unanimously sentencing the 27-year-old to the death penalty shortly before 8 p.m. Tuesday evening for slashing the throat of 5-year-old Naiya Villegas, killing her, on Sept. 2, 2014.

    Delacruz stood while District Judge Ben Woodward read the jury’s verdict. Jurors were charged with two special issues; first, was Delacruz a continuing threat to society and second, did he have personal moral culpability for the death of Naiya Villegas. Judge Woodward read the jury’s verdict which found unanimously that Delacruz was a continuing threat to society and they he was morally culpable for Naiya’s death.

    Then Woodward asked lead defense attorney Rob Cowie if there was any reason he shouldn’t pronounce sentence. Cowie stood up and said, “No, your honor.” Woodward then read the verdict. The jury said ‘yes’ unanimously to the first special issue finding that Delacruz was a continuing threat to society. The jury unanimously said ’no’ to the second special issue which asked if Delcruz was not personally morally culpable for Naiya’s death.

    The Jury’s instructions said if they found ‘yes’ on the first issue and ‘no’ on the second issue, the sentence was death.

    Defense attorney Cowie asked Judge Woodward to poll the jurors individually if that was their verdict. Woodward called each juror by their first name and all 12 answered yes.

    Judge Woodward then released the jury to the jury room. He asked Isidro Delacruz to stand and he did flanked by his attorneys. Woodward said that since the jury answered yes to the first issue and no to the second issue, the sentence was death.

    Isidro Delacruz turned to his defense team and kind of grinned, and hugged them one by one. There were six members of the regional indigent capital defense team present in the courtroom.

    The day began with Judge Woodard reading the charge or instructions to the jury followed by closing arguments from the prosecution followed by the defense and closing by prosecutors.

    District Attorney Allison Palmer’s opening statement was brief. She basically went over the jury’s charge and urged jurors to consider all the evidence.

    Then defense attorney Will Boyles addressed the jury. Boyles said, “This is it. This is scary.” He told jurors this worries the defense team because the death penalty is reserved for the worst of the worst and Delacruz is not that.

    Boyles said Naiya didn’t deserve to die, but we are here about Isidro. He asked jurors, “Does Isidro deserve to die?”

    Then lead defense attorney Rob Cowie addressed the jury. Cowie basically told jurors that Delacruz was not a good inmate in jail. He had shanks, but he didn’t use them. He damaged property, but he wasn’t violent toward other people. Cowie said there was an escape attempt and Delacruz had contraband and shanks in his cell, but so did other inmates.

    Then he turned to the night Naiya was killed. Cowie told jurors Delacruz and Tanya Bermea fought frequently, but they always got back together.

    Cowie went through Delacruz’s criminal acts including breaking out $40,000 worth of windows in downtown San Angelo, violating parole, using drugs. Cowie said he was a rule breaker, but not a threat to society. Cowie asked the jury for mercy. He urged jurors to choose life.

    Cowie told jurors Delacruz had low functioning intelligence, he had a speech impediment as a child, he struggled to read and he was unequipped to process emotions properly. Cowie stressed that Delacruz was introduced to alcohol and addiction at an early age by his family and he failed rehab attempts because he went back to the same environment.

    Cowie went on to tell jurors that Delacruz was suffering from the effects of alcohol the night he killed Naiya and he was remorseful. He told jurors again that Delacruz experienced the perfect storm that night.

    Then Cowie showed jurors a photo of Delacruz as a little boy. Delacruz cried and two jurors also cried; his brother Lorenzo cried as Cowie described Isidro as the one who had the learning disability and Lorenzo was normal.

    Then came this; Cowie told jurors, “You already sentenced Isidro to die in prison. I’m confident at least one of you will grant Isidro mercy.”

    Cowie closed his remarks and it was then 51st DA Palmer’s chance.

    Palmer told jurors the reason we are all here is because Isidro Delacruz decided whether someone else should live or die. Palmer told jurors Naiya will never have the family photos and opportunities Delacruz had.

    Palmer told jurors Naiya cried out for Mercy and didn’t get it.

    She then went through Delacruz’ criminal history, noting he didn’t graduate from Lake View High School until he was 20-years-old. Palmer called Delacruz rehab proof, he was antisocial and that rules didn’t apply to him. He never took personal responsibility for his actions and he was prone to over-reacting.

