Post by CCADP on Aug 31, 2005 5:15:50 GMT -5
Utah's oldest death-row inmate to get new sentencing hearing
Debbie Hummel THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SALT LAKE CITY -- The Utah Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a lower court ruling vacating the death sentence for the state's oldest and longest-serving death row inmate, allowing him a new sentencing hearing.
Elroy Tillman, now 69, was condemned to die for the 1982 murder of Mark Schoenfeld, who was bludgeoned with the blunt end of an ax and his body then set on fire at
his Salt Lake City home. Prosecutors said Schoenfeld was killed because he was dating Tillman's ex-girlfriend, Lori Groneman.
In January 2003, 3rd District Judge Leslie Lewis ruled that important evidence was withheld from Tillman's defense team during the 1983 trial. The omission was not significant enough to overturn his conviction but did merit a new sentencing hearing for Tillman, she ruled.
The state appealed, contending that Tillman's petition for a new sentencing hearing was barred by Utah's Post-Conviction Remedies Act and also the suppression of the evidence did not violate his due process rights.
Utah's high court disagreed. In a 5-0 decision, the court concluded that "Tillman's current claim was overlooked in good faith and that his current petition was not motivated by an intent to delay or otherwise abuse the post-conviction relief process."
At issue were transcripts from a police interview with Tillman's then-girlfriend, Carla Sagers, who was identified in court as his accomplice but received immunity from prosecution for her testimony against Tillman.
Just weeks before Tillman's scheduled execution in 2001, his lawyers received 50 previously undisclosed pages from police polygraph tests and interviews with Sagers.
Tillman's attorneys have said the transcripts contain a "virtual cornucopia of cross-examination material," which could have been used to refute Sagers' testimony during the trial.
Former Salt Lake City police Sgt. Kenneth Thirsk, who interviewed Sagers, said he had testified at Tillman's original trial, and the jury heard that he did not believe Sagers' account of the killing.
No one was able to account for why the transcripts weren't provided to Tillman's defense team at the 1983 trial. Assistant Attorney General Thomas Brunker uncovered the transcripts when he asked the Salt Lake County district attorney's office for the case file to prepare for a 2001 commutation hearing.
Brunker and Erin Riley, another assistant attorney general, said they have no idea how the transcript fell through the cracks during the trial, but that later it was easily found and should have been located by any diligent attorney aiding Tillman in his appeal.
"We're not saying it's their fault or their problem. We don't know who or why or what happened clear back then 22 years ago," said Riley, who argued the appeal with Brunker. "We simply called for the prosecutor's file. Any reasonable post-conviction counsel should have done that and did not."
"I think one thing that should be clear is there has never been a finding that the original prosecutor intentionally withheld these transcripts," Brunker said.
The state has contended all along that the transcripts would not have changed the outcome of Tillman's conviction or his death sentence.
"I personally was quite surprised and dismayed," said Riley of Tuesday's Supreme Court decision. "The bottom line is whether this evidence made any difference at the time."
Tillman's attorney, Loni DeLand, said he and his client are pleased with the decision.
"There'll be a resentencing and I like our chances," DeLand said. "I get to put these witnesses on the stand, and there's all this new material."
He said he looks forward to putting Sagers on the stand and the new information is of "great importance" as to how he will cross-examine her.
DeLand said he would expect a new sentencing no earlier than the end of this year, barring any further appeals by the Utah attorney general's office.
Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said Tuesday that it was unlikely his office would appeal.
He said justice was served by the ruling, although he contends that an earlier discovery of the transcripts probably would not have changed the outcome of the case.
"I don't think we can be disappointed. The disappointment, I guess, is the victims are going to have to, 20 years later, relive all of this," Shurtleff said.
In the new sentencing phase, Tillman will face the death penalty or life in prison with the possibility of parole. When Tillman was initially sentenced, the state had not adopted the option of life without parole, though Brunker said it likely will be offered as an option for Tillman.
This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A8.
Debbie Hummel THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SALT LAKE CITY -- The Utah Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a lower court ruling vacating the death sentence for the state's oldest and longest-serving death row inmate, allowing him a new sentencing hearing.
Elroy Tillman, now 69, was condemned to die for the 1982 murder of Mark Schoenfeld, who was bludgeoned with the blunt end of an ax and his body then set on fire at
his Salt Lake City home. Prosecutors said Schoenfeld was killed because he was dating Tillman's ex-girlfriend, Lori Groneman.
In January 2003, 3rd District Judge Leslie Lewis ruled that important evidence was withheld from Tillman's defense team during the 1983 trial. The omission was not significant enough to overturn his conviction but did merit a new sentencing hearing for Tillman, she ruled.
The state appealed, contending that Tillman's petition for a new sentencing hearing was barred by Utah's Post-Conviction Remedies Act and also the suppression of the evidence did not violate his due process rights.
Utah's high court disagreed. In a 5-0 decision, the court concluded that "Tillman's current claim was overlooked in good faith and that his current petition was not motivated by an intent to delay or otherwise abuse the post-conviction relief process."
At issue were transcripts from a police interview with Tillman's then-girlfriend, Carla Sagers, who was identified in court as his accomplice but received immunity from prosecution for her testimony against Tillman.
Just weeks before Tillman's scheduled execution in 2001, his lawyers received 50 previously undisclosed pages from police polygraph tests and interviews with Sagers.
Tillman's attorneys have said the transcripts contain a "virtual cornucopia of cross-examination material," which could have been used to refute Sagers' testimony during the trial.
Former Salt Lake City police Sgt. Kenneth Thirsk, who interviewed Sagers, said he had testified at Tillman's original trial, and the jury heard that he did not believe Sagers' account of the killing.
No one was able to account for why the transcripts weren't provided to Tillman's defense team at the 1983 trial. Assistant Attorney General Thomas Brunker uncovered the transcripts when he asked the Salt Lake County district attorney's office for the case file to prepare for a 2001 commutation hearing.
Brunker and Erin Riley, another assistant attorney general, said they have no idea how the transcript fell through the cracks during the trial, but that later it was easily found and should have been located by any diligent attorney aiding Tillman in his appeal.
"We're not saying it's their fault or their problem. We don't know who or why or what happened clear back then 22 years ago," said Riley, who argued the appeal with Brunker. "We simply called for the prosecutor's file. Any reasonable post-conviction counsel should have done that and did not."
"I think one thing that should be clear is there has never been a finding that the original prosecutor intentionally withheld these transcripts," Brunker said.
The state has contended all along that the transcripts would not have changed the outcome of Tillman's conviction or his death sentence.
"I personally was quite surprised and dismayed," said Riley of Tuesday's Supreme Court decision. "The bottom line is whether this evidence made any difference at the time."
Tillman's attorney, Loni DeLand, said he and his client are pleased with the decision.
"There'll be a resentencing and I like our chances," DeLand said. "I get to put these witnesses on the stand, and there's all this new material."
He said he looks forward to putting Sagers on the stand and the new information is of "great importance" as to how he will cross-examine her.
DeLand said he would expect a new sentencing no earlier than the end of this year, barring any further appeals by the Utah attorney general's office.
Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said Tuesday that it was unlikely his office would appeal.
He said justice was served by the ruling, although he contends that an earlier discovery of the transcripts probably would not have changed the outcome of the case.
"I don't think we can be disappointed. The disappointment, I guess, is the victims are going to have to, 20 years later, relive all of this," Shurtleff said.
In the new sentencing phase, Tillman will face the death penalty or life in prison with the possibility of parole. When Tillman was initially sentenced, the state had not adopted the option of life without parole, though Brunker said it likely will be offered as an option for Tillman.
This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A8.