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Alfonzo Morris Alabama Death Row

Alfonzo Morris was sentence to death by the State of Alabama for the murder of an elderly woman during a robbery. According to court documents Alfonzo Morris broke into the home of eighty five year old Miriam Rochester and would proceed to beat the elderly woman to death. Alfonzo Morris would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death.

Alfonzo Morris 2021 Information

Inmate:	MORRIS, ALFONZO
AIS:	0000Z695

Institution:	HOLMAN PRISON

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The State’s evidence showed that on February 24, 1997, Miriam Rochester, who was 85 years-old, used a walker, and weighed 92 pounds, was beaten to death in her home. Rochester had transformed her home into a duplex and had taken in a boarder, Elizabeth Russell, who was also elderly and in poor health. The two ladies had become friends, and, on the night of the offense, at approximately 9:30 p.m., Rochester telephoned one of Russell’s sons to inform him that Russell had become ill and was being taken to the hospital.

A rescue unit and fire engine arrived at the house at approximately 9:00 p.m. and were shown to Russell by Rochester. The paramedic who was the driver of the rescue unit testified that the “house was very neat and orderly.” (R. 201.) After Russell was assessed and the ambulance called, the paramedic testified that she went outside to check on her truck. She testified that she saw someone “fooling around my rescue unit acting like he was looking in the windows, fooling with the doors.” (R. 203.) She then asked the person if there was a problem and if she could help him. The man, whom she identified in court as Morris, walked up to her and asked what was happening and who was sick; he insisted that he wanted to go inside the house. The paramedic testified that at one point Morris attempted to bypass her and enter the house, but she prevented him from doing so. He told her that “he lived in that area and he knew everybody and he had a right to go in there.” (R. 205.)

Although Morris smelled strongly of alcohol, the paramedic testified that Morris understood what she was telling him and that his responses were appropriate. As the paramedic saw the rescue crew carrying Russell out to the ambulance, she also saw Morris finally turn and walk away. The paramedic thereafter stepped into the ambulance and through the opened back doors of the vehicle saw that Morris had returned. She informed her partner that Morris had been causing trouble previously, and her partner instructed him to leave. The paramedic testified that she saw Morris walk approximately half of a block away as the rescue crew left.

At approximately 10:00 p.m., Russell’s son telephoned Rochester to update her on Russell’s condition. He received a call from his brother about an hour later, informing him that the brother had been to Rochester’s house at his mother’s request and that the door was open and the house appeared to have been ransacked. Both of Russell’s sons then went to the house and without entering determined, that the house had been vandalized. They attempted to telephone Rochester and then telephoned the police.

The police and rescue units arrived around midnight, among them the same paramedic who had earlier cared for Russell. She testified that she originally believed that Russell was the deceased. However, because of the number of police officers present, she determined that the death was not believed to be due to natural causes. She informed the officers that she had been called to the house earlier on that night and that the house had not been in disarray. She also told them about Morris’s presence and behavior. She did not know his name at that time but gave the officers his description.

The first officer who had arrived at the scene testified that there were “pry marks” on the door, indicating forced entry. (R. 261.) He took a description from the paramedic of the man who had attempted to gain entry into the house and, after the scene was processed, he left at approximately 4:00 a.m. and resumed his patrol of the area. At approximately 5:00 a.m., he observed a man fitting the description of the person who had earlier attempted to enter Rochester’s house earlier. The man appeared to be intoxicated and was staggering down the middle of the street. The officer asked the man questions and he responded in a “slurred, but logical way.” (R. 265.) The officer determined that it was not safe for the man to continue and arrested him for public intoxication. The officer identified Morris at trial as the man he had arrested. He asked the man if he was carrying any weapons, and he responded that he had a pocketknife in his right front pocket. (R. 267.) He also stated that he had other items in his pockets that he described as “junk.” (R. 267.) The officer stated that the items were pieces of costume jewelry. He also had a couple of pills and a cigarette in his pockets. Morris identified himself as “Anthony Morris” and gave the officer an address for his residence.¹ (R. 270.)

