a man on death row for nearly two decades must be offered...
a man on death row for nearly two decades must be offered a post-trial plea deal that would effectively take the death penalty off the table, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.
a man on death row for nearly two decades must be offered a post-trial plea deal that would effectively take the death penalty off the table, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.
Maxwell Alton Hoffman was sentenced to death in 1989 for the revenge slaying of Denise Williams, a police drug informant.
Like most capital punishment cases, Hoffman's case has been in and out of the appellate courts since his conviction. But in a ruling handed down today, the Court of Appeals said the state must either release him or again offer him a plea deal he originally turned down - allowing him to plead guilty in exchange for prosecutors no longer seeking the death penalty.
The case began in 1988, when the 28-year-old Williams served as a police informant while buying drugs from Richard Holmes, leading to his arrest. After Holmes was released on bail, he had Williams brought to a campsite where he, Hoffman and a man named Ron Wages were waiting.
Holmes left Williams with the two men, telling them, "You know what to do," according to court documents. Hoffman slit Williams' throat, Wages stabbed her and both men tried to bury her with rocks.
All 3 men were charged in the murder. Wages pleaded guilty in exchange for life in prison, and Holmes also avoided the death penalty by agreeing to tell authorities where Williams' body was, though he was killed in a prison riot before Hoffman's trial.
Hoffman, however, refused to plead guilty on the advice of his attorneys, even though prosecutors told him that if he refused the plea deal they would seek the death penalty. One of Hoffman's attorneys - William Wellman - told Hoffman he believed that a recent appellate court ruling out of Arizona showed that Idaho's similar death penalty scheme was unconstitutional, and that it was only a matter of time before Idaho's death penalty scheme would be overturned in court.
But Idaho's death penalty scheme wasn't immediately overturned, and on June 9, 1989, Hoffman was sentenced to death.
Indeed, the 9th Circuit panel found that the plea bargain recommendation was a clear example of ineffective counsel.
Maxwell Alton Hoffman was sentenced to death in 1989 for the revenge slaying of Denise Williams, a police drug informant.
Like most capital punishment cases, Hoffman's case has been in and out of the appellate courts since his conviction. But in a ruling handed down today, the Court of Appeals said the state must either release him or again offer him a plea deal he originally turned down - allowing him to plead guilty in exchange for prosecutors no longer seeking the death penalty.
The case began in 1988, when the 28-year-old Williams served as a police informant while buying drugs from Richard Holmes, leading to his arrest. After Holmes was released on bail, he had Williams brought to a campsite where he, Hoffman and a man named Ron Wages were waiting.
Holmes left Williams with the two men, telling them, "You know what to do," according to court documents. Hoffman slit Williams' throat, Wages stabbed her and both men tried to bury her with rocks.
All 3 men were charged in the murder. Wages pleaded guilty in exchange for life in prison, and Holmes also avoided the death penalty by agreeing to tell authorities where Williams' body was, though he was killed in a prison riot before Hoffman's trial.
Hoffman, however, refused to plead guilty on the advice of his attorneys, even though prosecutors told him that if he refused the plea deal they would seek the death penalty. One of Hoffman's attorneys - William Wellman - told Hoffman he believed that a recent appellate court ruling out of Arizona showed that Idaho's similar death penalty scheme was unconstitutional, and that it was only a matter of time before Idaho's death penalty scheme would be overturned in court.
But Idaho's death penalty scheme wasn't immediately overturned, and on June 9, 1989, Hoffman was sentenced to death.
Indeed, the 9th Circuit panel found that the plea bargain recommendation was a clear example of ineffective counsel.
— SOURCES
- (Sources: The Associated Press, 05/07/2006)