    Palmer told jurors that Delacruz and Tanya Bermea argued that night and it was Delacruz who brought Naiya into the mix. Palmer told jurors that Delacruz knew that the worst way to hurt Tanya was to hurt Naiya.

    Palmer then listed Delacruz’s violations while he was in custody in the Tom Green County Jail. She reminded jurors that Delacruz had shanks, hooch, and had attempted escape.

    The state and defense rested and closed at 10:32 a.m.

    At 12:55 p.m. today, jurors asked to see police in-car videos of the crime scene, Facebook pages, and the physical shanks found in Delacruz’s cell. They were given those items.

    Jurors communicated that they had reached a verdict at 7:37 p.m. They were seated at 7:55 p.m. and gave the verdict to Judge Woodward.

    Woodard told Delacruz his case was automatically appealed to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the highest criminal state court in Texas. He also informed Delacruz that he had appointed Hilary Sheard as his appellant attorney. Sheard will work with Delacruz’s current court-appointed attorneys to begin the mandatory appeal of his capital murder conviction.

    Sheard is a capital murder appellant qualified indigent defense attorney.

    Delacruz was taken back to the Tom Green County jail to wait for transfer to Death Row, which is in the Allan B. Polunsky prison in Livingston, Texas.

    http://sanangelolive.com/news/crime/...ight-death-row
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  6. #26
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    Don't usually post this, but WHATEVER...

    Isidro De La Cruz moved from Tom Green County Jail to death row; family member speaks out

    Isidro De La Cruz sat in a windowless, grim holding cell and talked this week about his recent capital murder trial. He smiled, apologized and politely asked for his statements to be off the record.

    De La Cruz, 27, who was convicted and sentenced to death April 17, 2018, was moved from the Tom Green County Jail to death row Thursday morning.

    De La Cruz won't offer the public his story of what happened the night 5-year-old Naiya Villegas died because an appeals court in Austin will inevitably review the case.

    His sister-in-law, however, didn't mince her words.

    "I'm very upset by the justice system" in Tom Green County, Xrystan De La Cruz said Monday, adding family members have held their tongues for nearly four years. "None of it was fair for Isidro."

    Xrystan De La Cruz, 24, who is married to Isidro's youngest brother, recently began defending her brother-in-law publicly on Facebook. She contends he didn't inflict the neck wounds that killed his ex-girlfriend's daughter.

    Naiya died after her throat was slit twice with a large kitchen knife at her mother's residence in the 2700 block of Houston Street on Sept. 2, 2014.

    The De La Cruz family believes Naiya was accidentally killed during a scuffle after Isidro De La Cruz showed up at Tanya Bermea's house in the middle of the night to tell her he had fathered another child .

    "That night, he intended to terminate the relationship with Tanya in order to pursue" a relationship with the mother of his child and high school sweetheart, said Elizabeth Rodriguez, his high school sweetheart's aunt.

    A paternity test from the DNA Diagnostic Center showed Isidro De La Cruz's mother and father as the grandparents of the now-3-year-old boy.

    Xrystan De La Cruz said the family believes Naiya's throat was cut when Tanya Bermea, enraged over the breakup, attacked Isidro from behind with a large kitchen knife while he put Niaya to bed in her room.

    A Tom Green County Jury of 8 women and 4 men believed otherwise after about a month of trial.

    Isidro De La Cruz's defense attorneys never explicitly introduced the idea of an accidental killing during trial, but they argued the 2 drunk adults fought in a dark house that night.

    The jury heard evidence that a heavily intoxicated Isidro De La Cruz broke into Bermea's home through a bathroom window after hitching a ride with an acquaintance from a bar near Angelo State University.

    Bermea told jurors she immediately fled the house to get help, leaving a sleeping Niaya behind because she never thought Isidro would hurt the girl. Bermea said she never set foot back in her home that night.

    Prosecutors argued Isidro De La Cruz locked himself inside the house and took his rage out on the girl after an altercation with Bermea outside.

    "We are not trying to reopen wounds for the Villegas family," Xrystan De La Cruz said. "We just want the truth out."

