2015.08.26 Jimmy Rodgers: Charged with Murder in the Second Degree

[Bobbywoo]

I think mitigation evidence is always used during the pre-trial phase in federal capital cases, I'd assume the process is similar in FL state capital cases. The US attorney considers whether the applicable statutory aggravating factors and any non-statutory aggravating factors outweigh the applicable mitigating factors and justify a sentence of death.

Sorry if I'm slow...my a/c crapped out yesterday and my brain is slowly melting. When would the defense argue their opinion of mitigating circumstances?

 

[FelicityLemon]

Did anyone actually see JR's self-proclaimed "hit-man" stuff on fb or something? I was wondering if it wasn't a pun, because he is a carpenter? Hit-man with hitting the hammer while building homes aka: ha-ha sounds funny if your not really in trouble in a murder investigation!

I was thinking cockroaches (pest control), but nails make more sense given his occupation

Seven at One Blow!

http://fairytales4u.com/story/sevenat.htm

 

[Leomoon80]

I'm not sure how Rodgers father's death is connected with this case.

Maybe some feel that his fathers death contributed to his criminal behavior. I'm not sure how that can be proven myself.

JMO.

I agree with you, and only looked at the link Dmacky posted and 144 responded to.

I'm not one who believes the sins of the father are visited upon the children as the old biblical injunction gives either . :thinking:

 

[RANCH]

Not a reliable source. In a death penalty prosecution, this is what mitigation means (cut & pasted from mitigation treatise):

1. Defects in the capital defendant’s intelligence, psychological and emotional makeup, maturity and development as an adult, and character which may explain why he or she engaged in the behavior that led to the homicide and help the jury understand why it happened and why a life sentence is appropriate.

2. Positive aspects of the capital defendant’s character and life that may give the jury a reason to vote for life because the defendant hasn’t always behaved the way he or she did at the time of the homicide.

The ABA Guidelines for Appointments and Performance in Death Penalty cases 11.3.19(c), p. 93 (1989) and ABA Standards for Criminal Justice 4-4.1.1, Commentary, p.4-55, were relied upon heavily by the United States Supreme Court in Wiggins v. Smith, 123 S. Ct. 2527 (2003). In that opinion the Supreme Court made it absolutely clear that trial counsel representing an accused person facing the death penalty was responsible to investigate and prepare “a rigorously developed social history of the accused.” The Supreme Court mandated that a social history be prepared as a basic component of investigation and should include “medical history, educational history, employment and training history, family and social history, prior adult and juvenile correctional experience, and religious and cultural influences.”

Not a reliable source? Why is that?

This isn't a death penalty case yet is it?

JMO

 

[Bobbywoo]

How about 2 parents?

Not me.

If JR was the one who committed the murder I wouldn't give him any leeway either. A smaller crime I would probably take his parents death into consideration. Even if he traveled to Fl knowing it was a hit but didn't actually throw the blows himself I would have a hard time finding mercy for him

 

[RANCH]

How about 2 parents?

Nope. That wouldn't work for me either.

I don't feel hardships like that would cause a person to become a killer. Plenty of people lose a loved one and don't feel it's necessary to kill another human being.

JMO

 

[creepingskills]

Sorry if I'm slow...my a/c crapped out yesterday and my brain is slowly melting. When would the defense argue their opinion of mitigating circumstances?

During pre-trial, mitigation evidence isn't shared with the prosecution but it is discussed in terms of trial dates, scheduling, defense budgets. The defense has a duty to perform a thorough mitigation investigation, so soon after appointment on a capital case the defense attorney would have the defendant sign a release, get his medical records, school record, juvenile record. Have an investigator interview people about the defendant, his life.

ETA: ^ refers to federal capital cases.

 

[RANCH]

Looks like I'm going to have to refresh my memory on capital murder in Florida.

 

[creepingskills]

Not a reliable source? Why is that?

This isn't a death penalty case yet is it?

JMO

I'm sorry, its late and I didn't click the link and just read the example bolded below and it appeared to be discussing provocation rather than mitigation (factors not related to the killing itself). But my mind is so fuzzy right now, I couldn't even explain how I got there.

Example: a young man shoots his father after years of being beaten, belittled, sworn at, and treated without love. "Heat of passion," or "diminished capacity" are forms of such mitigating circumstances.

fftobed:

 

[creepingskills]

Looks like I'm going to have to refresh my memory on capital murder in Florida.

Please don't hesitate to share or correct me.

 

[DexterMorgan]

He's charged with 2nd degree murder and not capital nor murder 1.

 

[Bobbywoo]

During pre-trial, mitigation evidence isn't shared with the prosecution but it is discussed in terms of trial dates, scheduling, defense budgets. The defense has a duty to perform a thorough mitigation investigation, so soon after appointment on a capital case the defense attorney would have the defendant sign a release, get his medical records, school record, juvenile record. Have an investigator interview people about the defendant, his life.

I think I got it. I was confused because I assumed it came up at sentencing phase. Thanks for the education

 

[RANCH]

I'm sorry, its late and I didn't click the link and just read the example bolded below and it appeared to be discussing provocation rather than mitigation (factors not related to the killing itself). But my mind is so fuzzy right now, I couldn't even explain how I got there.

