San Antonio man set to die for killing law student

[SoulTrainOz]

Every day, Norma LaHood and her husband pass the spot where 10 years ago their son was gunned down.

It's the driveway outside their San Antonio home.

"It was our choice," LaHood says of the couple's decision to continue living at their home following their 25-year-old son's death. "My husband said they will not chase me out of my home. My son loved his home."

Mauriceo Brown, 31, condemned for the fatal 1996 shooting of Michael LaHood Jr., is set to be executed Wednesday in Huntsville in the 1st of 2 executions this week in the nation's most active death penalty state.

"In the beginning, it was difficult," LaHood said. "I pass it every day, right where my son died. It's amazing, God's grace. He's delivering us through this. I leave it in God's hands. I don't dwell on it, but this is something I live with forever, and I will grieve my son forever."

LaHood and her husband did not plan to attend the execution, the 15th this year in Texas, but their 2 younger sons would represent the family to witness Brown die.

"I don't really want to be anywhere near him," she said, her voice choking with emotion. "He killed my son. But this is not about revenge. ... As a mother, I'm thinking this is something that needs to be done, but it doesn't mean I'm joyous about it."

Brown acknowledges being present when LaHood, a law student, was killed in an apparent botched robbery attempt. But he insisted he's set to die for a murder he confessed to but didn't commit.

"I didn't kill this person," Brown said this month from death row at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Polunsky Unit near Livingston.

Brown is 1 of 2 men sentenced to death for the slaying that capped a spree of armed robberies over a 2-hour period. Kenneth Foster, a companion who was tried with Brown, does not yet have an execution date.

Brown's lawyers were in the courts hoping to get the lethal injection halted.

According to court records, Foster was driving Brown and 2 others around San Antonio and at Brown's urging hunted for people to rob. 4 people were held up in 2 incidents. Then they spotted a pair of vehicles and began following them, ultimately winding up at LaHood's driveway about 2 a.m.

LaHood's girlfriend, who drove one of the cars, confronted the men, demanding to know why they were following her and LaHood. Brown jumped out, walked up to LaHood, demanded his car keys, then opened fire when LaHood couldn't produce the keys.

LaHood, shot through the eye, died instantly.

Less than an hour later, Foster was pulled over by police for driving erratically and he, Brown and their 2 buddies - all of them on probation for earlier felonies - were arrested.

Brown, father of a year-old boy and on probation for auto theft and with a 10-year deferred sentence for selling a pipe bomb to an undercover officer at his high school, confessed to the slaying.

"We got into an argument in the car about that," Brown said of the story he and his companions decided they would tell. "They made threats against me, my son, the mother of my child. my mother.

"I was naive. I didn't know any better."

Mike Ramos, who prosecuted Brown, called Brown's claims preposterous.

"He has absolutely no credibility," Ramos said. "When you're sentenced to death and days from death, you'll say anything. And that's what he's doing."

Brown blamed the shooting on the fourth man in the car, Dwayne Dillard, now serving life for killing a taxi driver across the street from the Alamo two weeks before the LaHood slaying.

"I was in the car," Brown said. "When I looked up, everything happened so fast."

Julius Steen, another of the men in the car, testified at Brown's trial he didn't see the shooting but heard the shot. When he asked Brown what happened, "He just shrugged his shoulders," said Steen, who received a life sentence in exchange for his testimony.

Brown's testimony at his own trial, where he broke into tears, was similar to his confession to police. But he contended from death row he testified to his role in the shooting at the advice of his trial lawyers who "wanted to save my life."

On the witness stand, he said the shooting was in self-defense, that he believed LaHood had a gun and that he heard it click. Authorities, however, never found a weapon near LaHood's body.

On Thursday, Robert Anderson, 40, was set to die for the 1993 slaying of a 5-year-old Amarillo girl who was abducted, raped, beaten, choked and strangled before her body was stuffed into a cooler and thrown into a garbage container.