Before the officer left the scene of Morris’s arrest, the paramedic was brought to that location to determine if she could identify him as the man she had seen earlier. The paramedic testified that she was certain that he was the man she had seen earlier at Rochester’s house. (R. 223.) Morris was taken to the administrative building where officers concluded that he was too intoxicated to be interviewed. He was taken to jail for the night and interviewed the following day.

Rochester’s granddaughter and Russell’s son identified some of the jewelry taken from Morris as belonging to the victim and Russell .² Blood found on Morris’s shoe was determined to be Rochester’s and a cigarette butt found in the Rochester’s house contained Morris’s DNA.

Morris testified at trial that he had been drinking on the day of the offense and had gotten into an argument with the man with whom he had been living. He left the house and eventually began gambling with a man known as “Cue Ball.” (R. 433.) He testified that he won a bag of jewelry from “Cue Ball” and that, as he was attempting to gather the jewelry, “Cue Ball” snatched money from him and a fight ensued. He stated that other gamblers got involved in the altercation, because they did not want him to leave since he was winning. Morris stated that he suffered cuts and bruises, as well as a laceration over his eye, in the altercation. He testified that “Cue Ball” threw the jewelry at him and that he picked it up and walked to a Huddle House restaurant for breakfast. He stated that he became belligerent with the waitress because he had been drinking, and he was forced to leave. He also testified that after eating he put a cigarette in his mouth but did not light it.

Morris testified that he then encountered a police officer who indicated that Morris appeared to have been drinking and arrested him for public intoxication. Morris stated that he was taken in the police car “to the scene of a crime in a house” (R. 441), where a woman identified him. (R. 443-444.) While he was standing in front of the police vehicle, he stated that a dog “came from somewhere” and ran around his feet. (R. 444.) He was subsequently taken to the hospital to treat the laceration to his eye and then was taken to the jail.

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/al-court-of-criminal-appeals/1507275.html

Rick Belisle Alabama Death Row

Rick Belisle was sentenced to death by the State of Alabama for the murder of a store worker in the middle of a robbery. According to court documents Rick Belisle and his wife would rob a convenience store where she use to work and would shoot and kill the store clerk Joyce Moore during the robbery. Rick Belisle would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

Rick Belisle 2021 Information

Inmate:	BELISLE, RICK ALLEN
AIS:	0000Z697

Institution:	HOLMAN PRISON

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“The Court finds the facts of this case to be that in May of 1999, the defendant, Rick Belisle, and his wife and codefendant, Annette Belisle, were in desperate need of money and they together planned to burglarize the T & J [Kwik] Mart at the intersection of Highway 205 and 431 in Boaz, Alabama. Annette Belisle had worked at the store for a period of time and Rick Belisle had come there on occasion and assisted Annette Belisle. Both Annette Belisle and the defendant had access to the combination of the floor safe where the money was kept. The two had been to the store and had been seen in the store a couple of times on nights just prior to the incident. Rick and Annette Belisle had been ‘casing’ the store and finalizing their plans for the burglary.

On May 19, 1999, the defendant and Annette Belisle went to the store just prior to closing and were seen in the store by others. Annette Belisle had on other occasions distracted the cashier working in order for Rick Belisle to check out a good place to hide and wait for the store to close. On one occasion another cashier noticed Rick Belisle had gone to the bathroom for an extended period of time and she became suspicious of them.

On the night of May 19, 1999, the defendant hid in the ceiling of the bathroom and Annette Belisle left the store with the knowledge that Rick Belisle was hiding in the bathroom ceiling. After Joyce Moore closed the store, Rick Belisle confronted Joyce Moore, viciously attacked her with a large can of peas and a metal pipe which was part of an electric fan stand. The victim endured extreme pain and suffering before she died. After she was beaten to the point she was dying and lying face down on the floor in her own blood, she would raise up on her arms begging for help, and the defendant hit her again several times with the metal pipe, knocking her arms under her so she could not push up. Joyce Moore then died as a result of the injuries inflicted on her by Rick Belisle. He left the store, went home and told Annette Belisle about the events at the store.

