But in a phone call after she landed in Indiana, her brother warned her not to assume the ruling would hold. Summary: The two men were found guilty and given a sentence of death for the fatal shooting of Richard Heflin, a security guard at Lindell Bank & Trust in St. Louis, during a robbery. The number of federal death sentences carried out under Trump since 2020 is more than in the previous 56 years combined, reducing the number of prisoners on federal death row by nearly a quarter. State of conviction:Northern District of Indiana. Montgomery, 52, was executed by lethal injection at the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute. He scouted the couple at the campground in a homemade sniper suit and shot them with a rifle. Higgs' lawyers argued it was "arbitrary and inequitable" to execute Higgs while Willis Haynes, the man who fired the shots that killed the women, was spared a death sentence. The only woman on death row, Lisa Montgomery, was executed Wednesday for killing a pregnant woman, then cutting the baby out of her womb and claiming the infant as her own. Federal death row is housed at a facility in Terre Haute. Her defence team believe that at the time of her crime, Montgomery was psychotic and out of touch with reality. Convicted for the armed robbery and murder of a proprietor of a Chinese restaurant in. Some 3 miles in the opposite direction, in a brick building on the banks of the Wabash River, is the federal death chamber. But there are circumstances where you have to take people out of society.. A federal appeals court reversed his death sentence this year for ineffective assistance of counsel. (AP) A Kansas woman was executed Wednesday for strangling an expectant mother in Missouri and cutting the baby from her womb, the first time in nearly seven decades that the U.S. government has put to death a female inmate. Convicted for his involvement in a carjacking and the deaths of a couple visiting Texas. Higgs was 23 on the evening of Jan. 26, 1996, when he, Haynes and a third man, Victor Gloria, picked up the three women in Washington, D.C., and drove them to Higgs apartment in Laurel, Maryland, to drink alcohol and listen to music. All four men received the death penalty for crimes that included the murders ofchildren in violation of federal law. Summary: Coonce and Hall were handed death sentences in the murder of fellow inmate Victor Castro-Rodriguezat the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners. As the lethal injection of pentobarbital flowed into his veins, he looked toward family members, waved with his fingers and said, "I love you." As a child she was routinely sexually and physically abused by her father and trafficked by her mother, family members said. Many had high hopes that Brandon Bernard would be saved in December, only to see his appeals dismissed by the courts and calls for clemency ignored by the president. Whether the ransom was paid or not, the pair murdered the people they kidnapped, tied their bodies with weights anddumped in the New Melones Reservoir near Yosemite National Park, the Associated Press reported. Lisa Montgomery was sentenced to death in 2007, Protesters demanding an end to the death penalty gathered outside the prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, Legal challenges failed to commute sentence, The secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure. Veteran private investigator Sharon Weidenfeld had been working on murder cases in Prince Georges County for years when she was hired to work on Higgss defense. Summary: Paul and an acquaintance followed an 82-year-old man from downtown Hot Springs, Arkansas to a trail in Hot Springs National Park. The execution is uncertain for Montgomery, from Melvern, Kan., who was scheduled to be executed on January 12, 2021, at the United States Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Ind. She was pronounced dead at 01:31 (06:31 GMT). TERRE HAUTE, Ind. Daniel Lewis Lee execution: Pro-death penalty advocate speaks. Prosecutors said the victims were killed regardless of whether the ransoms were paid. This page was last edited on 21 March 2023, at 21:17. Convicted of murdering a correctional officer at, Convicted of, inter alia, procuring the killing of an individual in connection with a continuing criminal enterprise. VideoThe secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure, LGBT troops take love for Eurovision to front line, Why an Indian comedian is challenging fake news rules. Prosecutors said Taylor had been involved in a string of robberies in the neighborhood and knew Luck was planningto testify against him. Higgss mother had died of cancer when he was a child, and the whole family saw how, in the absence of his father, he strived to take care of her in her final days. If the BOP moves forward, they wouldbe the first federal executions since 2003. That was our original goal. But eventually Higgs started to pull away from her. 43 F Terre Haute International Airport Station | Report. Hitman for Juan Raul Garza, who was executed by the federal government in 2001. Higgs is scheduled to be executed on Friday, Jan. 15, 2021, at the federal prison in Terre Haute. Summary: Umana, a member of a gang, had dinner at a Greensboro restaurant when him and two other patrons who did not belong to the gang exchanged words. Prosecutors said Umana then pulled a semi-automatic pistol and shot the twobrothersin the restaurant. When I then asked Mr. Gloria whether that meant that his statements and testimony concerning the events that occurred at the crime scene were not true, the investigator continued, Mr. When a marshal called from a