Who are the 56 inmates on Louisiana’s death row requesting clemency?
First group of inmates issued a hearing date in front of the Pardon Board
(KPLC) - One day after Governor John Bel Edwards sent a letter to the Pardon Board, hearing dates have been issued for a number of inmates who are asking to have their death penalty sentences commuted to life in prison. In total, 56 of the 57 inmates on death row are making the request.
In July the Pardon Board turned away the clemency applications, claiming that they were not eligible due to a recently issued advisory by Attorney General Jeff Landry.
In the new letter to the board, Edwards wrote, “After thoughtful consideration, I am asking the board to set these cases for hearing in a manner least disruptive to the non-capitol cases currently pending before the board.”
“Just read the rules, it’s absolutely nothing in those rules that prevent the board from giving consideration to having a hearing on an application of clemency for death row inmates that are filed beyond the one-year period,” said Gov. Edwards to WAFB on Tuesday, August 9. Hearing dates have now been set for 20 of the inmates between October 13 and November 27 in Baton Rouge.
KPLC has requested a list of inmates sentenced to death who were requesting a hearing before the parole board, and the only death row inmate not on the list was Darrell Robinson, of Rapides Parish. He was convicted of killing a family of four in the community of Poland back in 1996. He had been staying with them in exchange for working on their cattle farm.
The following is a list of the remaining death row inmates who are requesting clemency:
Assumption:
- James Dunn - Convicted in the June 1998 killings of two bank employees, Lisa Dupuis and Jacqueline Blanchard in Napoleonville during an armed robbery with accomplices.
Bossier:
- Jeremiah Manning - Convicted of the 2000 kidnapping and murder of Mary Malone from her Plain Dealing home.
Caddo:
- LaDerick Campbell - Convicted of killing 51-year-old Kathy Parker in September 2002, during a robbery at the Magnolia Club in Rodessa.
- Nathaniel Cole - Convicted on 4 counts of 1st-degree murder in Shreveport. Killed in the 1985 attack were Vivian Culbert Chaney, Jerry Culbert, Chaney’s 15-year-old daughter, Carlitha, and Vivian Chaney’s boyfriend Billy Joe Harris.
- Michael Cooks - Convicted of a 1995 murder during an armed robbery in Shreveport. The medical examiner testified Joe Frazier had been shot fourteen times.
- Percy Davis - Convicted in the 1990 murders of two workers at convenience stores, two nights in a row. The first victim killed was Mark Sanchez, an employee of a Circle K store, and the second victim was Calvin Moore, the owner of an Exxon outlet (Fat’s Exxon).
- Curtis Deal - Convicted in the 1996 death of his 2-month-old son Joshua in Caddo Parish. First responders said the child had a wadded-up paper towel forced into his throat, and Deal admitted to throwing the baby back in the bed when he wouldn’t stop crying.
- Felton Dorsey - Convicted for the 2006 first-degree murder of a retired firefighter, Joe Prock, during a home invasion at his mother’s house in Greenwood.
- Darrell Draughn - Convicted in the 2000 murder of his neighbor 64-year-old Lauretta White. She had been stabbed or cut 61 times in her Shreveport home. Thirty-four of the wounds were on the head and face.
- Cedric Edwards- Convicted in the 1995 murder of Victoria Catanese Kennedy in Shreveport during a home invasion. Her husband and 14-year-old daughter survived the attack; the husband said he recognized the men because they had come into his store.
- Bobby Hampton - Convicted in the 1995 killing of Philip Russell Coleman, an employee at a Shreveport liquor store that was robbed as employees were closing up for the night.
- Daniel Irish - Convicted in the 1996 murder of his landlord, Russ Rowland, after asking him to come to his Caddo Parish mobile home to collect overdue rent.
- Marcus Reed - Convicted for the deaths of Jarquis, Jeremiah, and Eugene Adams on August 17th, 2010, allegedly over a stolen X-Box game console.
- Lamondre Tucker - Convicted in the 2008 death of his pregnant ex-girlfriend, 18-year-old Tavia Sills in Shreveport. Tucker’s mom, Alicia Tucker, was arrested right after the sentencing and charged with conspiracy to tamper with a juror.
- James Tyler - Convicted of the 1995 murder of a manager of a fast-food restaurant during an armed robbery. Two other employees were shot in the head, but they survived and were able to identify him.
Calcasieu:
- Kevin Daigle - Convicted after killing State Trooper Steven Vincent in 2015. Vincent responded to a stranded motorist on the side of a rural road in 2015. As he tried to help an intoxicated Daigle, Daigle pulled out a sawed-off shotgun and gravely wounded Vincent who died in the hospital. Daigle was also charged with the second-degree murder of his roommate Blake Brewer, who was found dead in his Moss Bluff home after Daigle’s arrest.
- Jason Reeves - Convicted of killing 4-year-old Mary Jean Thigpen in 2001. Investigators say he raped her, stabbed her sixteen times, and left her for dead in the woods.
