Richard Haberstroh—white, age 31 (re-sentence after appellate reversal)
Sentenced to death in Clark County, Nevada
By: a jury
Date of crime: 7/20/86
Prosecution’s case/defense response: Haberstroh robbed, sexually assaulted, and strangled Donna Marie Kitowski. He had a history of robbing and sexually assaulting women. His first sentence was reversed for an improper jury instruction relating to an aggravating circumstance. At the resentencing the defense presented mitigating evidence that Haberstroh had low mental functioning due to fetal alcohol syndrome and other childhood abuses.
Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal 7/28/13.
Bryan Hall – white, age 28
Sentenced to death in Clark County, Nevada
By: a jury
Date of Crime: May 2009
Prosecution’s Case/Defense Response: Hall was convicted of killing his friend, Brad Flamm (age 27). Bryan beat Flamm with his fists, strangled him with a necktie, beat him in the head with a rock and paint bucket, and slit his throat twice. He then hid the body. Defense attorneys attempted to convince the jury that the killing was done in the “heat of passion” therefore making him guilty of only second-degree murder or voluntary manslaughter.
Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal 11/8/12, 11/10/12.
Gregory Hover – white, age 38
Sentenced to death in Clark County, Nevada
By: a jury
Date of crime: 1/10
Prosecution’s case/defense response: Hover and a cohort went on a crime spree that included kidnapping, sexually assaulting, and killing Prisma Contreras by strangling her and cutting her throat. Hover also was convicted of murder and attempted murder for shooting a couple during a home-invasion burglary/robbery, as well as robbing the casino areas of three grocery stores. The prosecution depicted Hover as a racist who enjoyed the suffering of his Hispanic victims. The defense presented mitigating evidence that Hover had experienced an abusive childhood, and had lived a reputable life prior to the crime spree.
Sources: Las Vegas Rev.-J. 5/23/13, 5/29/13, 5/30/13, 6/1/13.
Pedro Rodriguez—Latino, age 19 (re-sentence after appellate reversal)
Sentenced to death in Washoe County, Nevada
By: a jury
Date of crime: 4/5/98
Prosecution’s case/defense response: Rodriguez and 2 cohorts ingested meth and then burglarized and robbed Kimberly Fondy, who was a paraplegic, in her home. She was shot 4 times, and the perpetrators bragged about dipping the bullets in chemicals so that she would die a painful death. Rodriguez’s first death sentence was reversed because his lawyer was ineffective in investigating and presenting mitigating evidence.
Sources: AP Alert—California 11/5/09.