Post by thinkinkmesa on Mar 1, 2009 23:06:30 GMT -5
Parole board hears Hartmann case
www.ohio.com/news/break_news/40380682.html
Parole board hears Hartmann case
By Phil Trexler
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 05:10 p.m. EST, Feb 26, 2009
COLUMBUS: Ohio Parole Board members today questioned attorneys for condemned killer Brett Hartmann, trying to reconcile his claims of innocence while also blaming the murder on an abusive childhood.
Hartmann, 34, is trying to avoid becoming the 29th Ohio inmate executed since 1999.
In a Feb. 12 video conference with the board, Hartmann continued to maintain his innocence against what police and prosecutors say is a mountain of physical evidence that only continues to grow.
During today's clemency hearing before the parole board, Hartmann's attorneys spent little time on the innocence claims and instead tried to focus on mitigating evidence they say was never offered to jurors at Hartmann's trial.
Hartmann was sentenced to death for the Sept. 9, 1997, beating, strangulation and stabbing death of Winda Snipes, his 46-year-old girlfriend, in a brutal attack that took place inside her one-room Highland Square apartment. He is scheduled for execution April 7.
His attorneys are seeking clemency and reduction of his sentence to life in prison to continue the effort to prove Hartmann's innocence claims. The board heard about four hours of testimony from both defense attorneys, prosecutors and friends and family of Hartmann and Snipes.
The board is expected to make its clemency recommendation to Gov. Ted Strickland on March 6.
David Stebbins, an attorney with the Federal Public Defender's Office, presented a three-prong argument to the board that includes Hartmann's model behavior in prison, his continuing efforts to have crime scene evidence tested to prove his innocence and Hartmann's childhood, which included an untreated mental disorder diagnosed when he was 13 years old.
Jurors are permitted to consider mitigating circumstances, such as mental disorders, drug or physical abuse, before deciding on a sentence. Many courts have thrown out death sentences when trial attorneys fail to fully pursue such mitigation.
Stebbins said that's what happened to Hartmann. He said the Akron man's trial attorneys failed to bring out a troubled childhood that included being shunned by his mother and father to life on an isolated Ameriacn Indian reservation in Arizona with his aunt.
He said as a result of his childhood, Hartmann turned to juvenile crimes. During an evaluation, he said, Hartmann, then 13, was determined to be ''disturbed,'' ''repressing anger and hostility,'' ''rejection and abandonment''' and that ''intervention is a must.''
Stebbins said Hartmann didn't receive any treatment and instead continued to be passed around to family in California, Wisconsin and Ohio.
''And jurors heard almost nothing about the abuse, violence and rejection,'' Stebbins said.
Stebbins spoke only briefly on Hartmann's claims of innocence. Then 23, Hartmann said he found Snipes' body, panicked and tried to clean up evidence of his previous visit. Prosecutors say Hartmann is lying and that he killed Snipes by stabbing her more than 130 times.
Board chairwoman Cynthia Mausser and other board members questioned Stebbins on what she called a conflict of Hartmann's claims of innocence with his arguments of a troubled childhood.
''Maybe legally you can have both [arguments], but you can't have both ... logically,'' she said.
Stebbins said the two are separate arguments. He urged the board, if they fail to believe Hartmann's innocence claims, to then grant him clemency based on the mitigating evidence of a poor childhood.
Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh called Hartmann a sadistic, remorseless killer whose sentence needs to be imposed. Her words conflicted with a Catholic nun and a Lutheran minister, who hailed Hartmann in their testimony as a kind and selfless person. Hartmann's mother, Carol Parcell, of Akron, and his aunt also asked the board for clemency.
Walsh said DNA testing done in 2003 at Hartmann's request only solidified the state's case. The DNA linked Hartmann to semen found on Snipes' body. She then rattled off a litany of evidence against Hartmann: his initial denial of calling 911 and finding the body and the bloody T-shirt and Snipes' watch police found in his bedroom.
''Eleven years have now passed since Winda Snipes was so mercilessly and brutally murdered by Brett Xavier Hartmann, a man who is remembered in our community not only as a sadistic, violent murderer, but also for his arrogant attitude and lack of remorse and lack of sympathy for the family of Winda,'' Walsh said.
