Death Row

Robert Moorman, AZ's Longest-Serving Death Row Inmate, Chopped Up Adoptive Mother in 1984 -- and He's Finally Got a Date With Death

By James King Tue., Jan. 31 2012 at 2:02 PM
Categories: Death Row
moorman.jpg
AZDOC
Robert Moorman, Arizona's longest-serving Death Row inmate, finally has a date with death.
​After nearly three decades on Death Row, convicted killer Robert Moorman finally has a date with death.

In November, the Arizona Supreme Court issued an execution warrant for Moorman. This morning, the Court set a date: February 29.

Moorman was first sent to prison on a kidnapping conviction out of Coconino County in 1972. While incarcerated, Moorman was granted a "compassionate furlough" from the Arizona State Prison Complex in Florence so he could spend time with his adoptive mother.

The two stayed at the Blue Mist Motel across the street from the prison. During the visit, Moorman bound and gagged the woman before strangling and fatally stabbing her.

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arizona, arizona department of corrections, blue mist motel, death row, murder, robert moorman
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Death Row

"Baseline Killer" Mark Goudeau Sentenced to Death

By James King Wed., Nov. 30 2011 at 2:28 PM
Categories: Death Row
goudeau.jpg
"Baseline Killer" Mark Goudeau now has a court-imposed date with death to look forward to.
​"Baseline Killer" Mark Goudeau learned his fate this afternoon when a jury sentenced him to death for a murderous crime spree that terrorized Valley residents for nearly a year.

Goudeau was convicted of nine counts of murder last month following a five-month trial. Today, a jury sentenced him to death on each of the nine murder counts.

"A terrible scourge on our community has now been held accountable for his crimes," Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery says. "I appreciate the diligent work of this jury and the time they have devoted to hear the case and arrive at a verdict. It is now the charge of the criminal justice system to see that the sentences for death are carried out as expeditiously as possible."

See our most-recent cover story on the "Baseline Killer" here.


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arizona, baseline killer, bill montgomery, death penalty, maricopa county attorney's office, mark goudeau
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Death Row

Execution Warrant for Robert Moorman, Arizona's Longest-Serving Death Row Inmate, Could Be Issued Today

By James King Tue., Nov. 29 2011 at 11:26 AM
Categories: Death Row
moorman.jpg
AZDOC
Robert Moorman chopped his adoptive mother up into pieces and scattered the remains in dumpsters near the Florence Prison, where he was an inmate at the time.
​The Arizona Supreme Court today will consider whether to issue an execution warrant for a man convicted of murdering his adoptive mother back in 1984. After murdering her, he chopped her body up into several pieces, and scattered them in dumpsters near the Florence Prison -- where he was an inmate at the time.

Robert Henry Moorman was first sent to prison on a kidnapping conviction out of Coconino County in 1972. While incarcerated, Moorman was granted a "compassionate furlough" from the prison so he could spend time with his adoptive mother.

The two stayed at the Blue Mist Motel across the street from the prison, where Moorman bound and gagged the woman before strangling and fatally stabbing her. Then he chopped her body up into several pieces and disposed of it in dumpsters throughout Florence. Twenty-six years later, Moorman hasn't been executed, making him Arizona's longest serving death row inmate -- and costing taxpayers about $24,000 a year for food and housing alone (what Moorman's cost the state in legal expenses is not included in the $24,000. More on that here).

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arizona, arizona supreme court, blue mist motel, death row, florence prison, kidnapping, murder, robert moorman, robert towery
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Death Row

Should Jury Show "Baseline Killer" Mark Goudeau Mercy?

By James King Thu., Nov. 17 2011 at 7:00 AM
Categories: Death Row, Judge and Jury
goudeau.jpg
"Baseline Killer" Mark Goudeau wants a jury to show him mercy.
​Convicted "Baseline Killer" Mark Goudeau yesterday addressed the jury that will ultimately decide whether he lives or dies. The killer of nine -- who terrorized Phoenix residents for nearly a year -- asked for mercy.

Goudeau was convicted of 67 felonies last month, including nine murders. He already is serving a 438-year prison sentence for attacking two sisters in Phoenix in 2005.

See New Times' cover story on the "Baseline Killer" case, Waiting for Goudeau, here.

Goudeau, however, claims he's not the monster prosecutors painted him as during his trial, and that his life should be spared.  

"They assassinated my character. They painted me as a monster," Goudeau told jurors. "I am no monster. Mark Goudeau is no monster. I am no monster."

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arizona, baseline killer, death penalty, death row, mark goudeau
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Death Row

Baseline Killer Mark Goudeau's Trial to Proceed to Penalty Phase; Killer of Nine Faces Death Penalty

By James King Thu., Nov. 3 2011 at 3:09 PM
Categories: Death Row, Judge and Jury
goudeau.jpg
Baseline Killer Mark Goudeau is one step closer to his (presumed) execution.
​The jury has reached a verdict in the "aggravation phase" of Baseline Killer Mark Goudeau's trial, finding that aggravating factors in the case were proven -- which means the man who terrorized the streets of Phoenix for nearly a year could face the death penalty.

The trial now heads to the penalty phase, where Goudeau's defense team can present "testimony and evidence to try to show by a preponderance of the evidence that mitigating factors exist that are sufficiently substantial to call for leniency," Maricopa Superior Court spokeswoman Karen Arra says.

In other words, Goudeau's attorney's can tell sob stories about Goudeau to the jury in an attempt to get them to spare his life.

Goudeau, however, told Judge Warren Granville that he didn't want to be in the courtroom for the penalty phase of his trial, and Arra tells New Times he wasn't present for today's ruling.



