Vincent Lee Accardo – Latino, age 49
Sentenced in Yuma County, Arizona
By: a jury
Date of crime: December 9, 1997
Prosecution’s case/defense response: Accardo was hired by Kay Cloud to kill her husband Kenneth Cloud (age 55). Accardo shot Cloud in the neck while Cloud was sitting in his truck outside of a restaurant after having dinner.
Prosecutor(s): Frank Collins, Paul Ahler
Defense lawyer(s): William Michael Smith
Sources: U.S. State News 7/9/08 (2008 WLNR 12908138); AP Alert 7/9/08 – AZ 23:52:50; www.yumasun.com/news/verdict-42610-cloud-guilty.html; www.adc.state.az.us/inmate_datasearch/results.aspx?InmateNumber=232539&LastName=ACCARDOVINCENT%20&SearchType=SearchInet
By: a jury
Date of crime: December 9, 1997
Prosecution’s case/defense response: Accardo was hired by Kay Cloud to kill her husband Kenneth Cloud (age 55). Accardo shot Cloud in the neck while Cloud was sitting in his truck outside of a restaurant after having dinner.
Prosecutor(s): Frank Collins, Paul Ahler
Defense lawyer(s): William Michael Smith
Sources: U.S. State News 7/9/08 (2008 WLNR 12908138); AP Alert 7/9/08 – AZ 23:52:50; www.yumasun.com/news/verdict-42610-cloud-guilty.html; www.adc.state.az.us/inmate_datasearch/results.aspx?InmateNumber=232539&LastName=ACCARDOVINCENT%20&SearchType=SearchInet
Leroy D. Cropper – white, age 33 (re-sentence after appellate reversal)
Sentenced in Maricopa County, Arizona
By: a jury
Date of crime: March 7, 1997
Prosecution’s case/defense response: Cropper stabbed an Arizona corrections officer, Brent Lumley, to death while serving as an inmate. The initial death sentence came in 2000 when Arizona law permitted judges to impose sentences on murderers convicted by a jury. In 2003, after the U.S. Supreme Court found this law to be unconstitutional, Cropper petitioned to have his sentence set aside. In effect, Cropper was granted a new sentencing by a jury. A jury resentenced Cropper to death in 2008.
Prosecutor(s):
Defense lawyer(s):
Sources: Arizona Daily Star 9/6/03 (2003 WLNR 6701989); www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/05/12/20080512lumley0512.html
By: a jury
Date of crime: March 7, 1997
Prosecution’s case/defense response: Cropper stabbed an Arizona corrections officer, Brent Lumley, to death while serving as an inmate. The initial death sentence came in 2000 when Arizona law permitted judges to impose sentences on murderers convicted by a jury. In 2003, after the U.S. Supreme Court found this law to be unconstitutional, Cropper petitioned to have his sentence set aside. In effect, Cropper was granted a new sentencing by a jury. A jury resentenced Cropper to death in 2008.
Prosecutor(s):
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Sources: Arizona Daily Star 9/6/03 (2003 WLNR 6701989); www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/05/12/20080512lumley0512.html
Clarence Wayne Dixon – Native American, age 22
Sentenced in Maricopa County, Arizona
By: a jury
Date of crime: January 7, 1978
Prosecution’s case/defense response: Dixon raped, strangled and stabbed Deana Bowdoin (age 21) in her apartment. Dixon was indicted in November 2002 after police found new DNA evidence that connected him to the murder case. Dixon was serving a life sentence in an Arizona state prison for a 1986 sexual assault conviction.
Prosecutor(s): Juan Martinez
Defense lawyer(s):
Sources: AP Alert 1/26/08 – AZ 17:31:21; AP Alert 1/25/08 – AZ 19:34:52; AP Alert 1/25/08 – AZ 23:58:53; www.azcentral.com/community/tempe/articles/0125abrk-dixonsentence0125.html; www.phoenixmag.com/lifestyle/valley-news/200806/update–dixon-sentenced-to-death/
By: a jury
Date of crime: January 7, 1978
Prosecution’s case/defense response: Dixon raped, strangled and stabbed Deana Bowdoin (age 21) in her apartment. Dixon was indicted in November 2002 after police found new DNA evidence that connected him to the murder case. Dixon was serving a life sentence in an Arizona state prison for a 1986 sexual assault conviction.