Phil Trexler can be reached at 330-996-3717 or ptrexler@thebeaconjournal.com.
COLUMBUS: Ohio Parole Board members today questioned attorneys for condemned killer Brett Hartmann, trying to reconcile his claims of innocence while also blaming the murder on an abusive childhood.
Hartmann, 34, is trying to avoid becoming the 29th Ohio inmate executed since 1999.
In a Feb. 12 video conference with the board, Hartmann continued to maintain his innocence against what police and prosecutors say is a mountain of physical evidence that only continues to grow.
During today's clemency hearing before the parole board, Hartmann's attorneys spent little time on the innocence claims and instead tried to focus on mitigating evidence they say was never offered to jurors at Hartmann's trial.
Hartmann was sentenced to death for the Sept. 9, 1997, beating, strangulation and stabbing death of Winda Snipes, his 46-year-old girlfriend, in a brutal attack that took place inside her one-room Highland Square apartment. He is scheduled for execution April 7.
His attorneys are seeking clemency and reduction of his sentence to life in prison to continue the effort to prove Hartmann's innocence claims. The board heard about four hours of testimony from both defense attorneys, prosecutors and friends and family of Hartmann and Snipes.
The board is expected to make its clemency recommendation to Gov. Ted Strickland on March 6.
David Stebbins, an attorney with the Federal Public Defender's Office, presented a three-prong argument to the board that includes Hartmann's model behavior in prison, his continuing efforts to have crime scene evidence tested to prove his innocence and Hartmann's childhood, which included an untreated mental disorder diagnosed when he was 13 years old.
Jurors are permitted to consider mitigating circumstances, such as mental disorders, drug or physical abuse, before deciding on a sentence. Many courts have thrown out death sentences when trial attorneys fail to fully pursue such mitigation.
Stebbins said that's what happened to Hartmann. He said the Akron man's trial attorneys failed to bring out a troubled childhood that included being shunned by his mother and father to life on an isolated Ameriacn Indian reservation in Arizona with his aunt.
He said as a result of his childhood, Hartmann turned to juvenile crimes. During an evaluation, he said, Hartmann, then 13, was determined to be ''disturbed,'' ''repressing anger and hostility,'' ''rejection and abandonment''' and that ''intervention is a must.''
Stebbins said Hartmann didn't receive any treatment and instead continued to be passed around to family in California, Wisconsin and Ohio.
''And jurors heard almost nothing about the abuse, violence and rejection,'' Stebbins said.
Stebbins spoke only briefly on Hartmann's claims of innocence. Then 23, Hartmann said he found Snipes' body, panicked and tried to clean up evidence of his previous visit. Prosecutors say Hartmann is lying and that he killed Snipes by stabbing her more than 130 times.
Board chairwoman Cynthia Mausser and other board members questioned Stebbins on what she called a conflict of Hartmann's claims of innocence with his arguments of a troubled childhood.
''Maybe legally you can have both [arguments], but you can't have both ... logically,'' she said.
Stebbins said the two are separate arguments. He urged the board, if they fail to believe Hartmann's innocence claims, to then grant him clemency based on the mitigating evidence of a poor childhood.
Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh called Hartmann a sadistic, remorseless killer whose sentence needs to be imposed. Her words conflicted with a Catholic nun and a Lutheran minister, who hailed Hartmann in their testimony as a kind and selfless person. Hartmann's mother, Carol Parcell, of Akron, and his aunt also asked the board for clemency.
Walsh said DNA testing done in 2003 at Hartmann's request only solidified the state's case. The DNA linked Hartmann to semen found on Snipes' body. She then rattled off a litany of evidence against Hartmann: his initial denial of calling 911 and finding the body and the bloody T-shirt and Snipes' watch police found in his bedroom.