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arizona, baseline killer, death penalty, mark goudeau
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Death Row

Should Baseline Killer Mark Goudeau Expect a Date With an Executioner's Needle?

By James King Tue., Nov. 1 2011 at 7:00 AM
Categories: Death Row, Morning Poll
goudeau.jpg
Baseline Killer Mark Goudeau is a prime candidate for the death penalty.
​Regardless of your opinion of the death penalty, it exists because of guys like convicted Baseline Killer Mark Goudeau.

Goudeau was convicted yesterday of 67 serious felonies -- nine of which were murder raps -- stemming from a year-long crime spree in 2005 and 2006.

Tomorrow, Goudeau's trial will enter the sentencing phase. The death penalty is on the table -- and is presumably the sentence Goudeau will receive.

As our colleague Paul Rubin pointed out yesterday, Wednesday's phase of Goudeau's trial is the so-called "aggravation phase," during which "prosecutors can, among other things, pull out almost all the stops, and show the jury how the murders (nine in this case) and the myriad other crimes Goudeau has been found guilty of committing have affected so many lives."

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arizona, baseline killer, mark goudeau, the death penalty
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Death Row

Should Prosecutors Seek Death Penalty For Convicted Killer Steven James...Again?

By James King Thu., Oct. 13 2011 at 9:15 AM
Categories: Death Row, Morning Poll
jamesdeathrow.jpg
Arizona Department of Corrections
Steven James
​The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday tossed out the death sentence of convicted murderer Steven James, who was sentenced to die for the brutal 1981 murder of a man he targeted for being gay.

The reason: the Court feels James had ineffective counsel during the sentencing phase of his trial.

See our story on James -- and the Court's written opinion -- here.

In the Court's written opinion, Judge William A. Fletcher wrote the following: 

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9th circuit court of appeals, arizona, death row, murder, steven james
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Death Row

Chronic Drug Use and Childhood Abuse (and Crappy Lawyers) Wins Death Row Inmate New Trial Or Life in Prison

By James King Wed., Oct. 12 2011 at 4:40 PM
Categories: Death Row
jamesdeathrow.jpg
Arizona Department of Corrections
Steven James
​The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has tossed out the death sentence of an Arizona death row inmate who was sentenced to die for the brutal 1981 murder of a man he targeted for being gay.

Inmate Steven Craig James, 53, who's been on death row for nearly 20 years, will either have his sentence commuted to life in prison, or get a new trial, for the November 17, 1981 beating death of Juan Maya, the three-judge panel ruled this morning.

In the court's published opinion, the judges ruled that James had ineffective counsel in the sentencing phase of his trial.


"We conclude that counsel's complete failure to investigate and present mitigating evidenceof James' troubled childhood, his mental illness, and his history of chronic drug abuse constituted deficient performance," Judge William A. Fletcher writes in the opinion. "We further conclude that this failure prejudiced James because it prevented the sentencing judge from learning that James had 'the kind of troubled history we have declared relevant to assessing a defendant's moral culpability."

Fletcher goes on to point out James' particularly rough childhood, which included exposure to violence and beatings by his adoptive parents.

See Fletcher's entire 62-page opinion below.



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9th circuit court of appeals, arizona, death penalty, death row, juan maya, murder, steven craig james
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Death Row

AG Tom Horne on Upcoming Execution of Kid-Killing Rapist Richard Stokley: Hurry Up

By James King Mon., Sep. 26 2011 at 2:12 PM
Categories: Death Row
stokley.jpg
Arizona Department of Corrections
Richard Stokley
​A Federal appeals court today upheld the death sentence for kid-killing rapist Richard Stokley. No execution date has been set, but Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne doesn't want to see Stokley's date with death delayed any further.

"The date for Stokley's sentence to be carried out has not been set, but I am hopeful that this killer will be brought to justice without excessive delay from the federal system," Horne says. "The families of the victims deserve to see justice in a timely manner."

Stokley was convicted of the brutal 1991 rapes and murders of two girls, Mandy Meyers and her friend Mary Snyder, each just 13 years old.

The two girls were camping with friends in the small town of Elfrida, about 80 miles southeast of Tucson.

The girls were lured or abducted from the campsite, taken to a remote area where they were raped, beaten, and stabbed to death. Their bodies were then thrown into a partly flooded mine shaft.

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arizona, death penalty, death row, kidnapping, Mandy Meyers, Mary Snyder, murder, rape, richard stokley
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Death Row

Thomas Paul West Skips Best Part of Being Executed by the State: The Food

By James King Tue., Jul. 19 2011 at 4:06 PM
Categories: Death Row
twest.jpg
AZ DOC
Thomas West declined a last meal before his execution.
​After more than 20 years on Arizona's Death Row, convicted murderer Thomas Paul West was executed this morning at the state prison in Florence. According to prison officials, West didn't have any last words. He also skipped the best part about getting executed: the food.

Arizona Department of Corrections spokesman Bill Lamoreaux says West declined his last meal yesterday.

According to the DOC Department Order Manual, jail staff is required to make "every reasonable effort to accommodate the last meal request" of a Death Row inmate. In other words, an inmate preparing to be executed can have just about anything he or she wants -- within reason -- to eat the night before their execution.

While West didn't take full advantage of the perks of his impending demise, other recently executed inmates pigged out before their court-ordered dates with death.

Most notably, kid-killing rapist Donald Beaty.



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arizona, Christy Ann Fornoff, death row, Donald Beaty, execution, jennifer wilson, richard bible, thomas paul west
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