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Arnold Prieto Texas Execution

Arnold Prieto was executed by the State of Texas for the murders of three people. According to court documents Arnold Prieto would stab to death three people using a screwdriver. Arnold Prieto and two other men Jesse and Guadalupe Hernandez went to the home for the purpose of robbery. Arnold Prieto was given a chance to testify against the two brothers in exchange for a thirty year prison sentence however he chose not to. Jesse Hernandez was sixteen years old and was sentenced to life. Guadalupe Hernandez had all charged against him dropped. Arnold Prieto was sentenced to death and would be executed by lethal injection on January 21, 2015

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Death row inmate Arnold Prieto, convicted 20 years ago of a brutal attack with a screwdriver that left three San Antonio residents stabbed to death, has been executed.

He was pronounced dead by prison officials at 6:31 p.m., 20 minutes after he was injected with a lethal dose of the sedative pentobarbital. In a brief final statement Prieto, 41, said “there are no endings — only beginnings.”

“Love y’all, see you soon,” he also said, noting moments later that he could smell the drug. “Woah,” he added as he took his last conscious breaths.

Prieto spent Wednesday morning taking pictures with his mother and was given a last meal of barbecue chopped beef, carrots and pinto beans with tea or water, according to prison officials.

He has asked his sister, two friends and a spiritual adviser to be in one of the death chamber’s two observation booths as the execution took place. In the other booth, spots were reserved for four sons and a daughter-in-law of victims Virginia Rodriguez, 62, and Rodolfo Rodriguez, 72.

Prieto is the only one of the three men arrested in 1994 to have received the death penalty for the capital murders of the Rodriguezes and Paula Moran, 90.

Brothers Jesse and Guadalupe Hernandez — grand-nephews of the Rodriguezes — were also initially implicated. The murders were committed one day before Jesse Hernandez’s 17th birthday so he wasn’t eligible for the death penalty. He’s serving a life sentence.

Guadalupe Hernandez, originally labeled by police as the mastermind of the robbery-turned-triple-slaying, had all charges against him dropped. Prosecutors at the time cited a lack of evidence and called his release unfortunate.

In a statement to police, Prieto said the trio, who lived in the Dallas suburb of Carrollton, met in the summer of 1993 and were heavy cocaine users. It was the idea of Guadalupe Rodriguez, he told police, to drive to San Antonio in September of that year to rob a rich uncle who ran a check-cashing business out of his home in the 1100 block of West Mistletoe Avenue.

They snorted cocaine the whole way there and arrived in the middle of the night, Prieto said. Virginia Rodriguez, he recalled in the five-page statement, invited them in and made them a breakfast of eggs, tortillas and orange juice.

After they ate, Guadalupe Rodriguez stabbed his aunt repeatedly with a screwdriver, Prieto told police. Prieto did the same to Rodolfo Rodriguez and Jesse Hernandez stabbed Moran — a family friend and former nanny to the Rodriguez children —when she came out of her bedroom, according to Prieto’s statement.

Jesse Hernandez also gave a statement to police in which he said it was Prieto who had committed all the murders.

Guadalupe Hernandez never gave a statement, but prosecutors offered Prieto a plea deal to testify against him in exchange for two 30-year sentences.

He declined the offer.

https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/crime/article/Convicted-killer-set-to-die-tonight-turned-down-6030235.php

Charles Warner Oklahoma Execution

Charles Warner was executed by the State of Oklahoma for the sexual assault and murder of an eleven month old infant. According to court documents Charles Warner would sexually assault and murder eleven month old Adriana Waller, the daughter of his roommate. Charles Warner would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death. Charles Warner would be executed by lethal injection on January 15, 2015

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A man who raped and killed an 11-month-old girl in 1997 was put to death by the state Thursday in Oklahoma’s first execution in nine months.

Charles Frederick Warner, 47, was pronounced dead at 7:28 p.m. at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester.

Warner’s execution via a deadly three-drug cocktail was the first state-sanctioned killing of an inmate since the controversial execution of Clayton Lockett on April 29.

Lockett’s execution went awry as doctors struggled to set a proper IV, and it took more than 40 minutes for him to die. That led the state to stay executions while it investigated what went wrong.

Attorneys for the state said a failed intravenous line and a lack of training led to the problems with Lockett’s injection, not the drugs used. Still, Oklahoma ordered a five-fold increase in the sedative dose.

Executioners on Thursday were expected to use essentially the same three drugs used in Lockett’s execution.

Warner killed his roommate’s daughter, Adriana Waller, in Oklahoma City. He was convicted in 1999, later granted a new trial and convicted again in 2003.

https://www.oklahoman.com/article/5385028/oklahoma-killer-executed-for-death-of-infant-girl

Johnny Kormondy Florida Execution

Johnny Kormondy was executed by the State of Florida for the murder of a man during a home invasion. According to court documents Johnny Kormondy would force his way into a home where he would shoot and kill Gary McAdams and sexually assault his wife. Johnny Kormondy would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death. Johnny Kormondy would be executed by lethal injection on January 15, 2015

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Cecilia McAdams thought about her husband and the life they once shared as she watched his murderer enter the execution chamber 21 years, six months and four days after his crime.