Both Annette and Rick Belisle fled the State and went to Missouri where law enforcement officers found them after investigation. Rick Belisle stated in an unsolicited response to an investigator during a phone conversation, ‘You know what happened in Alabama was an accident.’ Then defendant in the same conversation denied any wrongdoing.”

The State’s evidence also tended to show the following: Dr. Stephen Pustilnick, the coroner who conducted the autopsy on Moore’s body, testified that she died of blunt-force trauma to the head. She sustained six blows to the front of her head and approximately eight blows to the back of her head. The blows were consistent, he said, with having been made by a flat rod or a can containing food. A six-pound can of peas was identified as one of the murder weapons.

In exchange for a 20-year sentence, Annette agreed to testify against her husband Rick Belisle. Annette testified that, before the murder, she and her husband were both out of work, had no money, and could not buy food.

Approximately two weeks before the murder, she said, she and Rick discussed robbing the T & J Kwik Mart convenience store. She knew the store because she had worked there and had quit working at the store about three weeks before the murder. She said that two days in advance of the incident, she and Rick went to “case” the store.

On May 19, 1999, they both went to the store and talked with Moore. She said that Rick left and came back in the store while Moore was busy with customers. Annette said that Rick never came out of the store, and that she left the store at around 10:00 p.m. and walked back to their house to wait on Rick. Rick got home, she said, at around 12:30 a.m. and told her that he had killed Moore. He told her that Moore was choking on her own blood and tried to get up, so he kept hitting her until she stopped. Rick had $898 in cash and $70 in rolled change when he came back to their house. Annette said that they flushed the coin wrappers down the toilet and put the change in a coffee can.

The next day, she went to a liquor store and a grocery store and spent some of the cash. About two days after the murder, she said, they sold most of their belongings and went to Missouri, where they both had family.

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/al-court-of-criminal-appeals/1059854.html

Ronald Smith Alabama Execution

Ronald Smith was executed by the State of Alabama for the murder of a store clerk. According to court documents Ronald Smith would shoot and kill Casey Wilson during an armed robber at a convenience store. Ronald Smith would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death. Ronald Smith would be executed on December 8, 2016 by lethal injection

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Thirteen minutes into his execution by injection, an Alabama inmate heaved and coughed and appeared to move during tests meant to determine consciousness.

Ronald Smith Jr., 45, was finally pronounced dead at 11:05 p.m. Thursday night – about 30 minutes after the procedure began at the state prison in southwest Alabama.

Alabama uses the sedative midazolam as the first drug in a three-drug lethal injection combination. Smith and other inmates argued in a court case that the drug was an unreliable sedative and could cause them to feel pain, citing its use in problematic executions. The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the use of the drug.

Ronald Smith was convicted of capital murder in the Nov. 8, 1994, fatal shooting of Huntsville store clerk Casey Wilson. A jury voted 7-5 to recommend a sentence of life imprisonment, but a judge overrode that recommendation and sentenced Smith to death.

At the beginning of his execution, Ronald Smith heaved and coughed repeatedly, clenching his fists and raising his head.

A prison guard performed two consciousness checks before the final two lethal drugs were administered. In a consciousness test, a prison officer says the inmate’s name, brushes his eyelashes and then pinches his left arm. During the first one, Smith moved his arm. He slightly raised his right arm again after the second consciousness test.

The meaning of those movements will likely be debated. One of Smith’s attorneys whispered to another attorney, “He’s reacting,” and pointed out the inmate’s repeated movements.

The state prison commissioner said he did not see any reaction to the consciousness tests.

“We do know we followed our protocol. We are absolutely convinced of that,” Alabama Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn said Thursday evening.

When asked if the movements indicated the state’s process should be changed, Dunn said: “There will be an autopsy that will be done on Mr. Smith and if there were any irregularities those will hopefully be shown or born out in the autopsy. I think the question is probably better left to the medical experts.”

Alabama’s execution recalled memories of a botched 2014 execution in Oklahoma. In that execution, inmate Clayton Lockett writhed on the gurney, moaned and pulled up from his restraints after being administered the state’s three-drug execution protocol. Execution team members considered trying to save his life and took Lockett to an emergency room before he finally died, 43 minutes after his initial injection.

