OKC man got death sentence for murdering mom in 2011. His execution is still years away
U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review Darrell Wayne Frederick's complaints about his murder case. Darrell Wayne Frederick, a 69-year-old Oklahoma City man on death row for the murder of his mother in 2011, has lost his appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court. Frederick, who was accused of beating his 85-year old mother in the head with a brick, died on April 30, 2011. His execution is still years away. The Court of Criminal Appeals has decided to schedule future executions one at a time 90 days apart. Frederick had been living with his mother since his release from prison and had been locked up for over 20 years after being deemed a habitual criminal in a 1981 burglary case. He was convicted of first-degree murder, assault with a dangerous weapon and domestic abuse for attacking his mother. Frederick complained that his trial attorneys failed to investigate and present evidence of brain damage during the penalty phase.
Publicado : hace 11 meses por Nolan Clay, The Oklahoman en General
OKC man got death sentence for murdering mom in 2011. His execution is still years away
An Oklahoma City man on death row for the murder of his mother has lost at the U.S. Supreme Court.
Darrell Wayne Frederick, 69, has now exhausted his appeals of his conviction and sentence over the 2011 fatal beating.
"There are now no impediments to Frederick's execution and he should be added to the list of inmates who are eligible for execution," Attorney General Gentner Drummond told the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals.
That list is long so he will not actually be scheduled for execution for three or four more years. The Court of Criminal Appeals decided in May to set future executions one at a time 90 days apart.
Frederick was accused of beating his 85-year-old mother in the head with a brick on March 26, 2011, in the bedroom of her Oklahoma City home after an argument in the kitchen. The victim, Connie Frederick, died on April 30, 2011.
He had been living with his mother since his release from prison. He had been locked up for more than 20 years after being deemed in a 1981 burglary case to be a habitual criminal.
His defense at his 2014 trial was that she had fallen.
His mother, who was deaf and mute, identified him with sign language as her attacker the same day it happened, according to testimony at the trial.
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An Oklahoma County jury found him guilty of first-degree murder, assault with a dangerous weapon and domestic abuse. Jurors chose death as punishment for the murder.
He was convicted of assault with a dangerous weapon for attacking his niece. She had called his brother, an Oklahoma City police officer, after seeing the kitchen argument. The brother had told Frederick over the phone he needed to find another place to live.
Frederick then told the niece, "Oh, you have a problem with me, too," and ended up chasing her with a rock or brick in the front yard, according to trial testimony.
His mother was found with severe swelling to her face and head on the bedroom floor after the niece got away and he went back inside.
He was convicted of domestic abuse for shoving his mother in the kitchen.
He complained to the U.S. Supreme Court that his trial attorneys failed to investigate and present evidence of brain damage that could have "humanized" him during the penalty phase.
In response, Assistant Attorney General Joshua Lockett pointed out the Court of Criminal Appeals had concluded his trial attorneys "made a strategic choice to not pursue further investigation on the matter given that Frederick did not cooperate with efforts to have him evaluated by medical professionals."
Justices on Monday refused without comment to take up his petition.
A neuropsychologist who evaluated him after his conviction found frontal lobe damage, likely from an automobile accident or his time on a prison boxing team. The frontal lobes control aggression, violence, acting out and impulsivity.
The brain damage finding is likely to come up at his clemency hearing before the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board once his execution is scheduled.
The outcome Monday is the second time in two weeks the Supreme Court has refused to review an Oklahoma death penalty case. Justices could rule later this month on a third Oklahoma death penalty case.
The next execution in Oklahoma is set for June 27.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC man now eligible for execution for murdering his mother in 2011
Temas: Crime