Led by Davis, the officers proceeded cautiously at first, suspecting a possible set-up by authorities, Jordan said. FN5. United States v. Davis, 380 F.3d 821, 829-30 (5th Cir.2004), reh'g & reh'g en banc denied, 121 F. App'x 59 (5th Cir.2004) (table), cert. See id. The district court denied the motion, refusing to extrapolate from the Fifth Circuit's decision [in Causey] a determination that the Government did not prove its case for death with regard to Counts 1 and 2 because the evidence had been insufficient to sustain a conviction on Count 3. We affirmed the ruling. Davis argues that his constitutional privilege against self-incrimination was violated by the italicized remarks, which highlighted his silence (particularly because he was absent from the proceedings). Under the FDPA, information is admissible during the sentencing hearing regardless of its admissibility under the Federal Rules of Evidence, but may be excluded if its probative value is outweighed by the danger of creating unfair prejudice, confusing the issues, or misleading the jury. 18 U.S.C. Is that just? The 2005 re-sentencing jury was different from the jury that convicted Davis in 1996..FN1. Defense counsel offered Streed as an expert in police administration, procedures, training, supervision, and administration with particular emphasis on the description and analysis of stress affecting law enforcement officers, and particularly officer-involved use of force cases.. Here, the Government permissibly presented testimony from Jasmine regarding the impact of her mother's death on her family. Additionally, the questions about Hardy's war with Poonie tested Streed's knowledge of the case. 01-30656, 2001 WL 34712238, at *3 (5th Cir. 4. "The unsupervised, unregulated detail system practically encourages police officers to break the law, " Jordan said. In the following months, the FBI orchestrated an elaborate sting and watched in amazement as Davis and Williams recruited seven other cops to protect drug shipments and guard a cocaine-filled warehouse on Franklin Avenue, sometimes while on-duty and in uniform, Gallagher said. Specifically, Davis argues that Miller-El v. Dretke, 544 U.S. 231 (2005) and Snyder v. Louisiana, 552 US. And it was an insult on our entire criminal justice system.. See Skipper v. South Carolina, 476 U.S. 1, 7 n.2 (1986). "We put everyone on notice today. He said, Yeah. All three defendants appealed, citing numerous points of error individually and collectively. Two men described as violent drug traffickers - Paul "Cool" Hardy and Damon Causey - have been charged in the Oct. 13 murder. 242 and 2; and (3) willfully killing Groves to prevent her communications to a law enforcement officer regarding a possible federal crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Birthdate: December 14, 1974. Davis and Williams then drove to Groves's neighborhood in their NOPD patrol car and searched for her. On remand, the Government again sought the death penalty, notifying Davis and Hardy of the FDPA elements in support. 3592(a); Jones, 527 U.S. at 408. Review of this issue is foreclosed because Davis's conviction on both counts, based on sufficient evidence, was affirmed in his first appeal. Williams and Duncan had been caught in Operation Shattered Shield and convicted on drug-conspiracy charges. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. I said, fuck the game, we talking about people's lives. Vuelos Alquileres de vacaciones It must, however, show that the defendant had a considerable period of time to become fully aware of what he intended to do and to think it over before he acted. United States v. Bieganowski, 313 F.3d 264, 293 (5th Cir.2002) (citing United States v. McDuffie, 542 F.2d 236, 241 (5th Cir.1976)); United States v. Sylvester, 143 F.3d 923, 928 (5th Cir.1998) (Upon receiving the note from the jury, the court should have notified counsel of the message, shared its contents and granted each side the opportunity to be heard.). Len Davis was a decorated police officer and received many commendations, including a Purple Heart, while with the New Orleans Police Department. Pennington said he immediately suspended the nine officers. This principle receives even more play where there is no contemporaneous objection to the cross-examination. Id. You have an obligation to uphold the law and that takes courage.Certain crimes, regardless of mitigation, deserve the death penalty. Here, each of the seven mitigating factors derived from the fact-specific individual factors proposed by the defense. See United States v. Davis, No. On the night of Groves' murder, Davis spoke with Hardy several times. 