Post by Anja on Jun 22, 2006 17:58:25 GMT -5
'Railroad Killer' is found fit to die----The Mexican national is facing
execution next week in slaying of area physician
After hearing 2 days of contradictory testimony, state District Judge
William Harmon ruled Wednesday that Angel Maturino Resendiz is competent
to be executed for the December 1998 fatal stabbing and bludgeoning of
West University Place physician Claudia Benton.
Harmon, who also presided over Maturino Resendiz's 2000 murder trial, said
he had no doubt the 45-year-old killer met the state test for competency.
Maturino Resendiz, he said, knows why he was sentenced to die and is aware
that he will be executed in the near future.
Defense attorney Jack Zimmermann said he would appeal the ruling. "We
believe we received a fair hearing," he said, "but we obviously disagree
with the conclusion."
Maturino Resendiz, a Mexican national, has confessed or been linked to at
least 13 other slayings, including those of Houston teacher Noemi
Dominguez in June 1999, and Weimar minister Norman Sirnic and his wife,
Karen, in May 1999.
All of the victims were brutally assaulted - weapons included a
sledgehammer, a large rock and a pickax - and some, including Benton, were
posthumously raped.
Zimmermann unsuccessfully sought to show that Maturino Resendiz, who has
claimed he is half-man, half-angel, is psychotic and unable to grasp the
fact he will die. The killer told 6 mental health experts hired to examine
him for the competency hearing that, 3 days after his execution, he will
appear in the Middle East in a new body to fight Israel's enemies.
Harmon noted that reports from 4 psychiatrists and 2 psychologists
selected by the court were inconclusive in some respects and that the
mental health experts had not explored issues related to Maturino
Resendiz's earlier crimes.
"There is no doubt in my mind that he knows he's been convicted," the
judge said. "He knows that he's been convicted. ... He knows that he's
received the death sentence, and he knows that he will be executed
Tuesday."
Harris County Assistant District Attorney Roe Wilson lauded Harmon's
ruling, saying it ended "the most recent maneuver in a years-long
manipulation of the system."
Ruling gets support
George Benton, who was vacationing with his two young daughters in Arizona
the day his wife was killed, could not be reached for comment.
Arnold Foltermann, of Bryan, father of Karen Sirnic, supported the ruling.
"I would not say that I'm pleased, but at least it's what needs to be
done," he said. "He needs to be taken off the streets and not have an
opportunity for a full life. ... I don't think he needs to go on very much
further."
Foltermann's wife, Minnie, said she never believed Maturino Resendiz's
insanity claims.
"I think he was faking and I think he studied a lot and came up with these
crazy sayings," she said.
During testimony Tuesday, Houston psychiatrist Dr. Mark Moeller told
Harmon that Maturino Resendiz was malingering - exaggerating his mental
symptoms. Later, outside the courtroom, Moeller said that other experts
who examined the killer may have overlooked such exaggerations because
they had been trained to trust and empathize with their patients.
Testimony questioned
In final arguments Wednesday, Zimmermann zeroed in on Moeller, contending
the doctor's testimony was "contaminated" because he had evaluated
Maturino Resendiz 5 years ago to determine whether the killer was
competent to waive his right to appeal.
Zimmermann also charged that Moeller had given short shrift to the new
evaluation of Maturino Resendiz.
Moeller testified that Maturino Resendiz was delusional, but competent to
be executed.
Prosecutor Wilson, in final arguments, told Harmon that Maturino Resendiz
knew why he was to be executed. When an examining psychiatrist asked him
who had swung the small statue used to kill Benton, Wilson said, Maturino
Resendiz admitted he had. "He said, 'I did. I had an angel in my body, but
I did.' "
"He knows the date" of the execution, she said. "He knows others who have
been executed. He knows the chemicals. He knows the cost. He knows that he
will be declared dead."
In addition to slayings in Houston and Weimar, Maturino Resendiz has been
linked to homicides in Hughes Springs and in Illinois and Kentucky.
Maturino Resendiz had been scheduled for execution in May, but the date
was postponed to allow for mental health evaluations. The latest effort to
save the killer's life was financed by Mexico, which does not have the
death penalty.