On the Net:

Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Death Row
www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/deathrow.htm

Mauriceo Brown www.deathrow-usa.us/MauriceoBrown.htm

(source: Associated Press)

[SoulTrainOz]

Mauriceo Brown denies that he shot law student in San Antonio

An apologetic San Antonio gang member was executed today for the shooting death of a man during a robbery attempt in the driveway of his victim's home.

With 2 brothers of his victim watching nearby through a window, Mauriceo Brown told them he was "sorry you lost a brother, a loved one and friend.''

Brown looked toward another window where his mother and 2 siblings were among the witnesses. He told them he loved them. "Keep your heads up and know that I will be in a better place,'' he said.

He then looked again toward his victim's relatives and friends and
apologized a 2nd time that you "lost a loved one this way. God bless you all.''

As the drugs took effect, Brown's mother wailed and collapsed to the floor of the death house. She was escorted from the witness area a few minutes later.

Brown was pronounced dead at 6:47 p.m., 8 minutes after the lethal flow of drugs began. The execution was delayed briefly while the U.S. Supreme Court considered appeals.

Brown, 31, confessed to the 1996 slaying of Michael LaHood Jr., 25, when he and 3 companions, high on marijuana and alcohol, were arrested about an hour after the shooting. 1 companion, Kenneth Foster, also received the death penalty but doesn't have an execution date. The 2 others, including one who testified against Brown, received long prison terms.

The early morning attack capped a spree by the street gang members who called themselves the Hoover 94 Crips. At least 4 other people were robbed that night.

"They were out pretty much on a rampage, stoned to the bone, victimizing people,'' said Jack McGinnis, one of the prosecutors in the cases against Brown and Foster. The 2 were tried together.

Brown had been recanting his confession, saying his accomplices threatened his family if he didn't take the fall for the slaying.

"That claim is preposterous,'' said Mike Ramos, who was a Bexar County assistant district attorney in 1997 and also prosecuted Brown and Foster. "He has absolutely no credibility. Any court could see he has zip.''

In court before and during his trial, Brown also changed the circumstances of his confession, describing LaHood's death as self-defense and also an accident. He also blamed one of the other men in the car with him for the shooting.

Brown, in a recent interview on death row, called his trial "a mockery based on a lie that I made a statement and everybody else made a statement that I was the shooter.''

"Even if his new story is true, that doesn't say he's not guilty of
capital murder and deserving of the death penalty,'' McGinnis said. "His new story doesn't get him out of the woods. It gets him to where Foster is right now. They're both equally dangerous.''

In an interview with CourtTVnews.com, Brown said he regretted confessing to the crime.

"I regret it for the fact that I didn't put more faith in the man upstairs to look over my family ... But, you know, when you're in the streets and you've been around these people for a while, you kind of know that it could happen," Brown said, one week before his scheduled execution. "I knew that I got into this for all the wrong reasons, and it just wasn't me. I should've stayed with basketball."

LaHood's 2 brothers planned to witness Brown's execution.

"It is painful for us,'' said Norma LaHood, their mother. "Our wounds will never heal. You don't heal from the loss of a child.''

Foster, Brown, Dwayne Dillard and Julius Steen were cruising San Antonio and robbing people when they spotted LaHood and his girlfriend driving and began following them, winding up at LaHood's driveway about 2 a.m.

According to testimony, Brown jumped out, walked up to LaHood, demanded his car keys, then opened fire when LaHood couldn't produce the keys. LaHood, shot through the eye, died instantly.

Less than an hour later, Foster was pulled over for speeding and driving erratically. All of them were on probation for earlier felonies and were arrested for LaHood's death.

Brown blamed the shooting on Dillard, now serving life for killing a taxi driver across the street from the Alamo 2 weeks before LaHood was killed. Steen testified at Brown's trial and received a life sentence in a plea bargain.

Brown testified the shooting was in self-defense, that he believed LaHood had a gun and that he heard it click. Authorities, however, never found another weapon near LaHood's body.

On Thursday, Robert Anderson, 40, faced execution for the 1993 slaying of a 5-year-old Amarillo girl who was abducted, sexually assaulted, beaten, choked and strangled before her body was stuffed into a cooler and thrown into a garbage container. Anderson has asked that no appeals be filed to stop his punishment.