''Eleven years have now passed since Winda Snipes was so mercilessly and brutally murdered by Brett Xavier Hartmann, a man who is remembered in our community not only as a sadistic, violent murderer, but also for his arrogant attitude and lack of remorse and lack of sympathy for the family of Winda,'' Walsh said.
www.ohio.com/news/break_news/40380682.html
Parole board hears Hartmann case
By Phil Trexler
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 05:10 p.m. EST, Feb 26, 2009
COLUMBUS: Ohio Parole Board members today questioned attorneys for condemned killer Brett Hartmann, trying to reconcile his claims of innocence while also blaming the murder on an abusive childhood.
Hartmann, 34, is trying to avoid becoming the 29th Ohio inmate executed since 1999.
In a Feb. 12 video conference with the board, Hartmann continued to maintain his innocence against what police and prosecutors say is a mountain of physical evidence that only continues to grow.
During today's clemency hearing before the parole board, Hartmann's attorneys spent little time on the innocence claims and instead tried to focus on mitigating evidence they say was never offered to jurors at Hartmann's trial.
Hartmann was sentenced to death for the Sept. 9, 1997, beating, strangulation and stabbing death of Winda Snipes, his 46-year-old girlfriend, in a brutal attack that took place inside her one-room Highland Square apartment. He is scheduled for execution April 7.
His attorneys are seeking clemency and reduction of his sentence to life in prison to continue the effort to prove Hartmann's innocence claims. The board heard about four hours of testimony from both defense attorneys, prosecutors and friends and family of Hartmann and Snipes.
The board is expected to make its clemency recommendation to Gov. Ted Strickland on March 6.
David Stebbins, an attorney with the Federal Public Defender's Office, presented a three-prong argument to the board that includes Hartmann's model behavior in prison, his continuing efforts to have crime scene evidence tested to prove his innocence and Hartmann's childhood, which included an untreated mental disorder diagnosed when he was 13 years old.
Jurors are permitted to consider mitigating circumstances, such as mental disorders, drug or physical abuse, before deciding on a sentence. Many courts have thrown out death sentences when trial attorneys fail to fully pursue such mitigation.
Stebbins said that's what happened to Hartmann. He said the Akron man's trial attorneys failed to bring out a troubled childhood that included being shunned by his mother and father to life on an isolated Ameriacn Indian reservation in Arizona with his aunt.
He said as a result of his childhood, Hartmann turned to juvenile crimes. During an evaluation, he said, Hartmann, then 13, was determined to be ''disturbed,'' ''repressing anger and hostility,'' ''rejection and abandonment''' and that ''intervention is a must.''
Stebbins said Hartmann didn't receive any treatment and instead continued to be passed around to family in California, Wisconsin and Ohio.
''And jurors heard almost nothing about the abuse, violence and rejection,'' Stebbins said.
Stebbins spoke only briefly on Hartmann's claims of innocence. Then 23, Hartmann said he found Snipes' body, panicked and tried to clean up evidence of his previous visit. Prosecutors say Hartmann is lying and that he killed Snipes by stabbing her more than 130 times.
Board chairwoman Cynthia Mausser and other board members questioned Stebbins on what she called a conflict of Hartmann's claims of innocence with his arguments of a troubled childhood.
''Maybe legally you can have both [arguments], but you can't have both ... logically,'' she said.
Stebbins said the two are separate arguments. He urged the board, if they fail to believe Hartmann's innocence claims, to then grant him clemency based on the mitigating evidence of a poor childhood.
Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh called Hartmann a sadistic, remorseless killer whose sentence needs to be imposed. Her words conflicted with a Catholic nun and a Lutheran minister, who hailed Hartmann in their testimony as a kind and selfless person. Hartmann's mother, Carol Parcell, of Akron, and his aunt also asked the board for clemency.
Walsh said DNA testing done in 2003 at Hartmann's request only solidified the state's case. The DNA linked Hartmann to semen found on Snipes' body. She then rattled off a litany of evidence against Hartmann: his initial denial of calling 911 and finding the body and the bloody T-shirt and Snipes' watch police found in his bedroom.
''Eleven years have now passed since Winda Snipes was so mercilessly and brutally murdered by Brett Xavier Hartmann, a man who is remembered in our community not only as a sadistic, violent murderer, but also for his arrogant attitude and lack of remorse and lack of sympathy for the family of Winda,'' Walsh said.