5K1 in which the Government informs the sentencing judge of a witness's cooperation. Although Len Davis can distinguish right from wrong and deserves to be held accountable for his actions, his behavior was negatively impacted by being shot in the stomach while coming to the assistance of fellow officers. FN12. The Eighth Amendment requires that, in a capital case, the sentencing jury be able to consider and give effect to the defendant's mitigating evidence. Gallagher said the yearlong investigation involved more than 60 federal agents from across the country and was conducted with utmost secrecy. Streed replied that he was not. The New Orleans Police Department has been broken for some time, and this case shows just that, said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. She testified that the request had been made [s]o it can be over and so Davis could spend the rest of his life thinking about what he did.10. The undercover investigation was so secret that even former police Superintendent Joe Orticke was not told, sources said. Here, the prosecutor's improper statements do not rise to the level of plain error. One of Hardy's favors, at Davis's request, was to murder Groves. The government must also establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the murder was committed after substantial planning for you to find this element proved. You have an obligation to uphold the law and that takes courage.Certain crimes, regardless of mitigation, deserve the death penalty. The factor states, in relevant part, The defendant committed the offense after substantial planning and premeditation to cause the death of a person. 18 U.S.C. If not now, when? Fourth, in rebuttal closing summation, the prosecutor repeatedly described Davis as evil and described defense counsel as follows: Counsel talked to you in the beginning of his closing argument about killing. See 18 U.S.C. (citations omitted). 3595(c). The city of New Orleans had to endure the reign of terror of Len Davis and the murderers he was protecting. Q. In Mitchell v. United States, 526 U.S. 314 (1999), the Supreme Court held that a sentencing court may not draw an adverse inference from a defendant's silence in determining the facts of the offense because to do so impose[s] an impermissible burden on the exercise of the constitutional right against compelled self-incrimination. Id. In United States v. Flores, 63 F.3d 1342 (5th Cir.1995), we construed the word substantial as used in the substantial planning and premeditation aggravator to denote a thing of high magnitude. 63 F.3d at 1373. That dealer turned out to be a federal informant. Therefore, Davis suffered no prejudice. United States v. Hardy, 34 F. App'x 962 (5th Cir.2002) (per curiam). This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. FN4. You give him life, you don't give him death, he won't be punished at all for killing, executing Kim Marie Groves. For all of the caution exercised by Davis and the other suspects, the officers sometimes acted with a bravado that shocked federal authorities. They were cryptic and they did not take on significance until compared with other events. Law-enforcement sources said the officers are suspected of conspiring to distribute large amounts of cocaine. Well, other than the fact that it is considerably higher than the other eight districts, no. Q. The 2005 re-sentencing jury was different from the jury that convicted Davis in 1996. at 433-44 (Dennis, J., concurring) (discussing arguments in support of conviction under 18 U.S.C. Davis also places much weight on evidence of his violence-free prison record during the 11 years between his arrest in 1994 and his sentencing in 2005. Q. Id. In December 1994, the Government filed a one-count federal indictment against Davis, Hardy, and Causey, followed by a three-count superseding indictment and a second superseding indictment. Moreover, there was not inappropriate disparagement of Davis or defense counsel. And it was an insult on our entire criminal justice system. See United States v. Posada Rios, 158 F.3d 832, 867 (5th Cir.1998), cert. That shit ain't gonna fly, man. She used her gun that she received from the department to kill all three people. See Causey, 185 F.3d at 418. 1999)", "Three Louisiana men freed after 28 years in prison for wrongful murder convictions", "New Orleans wrongfully convicted men crime Len Davis now free", "Houma man freed after 32 years in prison for murder advocates say he did not commit", James Gill: Spinning their wheels on death row, Federal judge recuses herself from ex-cop Len Davis case, New Orleans Breaking News, Today's News | WWL Radio, 24 Years After New Orleans Officer Had Her Killed, Kim Groves' Children to Receive $1.5M Settlement, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Len_Davis&oldid=1137864030, American police officers convicted of murder, Prisoners sentenced to death by the United States federal government, People convicted of murder by the United States federal government, People convicted of depriving others of their civil rights, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 6 February 2023, at 20:56. The charge, [t]here is no requirement that the government prove that the defendant deliberated for any particular period of time, was given in the context of the remaining elements of the charge, including, [i]t must, however, show that the defendant had enough time to become fully aware of what he intended to do and to substantially think it over before he acted. Given that the term substantial could have denoted a thing of high magnitude on its own, the remaining elements of the jury charge served to underscore that definition. Gallagher said he was particularly concerned with the possibility of danger to undercover agents. FN19. The FDPA provides that the Government may introduce as a non-statutory aggravating factor victim impact evidence including oral testimony, a victim impact statement that identifies the victim of the offense and the extent and scope of the injury and loss suffered by the victim and the victim's family, and any other relevant information. 18 U.S.C. 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