Brown becomes the 15th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Texas, and the 370th overall since the state resumed capital punishment on December 7, 1982. Brown becomes the 131st condemned inmate to be put to death in Texas since Rick Perry became Governor in 2001.

Brown becomes the 29th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA and the 1033rd overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977. There are 4 more executions scheduled in the USA in July, and 10 more in August.

(sources: Associated Press, Court TV & Rick Halperin)

[SoulTrainOz]

Gang member executed for slaying

Killer of 5-year-old Amarillo girl to die tonight

Mauriceo Brown gave an apology Tuesday night before his execution, but it wasn't to express remorse for the killing for which he was convicted.

"To the victim's family, I am sorry you lost a brother, loved one and friend," he said. "To my family, I love you all. Keep your heads up and know I will be in a better place."

Brown's mother, Cynthia Luckey, watched through a window in the death chamber as her son spoke.

"Jesus," she said. "I love you. Don't do this."

As Brown completed his statement, he began to gasp, drawing his final breath.

"God loves you, God loves you, God loves you," Luckey said.

Realizing her son had drawn his final breath, Luckey collapsed against the death chamber window separating she and Brown. Falling to the floor, she began to sob.

"Why didn't they give him another chance," she wailed, as two of her children comforted her. "He was not guilty."

Luckey's daughter, Tameka Luckey, comforted her mother and helped her to her feet.

"He's just resting," Tameka said. "He's just sleeping."

Brown's mother replied, "Look at his eyes. They're not closed."

Continuing to cry, Luckey and her family were escorted out of the death chamber early.

Brown was pronounced dead at 6:47 p.m., eight minutes after the lethal dose began. He was convicted in the 1996 slaying of Michael LaHood Jr. in San Antonio.

LaHood was standing near his vehicle when approached by Brown and 3 accomplices. Brown pulled a pistol and demanded LaHood's money and car keys.

When he refused, Brown shot LaHood in the face. Brown was a known member of the Crips gang when he was arrested.

After Tuesday's execution, Nico LaHood, Michael's brother, gave a press conference.

"It was just," LaHood said. "I didn't regret coming up here or think it shouldn't have happened.

"I don't think a parent ever gets over losing a child," he said. "I'm
thinking of it in relation to our suffering. It wasn't (his family's)
doing."

Continuing to express remorse for Brown's family, LaHood spoke about the pending execution of Kenneth Foster, a co-defendant in the case. When asked if he was looking forward to Foster's execution, LaHood replied, "I don't know if you look forward to something like this. I'm going to feel for his family, too."

Brown, 31, confessed to the 1996 slaying of LaHood, 25, when he and 3 companions, high on marijuana and alcohol, were arrested about an hour after the shooting. The 2 others accomplices, including one who testified against Brown, received long prison terms.

The early morning attack capped a spree by the street gang members who called themselves the Hoover 94 Crips. At least 4 other people were robbed that night.

"They were out pretty much on a rampage, stoned to the bone, victimizing people," said Jack McGinnis, one of the prosecutors in the cases against Brown and Foster. The 2 were tried together.

Brown was the 15th Texas prisoner executed this year in the nation's busiest capital punishment state. His execution was the 1st of 2 scheduled for consecutive evenings this week in Huntsville.

Brown had been recanting his confession, saying his accomplices threatened his family if he didn't take the fall for the slaying.

"That claim is preposterous," said Mike Ramos, who was a Bexar County assistant district attorney in 1997 and also prosecuted Brown and Foster.

"He has absolutely no credibility. Any court could see he has zip."

In court before and during his trial, Brown also changed the circumstances of his confession, describing LaHood's death as self-defense and also an accident. He also blamed one of the other men in the car with him for the shooting.

Brown, in a recent interview on death row, called his trial "a mockery based on a lie that I made a statement and everybody else made a statement that I was the shooter."