Just before Thursday night’s execution began, Ronald Smith replied, “No ma’am” when asked by the prison warden if he had any final words. A member of Wilson’s family, who was not identified, witnessed the execution. The victim’s family did not make a statement.

Wilson was pistol-whipped and then shot in the head during the robbery, court documents show. Surveillance video showed Smith entering the store and recovering spent shell casings from the bathroom where Wilson was shot, according to the record.

In overriding the jury’s recommendation at the 1995 trial, a judge likened the slaying to an execution, saying Wilson had already been pistol-whipped into submission and Ronald Smith ignored his pleas for mercy. Wilson had a newborn infant at the time of his death.

“The trial court described Smith’s acts as ‘an execution style slaying.’ Tonight, justice was finally served,” Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange said in a statement after the execution.

U.S. Supreme Court justices twice paused the execution as Smith’s attorneys argued for a delay, saying a judge shouldn’t have been able to impose the death penalty when a jury recommended he receive life imprisonment.

Four liberal justices said they would have halted the execution, but five were needed to do so.

Smith’s attorneys had urged the nation’s highest court to block the planned execution to review the judge’s override.

Smith’s lawyers argued a January decision that struck down Florida’s death penalty structure because it gave too much power to judges raises legal questions about Alabama’s process. In Alabama, a jury can recommend a sentence of life without parole, but a judge can override that recommendation to impose a death sentence. Alabama is the only state that allows judicial override, they argued.

“Alabama is alone among the states in allowing a judge to sentence someone to death based on judicial fact finding contrary to a jury’s verdict,” attorneys for Smith wrote Wednesday.

Lawyers for the state argued in a court filing Tuesday that the sentence was legally sound, and that it is appropriate for judges to make the sentencing decision.

Smith, the son of a NASA contract employee, became an Eagle Scout at 15, but his life spiraled downward because of alcoholism, according to a clemency request to Alabama’s governor. He had a final meal of fried chicken and french fries and was visited during the day by his parents and son.

Alabama has been attempting to resume executions after a lull caused by a shortage of execution drugs and litigation over the drugs used.

The state executed Christopher Eugene Brooks in January for the 1993 rape and beating death of a woman. It was the state’s first execution since 2013. Judges stayed two other executions that had been scheduled this year.

https://abc11.com/inmate-death-by-injection-alabama-lethal-penalty-ronald-bert-smith/1647562/

Christopher Brooks Alabama Execution

Christopher Brooks was executed by the State of Alabama for the sexual assault and murder of a woman in 1992. According to court documents Christopher Brooks attacked Jo Deann Campbell who he would then sexually assault and then murder. Christopher Brooks would be sentenced to death and executed by lethal injection on January 21, 2016

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Christopher Brooks, convicted of the 1992 rape, murder and robbery of Jo Deann Campbell, was put to death Thursday night in the first execution carried out in Alabama in almost 2 1/2 years.

Brooks was declared dead at 6:38 p.m., about 20 minutes after being administered a three-drug lethal injection. Media witnesses present said there did not appear to be signs of struggle or distress during the procedure.

Brooks said before the execution he was grateful for the love of his friends.

“I hope this brings closure to everyone involved,” he said. “These last two years have been amazing. I hope to see you soon.”

Investigators found Campbell on Dec. 31, 1992, partially clothed and beaten with a weight in her apartment in Homewood. Brooks had met Campbell while working as a camp counselor. Campbell allowed Brooks to sleep on her floor the evening before.

Police found a bloody fingerprint belonging to Brooks at the scene, and later found Brooks with Campbell’s car keys and credit card. A jury convicted Brooks, 43, in 1993 of the crime, a conviction upheld in the state’s appellate courts.

In a statement, Mona Campbell, Jo Deann Campbell’s mother, said the execution would not bring the family closure but would relieve them from “appeal after appeal, keeping my family stressed for 23 years.”

