Sir Mario Owens – black, age 20
Sentenced in Arapahoe County, Colorado
By: a jury
Date of crime: June 20, 2005
Prosecution’s case/defense response: Owens fatally shot Javad Marshall-Fields (age 22) and his fiancé, Vivian Wolfe (age 22), as they sat in their car at an intersection. Marshall-Fields, an eyewitness, was murdered one week before he was set to testify against Owens and Robert Ray for the murder of Gregory Vann (age 20) during a July 4, 2004 party. The prosecution presented the following aggravating factor: intentionally killing a witness to a criminal offense. Owens received a death sentence for each murder.
Prosecutor(s): John Hower, Ann Tomsic
Defense lawyer(s): Laurie Kepros, Dan King
Sources: Denver Rocky Mountain News 12/9/08 (2008 WLNR 23613134); Denver Post 12/9/08 (2008 WLNR 23637335), 12/10/08 (2008 WLNR 23706483); www.coadp.org/thedeathrow/SirMarioOwens.html; www.denverpost.com/crime/ci_8850476; origin.denverpost.com/news/ci_9579014
By: a jury
Date of crime: June 20, 2005
Prosecution’s case/defense response: Owens fatally shot Javad Marshall-Fields (age 22) and his fiancé, Vivian Wolfe (age 22), as they sat in their car at an intersection. Marshall-Fields, an eyewitness, was murdered one week before he was set to testify against Owens and Robert Ray for the murder of Gregory Vann (age 20) during a July 4, 2004 party. The prosecution presented the following aggravating factor: intentionally killing a witness to a criminal offense. Owens received a death sentence for each murder.
Prosecutor(s): John Hower, Ann Tomsic
Defense lawyer(s): Laurie Kepros, Dan King
Sources: Denver Rocky Mountain News 12/9/08 (2008 WLNR 23613134); Denver Post 12/9/08 (2008 WLNR 23637335), 12/10/08 (2008 WLNR 23706483); www.coadp.org/thedeathrow/SirMarioOwens.html; www.denverpost.com/crime/ci_8850476; origin.denverpost.com/news/ci_9579014