"Even if his new story is true, that doesn't say he's not guilty of
capital murder and deserving of the death penalty," McGinnis said. "His new story doesn't get him out of the woods. It gets him to where Foster is right now. They're both equally dangerous."

LaHood, however, commended Brown for making an apology. "He made the effort," he said. "Only God knows if he was sincere or not."

Foster, Brown, Dwayne Dillard and Julius Steen were cruising San Antonio and robbing people when they spotted LaHood and his girlfriend driving and began following them, winding up at LaHood's driveway about 2 a.m.

According to testimony, Brown jumped out, walked up to LaHood, demanded his car keys, then opened fire when LaHood couldn't produce the keys. LaHood, shot through the eye, died instantly. Less than an hour later, Foster was pulled over for speeding and driving erratically. All of them were on probation for earlier felonies and were arrested for LaHood's death.

Brown blamed the shooting on Dillard, now serving life for killing a taxi driver across the street from the Alamo two weeks before LaHood was killed. Steen testified at Brown's trial and received a life sentence in a plea bargain.

Brown testified the shooting was in self-defense, that he believed LaHood had a gun and that he heard it click. Authorities, however, never found another weapon near LaHood's body.

Tonight, Robert Anderson, 40, faces execution for the 1993 slaying of a 5-year-old Amarillo girl who was abducted, sexually assaulted, beaten, choked and strangled before her body was stuffed into a cooler and thrown into a garbage container. Anderson has asked that no appeals be filed to stop his punishment.

(source: Hunstville Item)

[SoulTrainOz]

Mother's wailing fills air during her son's execution

Todd Bensman, San Antonio Express-News

HUNTSVILLE - Mauriceo Mashaw Brown, a gang member convicted of murdering a San Antonio man 11 years ago, died from a state-administered lethal injection Wednesday night as his mother wailed and then collapsed to the floor in tears, proclaiming he was innocent.

"He was not guilty, God Jesus, no," screamed Cynthia Lucky after the drugs took effect and Brown lost consciousness. "They didn't care. They didn't care."

In his final statement moments earlier, Brown, 31, apologized to the family of Michael LaHood Jr., whom Brown was convicted of murdering in a 1995 robbery.

But Brown, who during various appeals in recent years recanted confessions that led to his conviction, did not quite acknowledge responsibility in his last moments.

"To the victim's family, I am sorry you lost a brother, loved one and friend," said Brown, strapped to the death chamber gurney. "I apologize that you lost a loved one this way.

"To my family, I love you all. Keep your heads up and know I will be in a better place. God bless you all. OK, Warden."

The lethal thingytail of drugs began flowing at 6:32 p.m. as Brown's mother, accompanied by a brother, sister and several family friends, suddenly began clutching at the death chamber's glass window and wailing loudly.

"God loves you! God loves you! God loves you!" Lucky cried as she collapsed to the floor, clutched in the arms of her other son and daughter.

Brown died eight minutes later, the 15th person to be executed in Texas this year and the 370th since Texas reinstated the death penalty in 1982.

LaHood's mother and father did not attend the execution; their other two sons represented the family.

Nora LaHood said in an interview Tuesday that she didn't need to see the execution to find satisfaction in it. She said she empathized with the mother of her son's killer.

"There will be tears for justice for my son," she said, her voice cracking with emotion. "But there will be tears of sorrow for her (Brown's mother). This is not something I will be celebrating."

Brown confessed to police and the jury at his death penalty trial that he shot Michael LaHood in the face during the last robbery of an all-night crime spree Aug. 15, 1995. But after his death penalty was affirmed, Brown began recanting, and he maintained his innocence to the end.

Bexar County District Attorney Susan Reed dismissed Brown's protestations of innocence and said the execution was warranted after the system upheld repeated challenges to the original conviction.

"It was evident what they were doing that evening," Reed said. "The jury decided that, and there was no question. And so under all theories he's guilty of capital murder, any way you slice it."

The U.S. Supreme Court sent word on Brown's final appeal at 5:57 p.m.

