Wesley Coonce—age 30, white (see also Charles Hall)
Sentenced to death in federal Western District of Missouri
By: a jury
Date of crime: 1/26/10
Prosecution case/defense response: Wesley Coonce was serving a life-sentence for a 2002 kidnapping and carjacking involving the rape of a young woman. On January 26, 2010, Coonce along with Charles Hall, bound Victor Castro-Rodriguez using medical tape and shoelaces, and stomped on Castro-Rodriguez’s throat until he was dead. Castro-Rodriguez was the unfortunate target because he assisted a Bureau of Prisons employee who was being attacked by another inmate. Coonce was found guilty of first-degree murder and murder by an inmate serving a life sentence. Coonce’s sentence serves as a reminder that “achieving justice sometimes requires us . . . to make difficult sentencing decisions,” said U.S. Attorney Dickinson. “The defendants’ conduct strikes at the heart of our justice system, which depends upon the safety and security of our penal institutions.”
Sources: U.S. Department of Justice (online), June 3, 2014Springfield News-Leader, June 4, 2014; Columbia Daily Tribune, June 4, 2014
By: a jury
Date of crime: 1/26/10
Prosecution case/defense response: Wesley Coonce was serving a life-sentence for a 2002 kidnapping and carjacking involving the rape of a young woman. On January 26, 2010, Coonce along with Charles Hall, bound Victor Castro-Rodriguez using medical tape and shoelaces, and stomped on Castro-Rodriguez’s throat until he was dead. Castro-Rodriguez was the unfortunate target because he assisted a Bureau of Prisons employee who was being attacked by another inmate. Coonce was found guilty of first-degree murder and murder by an inmate serving a life sentence. Coonce’s sentence serves as a reminder that “achieving justice sometimes requires us . . . to make difficult sentencing decisions,” said U.S. Attorney Dickinson. “The defendants’ conduct strikes at the heart of our justice system, which depends upon the safety and security of our penal institutions.”
Sources: U.S. Department of Justice (online), June 3, 2014Springfield News-Leader, June 4, 2014; Columbia Daily Tribune, June 4, 2014
Charles Hall—age 39, white (see also Wesley Coonce)
Sentenced to death in federal Western District of Missouri
By: a jury
Date of crime: 1/26/10
Prosecution case/defense response: Charles Hall was serving a sentence of 16 years for a 2000 conviction in Maine involving a series of bomb threats and threatening letters sent to federal officials. Hall along with Wesley Coonce attacked Victor Castro-Rodriguez by binding him with medical tape and shoelaces, and subsequently stomping his throat until Castro-Rodriguez was dead. Jurors deliberated for only an hour before convicting Coonce and Hall of the murder. Hall expressed no remorse for his participation in the murder, stating to federal prosecutors: “the only thing that will stop me from killing again is to put me to death.” “The Justice Department is committed to ensuring the safety and security of all Bureau of Prisons employees and inmates,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. The killing of Castro-Rodriguez was senseless, and both Hall and Coonce have been brought to justice.
Sources: Washington State Times, May 8, 2014; U.S. Department of Justice (online), June 3, 2014; Springfield News-Leader, June 4, 2014; Columbia Daily Tribune, June 4, 2014
By: a jury
Date of crime: 1/26/10
Prosecution case/defense response: Charles Hall was serving a sentence of 16 years for a 2000 conviction in Maine involving a series of bomb threats and threatening letters sent to federal officials. Hall along with Wesley Coonce attacked Victor Castro-Rodriguez by binding him with medical tape and shoelaces, and subsequently stomping his throat until Castro-Rodriguez was dead. Jurors deliberated for only an hour before convicting Coonce and Hall of the murder. Hall expressed no remorse for his participation in the murder, stating to federal prosecutors: “the only thing that will stop me from killing again is to put me to death.” “The Justice Department is committed to ensuring the safety and security of all Bureau of Prisons employees and inmates,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. The killing of Castro-Rodriguez was senseless, and both Hall and Coonce have been brought to justice.
