Post by SoulTrainOz on Jul 1, 2006 4:13:12 GMT -5
By Sara Ganim
Collegian Staff Writer
A hearing will be held July 31 to determine if the commonwealth can still seek the death penalty in the trial of Andrew A. Rogers, who is accused of murdering Penn State student Youngcheol Park in February.
After a Centre County judge threw out a second-degree murder charge and two counts of robbery on May 30, the defense team for Rogers filed a motion claiming that there are no longer aggravating circumstances to allow the prosecution to go for the death penalty if he is convicted.
Madeira announced May 8 that he would seek the death penalty against Rogers. Rogers is accused of beating Park to death with a baseball bat, rolling pin and bottle, and stealing money from his wallet.
Centre County Assistant Public Defender Casey McClain said Judge Bradley Lunsford threw out the charges because there was no probable cause that the theft was the reason Park was killed.
He said without probable cause, Rogers could not be charged with the felony robbery and without a felony, he cannot be charged with second-degree murder.
Madeira said the prosecution had trouble proving to the judge when the intent to commit the robbery was formed.
The defense claims Rogers did not kill Park with the intention of stealing his money, but rather killed him in self-defense.
"His defense will be self-defense," McClain said. "Park got a gun and Rogers defended himself in his own home, and you are allowed to do that."
If the motion to dismiss aggravating circumstances is not granted, McClain said Rogers could still potentially face the death penalty if he is convicted of murder in the first degree and Centre County District Attorney Michael Madeira proves beyond a reasonable doubt perpetration of a felony.
In the motion filed June 6, the defense counsel also asked for either an out-of-county jury or an out-of-county trial for Rogers because "the publicity regarding the present case has been so extensive, pervasive and prejudicial that the community has been saturated by it, making it impossible for a defendant to receive a fair and impartial trial in Centre County," according to court documents.
Madeira said he would oppose the motion at the July 31 hearing.
"Simply reporting on what has been going on doesn't inflame the jury pool so much that they can't give an [unbiased] verdict," he said.
A request for a continuance was also included in the motion to delay the trial, which is currently scheduled for August, until the October court term.
Several requests for the county to absorb the cost of expert witnesses were included in the motion because the defense claims Rogers cannot afford to pay for it himself.
Rogers is still facing first- and third-degree murder as well as a theft charge.
Source: www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2006/06/06-30-06tdc/06-30-06dnews-03.asp
Collegian Staff Writer
A hearing will be held July 31 to determine if the commonwealth can still seek the death penalty in the trial of Andrew A. Rogers, who is accused of murdering Penn State student Youngcheol Park in February.
After a Centre County judge threw out a second-degree murder charge and two counts of robbery on May 30, the defense team for Rogers filed a motion claiming that there are no longer aggravating circumstances to allow the prosecution to go for the death penalty if he is convicted.
Madeira announced May 8 that he would seek the death penalty against Rogers. Rogers is accused of beating Park to death with a baseball bat, rolling pin and bottle, and stealing money from his wallet.
Centre County Assistant Public Defender Casey McClain said Judge Bradley Lunsford threw out the charges because there was no probable cause that the theft was the reason Park was killed.
He said without probable cause, Rogers could not be charged with the felony robbery and without a felony, he cannot be charged with second-degree murder.
Madeira said the prosecution had trouble proving to the judge when the intent to commit the robbery was formed.
The defense claims Rogers did not kill Park with the intention of stealing his money, but rather killed him in self-defense.
"His defense will be self-defense," McClain said. "Park got a gun and Rogers defended himself in his own home, and you are allowed to do that."
If the motion to dismiss aggravating circumstances is not granted, McClain said Rogers could still potentially face the death penalty if he is convicted of murder in the first degree and Centre County District Attorney Michael Madeira proves beyond a reasonable doubt perpetration of a felony.
In the motion filed June 6, the defense counsel also asked for either an out-of-county jury or an out-of-county trial for Rogers because "the publicity regarding the present case has been so extensive, pervasive and prejudicial that the community has been saturated by it, making it impossible for a defendant to receive a fair and impartial trial in Centre County," according to court documents.
Madeira said he would oppose the motion at the July 31 hearing.
"Simply reporting on what has been going on doesn't inflame the jury pool so much that they can't give an [unbiased] verdict," he said.
A request for a continuance was also included in the motion to delay the trial, which is currently scheduled for August, until the October court term.
Several requests for the county to absorb the cost of expert witnesses were included in the motion because the defense claims Rogers cannot afford to pay for it himself.
Rogers is still facing first- and third-degree murder as well as a theft charge.
Source: www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2006/06/06-30-06tdc/06-30-06dnews-03.asp