“This execution did not and will not bring back my precious youngest daughter, who I love with all my heart,” Mona Campbell said in the statement. “I know she is in heaven with her father, and someday God will allow me to join them. I hope that Brooks, who has done this horrible inhumane act, has made his peace with God.”

Media witnesses said Christopher Brooks spoke with a chaplain and held his hand as the drugs were administered. Tim Lockette of The Anniston Star said shortly after, “he closed his eyes, his lips parted, his breathing grew more shallow.” Kent Faulk of al.com said Brooks did not appear to be moving by 6:19 p.m. The curtain closed on witnesses at 6:30 p.m., indicating all the drugs had been administered.

Alabama last executed an inmate on July 25, 2013. Executions came to a halt due to a shortage of drugs used in the execution, particularly the sedatives meant to render the condemned inmate unconscious before the injection of the fatal chemicals. Legal challenges to lethal injection also slowed the execution process.

The state switched the sedative from sodium thiopental to pentobarbital after Hospira, the maker of sodium thiopental, discontinued its manufacture in the United States in 2011. The state acknowledged in early 2014 it had run out of pentobarbital. But in a filing with the Alabama Supreme Court in September, the Alabama Attorney General’s office said it had secured midazolam hydrochloride as a sedative.

Florida has used midazolam in its executions since 2013, without reported incident. But the drug was present in executions in Ohio, Oklahoma and Arizona in 2014, where inmates took a lengthy time to die. In two cases, reporters said inmates appeared to be gasping or choking through the process.

Witnesses said Christopher Brooks did not show any signs of distress during the execution.

“Specifically for the execution of Mr. Brooks, it went exactly according to our protocol,” Alabama Department of Corrections commissioner Jeff Dunn said after Brooks’ death.

After administration of the sedative, the state protocol calls for the injection of rocuronium bromide, which paralyzes the muscles. The inmate next receives potassium chloride, to stop the heart. The drugs are administered from a room outside the execution chamber. Under state law, Holman warden Carter Davenport administers the lethal injection.

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the use of midazolam in executions in a 5-4 decision. Writing for the majority, Justice Samuel Alito said three Oklahoma inmates challenging its use had failed to prove it violated the U.S. Constitution’s prohibitions against cruel and unusual punishment. The court also ruled that the condemned had to suggest a more humane method of execution available to officials.

Brooks was moved to a holding cell on Tuesday in advance of the execution. He was given a breakfast of grits, biscuits, sausage, jelly and cheese at 6:10 a.m. Thursday, but did not eat it. Brooks saw friends and attorneys until 4:15 p.m. Thursday, according to Corrections officials. For his final meal, Brooks requested two peanut butter cups and a Dr. Pepper.

There are 186 inmates on Alabama’s death row. Five have challenged the use of midazolam, saying it would not render them unconscious in time to avoid the pain from the other two drugs, which would be a violation of the Eighth Amendment’s protections against “cruel and unusual punishment.” The inmates also questioned whether Corrections officials consistently administer a consciousness test before administering the lethal drugs. Brooks filed a motion to join the case in November, and later to stay his execution.

“Midazolam will not anesthetize Brooks, and regardless of the dose, will not eliminate the risk that a condemned inmate will experience pain from the paralytic or potassium chloride,” his brief said.

A district court allowed Brooks to join the lawsuit, known as the “Midazolam Litigation,” but refused to grant a stay. A federal appeals court Tuesday refused to intervene, upholding the district judge’s ruling that Brooks had not offered an alternative means of execution available to the Alabama Department of Corrections. The court also upheld the district court’s ruling that Brooks had run out of time to intervene in the case.

The U.S. Supreme Court denied Brooks’ requests for a stay of execution Thursday evening. The majority did not explain its reasons. Justice Stephen Breyer wrote a brief dissent, saying the methods by which Brooks was sentenced resembled Florida’s capital sentences, which the high court voted to strike down earlier this month in a case titled Hurst v. Florida.