Sources: Washington State Times, May 8, 2014; U.S. Department of Justice (online), June 3, 2014; Springfield News-Leader, June 4, 2014; Columbia Daily Tribune, June 4, 2014
Thomas Sanders—age 53, white
Sentenced to death in federal Western District of Louisiana
By: a jury
Date of crime: September 2010
Prosecution case/defense response: In 1987, Thomas Sanders left his family behind in Pike County, Mississippi. Sanders was later declared legally dead, which allowed him to move about the country easily avoiding detection. Sanders would eventually settle in Las Vegas, Nevada where he met Suellen and Lexis Roberts, Suellen’s 12-year-old daughter. In the fall of 2010, Sanders took both on a vacation to a wildlife park near the Grand Canyon around the Labor Day weekend. Upon their return, Sanders pulled off Interstate 40 in a remote location and fatally shot Suellen. He then kidnapped and held Lexis captive for several days as he traveled south. Sanders would end up murdering Lexis in Catahoula Parish, Louisiana by shooting her four times (three times in the head, once in the heart) before cutting her throat. In challenging the case, the defense attempted to assert a violation of the Double Jeopardy Clause for being charged with two offenses stemming from the same conduct—the judge rejected the argument because the crimes required proof of different elements. For federal prosecutors, “[t]he severity of the sentence imposed against Sanders underscores the senseless brutality of his acts against an innocent 12-year-old girl.” This was a senseless crime, one that involved Lexis’ life being “cut tragically short by a senseless, brutal murder.”
Sources: Press-Register, July 22, 2012; November 23, 2012; The Leesville Daily Editor, October 1, 2014
By: a jury
Date of crime: September 2010
Prosecution case/defense response: In 1987, Thomas Sanders left his family behind in Pike County, Mississippi. Sanders was later declared legally dead, which allowed him to move about the country easily avoiding detection. Sanders would eventually settle in Las Vegas, Nevada where he met Suellen and Lexis Roberts, Suellen’s 12-year-old daughter. In the fall of 2010, Sanders took both on a vacation to a wildlife park near the Grand Canyon around the Labor Day weekend. Upon their return, Sanders pulled off Interstate 40 in a remote location and fatally shot Suellen. He then kidnapped and held Lexis captive for several days as he traveled south. Sanders would end up murdering Lexis in Catahoula Parish, Louisiana by shooting her four times (three times in the head, once in the heart) before cutting her throat. In challenging the case, the defense attempted to assert a violation of the Double Jeopardy Clause for being charged with two offenses stemming from the same conduct—the judge rejected the argument because the crimes required proof of different elements. For federal prosecutors, “[t]he severity of the sentence imposed against Sanders underscores the senseless brutality of his acts against an innocent 12-year-old girl.” This was a senseless crime, one that involved Lexis’ life being “cut tragically short by a senseless, brutal murder.”
Sources: Press-Register, July 22, 2012; November 23, 2012; The Leesville Daily Editor, October 1, 2014
Jorge Torrez—Latino, age 20
Sentenced to death in federal Eastern District of Virginia
By: a jury
Date of crime: 2009
Prosecution case/defense response: Torrez, a Marine, slipped into the nearby room in a barracks and strangled to death Navy Petty Officer Amanda Snell. At the time of trial Torrez was already serving life terms for brutal crimes against three women in Virginia. The Government also presented evidence that at age 16 in Illinois Torrez had murdered two girls (ages 8 and 9). Further, the Government offered evidence that Torrez had made a shank in jail, and was attempting to arrange for harm the three women in Virginia so that they could not testify against him.
Sources: Chicago Tribune 4/24/14, 5/31/14, Washington Post 5/31/14
By: a jury
Date of crime: 2009
Prosecution case/defense response: Torrez, a Marine, slipped into the nearby room in a barracks and strangled to death Navy Petty Officer Amanda Snell. At the time of trial Torrez was already serving life terms for brutal crimes against three women in Virginia. The Government also presented evidence that at age 16 in Illinois Torrez had murdered two girls (ages 8 and 9). Further, the Government offered evidence that Torrez had made a shank in jail, and was attempting to arrange for harm the three women in Virginia so that they could not testify against him.
Sources: Chicago Tribune 4/24/14, 5/31/14, Washington Post 5/31/14