DeSoto:
- Christopher Sepulvado - Convicted in the 1992 beating and scalding death of his 6-year-old stepson, Wesley Allen Mercer.
- Michael Taylor - Convicted of the 1999 murder of Chester Howell, a salesman at a DeSoto Parish Pontiac dealership who took him to test drive a white Pontiac Firebird. The car was found the next day after Taylor and his accomplice used it in a bank robbery in Iowa, which also resulted in the non-fatal shooting of a police chief. The pair were arrested at the Mexico border with more than $100,000 in cash.
East Baton Rouge:
- Anthony Bell - Convicted of five counts of first-degree murder for the May 2006 shootings at the Ministry of Jesus Christ Church, also convicted on one count of attempted first-degree murder for the shooting of Pastor Claudia Brown. The victims were identified as 78-year-old Leonard Howard, 72-year-old Gloria Howard, 67-year-old Dolores McGrew, 47-year-old Darlene Selvage, and Bell’s wife, 24-year-old Erica Bell.
- David Bowie- Convicted in the 1996 murder of John Smith. Bowie wrapped shoelaces, and then the cord from an iron, around the victim’s neck to kill him after losing in a dice game.
- Quincy Broaden - Convicted in the 1996 murders of Edward Black and Allan Rutledge in the Scotlandville area. Black was reportedly killed because he owed Broaden money for drugs; Rutledge was killed because he may have witnessed the shooting.
- Henry Broadway - Convicted for the 1993 murder of Baton Rouge Police Officer Cpl. Betty Smothers and injuring another woman, Kimien Lee, during an attempted armed robbery.
- Frank Ford Cosey - Convicted for the 1990 rape and murder of 12-year-old Delky Nelson in East Baton Rouge. Her mother found her when she came home after work, naked with her throat slashed on the floor of the master bedroom.
- Dacarius Holliday - Convicted of beating his then girlfriend’s 2-year-old son, Darian Coon, to death on May 14, 2007, in Baton Rouge.
- Robert Miller - Convicted in the 1997 murder, rape, and armed robbery of his 67-year-old landlord at her East Baton Rouge Parish home. Miller said he went there at 2:00 a.m. to pay his overdue rent, but after arriving he began to feel sick and lost consciousness. When we woke up, he says the victim was bloody and appeared dead.
- Allen Robertson - Convicted in the 1991 murders of an elderly Baton Rouge couple, Morris and Kazuko Presetenback, who lived near his mother. He was reportedly looking for items to steal to fuel his cocaine addiction.
- Antoine Tate - Convicted in the 1997 murders of Chonner Jackson, Joseph Billie, and Sylvester Rowe in Baton Rouge. Tate and his accomplices reportedly shot the victims after plotting to steal drugs from them.
- Todd Wessinger - Convicted in the 1995 murders of two of his co-workers, Stephanie Guzzardo and David Breakwell, at Calendar’s restaurant in Baton Rouge.
East Feliciana:
- Gregory Brown - Convicted of killing a couple in Clinton in October of 1998 - William and Ann Gay. Both were shot at close range and their bodies were found in a burning vehicle.
Jefferson:
- Julius Lucky - Convicted of the 1994 murder of his co-worker, Leatitia Fagot, at the Gourmet Grill and Daiquiri Shop in Metairie as they were closing for the night. Another employee, a waitress, survived the shooting and was able to testify against Lucky and his accomplice, who was another co-worker.
- Jarrell Neal - Convicted in the 1998 murders of Fergus Robinson and Greg Vickers. Neal, and two of his relatives, went to the Metairie home to collect an overdue drug debt from a former resident of the house. They killed Robinson and Vickers after shooting through a closed door; they also shot at responding officers before eventually being caught.
- Manuel Ortiz - Convicted in the 1992 murders of his wife, Tracie Williams Ortiz, and her friend Cheryl Mallory in Kenner. Ortiz was out of the country, but it was discovered he paid someone to fatally stab his wife for the $900,000 insurance payout. An FBI informant who had been speaking with Ortiz testified against him.
- Emmett Taylor - Convicted of the 1997 murder of 77-year-old Marie Toscano during a robbery of Rhodes Pharmacy in Marrero where Toscano worked.
Livingston:
- James Copeland - Convicted of raping and killing 11-year-old Joseph Cook Owen. His body was found in a field in Livingston Parish, near the East Baton Rouge Parish border in 1979.
Morehouse:
- Lee Roy Odenbaugh- Convicted of the 2006 murders of his wife, Sondra Porter Odenbaugh, and his wife’s mother, Jessie Mae Porter. He was also convicted in the attempted first-degree murder of his step-daughter following an argument about work he was supposed to have completed in their Bastrop trailer.
