A judge is mulling an Arizona death row prisoner’s request to have fingerprint and DNA tests conducted on evidence from the two 1980 killings for which he is scheduled to be executed next month.
FILE - This undated photo provided by the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry shows prisoner Murray Hooper, who is scheduled to be executed on Nov. 16, 2022, for his convictions in the killings of Pat Redmond and Helen Phelps in Phoenix. On Wednesday, Oct. 19 a lawyer for Hooper asked a judge to order fingerprint and DNA tests on evidence from the two killings in December 1980.
Hooper is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection or lethal gas at a prison in Florence, Arizona, on Nov. 16 for the killings of William “Pat” Redmond and his mother-in-law, Helen Phelps, at Redmond’s home in Phoenix on Dec. 31, 1980. Redmond’s wife, Marilyn, was shot in the head but recovered. Superior Court Judge Jennifer Green, who hasn’t yet issued a ruling on the forensic testing request, pointed out that a federal appeals court characterized the evidence implicating Hooper as overwhelming.
Two other men, William Bracy and Edward McCall, were convicted in the killings but died before their death sentences could be carried out.Authorities say Robert Cruz, who was alleged to have had ties to organized crime, hired Hooper, Bracy and McCall to kill Pat Redmond, who co-owned a printing business. They said Cruz wanted to take over the business and was unhappy that Redmond had rejected his offers to enter several printing contracts with Las Vegas hotels, according to court records.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Arizona death row inmate seeks forensic tests in 1980 deathsA judge is mulling an Arizona death row prisoner’s request to have fingerprint and DNA tests conducted on evidence from the two 1980 killings for which he’s scheduled to be executed next month
Read more »
US Supreme Court denies Oklahoma death row inmate's appealSupreme Court denies last-minute appeal filed by Oklahoma death row inmate Benjamin Cole, paving the way for him to receive a lethal injection on Thursday.
Read more »
US Supreme Court denies Oklahoma death row inmate's appealThe U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday denied a last-minute appeal filed by Oklahoma death row inmate Benjamin Cole, paving the way for him to receive a lethal injection on Thursday. Cole, 57, was convicted and sentenced to death for killing his 9-month-old daughter Brianna Taylor by forcibly bending the infant backward, breaking her spine. Prosecutors allege Cole was angry at the child for crying while he was playing a video game.
Read more »