Phil Trexler can be reached at 330-996-3717 or ptrexler@thebeaconjournal.com.
COLUMBUS: Ohio Parole Board members today questioned attorneys for condemned killer Brett Hartmann, trying to reconcile his claims of innocence while also blaming the murder on an abusive childhood.
Hartmann, 34, is trying to avoid becoming the 29th Ohio inmate executed since 1999.
In a Feb. 12 video conference with the board, Hartmann continued to maintain his innocence against what police and prosecutors say is a mountain of physical evidence that only continues to grow.
During today's clemency hearing before the parole board, Hartmann's attorneys spent little time on the innocence claims and instead tried to focus on mitigating evidence they say was never offered to jurors at Hartmann's trial.
Hartmann was sentenced to death for the Sept. 9, 1997, beating, strangulation and stabbing death of Winda Snipes, his 46-year-old girlfriend, in a brutal attack that took place inside her one-room Highland Square apartment. He is scheduled for execution April 7.
His attorneys are seeking clemency and reduction of his sentence to life in prison to continue the effort to prove Hartmann's innocence claims. The board heard about four hours of testimony from both defense attorneys, prosecutors and friends and family of Hartmann and Snipes.
The board is expected to make its clemency recommendation to Gov. Ted Strickland on March 6.
David Stebbins, an attorney with the Federal Public Defender's Office, presented a three-prong argument to the board that includes Hartmann's model behavior in prison, his continuing efforts to have crime scene evidence tested to prove his innocence and Hartmann's childhood, which included an untreated mental disorder diagnosed when he was 13 years old.
Jurors are permitted to consider mitigating circumstances, such as mental disorders, drug or physical abuse, before deciding on a sentence. Many courts have thrown out death sentences when trial attorneys fail to fully pursue such mitigation.
Stebbins said that's what happened to Hartmann. He said the Akron man's trial attorneys failed to bring out a troubled childhood that included being shunned by his mother and father to life on an isolated Ameriacn Indian reservation in Arizona with his aunt.
He said as a result of his childhood, Hartmann turned to juvenile crimes. During an evaluation, he said, Hartmann, then 13, was determined to be ''disturbed,'' ''repressing anger and hostility,'' ''rejection and abandonment''' and that ''intervention is a must.''
Stebbins said Hartmann didn't receive any treatment and instead continued to be passed around to family in California, Wisconsin and Ohio.
''And jurors heard almost nothing about the abuse, violence and rejection,'' Stebbins said.
Stebbins spoke only briefly on Hartmann's claims of innocence. Then 23, Hartmann said he found Snipes' body, panicked and tried to clean up evidence of his previous visit. Prosecutors say Hartmann is lying and that he killed Snipes by stabbing her more than 130 times.
Board chairwoman Cynthia Mausser and other board members questioned Stebbins on what she called a conflict of Hartmann's claims of innocence with his arguments of a troubled childhood.
''Maybe legally you can have both [arguments], but you can't have both ... logically,'' she said.
Stebbins said the two are separate arguments. He urged the board, if they fail to believe Hartmann's innocence claims, to then grant him clemency based on the mitigating evidence of a poor childhood.
Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh called Hartmann a sadistic, remorseless killer whose sentence needs to be imposed. Her words conflicted with a Catholic nun and a Lutheran minister, who hailed Hartmann in their testimony as a kind and selfless person. Hartmann's mother, Carol Parcell, of Akron, and his aunt also asked the board for clemency.
Walsh said DNA testing done in 2003 at Hartmann's request only solidified the state's case. The DNA linked Hartmann to semen found on Snipes' body. She then rattled off a litany of evidence against Hartmann: his initial denial of calling 911 and finding the body and the bloody T-shirt and Snipes' watch police found in his bedroom.
''Eleven years have now passed since Winda Snipes was so mercilessly and brutally murdered by Brett Xavier Hartmann, a man who is remembered in our community not only as a sadistic, violent murderer, but also for his arrogant attitude and lack of remorse and lack of sympathy for the family of Winda,'' Walsh said.