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Tony Egbuna Ford |
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Petition on his case |
Petizione sul suo caso |
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IV. STATEMENT OF FACTS On December 18, 1991 the Murillo family attended a Christmas play to see their cousin perform. At the conclusion of the play the family returned to the home of their mother, Myra Concepcion Murillo, for a quick dinner. The mother and her three children, Myra Magdalena, Armando and Lisa, all planned to do some Christmas shopping later that evening. After dinner, Armando was in the family room watching television, Myra Magdalena was readying herself in her bedroom for her shopping trip, and Lisa was in the kitchen. Their mother called out to her children at some point to inquire if any had heard the two men who had knocked at the door. The two men were apparently looking for the "man of the house," and the mother had refused to permit their entrance. After the children informed her they had heard nothing, each returned to his or her previous task. Moments later Myra Magdalena stepped out into the hallway to encourage her family to hurry up. At that moment, she saw her mother and her brother retreating from the doorway. Her mother was backing up as if she was in fear for her life, kind of crouching down, and her brother looked as if he had been hit in the head and was huddled in the corner. Myra testified that within a few seconds, she saw Mr. Ford standing to her right, next to her at the entry to her bedroom. Subsequently she saw his cohort, later identified as Van Nash Belton. She testified that they both had guns. Lisa testified that she "heard a barging in, just a lot of noise, racket, like somebody kicking wood." [SF Vol IX p. 108]. She saw two strangers in the hallway with guns. Mr. Ford testified at trial and has always maintained that he was not one of the two men who "barged in" to the Murillo home that night. Mr. Ford testified that the second person, along with Van Nash Belton, was Belton's brother, Victor Belton. See SF Vol. IX pp. 259-297. Nevertheless, Myra and Lisa Murillo identified Mr. Ford as the second man. [SF Vol. IX pp. 60-61, 113]. The two men ordered all the family members to kneel on the floor and be quiet. The men demanded to know where "'the man of the house'" was, [SF Vol. IX p. 115], and where the money was, id., and then demanded jewelry and other valuables, including car keys. The men were yelling and threatening, constantly telling everyone to "'shut the fuck up.'" [SF Vol IX pp. 61, 64, 115]. The testimony was that when Lisa threw a set of car keys at the man identified as Mr. Ford, he became angry. [SF Vol IX pp. 69-70, 118-119]. He said, "'[F]uck you, just for that, I was just going to blow him. Now I'm going to fucking blow you all." [SF Vol. IX pp. 69-70]. The man identified as Mr. Ford then, in very rapid succession, shot Armando in the back of the head, shot Mrs. Murillo in the head, shot at but missed Myra (who feigned injury), and shot Lisa in the shoulder. [SF Vol. IX pp. 70-72]. Myra and Lisa identified Mr. Ford as the person who did the shooting, and as the person who was dominating, doing the most talking and giving most of the orders. Mr. Ford testified at guilt/innocence and again at punishment. He steadfastly denied participating in the home invasion and shooting. He insisted that he remained outside, initially sitting in the vehicle while Van and Victor Belton entered the Murillo's home and committed the offense, getting out to see what was going on just as the Belton's fled from the house. He maintained that he did not shoot or kill anybody and did not know or anticipate that such a thing might happen. At punishment, neither the state nor Mr. Ford presented any psychiatric or psychological testimony. The state did not present any evidence of prior criminal record, unadjudicated offenses, or bad character. In fact, the state stipulated Mr. Ford was eligible for probation. The state presented only testimony from the decedent's father, mother, and two sisters about the effect that the decedent's death and the others' injuries were having on them. The state also presented exhibits, which were medical records of the two shooting survivors. For the defense, Mr. Ford's mother testified that Mr. Ford was born on June 19, 1973, making him 18 at the time of the offense. Mr. Ford's mother and four other witnesses, his sister, and three family friends who had known him for a number of years, testified that Mr. Ford previously had not exhibited any violence or acts of aggression, and opined that he would follow the rules and regulations of prison society, would take advantage of rehabilitation opportunities, and would not be a future danger if incarcerated for life. Mr. Ford also testified at punishment and indicated that he could follow prison rules and regulations if incarcerated for life. He also cried on cross- examination, stating that he would not want what had happened to the Murillo's to happen to anybody, [SF Vol. IX p. 65], and acknowledging that he also felt bad that he was facing a possible death penalty. He explained that "[e]verybody is a victim in this case[,]" [SF Vol. IX p. 66], including "[i]n some instances" himself, maintaining that he did not do anything wrong other than accompany the Belton's to the Murillo's house and sit outside in the truck. Id at 66-67.
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