death-chamber phone to ask if there were any impediments to proceeding with Higgs execution, he kept his mask on and shoved the receiver under it. (AP) The Trump administration early Saturday carried out its 13th federal execution since July, an unprecedented run that concluded just five days before the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden an opponent of the federal death penalty. Federal executions: A look at who was put to death and the heinous crimes they committed, State of conviction:Eastern District of Virginia. ((Federal Bureau of Prisons/Community Federal Defender Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania via AP)), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news, federal death sentences carried out under Trump since 2020. Convicted and sentenced to death for a drug-related murder. State of conviction: Eastern District of Virginia. The two arguedand she took down his information. He killed nine parishioners. (AP) The Trump administration early Saturday carried out its 13th federal execution since July, an unprecedented run that concluded just five days before the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden an opponent of the federal death penalty. "There was no reason to kill him, particularly during the pandemic and when he, himself, was sick with Covid that he contracted because of these irresponsible, super-spreader executions.". "Mr. Higgs's difficult upbringing was not meaningfully presented to the jury at trial," his attorneys wrote. The bodies were tied with weights and dumped in a reservoir near. Dustin Higgs, convicted for killing three women in a Maryland wildlife refuge in 1996, was the third to receive a lethal injection last week at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Ind. Runyon shot Voss five times outside an ATM. They stabbed him over 50 times. Executions Scheduled for 2023 Executions Scheduled for 2024 Executions Scheduled for 2025 Executions Scheduled for 2026 Stays of Execution 2023 Pled guilty and sentenced to death for the kidnapping and death of a woman following an escape from prison. Shot and killed his girlfriend after he escaped from a detention center where he was being held on a federal weapons charge. She repeated the statement in a 2006 affidavit, explaining that Gloria could never hold his liquor and would pass out after drinking. He did not apologize for anything he did on the night 25 years ago when the women were shot by another man, who received a life sentence. They took the cell keys from a guards belt and unlocked the cell of fellow inmate Gabriel Rhone. Instead of taking them home, Higgs drove them to a secluded spot in the Patuxent National Wildlife Refuge, federal land in Laurel. There was no reason to kill him, particularly during the pandemic and when he, himself, was sick with Covid that he contracted because of these irresponsible, super-spreader executions, Nolan said. -- The Trump administration early Saturday carried out its 13th federal execution since July, an unprecedented run that concluded just a few days before the inauguration of President-elect Joe. 1920's 1930's 1940's 1950's 1960's 1970-1990's 2000's 2010's 2020's Death sentence commuted by. We dont have ads, so we depend on our members 35,000 and counting to help us hold the powerful to account. "Lisa Montgomery's execution was far from justice.". Here are the 46 men on federal death row whose trip to the execution chamber were paused. According to Havenner, Gloria also told her that Haynes had threatened to kill her and their daughter if he said anything. Summary:Troya and Sanchez shot and killed a family of four, including two toddlers, on the Florida Turnpike to settle a drug debt with the father of the family. State of conviction: Eastern District of Texas. Roof had previously told friends he wanted to start a race war. She received a lethal injection at a prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, after a last-minute. Even if Higgs did not direct Haynes to shoot Chinn, Jackson, and Black, he still would have been eligible for the death penalty undera felony murder prosecution. Chinese-American organized crime boss. Wingate was hopeful too. I did not order the murders.. Former street preacher and pedophile; convicted in 2010 of interstate kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor across state lines, connection with the 2002, One of the six men that conspired to attack an Army Base in Fort Dix, New Jersey in the, White supremacist convicted on charges of, Accomplice to Lamont Lewis in a firebombing of a house of the mother of a federal witness ordered by. Neither these AP materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and noncommercial use. A 1994 congressional study found that 89 percent of the cases in which federal prosecutors chose to seek the death penalty under the 1988 Anti-Drug Abuse Act involved Black or Latino defendants. Share page . Ultimately, the US Supreme Court ruled against Montgomery in all three of her final legal challenges, including one that argued that it would be unconstitutional to execute Montgomery because she is not mentally competent. Dustin didnt threaten me. I was like, How did you keep that from me? He said because he knew I wouldnt approve, so he never brought it around me at all. But a worse nightmare unfoldedin 1998, when Higgs was chargedas a suspect in a horrific triple murder. On May 4, 1999, a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas found Lee guilty of numerous offenses, including three counts of murder in aid of racketeering, and he was sentenced to death. Mitchell stabbed the 63-year-old woman to death and