Brown spent his last days in his death row cell praying and receiving visitors. For his last meal, he ordered enchiladas heavy with cheese and onions, fried chicken and a boneless T-bone steak with A1 Steak Sauce.

A brother, Leslie Brown Jr., said earlier Wednesday that Brown seemed calm and almost upbeat, having found refuge in religion. A month ago, Brown had himself re-baptized a Catholic. He had been reading the Bible daily.

"He feels like everything happens for a reason, and he was given this opportunity to get his life right with God," Leslie Brown said.

Source : San Antonio Express-News

www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA072006.01B.execution.13b0

[SoulTrainOz]

Facing Death: 'Caught Up in the Streets'

Lawyer David Sergi discusses his eleventh hour legal efforts to stop the execution of Mauriceo Brown

CourtTV

Court TV Host: Mauriceo Brown is scheduled to be executed this evening, just hours from now. Chat with Brown's lawyer, David Sergi. Brown was sentenced to death for gunning down a prominent lawyers son during a botched robbery in San Antonio, Texas in 1997. He still denies he was the gunman and claims
he only confessed because his co-defendants threatened to hurt his family. Last week, before a judge rejected his penultimate appeal, he spoke to CourtTVnews.com.

Court TV Host: Read about the case - and watch our death row interview with Brown.

Court TV Host: David Sergi is here. Welcome, thanks for being our guest today. With two hours away, any news?

David Sergi: Quite unexpectedly the fifth circuit court of appeals had a divided opinion on our lethal injection challenge, and one of the judges voted to grant us a stay, and we are now in front of the U.S. Supreme Court asking for a stay, and usually, you have a better chance at a stay when one of the court of appeals judges has voted to give you a stay. We're quietly optimistic that we hope to get a stay. I had a phone call earlier today from
a woman who heard about this case in the media, who claims that she talked to a bailiff who will confirm that the LaHood family was getting confidential information from one of the other district court judges. Whether that's true or not I don't know, but all the media attention has brought us new information which might reflect on Mauriceo's actual innocence.

Question from tara: David, have you spoken to Brown today, and what is his demeanor?

David Sergi: I spoke to him yesterday and it was positive and upbeat. Another lawyer on our team, Anne Burnham, visited with him today at three o'clock and just got out, and said that he's peaceful, calm and putting his trust in the Lord.

Question from tara: David, since Dillard is serving life for a different murder, why would Brown's claim of Dillard being the gunman not be considered or investigated further?

David Sergi: That is a good question that we have. Before you kill somebody you might just want to investigate whether someone else did it, especially when there's a rational reason to pursue that. I mean, here you have a man of acknowledged limited intellectual means, who confesses, but he would have confessed to almost anything. He's of limited intellectual means, and he's
being interrogated by some very good police officers, he is in fear of his life from Dillard -- best I see it, he would have confessed to killing the man in the moon.

Question from Cindy: When Mauriceo Brown made the decision to willingly participate in the crime of robbery he also took on the equal responsibility for whatever happened, in this case the death of an innocent man. The innocent man is dead because of their greed - why does he believe he shouldn't be executed?

David Sergi: What's interesting is that Dillard, who we've accusing of killing LaHood, tells us that there was no robbery planned. So as far as we can see, three of the four participants agree there was no robbery, and now even Foster agrees there was no robbery. And there is nothing in it for any of the other three to lie about this or to change their stories. There's nothing in it for them.

Question from tara: David, is there a last minute appeal sitting on a judges desk right now?

David Sergi: Everything is sitting at the Supreme Court in Washington DC. We have three separate writs and appeals pending. One that says the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals was wrong in denying our pleading. One asking the U.S. Supreme Court to issue an original writ of habeas corpus to look at the
case. And one arguing that the method of execution is torture and cruel and unusual punishment.

Question from dockette9: How long to you anticipate the stay will be...what are your plans?

David Sergi: If we get the stay, we would hope to get a new trial. And at a new trial, to exonerate Mauriceo.

Question from Wingit: How many times previously has a date been set for this execution??

David Sergi: This is the first time.