“The unfairness inherent in treating this case differently from others which used similarly unconstitutional procedures only underscores the need to reconsider the validity of capital punishment under the Eighth Amendment,” Breyer wrote.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, wrote a separate concurrence in the denial. Sotomayor wrote that “procedural obstacles” prevented the court from granting the stay, but added that the majority’s decision to deny the ruling was based on two cases that Hurst overturned. The execution did not begin until the Supreme Court’s ruling arrived, Dunn said.

The long pause between executions in Alabama was unusual, but not unprecedented. The state resumed executions in 1983, but did not schedule any for almost three years, following the gruesome death of John Evans in the electric chair on April 22, 1983. There was a 2 1/2-year gap in executions in the state between 1992 and 1995.

Campbell’s family asked the public to remember their daughter and sister and the way she lived her life.

“Although Jo Deann only had 23 years with us on Earth, she had an impact on so many lives and was loved by so many, including those who never had the opportunity to meet her,” said her sister, Fran Romano, in a statement.

Corinne Campbell asked that her sister’s “loveable memory and intense integrity never be forgotten.”

“She was the victim who in no way deserved her untimely horrific fate on this earth,” Corinne Campbell said in a statement. “Her last act was none other than helping someone else. And I am not surprised. She did that continually, as it was her friendly, kind-hearted nature.”

https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/politics/southunionstreet/2016/01/21/christopher-brooks-executed-1992-rape-and-murder/79119540/

Torrey McNabb Alabama Execution

Torrey McNabb was executed by the State of Alabama for the murder of a police officer. According to court documents Torrey McNabb was fleeing from a bail bondsman when he caused a traffic accident. When Officer Anderson Gordon showed up at the scene to investigate he was shot five times as he sat inside of his patrol car. Torrey McNabb would be executed by lethal injection on October 19, 2017

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A convicted cop killer who sued Alabama over its lethal injection method was put to death, but not before he cursed at the state and said: “I hate you.”

As the procedure began Thursday night, Torrey Twane McNabb, 40, raised both of his middle fingers in a show of defiance. McNabb’s attorneys had unsuccessfully sought to stop the execution since he was one of several inmates in an ongoing lawsuit challenging the humaneness of the state’s lethal injection procedure.

McNabb was convicted of killing Montgomery police officer Anderson Gordon in 1997. He shot Gordon five times as the officer sat in his patrol car after arriving at a traffic accident McNabb caused while fleeing a bail bondsman, prosecutors said.

Gordon’s relatives said in a statement that the 30-year-old officer — known as “Brother” — was devoted to his family, his two children and his work as a police officer.

“Over 20 years ago, we lost a companion, a father, a brother and friend who only wanted to make a difference in his community,” the statement read. “Although, the wounds of having a family member murdered can never be healed, through this tragedy, the Gordon family has remained strong and will continue to be resilient.”

The inmates in the lawsuit have argued that the sedative midazolam does not reliably render a person unconscious before subsequent drugs stop their lungs and heart. They point to an execution last December during which an Alabama inmate coughed and heaved for the first 13 minutes of the procedure.

McNabb appeared to be breathing for the first 20 minutes of the 35-minute long procedure. He later appeared to move his head, grimace and raise his arms after two consciousness checks in which a guard pinches his arm, says his name and pulls back his eyelid — before eventually becoming still.

His family members and attorneys who witnessed the execution expressed repeated concerns to each other that he was still conscious during the lethal injection. “He’s going to wake up,” one of McNabb’s family members whispered.

He was pronounced dead at 9:38 p.m. CDT, authorities said.

Alabama Commissioner Jeff Dunn said he was confident the movements after the second consciousness check were involuntary and that McNabb was not awake.

A lawyer for McNabb argued that it would be wrong to carry out the execution while proceedings continue in McNabb’s lawsuit.

The state argued that the inmates are unlikely to prevail in their claims since the U.S. Supreme Court has allowed other executions, including four in Alabama, to proceed using midazolam. The attorney general’s office argued McNabb had presented nothing new to justify a stay.

The U.S. Supreme Court delayed the execution for more than two hours to consider McNabb’s request for a stay, but ruled that the execution could go forward

https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/lethal-injection/torrey-twane-mcnabb-alabama-inmate-defiant-his-execution-n812501