Natchitoches:
- Tracy Lee - A Fort Polk soldier who broke into a home in Natchitoches on June 15, 1985, and shot and killed Rohn Blackston, 15. Lee then sexually assaulted Blackston’s mother and sister.
Orleans:
- Clifford Deruise - Convicted in the 1995 killings of 20-year-old Gary Booker and 11-month-old Etienne NaChampassak in New Orleans. Deruise shot Booker eight times to his side and back after Booker and his companions said they had no money when Deruise asked for a dollar. Two days later, Deruise shot and killed Etienne, an infant, after a failed carjacking. He opened fire on the car as his mother drove away, hitting her four times as well.
- Antoinette Frank- Former New Orleans Police officer convicted of killing her partner Ronald Williams, and Ha Vu and Cuong Vu at the New Orleans East restaurant, Kim Anh Noodles.
- Clarence Harris Jr. - Convicted of first-degree murder for the 1993 killing of Katie Carlin. He tried to abduct her while she was walking with her 11-year-old daughter in New Orleans. Carlin tried running away but was shot. Harris then took her daughter back to his apartment, where he raped her, then eventually brought her back to her neighborhood where she ran home.
Ouachita:
- Jimmie Duncan - Convicted of killing Chaley Oliveaux, his girlfriend’s 23-month-old daughter, who was sexually abused and drowned in December of 1993.
- Winthrop Eaton - Convicted of murdering well-known pastor Lea Joyner of Monroe in 1985.
- Willie Tart - Convicted in the 1989 deaths of jewelry store owners William Quenan, 70, and Lillian Quenan, 66, in their Bastrop home.
Rapides:
- Larry Roy - Convicted of the 1993 stabbing deaths of his ex-girlfriend’s ex-husband, Freddie Richard Junior, and her elderly aunt, Rosetta Silas in Cheneyville.
St. Martin:
- Scott Bourque- On April 15, 1990, Scott Jude Bourque murdered his estranged girlfriend, Charlotte Perry, and severely wounded her mother.
St. James:
- Glynn Juniors - Convicted of the 1997 killing of Albert “Butch” Robinson during a robbery at a boating business in Convent.
St. John:
- Kyle Joekel: Convicted in the 2012 murders of two St. John Parish deputies, Jeremy Triche, and Brandon Neilson, at a mobile home park in Laplace.
St. Mary:
- Donald Leger: Convicted of the 2001 murder of Troy Salone. Leger had kidnapped his estranged girlfriend after she told him she was going back to her husband. She was able to escape from him and ran to a nearby Franklin residence. However, Leger went to the wrong home and shot Salone and his wife when they claimed not to know who he was looking for. Salone’s wife would survive.
St. Tammany:
- Jessie Hoffman - Convicted of the 1996 murder of 28-year-old Mary “Molly” Elliot, an advertising executive kidnapped as she was leaving work. Hoffman was a valet at the Sheraton parking garage in downtown New Orleans who made Elliot withdraw money from the ATM, drive to a remote area of St. Tammany Parish, raped her, then shot her execution-style. Her body was found near the Middle Pearl River.
- Jesse Montejo - Convicted in the 2002 murder of 61-year-old Louis Ferrari, the owner of a dry-cleaning business, in his Slidell-area home.
Webster:
- Donald Wright - Convicted with his girlfriend of the 1999 murder of her 6-year-old child, Heather White. White died after three days in the hospital, where medical professionals documented extensive abuse including significant bruises. Doctors would rule her death was caused by a head injury that bruised the brain.
- Michael Garcia - Convicted of murdering Michael Millican near a Port Allen gas station in 2006. Millican and his girlfriend were robbed of $30; he was badly beaten with a log and beer bottle, and then stabbed to death. His girlfriend was brutally and repeatedly raped.
West Carroll:
- Sedwric Clark - Convicted of killing 68-year-old Bertha Anderson and 8-year-old Mariah Barnes (Clark’s daughter) in Oak Grove in February 2000.
West Feliciana:
- David Brown - Was one of the Angola 5, a group of five inmates who took three security officers hostage in an attempt to escape from Angola in 1999. Captain David Knapps was killed in that incident.
- Jeffrey Clark - Was one of the Angola 5, a group of five inmates who took three security officers hostage in an attempt to escape from Angola in 1999. Captain David Knapps was killed in that incident. Clark was also convicted in the first-degree murder of Andrew Cheswick at Studebaker’s in Baton Rouge, where Clark previously worked.
Ascension, St. John the Baptist, & St. James:
- Daniel Blank- Convicted of the 1997 murder of 71-year-old Lillian Phillippe of Gonzales. Authorities say Blank confessed to killing Phillippe and five other people over a two-year period. The other victims included: Victor Rossi, 41, Barbara Bourgeois, 58, Sam Arcuri, 76, Louella Arcuri, 69, and Joan Brock, 55. The killings happened in Gonzales, St. Amant, LaPlace, and Paulina between 1996 and 1997.
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