Court TV Host: Hold on a moment, everyone...The Supreme Court is calling Mr. Sergi.

David Sergi: The Supreme Court had a procedural question, which would indicate to me that someone is seriously looking at this. There's not much more I can say about that conversation - that would be inappropriate.

Question from JERRY: Mr. Sergi, I read the article on this case and it doesn't say if Mary Patrick testified at the trial. Did she name the shooter?

David Sergi: She did, and she identified Dwayne Dillard. What I am gathering out of all this, was that this was precipitated by Mary Patrick running down the driveway, screaming expletives and using the n-word, and screaming racial epithets, and we think Dillard just snapped. It's one of those things where, you know, some badly chosen words resulted in an innocent guy dying.

Question from rider: Did he ever think about taking his own life

David Sergi: No. Not as far as I know.

Question from tara: David, why did the state disallow DNA tests on the clothing, if it could possibly change the case and outcome for Brown?

David Sergi: That is a question only the judge can answer. The cost of a DNA test is so minimal and could have been done prior to today that it boggles my mind why it wasn't. And I can only think politics were involved, in my opinion.

Question from eag: When will you find out from the Supreme Court?

David Sergi: Good question. Hopefully soon, but I have been involved in cases where it was close to midnight.

Question from eag: But if he is supposed to be executed at 6?

David Sergi: After six - and they always wait until they get the final clearances from the Supreme Court.

Question from rider: Has he requested anything for his last meal?

David Sergi: I believe he requested, if memory serves me correctly, pizza, fried chicken, hamburgers, milk shake and, I think, a candy bar. I think they serve it at 4:30, if I'm not mistaken. In the death chamber itself, there are finger sandwiches available for all the guests - which is really bizarre.

Question from Sailor: If the appeals are denied, will you be a witness at the execution?

David Sergi: No, I will not, because I have been working in my office on the last minute filings. I have witnessed three executions, and I hope that's all I ever have to witness.

Question from rider: Will he see his little boy before the execution.

David Sergi: No, he visited with him about a week ago, and that was the last time.

Question from KatieInNO: Is he worried about people harming his family, now Because he has spoken out?

David Sergi: No, and his family is not worried about the harm. Mauriceo is very slow and tends to believe everything you tell him. So even the family thinks there was no real danger to begin with.

Question from lisa: Where are the others that were in the car that night?

David Sergi: Foster is on death row, but a federal judge says he should get a new trial. Dillard and Steen are in prison on north Texas somewhere, for a different murder, that Mauriceo was not involved in.

Question from EAB1980: Why is Foster getting a new trial?

David Sergi: Because a federal judge thought that his sentence was disproportionate to his involvement, and of course the state is appealing that decision.

Question from gibby: Is he remorseful?

David Sergi: He's not remorseful because he didn't do it, but he is
empathetic to the family and he is remorseful for the lifestyle that led him to where he is now. He addressed that in Courttv.com's interview.

Question from tara: David, if I read correctly, only two of the four were charged with murder, Were the others charged at all?

David Sergi: No. And I can give you a reason for it: Dillard in his
affidavit tells us that he and Steen were not charged with the murder because they contradicted Foster's statement that it was a robbery - and without a robbery, at worst, it was simple murder rather than capital murder.

Court TV Host: The affidavit can be seen at
www.courttv.com/facing_death/mauriceo_brown/docs/codefendantsaffidavit.html?page=2

Court TV Host: Thank you very much for your time at this crucial
moment....any closing thoughts?

David Sergi: A lot of hard work went into our defense of Mauriceo. We were only asked to join his defense three weeks ago. I would like to publicly thank Tony Fusco, Viki Kewell, and Robert Up De Grove, who work with me, and an anonymous pro bono investigator who has spent countless hours beating the
bushes, as well as Anne Burnham, one of his prior lawyers, who is in Huntsville right now. They took a monumental task and made it manageable, and we hope it will save Mauriceo's life.

Source : CourtTV

www.courttv.com/chat/transcripts/2006/0719brown-sergi.html