Post by CCADP on Aug 12, 2005 12:28:18 GMT -5
Killer of pregnant woman appeals death sentence
Lawyer challenges Delaware law
BY CHARLOTTE HALE / The News Journal
08/12/2005
DOVER -- Almost nine years after a jury convicted Brian D. Steckel of raping and strangling a pregnant 29-year-old woman, he is sitting on death row appealing his sentence.
Steckel's attorney, Joseph M. Bernstein, argued in Delaware Supreme Court on Thursday that executing Steckel would be a failure of justice because the state's death penalty law is unconstitutional.
Loren C. Meyers, chief of the appeals division for the Delaware Department of Justice, contended the death penalty law is constitutional and therefore, the death sentence should be upheld.
Both attorneys said arguments in Steckel's case are a preview for arguments on whether to overturn convicted killer Thomas Capano's death sentence for killing Anne Marie Fahey in 1996.
After Steckel raped and strangled Sandra Lee Long at her Prices Corner apartment in 1994, he set the apartment on fire. Before his capture, he called The News Journal to brag about the killing. During his trial, he sent a copy of Long's autopsy to her mother, writing "Read it and weep. She's gone forever. Don't cry over burnt flesh."
Bernstein told the five-justice panel that the jury should have been informed that finding Steckel guilty of rape and other felonies related to the murder automatically made him eligible for the death penalty during the sentencing phase of the trial.
The lack of clarity on that point misled jurors, he said, because the judge instructed them that their role in the sentencing phase of the trial was merely to advise him whether Steckel should be sentenced to life in prison or death.
Jury trials on first-degree murder charges are broken into two parts under Delaware law.
First, jurors must decide if a defendant is guilty or not guilty of the crimes. If they find the defendant guilty, they must answer two questions. They must decide whether the murder involved at least one aggravating circumstance, such as the killing occurring simultaneous to a rape or robbery. Then they must determine whether this and other aggravating circumstances outweigh mitigators, such as the defendant's upbringing and mental health.
In some murder cases like Steckel's, the jury must answer yes to the first question if they've already found the defendant guilty of another felony, like rape, related to the murder.
The jury's sentencing votes do not have to be unanimous. The final decision on whether to impose life in prison or death is up to the judge.
Bernstein's arguments in part rely on a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down death penalty laws in Arizona and four other states that allowed judges, not juries, to decide if a convicted killer is eligible for execution.
Bernstein agreed the Ring v. Arizona decision generally does not apply to convictions handed down prior to the 2002 Supreme Court decision. However, he said it can when a miscarriage of justice is involved.
Meyers said even if Delaware's justices agree the Ring decision applies in the Steckel case, he said there was no error in how the trial court applied the death penalty law.
He said there is no reason to believe the jury took its role deciding Steckel's guilt or innocence less seriously because they would have to weigh a death sentence by finding the murder included aggravating factors.
Contact Charlotte Hale at 324-2792 or chale@delawareonline.com.
Lawyer challenges Delaware law
BY CHARLOTTE HALE / The News Journal
08/12/2005
DOVER -- Almost nine years after a jury convicted Brian D. Steckel of raping and strangling a pregnant 29-year-old woman, he is sitting on death row appealing his sentence.
Steckel's attorney, Joseph M. Bernstein, argued in Delaware Supreme Court on Thursday that executing Steckel would be a failure of justice because the state's death penalty law is unconstitutional.
Loren C. Meyers, chief of the appeals division for the Delaware Department of Justice, contended the death penalty law is constitutional and therefore, the death sentence should be upheld.
Both attorneys said arguments in Steckel's case are a preview for arguments on whether to overturn convicted killer Thomas Capano's death sentence for killing Anne Marie Fahey in 1996.
After Steckel raped and strangled Sandra Lee Long at her Prices Corner apartment in 1994, he set the apartment on fire. Before his capture, he called The News Journal to brag about the killing. During his trial, he sent a copy of Long's autopsy to her mother, writing "Read it and weep. She's gone forever. Don't cry over burnt flesh."
Bernstein told the five-justice panel that the jury should have been informed that finding Steckel guilty of rape and other felonies related to the murder automatically made him eligible for the death penalty during the sentencing phase of the trial.
The lack of clarity on that point misled jurors, he said, because the judge instructed them that their role in the sentencing phase of the trial was merely to advise him whether Steckel should be sentenced to life in prison or death.
Jury trials on first-degree murder charges are broken into two parts under Delaware law.
First, jurors must decide if a defendant is guilty or not guilty of the crimes. If they find the defendant guilty, they must answer two questions. They must decide whether the murder involved at least one aggravating circumstance, such as the killing occurring simultaneous to a rape or robbery. Then they must determine whether this and other aggravating circumstances outweigh mitigators, such as the defendant's upbringing and mental health.
In some murder cases like Steckel's, the jury must answer yes to the first question if they've already found the defendant guilty of another felony, like rape, related to the murder.
The jury's sentencing votes do not have to be unanimous. The final decision on whether to impose life in prison or death is up to the judge.
Bernstein's arguments in part rely on a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down death penalty laws in Arizona and four other states that allowed judges, not juries, to decide if a convicted killer is eligible for execution.
Bernstein agreed the Ring v. Arizona decision generally does not apply to convictions handed down prior to the 2002 Supreme Court decision. However, he said it can when a miscarriage of justice is involved.
Meyers said even if Delaware's justices agree the Ring decision applies in the Steckel case, he said there was no error in how the trial court applied the death penalty law.
He said there is no reason to believe the jury took its role deciding Steckel's guilt or innocence less seriously because they would have to weigh a death sentence by finding the murder included aggravating factors.
Contact Charlotte Hale at 324-2792 or chale@delawareonline.com.