Example: a young man shoots his father after years of being beaten, belittled, sworn at, and treated without love. "Heat of passion," or "diminished capacity" are forms of such mitigating circumstances.

fftobed:

That's Okay. I understand. We may have a capital case eventually. I'm still going to refresh my memory on that.

 

[Bobbywoo]

He's charged with 2nd degree murder and not capital nor murder 1.

I'm hoping once they get here one if not both will get capital. .....my fingers are crossed.

 

[creepingskills]

He's charged with 2nd degree murder and not capital nor murder 1.

I know, perhaps its wishful thinking that those charges will be upgraded. Seems premeditated, and brutal.

 

[RANCH]

He's charged with 2nd degree murder and not capital nor murder 1.

Has he been charged yet? Or is he being sought on a second degree murder warrant from Florida? This article is dated September 1.

Warrants say the Missouri men need to appear in Florida on second-degree murder charges.

I also found this.

The state attorney's office in Southwest Florida has not charged either man yet, said Samantha Syoen, spokeswoman for state attorney's office.

“The case has not been turned over to us to review, when that happens, we will review it for appropriate charges,” she said.

Don't they have to appear in a Florida court to be formally charged?

http://www.news-press.com/story/new...odgers-curtis-wayne-wright-missouri/71478592/

 

[Riversinthedesert]

From what I've read here, the $10k figure was reported to MSM by a friend of JR's gf. So, maybe JR told the gf who told the friend, or maybe JR didn't say anything and the gf was trying to impress her friend, or the friend is lying all together. We haven't heard that LE has evidence of payment, IIRC.

The meme, "and she said what are you gonna do with that hammer" I went back to the source and the meme states "what the ***k are you doing with that hammer":facepalm: and if you google that phrase results show a few unfunny grandmother jokes.

here it is

Wonder who the people were on FB who "liked" JR's post about the hammer! Thanks for the post creepingskills.

 

[RANCH]

I know, perhaps its wishful thinking that those charges will be upgraded. Seems premeditated, and brutal.

I think your right.

Here's the Florida Statute on Second Degree Murder.

[SIZE=-1]The unlawful killing of a human being, when perpetrated by any act imminently dangerous to another and evincing a depraved mind regardless of human life, although without any premeditated design to effect the death of any particular individual, is murder in the second degree and constitutes a felony of the first degree, punishable by imprisonment for a term of years not exceeding life or as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.[/SIZE]

I'm not sure how this murder went down without any premeditated design. I could be wrong though.

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes...ing=&URL=0700-0799/0782/Sections/0782.04.html

 

[IQuestion]

Maybe JR was CWW's apprentice for being a hit man. Maybe CWW lured JR to FL then sprung the killing of TS on him at the very last second with a gun to his head and threats on his pregnant girlfriend?

Thanks for your thoughts Poppyflower. I considered a similar scenario, but THEN IT FALLS APART. If JRR "was forced into the killing with a gun to he head and threats to his pregnant girlfriend"...Why not call the police the first chance he got? After all, wouldn't that provide some protection for his girlfriend? But, NO...instead of providing protection for his pregnant girlfriend, he drags her (figuratively) into the mess, as per this MSM article:
"Rodgers, who lived 1,200 miles from Bonita Springs, reportedly told his girlfriend about the killing and pointed her to where he hid the evidence, according to NBC 2.
'Evidently quite a bit of evidence. He brought it all here and threw it away and told Taylor where it was. I think they found the bloody jumpsuit he wore,' Cathy Gaston, a family member of his girlfriend, said. ""
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...tack-murder-Teresa-Sievers.html#ixzz3n5wBZ5Bu
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Perhaps he was so fearful for her safety, he bought her a van so she could escape? (insert overt sarcasm emoticon) BTW that is not meant to take away from your thoughts, but only to introduce what will, eventually, be argued in court.
But I'd be willing to concede, CWW went into that house with overalls hidden in a white Styrofoam ice chest, [I]perhaps purchased at Walmart, and caught on surveillance??? [/I] (He looked just like MS, (w)right?) The neighbors wouldn't even notice anything wrong with a "look-a-like MS" entering the home. CWW commits the murder, because he doesn't want to get caught for WHAT HE WAS DOING REMOTELY WITH THE COMPUTER FILES. (We've read speculation that he doesn't take kindly to people threatening to report him to law enforcement) Puts the bloodied jumpsuit back into the cooler and walks back to the vehicle where JRR (his look out and driver) is waiting.
When they (JRR & CWW) get back to Missouri, CWW tells JRR, to burn (dispose of) the evidence. It's late at night when they get back to Missouri and JRR is not going to attract attention by starting a fire and puts it off for a while. CWW's trailer gets raided...close enough for "pregnant gf" to see and know something isn't right. I feel the "fear factor" kicked in for JRR, only because he was afraid to tell CWW he hadn't destroyed the evidence!! Now that could be another "minor wow" to add to our long list of "WOWS"....only because the "white ice chest thing" has really bugged me...people don't usually purchase solid "white ice chests" for repeat use....so I'm thinking this was a "one-off" inexpensive purchase, caught on camera. ps They wouldn't use the cooler they brought with them, because they would still need it the return trip, imo.

 

[creepingskills]

I wonder why, if any reasoning is behind it, LE arrested JR a day and a half before CWW?