drove off for around 40 miles (64km) with her lifeless body in the vehicle along with her granddaughter. List of notable current and former inmates at the US Penitentiary, Terre Haute, List of inmates at the United States Penitentiary, Terre Haute, List of death row inmates held by the United States federal government, kidnapping, sexual assault and fatal stabbing of university student Dru Sjodin, List of people executed by the United States federal government, List of people executed in the United States in 2001, List of people executed in the United States in 2003, List of people executed in the United States in 2020, List of people executed in the United States in 2021, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th circuit, Capital punishment by the United States federal government, "Executions Under the Federal Death Penalty", "Court of appeals affirms death penalty for Gabrion", "Marvin Gabrion's death penalty reinstated in 1997 killing of young mother", "First Federal Death Sentence in Non-death penalty state overturned", "Kenneth Jamal Lighty - Federal Death Row", "Rodriguez sentenced to die for killing Dru Sjodin", "Dylann Roof is now on federal death row in Indiana", "Federal executions to resume next month at Terre Haute prison", "Lezmond Mitchell, the only Native American on federal death row, is executed", "Woman on death row at Fort Worth prison has execution date moved again amid legal battle", "Lisa Montgomery arrives at Terre Haute execution facility, official confirms", "The last federal inmate on death row from Connecticut is spared execution, sentenced instead to life in prison for a horrifying, triple murder", "Death sentence tossed, new hearing ordered for man convicted in 1999 OHP trooper killing", "United States of America, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Bountaem Chanthadara, Defendant-appellant, 230 F.3d 1237 (10th Cir. Sentenced to death on August 27, 2008; died in 2021 from brain cancer. As the lethal injection of pentobarbital began to flow into his veins, Higgs looked toward a room reserved for his relatives and lawyers. How many covert wars, miscarriages of justice, and dystopian technologies would remain hidden if our reporters werent on the beat? Havenners claims were corroborated by Gloria himself in a 2004 interview conducted by an investigator working with Higgss legal team at the Federal Community Defender Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. I hope we never have to consider it, she said. His lawyers asked us to testify at his sentencing hearing, to make them know what we know about Dustin, that hes not this monster that the prosecution said he is, she recalled. Cleveland's was also the last presidency during which the number of civilians executed federally was in the double digits in one year, 1896, during his second term. Summary:A jury sentenced Hager to death for his role in the stabbing death of a 19-year-old single mom in her apartment. TERRE HAUTE, Ind. Her lawyers argued that she had been born brain-damaged and was too mentally ill to be executed. After driving to Stinnett's house, Montgomery overpowered the pregnant woman, strangled her with a piece of rope, and cut the baby out of her womb. Her treatment was so violent that it amounted to torture, her lawyers say. The kidnapping and murder of King took place while Fell and an accomplice fled a double homicide in Vermont, where they killed Fell's mother Debra Fell and her companion Charles Conway. So you didnt hear. Her cousin told her that Higgs had been sentenced to death. Yet such red flags are often not enough to stop an execution. Summary: A judgesentenced Fields, a former Oklahoma state prison guard,to death in the killing of Charles and Shirley Chick at a campground in Ouachita National Forest. I know you didnt.. Chutkan's order was issued less than seven hours before the execution of Daniel Lee was due to take place in Terre Haute, Indiana. They had to report to the penitentiary by 7:30 a.m. She had not slept much the night before. Tipton was convicted in six of the murders. Among those prisoners who got COVID-19 last month were Higgs and former drug trafficker Corey Johnson, who was executed Thursday. For a time, their plans for the future were intertwined. Kadamovas and co-defendant Iouri Mikhel were sentenced to death for the ransom related kidnappings and murders of five people. It sickened her that he had been scheduled to die on January 15 Martin Luther King Jr.s birthday. I cant afford it, she said. Its likely none of the around 50 remaining men will be executed anytime soon, if ever, with Biden signaling hell end federal executions. Contact Tim Evans at 317-444-6204 or tim.evans@indystar.com. This 2015 photo provided by Shawn Nolan Chief, Capital Habeas Unit Community Federal Defender Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, shows Dustin Higgs at the Federal Prison in Terre Haute, Ind. "I did not order the murders.". Lisa Montgomery has been granted a temporary stay, and her execution has been rescheduled for January 12, 2021. That opinion is supported by 41 current and former lawyers as well as human rights groups like the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. She was found guilty of the crime in 2007. Robinson a wholesale drug dealer then operating in five states killed Shelton in a case of mistaken identity. Rhone later died. But such things have not stood in the way of the federal executions. The victims, Mishann Chinn, 23, Tanji Jackson, 21, and Tamika Black, 19, had been found fatally shot around 4 a.m. on January 27, 1996, on a road that cut through the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, a