Post by sclcookie on May 31, 2006 2:35:15 GMT -5
Appeals court sides with death row inmate in Birmigham slayings
A judge's comments about why he condemned a man to die for the murders of 5 people in a Birmingham tavern may result in the convicted killer getting off death row under an appeals court decision Friday.
The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals ordered a Jefferson County judge to reconsider his decision rejecting a motion filed by Andrew Anthony Apicella, who is challenging his capital sentence for the shooting deaths of 5 people at the Changing Times Lounge in Birmingham in 1994.
The appeals court said the judge erred when he denied a claim by Apicella. The court also indicated it might eventually agree with the prisoner's appeal, possibly resulting in a new sentencing hearing.
Apicella, 48, and Stephen Pilley, 50, were convicted of the five killings in separate trials held in 1996 before Jefferson County Circuit Judge James Garrett, who has since retired.
Each man blamed the other for the murders of bartender Pamela Dodd, 37; her husband Lester "Eddie" Dodd, 38; her friend Florence Elliott, 45; and patrons William Nelson, 52, and James Watkins, 52.
Apicella was tried 1st and convicted of capital murder, but the judge delayed his sentencing until after the trial of Pilley, who was also convicted. Pilley was sentenced to death, and Garrett then gave Apicella the same punishment, overruling jurors' recommendation of life without parole.
In later newspaper interviews defending the right of judges to override jury decisions in death penalty cases, Garrett said he sentenced Apicella to die because that was the sentence imposed upon Pilley.
"That is a prime example of why it should be done," Garrett said in a story published in The Birmingham News. "The evidence was the same. They were equally culpable."
Apicella claimed that Garrett's comments show he improperly considered Pilley's sentence in imposing the death penalty on him. The appeals court said Apicella deserves relief if his claims are true, indicating he eventually could get a new sentencing hearing.
The court rejected the state's claims that Apicella waited too long to challenge Garrett's reasoning for the death sentence, saying there was no way he could have filed his challenge until the newspaper interview was published.
(source: Associated Press)
A judge's comments about why he condemned a man to die for the murders of 5 people in a Birmingham tavern may result in the convicted killer getting off death row under an appeals court decision Friday.
The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals ordered a Jefferson County judge to reconsider his decision rejecting a motion filed by Andrew Anthony Apicella, who is challenging his capital sentence for the shooting deaths of 5 people at the Changing Times Lounge in Birmingham in 1994.
The appeals court said the judge erred when he denied a claim by Apicella. The court also indicated it might eventually agree with the prisoner's appeal, possibly resulting in a new sentencing hearing.
Apicella, 48, and Stephen Pilley, 50, were convicted of the five killings in separate trials held in 1996 before Jefferson County Circuit Judge James Garrett, who has since retired.
Each man blamed the other for the murders of bartender Pamela Dodd, 37; her husband Lester "Eddie" Dodd, 38; her friend Florence Elliott, 45; and patrons William Nelson, 52, and James Watkins, 52.
Apicella was tried 1st and convicted of capital murder, but the judge delayed his sentencing until after the trial of Pilley, who was also convicted. Pilley was sentenced to death, and Garrett then gave Apicella the same punishment, overruling jurors' recommendation of life without parole.
In later newspaper interviews defending the right of judges to override jury decisions in death penalty cases, Garrett said he sentenced Apicella to die because that was the sentence imposed upon Pilley.
"That is a prime example of why it should be done," Garrett said in a story published in The Birmingham News. "The evidence was the same. They were equally culpable."
Apicella claimed that Garrett's comments show he improperly considered Pilley's sentence in imposing the death penalty on him. The appeals court said Apicella deserves relief if his claims are true, indicating he eventually could get a new sentencing hearing.
The court rejected the state's claims that Apicella waited too long to challenge Garrett's reasoning for the death sentence, saying there was no way he could have filed his challenge until the newspaper interview was published.
(source: Associated Press)