Rodriguez sentenced to death for slaying
Posted on 05/10/2002 3:50:04 AM PDT by MeekOneGOP
Rodriguez sentenced to death for slaying
Escapee wanted life term, but jury said he posed a threat
05/10/2002
MOUNT VERNON, Texas - Prison escapee Michael Rodriguez met a jury's decision Thursday to sentence him to death with a near-smile, grinning slightly as the judge read the verdict and asked whether he understood.
"Yes, sir, I do, your honor," Mr. Rodriguez replied.
Officers immediately took him to death row after the proceeding.
Mr. Rodriguez, 39, was serving a capital life sentence for hiring a hit man to kill his wife when he took part in one of Texas' largest prison escapes. He and six other felons escaped Dec. 13, 2000, from the maximum-security Connally Prison Unit in South Texas.
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Eleven days later, on Christmas Eve, Mr. Rodriguez and the other escapees robbed Oshman's SuperSports USA at gunpoint and shot Irving police Officer Aubrey Hawkins as he arrived to investigate, prosecutors say.
Mr. Rodriguez admitted pulling the officer from his car, and his father is accused of providing the escapees' getaway car. The convicts fled to Colorado, where they were found after a nationwide manhunt.
Prosecutors Toby Shook and Tom D'Amore argued that Mr. Rodriguez's actions called for the death penalty. Defense attorneys Gary Taylor and Mike Charlton urged jurors to let him spend two consecutive life sentences in a 96-square-foot solitary cell.
Theresa Rodriguez's father, Eddie Sanchez, delivered a victim-impact statement, telling Mr. Rodriguez: "You got away from the death sentence seven years ago, but you didn't get away from it now."
Mr. Rodriguez admitted in 1995 that he arranged for his wife to be shot in July 1992 in front of him.
"I don't want you to feel bad for what you've done," Mr. Sanchez told jurors, one of whom blinked back tears as the sentence was read. "It was something you were called to do. I'm glad you came back with the verdict."
Defense attorneys, who introduced Mr. Rodriguez to jurors as "our client and our friend," immediately filed notice of appeal. They said one reason for appeal would be a local newspaper's publishing of jurors' names after the panel was seated.
The defense bore the brunt of angry words from Officer Hawkins' mother, Jayne Hawkins, who chided the lawyers for calling Mr. Rodriguez their friend.
Ms. Hawkins also scoffed at the defense argument that Mr. Rodriguez had not intended to kill her son because the bullet he admitted firing struck the squad car's hood and lodged behind the speedometer.
"Your intent was as obvious as the others," she said, adding: "I wish you would not smile at me, please."
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Ms. Hawkins also took the defense to task for presenting testimony that Mr. Rodriguez's homosexuality and attraction to prison break leader George Rivas spurred his criminal behavior. They also cited Mr. Rodriguez's sexual abuse by a Catholic schoolteacher and his growing up in a rigid Catholic family that rejected homosexuality as reasons for his actions.
"Your friend is responsible for his own actions, not the Catholic Church and not Offender Rivas," Ms. Hawkins said. "It was an insult to hear you speak otherwise."
Mr. Charlton said later that he understood that Ms. Hawkins spoke out of tremendous grief. Mr. Taylor said he would pray for her.
"It's an unfortunate thing," Mr. Charlton said. "It made us angry, but it's just understandable."
Ms. Hawkins also spoke fondly and proudly of her son, describing how she recalled feeling his bulletproof vest as she hugged him the last time and how she would spend Mothers' Day at his grave. Some jurors wept openly.
Mr. Taylor and Mr. Charlton issued a statement on Mr. Rodriguez's behalf, saying their client understands the victims' families' pain. Mr. Charlton said Mr. Rodriguez wrote numerous letters expressing remorse.
"I think he wanted to say he was sorry to his mother and his sister for the situation that they were in coming through here, and I also think that he feels a genuine sorrow for Officer Hawkins' death, as well as Theresa's," Mr. Taylor said.
The Franklin County jury of five men and seven women deliberated less than an hour and a half before answering the questions that would determine whether Mr. Rodriguez received a death sentence or life in prison. They found that he posed a danger, that he had caused or meant to cause Officer Hawkins' death and that there were no mitigating factors to warrant a life sentence.
Dallas juries deliberated about an hour before returning death sentences against Mr. Rivas and escapee Donald Newbury for their roles in the officer's killing.
Jurors declined to speak with reporters but told prosecutors they would pray for everyone involved in the case.
Mr. Rodriguez's trial moved to the East Texas community of Mount Vernon on a change-of-venue request.
In closing arguments, Mr. Shook, the lead prosecutor, said a life sentence for Mr. Rodriguez didn't work the first time.
"His mind is dangerous, folks, and it will remain dangerous until he's executed," he said. "If you come into a community loaded down with guns, and you murder and kill a lawman in cold blood, we won't tolerate it. We won't stand for it."
Mr. Charlton urged jurors not to let sympathy determine their actions. He said Mr. Rodriguez would spend at least 20 years in administrative segregation similar to solitary confinement because of his prior sentence and escape.
Preliminary jury selection for the fourth escapee to stand trial, Joseph Garcia, is set to begin May 31 in Dallas.
E-mail: hbecka@dallasnews.com
The defense bore the brunt of angry words from Officer Hawkins' mother, Jayne Hawkins, who chided the lawyers for calling Mr. Rodriguez their friend.Ms. Hawkins also scoffed at the defense argument that Mr. Rodriguez had not intended to kill her son because the bullet he admitted firing struck the squad car's hood and lodged behind the speedometer.
"Your intent was as obvious as the others," she said, adding: "I wish you would not smile at me, please."
Ms. Hawkins also took the defense to task for presenting testimony that Mr. Rodriguez's homosexuality and attraction to prison break leader George Rivas spurred his criminal behavior. They also cited Mr. Rodriguez's sexual abuse by a Catholic schoolteacher and his growing up in a rigid Catholic family that rejected homosexuality as reasons for his actions.
"Your friend is responsible for his own actions, not the Catholic Church and not Offender Rivas," Ms. Hawkins said. "It was an insult to hear you speak otherwise."
Please let me know if you want ON or OFF my ping list!. . .don't be shy.
I have a special glass of Scotch waiting for the day this asswipe pays his dues.
How many is this now? Three or four?
You mean out the Texas Seven? This is three convictions,
all getting the death penalty. Three DOWN, three to go! 
I posted one article that didn't get any attention whatsoever, so I thought
I'd wait until the penalty was determined to post another......
Here is the other article, btw.......
Rodriguez defense to call clergyman about sex abuse
- lawyer to avoid death penalty for murderer
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/679945/posts
Looks like the lawyers approach failed, huh??......
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