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Post by rayozz on Nov 17, 2015 18:27:53 GMT -6
LIVINGSTON, Texas (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — Condemned Texas inmate Raphael Holiday says he loved his kids and has no idea how the East Texas log cabin where they lived with their mother caught fire 15 years ago. The blaze killed his 18-month-old daughter and her two young half-sisters.
A jury said he was responsible for the September 2000 fire, and decided he should be put to death.
The 36-year-old’s execution is set for Wednesday evening in Huntsville. He would be the 13th prisoner executed in Texas this year.
Evidence showed Holiday’s former common-law wife had obtained a protective order against him after he was arrested for assaulting one of the girls. Testimony showed that he forced the children’s grandmother at gunpoint to douse the inside of the home with gasoline.
Holiday, who was estranged from the girls’ mother, reportedly watched the house burn after it ignited.
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Post by whitediamonds on Nov 18, 2015 11:29:28 GMT -6
Under Texas law, the rules of evidence prevent certain prior criminal acts from being presented to a jury during the guilt-innocence phase of the trial. However, once a defendant is found guilty, jurors are presented with information about the defendant’s prior criminal conduct during the second phase of the trial—which is when they determine the defendant’s punishment. Holiday had no prior convictions but the events of the murder were precipitated by Holiday’s sexual assault of his seven year old stepdaughter. In addition, the State presented testimony that Holiday had previously sexually assaulted his aunt and a cousin.
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Post by rayozz on Nov 18, 2015 17:40:09 GMT -6
He has stay.
"Hours before he was scheduled to die by lethal injection Wednesday, a judge in Madison County ordered a halt to the execution of Raphael Holiday, who was convicted in the burning deaths of three children in 2000.
Madison County state district Judge Hal Ridley granted a motion from Holiday’s original trial lawyers that called for a halt to the execution. The lawyers argued that additional time was needed give Holiday a meaningful chance at clemency."
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Post by rayozz on Nov 18, 2015 20:18:20 GMT -6
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Post by rayozz on Nov 18, 2015 20:50:01 GMT -6
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Post by Californian on Nov 18, 2015 22:01:50 GMT -6
The antis don't care. It's not about him any more, it's about the DP, and if they have to essentially torture him with false hope for the cause, they will. This is the perfect demonstration of that attitude.
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Post by whitediamonds on Nov 19, 2015 10:05:47 GMT -6
And just who's fault was that?
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Post by whitediamonds on Nov 19, 2015 10:07:34 GMT -6
The antis don't care. It's not about him any more, it's about the DP, and if they have to essentially torture him with false hope for the cause, they will. This is the perfect demonstration of that attitude. Exactly.
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