JURY GIVES HARVE JOHNSON THE DEATH SENTENCE

Jurors took 95 minutes on Monday to decide Harve L. Johnson should die for fatally beating 2-year-old Darisabel Baez, in what they also decided was a case of torture.

It was about five minutes longer than they took to convict him on Friday of first-degree murder.

The six-man, six-woman jury rejected an impassioned plea by defense attorney Ari Weitzman to spare Johnson’s life, and also rejected the argument that Johnson’s own horrendous childhood should be taken into consideration when deciding his fate.

Jurors unanimously agreed Johnson should die for his crime. The only other possible punishment was life in prison without the possibility of parole.  Read more... (1065 words, 3 images, estimated 4:16 minutes reading time)

DEATH PENALTY SOUGHT AGAINST MOTHER IN TODDLER’S DEATH

Lillington, N.C. — Harnett County prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty against the mother of an 11-month-old girl whose remains were were found in the attic of a Spring Lake home two years ago.

Johni Michelle Heuser, 27, of 1680 Ray Road, was indicted in September on a charge of first-degree murder in the death of Harmony Jade Creech.

Deputies found the toddler’s remains in her mother’s attic on Oct. 20, 2007. The indictment states the child was killed between Aug. 31, 2007, and Sept. 30, 2007.  Read more... (547 words, 2 images, estimated 2:11 minutes reading time)

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE PRESS RELEASE

Lake Tapps Pilot Pleads Guilty to 35 Counts of Production of Child Pornography, Sex Traveling, and Obstruction

April 24, 2009 — Weldon Marc Gilbert, 48, of Lake Tapps, Washington, pleaded guilty yesterday evening to 35 counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor in the Production of Child Pornography, Transportation of a Minor to Engage in Illegal Sexual Activity and Obstruction of Justice.  U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez remained at the Seattle federal courthouse into the evening hours to conduct the plea hearing, to ensure GILBERT knowingly and voluntarily entered his guilty plea.  GILBERT remains detained at the Federal Detention Center at SeaTac, and will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle in Tacoma on August 17, 2009.  Under the terms of the plea agreement, GILBERT must be sentenced to between 19 years and 25 years in prison.  Prosecutors will ask for a 25 year prison term.  The plea is also dependent upon GILBERT’s guilty plea to charges in Pierce County Superior Court.  He will serve both sentences concurrently.  Read more... (676 words, 1 image, estimated 2:42 minutes reading time)

Hi there readers. As you can see, this is a different kind of update than you’re used to here at PYSIH. Usually, an update is just an article an portion of an article from an online newspaper, followed by commentary by yours truly (for what it’s worth).

But this time I thought I’d handle things differently. Many updates are inspired by comments from supporters of on of our featured members, protesting one of our stories on their friend or family member and claiming their innocence. That forces me to dig into their friend or family members case.

That’s exactly what happened here, only I had to do quite a bit of research in Randy P. Aaser’s case. Not because it was difficult to find, but because there was so much of it, all pointing directly at his guilt.  Read more... (730 words, 1 image, estimated 2:55 minutes reading time)

JURY FINDS ZEIGLER GUILTY OF CAPITAL MURDER
from an article by Harvey Rice – The Houston Chronicle

A Galveston County jury deliberated for more than fours hours today before finding Royce Clyde Zeigler II guilty of capital murder in the death 2-year-old Riley Ann Sawyers, who became known as Baby Grace.

Prosecutors portrayed Zeigler as helping his wife kill his stepdaughter during a cruel disciplinary session and then concocting elaborate lies to help cover up the slaying and disposal of the body.

The defense countered in final arguments that Zeigler, 26, was a good man who had nothing to do with the death of Riley Ann Sawyers, but loved his wife so much that he helped her pack Riley’s body in a box and eventually toss it into the Gulf of Mexico.  Read more... (1514 words, 4 images, estimated 6:03 minutes reading time)

PROSECUTORS MUST PROVE THEY CAN KEEP LEON DAVIS IN JAIL
by Suzie Schottelkotte – The Ledger.com, Lakeland FL

June 12th, 2009–State prosecutors will unveil the crux of their case against accused murderer Leon Davis in a hearing next month, although the hearing essentially has nothing to do with proving him guilty or innocent.

Circuit Judge Michael Hunter ruled Friday that prosecutors must prove that they have enough evidence to keep Davis in jail. When he was arrested on Dec. 13, 2007, the day two women were fatally burned during an attempted robbery at a Lake Wales insurance office, prosecutors had 21 days to officially charge him with those crimes.

Hunter ruled Friday that the state missed that deadline, which means Davis is eligible for a preliminary hearing on the allegations against him.  Read more... (624 words, 3 images, estimated 2:30 minutes reading time)

CAT-KILL DEAL SCRATCHED
by Denise Buffa – The New York Post

A judge yesterday tossed a one-year prison deal offered to a teenage girl accused of burning her ex-lover’s cat to death.

Judge Margaret Clancy, who had earlier approved the plea deal, said “nobody realized” at the time that reducing a violent felony charge to a nonviolent charge was illegal.

Prosecutors in July let Cheyenne Cherry, 17, plead guilty to attempted burglary and animal cruelty after investigators said her 14-year-old accomplice was the one who put the helpless Tiger Lily in the oven.

The judge yesterday said Cherry could plead guilty to a reduced charge and still be sentenced to a year in prison.  Read more... (173 words, 1 image, estimated 42 seconds reading time)

TORTURE SLAYING SENTENCE: DEATH FOR LEMARICUS DAVIDSON
by Matt Lakin and Jamie Satterfield – The Knoxville News-Sentinel

The gates of Tennessee’s only death row prison opened wide for Lemaricus Davidson tonight, hours after a Knox County jury sentenced him to die for his role as the ringleader in the January 2007 carjacking, torture and killings of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom.

Davidson arrived at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution’s Unit 2 in Nashville around 6 p.m. local time, said Dorinda Carter, spokeswoman for the Tennessee Department of Correction. He’ll spend 23 hours per day alone in his cell every day, with just one hour of daylight in a caged yard.  Read more... (952 words, 1 image, estimated 3:48 minutes reading time)