federal tract of land in Prince Georges County, between D.C. and Baltimore. Murdered an Oklahoma State Trooper during a drug bust. Hagers accomplices said they worked for Hager, a crack cocaine dealer at the time, and received life sentenced after testifying against him. After giving birth to her own daughter in 1990, Wingate enlisted in the Army, the best of a limited set of options. Higgs, 48, was pronounced dead at 1:23 a.m. This document may not be reprinted without the express written permission of Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. Material from the Associated Press is Copyright 2023, Associated Press and may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. In 1994 the FBI intercepted phone calls during which Davis talked about killing New Orleans resident Kim Groves after shefiled a complaint against him with the then-Internal Affairs Division of the New Orleans Police Department. My heart goes out to them, Wingate said. It could be a gang lord or a murderous carjacker or a drug smuggler, the Sun reported. (Co-defendant of Orlando Hall). Not since the waning days of Grover Clevelands presidency in the late 1800s has the U.S. government executed federal inmates during a presidential transition, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. After her story fell apart, she confessed to the killing. He tried to steal three money orders and a wallet, according to the Savannah Morning News. Convicted and sentenced to death for the fatal shooting of a security guard during a bank robbery. Prosecutors said the menreceived more than $1 million in ransom. Convicted and sentenced to death for the carjacking, kidnapping, and death of a restaurant owner. Battaglia, the former U.S. attorney, did not respond to emails sent this week. This case resulted in the exoneration of an innocent man and the conviction of the real killer, U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein said at the time. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File) Read Less National and World They are now going to go through the pain we experienced, she said. In a 2014 affidavit, Higgss trial attorney Henry Trainor wrote that the information about Gloria would have altered the case significantly. I dont know what thats like. The secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure. After receiving his death sentence,prosecutors filed murder charges against Torrez in the murders of 8-year-old Laura Hobbs and 9-year-old Krystal Tobias in 2005 at aZion park. Louds sobs of a woman crying inconsolably began to echo from the witness room reserved for Higgs family as his eyes rolled back in his head, showing the whites of his eyes. State of conviction:District of South Carolina. Abelardo Arboleda Ortiz 53 11581-045 Serving a life . Thank you for reporting this station. Early Wednesday morning, Wingate went to see Higgs with her son JaCobi. Summary:A jury handedAgofskya death sentence in the beating death of 37-year-old Luther Plant, an inmate at a federalpenitentiaryin Texas in 2001. Like more than half of the men on federal death row, both Johnson and Higgs contracted Covid-19 last month. When Higgs called her after the charges were filed, I remember him saying, You know I didnt. And I said, You dont even have to finish that sentence. In a dramatic move late on Monday, a judge in Indiana had halted the scheduled injection until a mental competency hearing could be held. Wingate hadmoved back to New York when she got a phone call in 1996 saying that Higgs had been arrested for dealing drugs. You can fix the hair. Havenner told Weidenfeld that despite Glorias new statements to police, he told her that hed been asleep when Haynes shot the three women. Bill Benefiel's crimes continue to shock people. In Indiana: State wants to shield death penalty drug providers. I know you didnt., People will give statements to the police and tell them one thing and then when I interview them, theyll tell me something else. Dec 16, 2021. When the day is over, your death will not bring my sister and the other victims back. Ebron held Davis while another inmate stabbed him 106 times. She wants to be present for his execution. He was not the intended target. Basham and Fulks kidnapped Donovan from a Walmart parking lot. But later, he said he saw 23-year-old Higgs give 18-year-old Haynes the gun and threaten him if he did not shoot the women. Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. He was the only Native American on death row up until his execution. But sometime in the coming months, U.S. Attorney Lynne A. Battaglia expects to take the unprecedented step of seeking the death penalty against someone for committing a federal crime in Maryland., The Sun cited a number of downsides. He shared his dismay over the execution of Bernard, who was a close friend. With last-minute appeals, it was delayed into early Saturday. I havent lost a child. I just screamed, Wingate said. Higgs wanted to open a barbershop and Wingate wanted to be a funeral director. Foreman was stabbed to death in her barrack room on the Marine Corps Base at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina onMarch 9, 1987, according to court records. Ley, 25, was shot twice at close range outside the bank and died hours later, according to news reports at the time. State of conviction:Western District of Virginia. State of conviction: Eastern District of Missouri. Higgs had a traumatic childhood and lost his mother to cancer when he was 10, the petition said. 2023 BBC. Contact Sarah Nelson at sarah.nelson@indystar.com or 317-503-7514. State of conviction:Western District of North Carolina. Stitt's