    Both Xrystan De La Cruz and Elizabeth Rodriguez said they are unhappy with the court-appointed attorneys. Xrystan De La Cruz, who attended the trial, said she believes the jury had already condemned her brother-in-law long before reaching its verdict.

    The women said "much has been biased" against Isidro De La Cruz from the get-go, such as the San Angelo Police Department arresting only Isidro De La Cruz and prosecutors and the court preventing certain information from being presented to the jury.

    Xrystan De La Cruz said her brother-in-law was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

    "I know good people, and I know bad people when I see them," she said. "I'm not obligated to do this. I'm doing this because it's the right thing to do."

    Members of the De La Cruz family created the Facebook page "Justice For Isidro." The page drew almost 300 followers in several days.

    An aunt-in-law of Naiya said the Villegas family is at peace now that trial is over. She said the family is glad justice was served and is ready to move forward.

    William Boyles, one of Isidro's defense attorneys from the Lubbock Regional Public Defenders for Capital Cases, said Thursday he couldn't comment.

    What happens next for IsidroDe La Cruz?

    De La Cruz will live at the Allan B. Polunsky Unit while he awaits the appeal process, which could take more than a decade. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice reported after 1973, inmates spend on average nearly 11 years on death row before execution.

    What's life on death row like?

    Polunsky is a state prison operated by the TDCJ in West Livingston. It houses all death row inmates in the state who are men.

    Stephen Bryant, a senior warden with the TDCJ, said during De La Cruz's trial that death row offenders are kept virtually in isolation.

    He said they spend roughly 22 of 24 hours in solitary confinement, housed separately in single-person cells that each have a window.

    Death-row offenders are generally isolated from all other prisoners, excluded from prison educational and employment programs and sharply restricted in terms of visitation, exercise and movement.

    Bryant said 2 guards, for example, must escort the inmate to any activity, including showers, medical checkups or recreation.

    Bryant said the day starts with breakfast about 3 a.m., when meals are brought to their cells. He said death-row offenders eat meals and spend recreation alone.

    Bryant said managing an inmate who's on death row is staff-intensive compared other prisoners.

    What is the appeal process and why does it take so long?

    The 1st phase of appeals is the direct appeals stage to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in Austin, which is the highest criminal court in the state. Every death penalty sentence is automatically sent to the appeals court.

    The court includes nine judges who hear each case. After deciding each appeal, the court delivers a written opinion that explains the reason for its decision. Their verdicts can range from affirming the trial court's verdict to overturning it and ordering a new trial and more.

    (source: gosanangelo.com)

    NEW HAMPSHIRE:

    House sends death penalty repeal to governor's desk despite veto threat

    The New Hampshire House approved a bill to repeal the state's death penalty Thursday, 223-116, sending the measure to the governor despite his vow to veto it.

    The legislation, Senate Bill 593, would strike the words "may be punished by death" from the state's capital punishment statute, replacing them with "shall be sentenced to imprisonment for life without the possibility for parole." New Hampshire is one of 31 states to have the death penalty, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

    The measure passed the Senate 14-10 in March, but faces a veto from Gov. Chris Sununu, who said earlier this year that it would send the state "in exactly the wrong direction" and go against the wishes of law enforcement and victims.

    In a floor debate ahead of the vote, representatives mulled the moral nuances of the punishment.

    Rep. Jeanine Notter, R-Merrimack, invoked the case of New Hampshire's only death row inmate, Michael Addison, convicted for the 2006 killing of Manchester police officer Michael Briggs.

    "What message are we sending our police officers and what we think of their life that we think people should be heroes in jail for being cop killers?" she said.

    But others took philosophical issue with the practice of state executions, and cited the costs of keeping people on death row.

    "I believe that vengeance has a cost," said Rep. Carol McGuire, R-Epsom. "And after a certain point it's not justice it's vengeance."

    (source: Concord Monitor)
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  7. #27
    Moderator Ryan's Avatar
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    Delacruz entered Texas' death row on 4/26/18.

    https://apps.texastribune.org/death-row/

  8. #28
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    Oral arguments on direct appeal were held November 17, 2021.

    https://www.txcourts.gov/media/1453041/11-17-21.pdf
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  9. #29
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    Conviction and death sentence affirmed on direct appeal.

    https://search.txcourts.gov/handdown...ate=03/01/2023
    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

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  10. #30
    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

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