Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 11, 2006 18:01:50 GMT -5
Prosecutor drops death penalty
Centre County District Attorney Michael Madeira has decided not to seek the death penalty against a State College man charged with murdering a Penn State student in February.
The jury selected for the trial will be forced to pick between two options -- declare Andrew A. Rogers, of 224 Nimitz Ave., not guilty or sentence him to life in prison, Madeira said.
Rogers is charged with 1st- and 3rd- degree murder for allegedly placing a garbage bag over Youngcheol Park's head and beating him with a bottle and baseball bat at Rogers' house.
Although no trial dates are yet in place, Rogers will have a pretrial hearing to discuss any pending motions Sept. 14.
Rogers' court-appointed attorney Deborah Lux said she anticipates trial dates to be discussed sometime in the near future.
According to court documents, Rogers said Park, 24, was a friend of his and had been visiting prior to the homicide. Rogers said he was first attacked by "Sweet" -- an unidentified third party present at the time of the incident -- but Park joined the brawl as it escalated, according to court documents.
In August, Madeira said he does not believe "Sweet" actually exists.
Rogers said he fought and killed Park, according to court documents. He also admitted to taking Park's wallet, containing about $250, the morning after the homicide, according to court documents.
For the last 6 months, Madeira has been attempting to prove an aggravated circumstance -- intent to rob the victim prior to the homicide -- which would allow the jury to sentence Rogers to death.
"Since that time, I've been reviewing the evidence, talked to investigators and have been going over scenarios," Madeira said. "The reason we are withdrawing the notice of aggravating circumstances is because I do not believe we can meet our burden."
He added that the current evidence is not sufficient to prove Rogers intended to rob the victim prior to killing him.
Lux said this development will not have a significant effect on her case because Rogers is claiming self-defense, but she is glad to not have the "ultimate punishment" as an option.
She added that the court process will move significantly faster now that the death penalty is no longer an option.
"It's a tremendous relief," she said.
(source: The Daily Collegian)
Centre County District Attorney Michael Madeira has decided not to seek the death penalty against a State College man charged with murdering a Penn State student in February.
The jury selected for the trial will be forced to pick between two options -- declare Andrew A. Rogers, of 224 Nimitz Ave., not guilty or sentence him to life in prison, Madeira said.
Rogers is charged with 1st- and 3rd- degree murder for allegedly placing a garbage bag over Youngcheol Park's head and beating him with a bottle and baseball bat at Rogers' house.
Although no trial dates are yet in place, Rogers will have a pretrial hearing to discuss any pending motions Sept. 14.
Rogers' court-appointed attorney Deborah Lux said she anticipates trial dates to be discussed sometime in the near future.
According to court documents, Rogers said Park, 24, was a friend of his and had been visiting prior to the homicide. Rogers said he was first attacked by "Sweet" -- an unidentified third party present at the time of the incident -- but Park joined the brawl as it escalated, according to court documents.
In August, Madeira said he does not believe "Sweet" actually exists.
Rogers said he fought and killed Park, according to court documents. He also admitted to taking Park's wallet, containing about $250, the morning after the homicide, according to court documents.
For the last 6 months, Madeira has been attempting to prove an aggravated circumstance -- intent to rob the victim prior to the homicide -- which would allow the jury to sentence Rogers to death.
"Since that time, I've been reviewing the evidence, talked to investigators and have been going over scenarios," Madeira said. "The reason we are withdrawing the notice of aggravating circumstances is because I do not believe we can meet our burden."
He added that the current evidence is not sufficient to prove Rogers intended to rob the victim prior to killing him.
Lux said this development will not have a significant effect on her case because Rogers is claiming self-defense, but she is glad to not have the "ultimate punishment" as an option.
She added that the court process will move significantly faster now that the death penalty is no longer an option.
"It's a tremendous relief," she said.
(source: The Daily Collegian)