Routier asks judge to retest evidence
Posted on 07/04/2002 9:24:31 AM PDT by MeekOneGOP
Routier asks judge to retest evidence
07/03/2002
Dallas - Death row inmate Darlie Routier was back in a Dallas courtroom today, wanting to retest evidence used to convict her for stabbing her two sons in 1996.
Routier's attorneys are asking to retest the night gown she was wearing the night of the killings, which had cuts and blood evidence. The attorneys also want to test carpet, tile and floor samples to see if bloody footprints were left by someone else.
AP Darlie Routier |
State District Judge Robert Francis said he would review their request and possibly rule on it Monday.
Routier's attorneys have said they have new evidence that a bloody fingerprint found inside the house did not belong to Darlie Routier, her husband, her sons or investigators.
Routier has maintained her innocence and says an intruder killed her sons, 5-year-old Damon and 6-year-old Devon.
AP / FILE Devon (left) and Damon Routier |
Routier's team seeks evidence
Judge to rule Monday on whether items must be turned over; writ needed, prosecutors say
07/04/2002
Five attorneys representing convicted murderer Darlie Routier argued Wednesday that prosecutors should turn over evidence in her capital murder conviction for new tests.
Ms. Routier's legal team is asking for access to several items seized from her Rowlett home June 6, 1996, the night her young sons, Devon and Damon, were stabbed to death.
According to a defense motion, attorneys hope to conduct their own forensic tests to bolster her argument that an intruder slipped into the home, attacked her and killed the boys.
IRWIN THOMPSON / DMN Attorneys for Darlie Routier, who attended the hearing, hope to conduct forensic tests on items taken from her home. |
Prosecutor John Rolater Jr. opposed the defense request for access to evidence, saying such motions should be made after the attorneys file a writ of habeas corpus. Attorneys have until July 13 to file that challenge to her conviction based on new evidence or arguments not addressed in the initial trial.
Items sought by Ms. Routier's attorneys include a nightshirt she wore on the night of the slaying. Attorneys hope to show that the shirt has evidence of cutting that would be inconsistent with prosecutors' allegations that her chest wounds were self-inflicted.
Attorneys also want to analyze carpet and floor samples, as well as a kitchen knife and a window screen.
Ms. Routier indicated to Judge Francis that she had met each of the attorneys and wanted their representation.
Besides attorney Steven Losch, who was not present but spoke with the judge by telephone during the hearing, Ms. Routier's legal team includes three attorneys from a firm in Washington, D.C., who are working at no charge.
Dallas attorney J. Stephen Cooper, who was initially appointed to handle the appeal of her conviction under review by the Court of Criminal Appeals, rounds out the defense team.
E-mail rtharp@dallasnews.com
Let's try to separate the wonderful system of justice we have in our fabulous country from our feelings about the criminals themselves.
Even for those caught red-handed.
It is the American way and one of the things that makes us great.
But please bear in mind that a third jury in twenty years just sentenced Johnny Paul Penry to death yet again.
Texas ain't California (thank God).
I understand you feelings, but IMO I am very glad our system of justice is as deliberate as it is. I am four-square in favor of the death penalty, but I am also in favor of the right of the convict to have evidence reviewed, adequate appeals, etc.
The Left would LOVE to see someone innocent put to death. They already act like it has happened. The only point in which they are right is that it would be a shame.
The main reason the detectives on this case focused on Mrs. Routier (and since they are from Garland, I am using the term loosely), was that the Routier grave side services did not agree with their own perceived idea of grief.
And are you not really biased by using the word "Weasel" in this headline?
I have spent a lot of time looking at this case as we did with the Jeter case and I am not convinced that despite the DNA evidence that we really know what happened or that the right person was convicted.
In the original American justice system, that used to be "reasonable doubt."
Do you have a link? Are you saying that in the same neighborhood, there have been two break-ins where a guy has just walked in and stabbed children? Or just that there have been two break-ins. Please provide a link.
The main reason the detectives on this case focused on Mrs. Routier (and since they are from Garland, I am using the term loosely), was that the Routier grave side services did not agree with their own perceived idea of grief.
You don't think the fact that the screen was cut from the inside had anything to do with it?
But that only means that Jeter was convicted, not guilty!
Of course, some of us have spent a lot of time, money and effort helping those like Jeter get their day in court where the politically-driven DA's can be brought back to the real world.
If you have children, how much life insurance do you have on them? Does that make you a potential murder suspect?
I have a child, and I have zero life insurance on her. What would I possbily need life insurance on her for? At 2, we are not dependent on her income. If I did have life insurance on my daughter, it would not just be lying around in the living room, it would be in a drawer. Particularly if I was having financial difficulies and planned on killing her, and then cutting the screen from the inside.
Her defense team had the opportunity to test these matters prior to trial. In order to raise a proper "actual innocence" claim under Texas habeas corpus law, the Routier must show that it is newly-discovered evidence. These items are not newly-discovered.
Plus, until they file their habeas corpus writ, the trial court lacks any jurisdiction to consider their requests. Any experienced criminal defense lawyer would know this. However, her team seems to be chock full of out-of-state anti-death penalty zealots and assorted other media lawyers.
A $10,000 life insurance policy will barely cover the cost of a funeral these days. Guess you can afford the costs out of your pocket.
In my extended family, every child is covered with a 25,000 life insurance policy upon birth. These policies can be used later on for other purposes including education or home down-payments through the buildup of cash value.
But then we believe in providing for our own as opposed to letting others provide for us through the welfare system.
So just maybe you will admit that the life insurance policy is not necessarily as big an issue as you think. But then, I forget, you have all the facts and have convicted her based upon your life experiences.
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