Post by SoulTrainOz on Jul 26, 2006 19:40:35 GMT -5
David Hisey's trials on charges of killing his parents and pilfering their retirement funds will proceed as scheduled. The 1st State Court of Appeals in Houston has rejected a defense motion alleging that the pending murder charges against Hisey were double-jeopardy.
The charges stem from the September 2000 discovery that Hisey was living in the family's isle home with the remains of his long-dead parents.
In November, Hisey defense attorney Greg Russell appealed Judge Frank Carmona's denial of Russell's motion to throw out the murder charges.
Carmona, a visiting judge in the 122nd State District Court, was presiding judge in April 2002 when a jury found Hisey, then 53, guilty of murder. Carmona retired at the end of 2002.
The same jury had found him not guilty of capital murder in a case
involving allegations he had strangled his parents in a scheme to bilk them of their retirement and Social Security funds.
Last year, the appeals court threw out the conviction, citing jury
instructions that did not require jurors to specify which parent they believed Hisey killed. The court concluded that the jury could have reached a guilty verdict without agreeing on who the victim was. State law defines murder as a single killing and requires criminal verdicts to be unanimous.
Russell's motion asserted that in finding Hisey guilty of murdering one of his parents, the jury implicitly found him not guilty of murdering the other one. As such, the state would be exposing him to double jeopardy by prosecuting him again for a crime of which he had been acquitted.
In an October hearing, First Assistant District Attorney Joel Bennett argued that the successful appeal nullified the entire verdict. In seeking the motion's denial, he also argued that the jury never acquitted Hisey.
Carmona agreed, as did the appeals court.
Hisey has been incarcerated since September 2000, when he was arrested after investigators found the remains of his long-dead parents. The remains were in a bedroom of his island home. The bedroom door was taped shut, and deodorizing powder was sprinkled on the carpet outside the room.
Each murder charge carries a possible prison term of 5 to 99 years, as well as a fine of up to $10,000. Hisey also faces a charge of theft, which carries the same range of punishment. That charge stems from allegations of pilfering his parents' retirement money and other income sources.
Hisey's trials are set to begin in February.
(source: Galveston County Daily News)
The charges stem from the September 2000 discovery that Hisey was living in the family's isle home with the remains of his long-dead parents.
In November, Hisey defense attorney Greg Russell appealed Judge Frank Carmona's denial of Russell's motion to throw out the murder charges.
Carmona, a visiting judge in the 122nd State District Court, was presiding judge in April 2002 when a jury found Hisey, then 53, guilty of murder. Carmona retired at the end of 2002.
The same jury had found him not guilty of capital murder in a case
involving allegations he had strangled his parents in a scheme to bilk them of their retirement and Social Security funds.
Last year, the appeals court threw out the conviction, citing jury
instructions that did not require jurors to specify which parent they believed Hisey killed. The court concluded that the jury could have reached a guilty verdict without agreeing on who the victim was. State law defines murder as a single killing and requires criminal verdicts to be unanimous.
Russell's motion asserted that in finding Hisey guilty of murdering one of his parents, the jury implicitly found him not guilty of murdering the other one. As such, the state would be exposing him to double jeopardy by prosecuting him again for a crime of which he had been acquitted.
In an October hearing, First Assistant District Attorney Joel Bennett argued that the successful appeal nullified the entire verdict. In seeking the motion's denial, he also argued that the jury never acquitted Hisey.
Carmona agreed, as did the appeals court.
Hisey has been incarcerated since September 2000, when he was arrested after investigators found the remains of his long-dead parents. The remains were in a bedroom of his island home. The bedroom door was taped shut, and deodorizing powder was sprinkled on the carpet outside the room.
Each murder charge carries a possible prison term of 5 to 99 years, as well as a fine of up to $10,000. Hisey also faces a charge of theft, which carries the same range of punishment. That charge stems from allegations of pilfering his parents' retirement money and other income sources.
Hisey's trials are set to begin in February.
(source: Galveston County Daily News)