death sentence was overturned in 2005 due to ineffective counsel and was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2007. State wants to shield death penalty drug providers, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Despite that, the FBI was unable to stop the killing. But her victim's family and friends say the murder committed by Montgomery was so horrific that she deserved to be put to death regardless of her mental health. Summary:A jury convicted Robinson, who went by the nickname "Scarface,"of the murders of Johnny Lee Shelton and Juan Reyes and of complicity in an ongoing criminal enterprise resulting in the death of a third person, Rudolfo Resendez, according to court filings. DNA evidence linked Torrez to the attack, which also exonerated Laura Hobbs father who spent five years in prison for the murders after giving a false confession. Mikhel and co-defendant Jurijus Kadamovas were sentenced to death for the ransom related kidnappings and murders of five people. Former prison guard convicted of killing two campers on federal land while wearing a homemade sniper suit. Most populous nation: Should India rejoice or panic? He beat and raped them both . Wingate plans to be a witness. Published On 12 Jan 2021 12 Jan 2021 . A sister of Tanji Jackson one of the murdered women who was 21 when she died addressed a written statement to Higgs after his execution and mentioning his family. TERRE HAUTE, Ind. Photo: Courtesy of Dustin Higgss defense team. Higgs handed his pistol to Haynes, who shot all three women outside the van, Gloria testified. Lisa Montgomery - the only female inmate on federal death row in the US - has been executed for murder. Read more:Two Fed Med inmates sentenced to death in killing, State of conviction: Western District of Louisiana. Convicted for his participation in a series of drug-related killings. Hardy received a life sentence. The family had moved to PalmBeach County weeks before the murders. Investigators found a day plannerinJacksons purse thatcontained Higgssaddress and license plate number. In his earliest statements to police, he said that hed been passed out in the backseat of Higgss van and woke up to gunshots. January 17, 2021 at 4:06 a.m. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced a moratorium on executions while officials review the Justice Department's policies and procedures related to the deaths. Chinn worked with the childrens choir at a church, Jackson worked in the office at a high school and Black was a teachers aide at National Presbyterian School in Washington, according to The Washington Post. Barnette then drove the mans car to Roanoke and broke into his ex-girlfriend's home that she shared with her mother. In October 2000, a federal jury in Maryland convicted Higgs of first-degree murder and kidnapping in the killings of Tamika Black, 19; Mishann Chinn. Convicted of raping and killing a 16-year-old girl before dismembering, burning and then dumping the teen's body in a septic pond. State of conviction:Western Districtof North Carolina. Coonce was already serving a life sentence for kidnapping and carjacking that involved the rape of a woman. His claims are backed up by an affidavit written by Haynes in 2012, which was included in a clemency application for Higgs during the Obama administration. Juan Reyes was shot to death at close range on the driveway in front of his home. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. And a lot of the times, it turns out that what theyre telling me is really the truth.. Sentenced to death on September 22, 2006. Summary:A federal jury in South Carolina recommended a death sentence against Council for carrying out an armed robbery at aCresCombank and pulling the trigger on a teller and bank manager killing them both. State of conviction: District ofSouth Carolina. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File) Two Monroe County ministers are suing federal prison officials for the right to . Higgs lawyers argued it was arbitrary and inequitable to execute Higgs while Willis Haynes, the man who fired the shots that killed the women, was spared a death sentence. She tried her best to explain. TERRE HAUTE, Ind. State of conviction:Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Video, The secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure, Lisa Montgomery: Looking for answers in the life of a killer, In Trump's final days, a rush of federal executions, US government death penalty move draws sharp criticism, MasterChef Australia host Jock Zonfrillo dies, Banana artwork in Seoul museum eaten by visitor, NFL player's daughter, aged two, drowns in pool, Trevelyan relative 'would consider' famine payment, Ding becomes China's first male world chess champion, Indian 'killer' elephant relocated to tiger reserve. The kidnapping occurred in Washington, DC and the murder was committed in Maryland. Police wanted him in connection with a series of bank robberies, and hed evade them by carjacking vehicles then killing their drivers so they wouldnt identify him. Neither did Wilkinson, who prosecuted Higgss case alongside Johnston and still works for the Justice Department. So I want to be the last face he sees before he leaves.. Co-defendants James Flood and Lorenzo Wilson received life sentences. State of conviction:Northern District of Texas. Hundreds of people travel to Terre Haute for the executions and interact with members of the local community, congregate in locations in the prison where social distancing is impossible, and then travel home, potentially contracting or spreading COVID-19 each step of the way. the scheduled executions of five death .