(source: Houston Chroniclce)
**************
execution next week in slaying of area physician
After hearing 2 days of contradictory testimony, state District Judge
William Harmon ruled Wednesday that Angel Maturino Resendiz is competent
to be executed for the December 1998 fatal stabbing and bludgeoning of
West University Place physician Claudia Benton.
Harmon, who also presided over Maturino Resendiz's 2000 murder trial, said
he had no doubt the 45-year-old killer met the state test for competency.
Maturino Resendiz, he said, knows why he was sentenced to die and is aware
that he will be executed in the near future.
Defense attorney Jack Zimmermann said he would appeal the ruling. "We
believe we received a fair hearing," he said, "but we obviously disagree
with the conclusion."
Maturino Resendiz, a Mexican national, has confessed or been linked to at
least 13 other slayings, including those of Houston teacher Noemi
Dominguez in June 1999, and Weimar minister Norman Sirnic and his wife,
Karen, in May 1999.
All of the victims were brutally assaulted - weapons included a
sledgehammer, a large rock and a pickax - and some, including Benton, were
posthumously raped.
Zimmermann unsuccessfully sought to show that Maturino Resendiz, who has
claimed he is half-man, half-angel, is psychotic and unable to grasp the
fact he will die. The killer told 6 mental health experts hired to examine
him for the competency hearing that, 3 days after his execution, he will
appear in the Middle East in a new body to fight Israel's enemies.
Harmon noted that reports from 4 psychiatrists and 2 psychologists
selected by the court were inconclusive in some respects and that the
mental health experts had not explored issues related to Maturino
Resendiz's earlier crimes.
"There is no doubt in my mind that he knows he's been convicted," the
judge said. "He knows that he's been convicted. ... He knows that he's
received the death sentence, and he knows that he will be executed
Tuesday."
Harris County Assistant District Attorney Roe Wilson lauded Harmon's
ruling, saying it ended "the most recent maneuver in a years-long
manipulation of the system."
Ruling gets support
George Benton, who was vacationing with his two young daughters in Arizona
the day his wife was killed, could not be reached for comment.
Arnold Foltermann, of Bryan, father of Karen Sirnic, supported the ruling.
"I would not say that I'm pleased, but at least it's what needs to be
done," he said. "He needs to be taken off the streets and not have an
opportunity for a full life. ... I don't think he needs to go on very much
further."
Foltermann's wife, Minnie, said she never believed Maturino Resendiz's
insanity claims.
"I think he was faking and I think he studied a lot and came up with these
crazy sayings," she said.
During testimony Tuesday, Houston psychiatrist Dr. Mark Moeller told
Harmon that Maturino Resendiz was malingering - exaggerating his mental
symptoms. Later, outside the courtroom, Moeller said that other experts
who examined the killer may have overlooked such exaggerations because
they had been trained to trust and empathize with their patients.
Testimony questioned
In final arguments Wednesday, Zimmermann zeroed in on Moeller, contending
the doctor's testimony was "contaminated" because he had evaluated
Maturino Resendiz 5 years ago to determine whether the killer was
competent to waive his right to appeal.
Zimmermann also charged that Moeller had given short shrift to the new
evaluation of Maturino Resendiz.
Moeller testified that Maturino Resendiz was delusional, but competent to
be executed.
Prosecutor Wilson, in final arguments, told Harmon that Maturino Resendiz
knew why he was to be executed. When an examining psychiatrist asked him
who had swung the small statue used to kill Benton, Wilson said, Maturino
Resendiz admitted he had. "He said, 'I did. I had an angel in my body, but
I did.' "
"He knows the date" of the execution, she said. "He knows others who have
been executed. He knows the chemicals. He knows the cost. He knows that he
will be declared dead."
In addition to slayings in Houston and Weimar, Maturino Resendiz has been
linked to homicides in Hughes Springs and in Illinois and Kentucky.
Maturino Resendiz had been scheduled for execution in May, but the date
was postponed to allow for mental health evaluations. The latest effort to
save the killer's life was financed by Mexico, which does not have the
death penalty.
(source: Houston Chroniclce)
**************