Prosecutor(s): Juan Martinez
Defense lawyer(s):
Sources: AP Alert 1/26/08 – AZ 17:31:21; AP Alert 1/25/08 – AZ 19:34:52; AP Alert 1/25/08 – AZ 23:58:53; www.azcentral.com/community/tempe/articles/0125abrk-dixonsentence0125.html; www.phoenixmag.com/lifestyle/valley-news/200806/update–dixon-sentenced-to-death/
Aaron Brian Gunches – white, age 30
Sentenced in Maricopa County, Arizona
By: a jury
Date of crime: December 2002
Prosecution’s case/defense response: Gunches kidnapped and shot Ted Price execution-style in December 2002. On January 15, 2003, Gunches shot Department of Public Safety Officer Robert Flannery twice during a traffic stop. Flannery escaped with minor injuries. Gunches was sentenced to death for the murder and kidnapping of Ted Price.
Prosecutor(s):
Defense lawyer(s):
Sources: www.azcentral.com/community/mesa/articles/0215abrk-gunchessentence021508.html; copshop.freedomblogging.com/2008/02/15/man-sentenced-to-death-for-killing-east-of-mesa/
By: a jury
Date of crime: December 2002
Prosecution’s case/defense response: Gunches kidnapped and shot Ted Price execution-style in December 2002. On January 15, 2003, Gunches shot Department of Public Safety Officer Robert Flannery twice during a traffic stop. Flannery escaped with minor injuries. Gunches was sentenced to death for the murder and kidnapping of Ted Price.
Prosecutor(s):
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Sources: www.azcentral.com/community/mesa/articles/0215abrk-gunchessentence021508.html; copshop.freedomblogging.com/2008/02/15/man-sentenced-to-death-for-killing-east-of-mesa/
Gary Wayne Snelling – white, age 42
Sentenced in Maricopa County, Arizona
By: a jury
Date of crime: July 18, 1996
Prosecution’s case/defense response: Snelling strangled Adele Curtis (age 66). DNA evidence as well as Snelling’s fingerprints and palm print were used to connect him to the murder.
Prosecutor(s):
Defense lawyer(s):
Sources: www.620ktar.com/index.php?nid=6&sid=863832; www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/06/12/20080612deathverdict0612.html
By: a jury
Date of crime: July 18, 1996
Prosecution’s case/defense response: Snelling strangled Adele Curtis (age 66). DNA evidence as well as Snelling’s fingerprints and palm print were used to connect him to the murder.
Prosecutor(s):
Defense lawyer(s):
Sources: www.620ktar.com/index.php?nid=6&sid=863832; www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/06/12/20080612deathverdict0612.html
Joshua Villalobos – Latino, age 21
Sentenced in Maricopa County, Arizona
By: a jury
Date of crime: January 3, 2004
Prosecution’s case/defense response: Villalobos beat Ashley Molina (age 5), his girlfriend’s daughter, to death. Authorities said Villalobos beat the child to discipline her for hitting her half-sister. At one point, the child stopped breathing and Villalobos claimed her attempted to administer CPR but did not seek medical attention. A day later, Villalobos and Linda Verdugo (age 25), the child’s mother, brought her to the hospital, but authorities said the child had been dead for hours.
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Defense lawyer(s):
Sources: AP Alert 4/18/08 – AZ 08:04:12; www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/2008/04/17/20080417sentence0417.html; www.douglasdispatch.com/articles/2008/04/18/news/doc4809051240213534008804.txt; www.ktar.com/?nid=6&sid=809712&r=1
By: a jury
Date of crime: January 3, 2004
Prosecution’s case/defense response: Villalobos beat Ashley Molina (age 5), his girlfriend’s daughter, to death. Authorities said Villalobos beat the child to discipline her for hitting her half-sister. At one point, the child stopped breathing and Villalobos claimed her attempted to administer CPR but did not seek medical attention. A day later, Villalobos and Linda Verdugo (age 25), the child’s mother, brought her to the hospital, but authorities said the child had been dead for hours.
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Defense lawyer(s):
Sources: AP Alert 4/18/08 – AZ 08:04:12; www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/2008/04/17/20080417sentence0417.html; www.douglasdispatch.com/articles/2008/04/18/news/doc4809051240213534008804.txt; www.ktar.com/?nid=6&sid=809712&r=1