Johnny Shane Kormondy shot and killed her husband, Gary, in 1993 during a home robbery, and raped McAdams. Two other men were involved in the crime and are serving life sentences in prison.

“It was almost a little bit surreal, like the last 21 years has been,” McAdams said. “I can’t believe that this actually happened to us, but the reality is that it has. It was just a lot of flashback memories.”

McAdams’ brother-in-law, Thomas, and her sister-in-law, Terri, younger siblings of her husband, accompanied her to the execution.

“I am overwhelmed,” Terri McAdams said. “I’m so glad that this journey has come to an end with this monster. I can truly say that I am glad that this is done and over. I’m ready to celebrate Gary’s life.”

Gov. Rick Scott ordered Kormondy’s execution in November.

Kormondy, 42, was put to death by lethal injection and pronounced dead at 8:16 p.m. According to officials, he chose to take a sedative before the injection was administered.

Florida State Prison used the same three-drug cocktail (midazolam hydrochloride) that was used in a botched execution in Oklahoma in April 2014.

Because of the unusual circumstances of the April execution, death penalty opposition groups in Oklahoma petitioned the United States Supreme Court to stop another execution in that state, which was scheduled for Thursday at 7 p.m. Due to the use of the same drug combination in Florida, the Court also halted Kormondy’s 6 p.m. execution.

Florida has now used this drug combination, consisting of midazolam, vecuronium bromide and potassium chloride, 12 times without incident, despite complications elsewhere.

The Court ultimately decided to allow the executions in a 5-4 vote.

“It’s been a long road,” McAdams said. “I have a lot of people to thank. This’ll forever be a part of my life. I have a lot of gratitude toward those that have helped.”

Kormondy’s final words were directed at his family, his legal counselor and “his lord and savior, Jesus Christ,” according to McKinley Lewis, press secretary of the Florida Department of Corrections.

For his last meal, Kormondy ate fried alligator tail, fried shrimp, fried okra, fried eggs, vanilla ice cream, hash browns and cream soda.

Johnny Kormondy is the 21st inmate to be executed under Scott.

Six people visited Kormondy on the day of his death, including his mother, two brothers, his sister, his son and a spiritual adviser. Lewis said family members of inmates sentenced to death cannot witness the executions due to Florida law.

https://www.wuft.org/news/2015/01/16/johnny-kormondy-executed-for-1993-murder-rape/

Andrew Brannan Georgia Execution

Andrew Brannan was executed by the State of Georgia for the murder of a police officer. According to court documents Andrew Brannan would be involved in an argument with Laurens County Sheriff Deputy Kyle Dinkheller after being pulled over for speeding at nearly 100mph. Andrew Brannan would pull out a gun and fatally shoot the Sheriff Deputy. Andrew Brannan would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death. Andrew Brannan who was a Vietnam vet with a documented case of severe PTSD would be executed by lethal injection on January 13, 2015.

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Convicted killer Andrew Brannan, who murdered a Georgia sheriff’s deputy 17 years ago, was put to death Tuesday night after attempts for clemency citing his post-traumatic stress disorder developed in combat in Vietnam were denied.

The execution was carried out by lethal injection at 8:33 p.m. at the Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson, Ga. Brannan’s lawyers had filed numerous appeals in recent days asking for clemency and a stay of execution, saying the post-traumatic stress he developed after serving in combat in the Army had crippled him for life.

Andrew Brannan, 66, lost his temper with Laurens County Sheriff Deputy Kyle Dinkheller, on Jan. 12, 1998, after driving 100 mph on a country road and getting pulled over by the officer. Brannan left his vehicle and sarcastically prodded Dinkheller to shoot him, screamed that he was a “goddamn Vietnam combat veteran,” and then retrieved a rifle from his pickup truck, according to a police cruiser dashboard camera video later released

The two men exchanged shots, with Brannan suffering one gunshot wound to the abdomen and Dinkheller getting hit nine times. The graphic video shows Dinkheller, a Laurens County deputy, screaming in terror and pain as Brannan closes in on him and kills him at point-blank range after reloading. It is now used in police training across the country.

The bid for clemency, detailed on Checkpoint on Sunday, comes at a time when Americans are openly debating altercations with police nationwide, and also how post-traumatic stress should be cared for and considered in modern military veterans. Brannan’s fate was hotly debated on social media by veterans and others in recent days.

Brannan lost a bid for clemency with the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles on Monday, and with Georgia’s top court and the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday. His lawyers had pleaded for leniency, noting his service to his country.

“Andrew’s combat experience forever altered his personality and his life,” his lawyers said in the most recent petition to the Georgia board. “Although he initially re-entered civilian life, he soon began to manifest signs of serious mental illness, which grew worse over time.”

In a statement, Brannan’s lawyer, Joe Loveland, said that he spoke to Brannan a few hours before his execution and had a message for fellow veterans who had supported him.

“I am proud to have been able to walk point for my comrades, and pray that the same thing does not happen to any of them,” Andrew Brannan said, according to Loveland.

According to military documents released by Brannan’s legal team, he served as a first lieutenant with the Army in Vietnam from June to December of 1970, working as a forward observer and directing artillery fire to assist nearby infantrymen. He twice stepped in as a company commander when other soldiers were lost.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2015/01/13/vietnam-veteran-andrew-brannan-executed-for-murder-after-ptsd-defense-fails/

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/