THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, October 25, 1994 TAG: 9410250312
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B01 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JUNE ARNEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
Prosecutors cannot seek the death penalty against a 15-year-old accused of capital murder in the fatal shooting of a Norfolk taxi driver, a judge has ruled.
Circuit Judge Charles E. Poston decided that Reginald Evans, accused in the death of Donald J. Reynolds, can be tried and sentenced for capital murder but, because of his age, cannot be sentenced to death.
Evans was 17 days shy of his 16th birthday when he allegedly shot Reynolds five times - three times in the back - during an attempted robbery on April 26.
Defense Attorney Robert Frank, representing Evans, had argued that based on past Supreme Court decisions, the law clearly states that prosecutors cannot seek the death penalty against someone under 16.
But Norfolk Commonwealth's Attorney Charles D. Griffith said that he thought the facts of the crime justified the death penalty and that prosecutors should present their case and let a judge decide. Griffith had argued that the key Supreme Court rulings addressing capital punishment for defendants under 16 left room for judicial interpretation.
``We were making our pitch, and he's ruled,'' Griffith said Monday. ``I'm satisfied that Judge Poston has considered the issue and issued an appropriate ruling.''
The guiding Supreme Court decisions are considered to be Thompson vs. Oklahoma, a 1988 case, and Stanford vs. Kentucky, reached in 1989.
Defense attorney Frank interpreted both rulings as concluding that it would be cruel and unusual punishment to impose the death sentence on a defendant under the age of 16.
Griffith had argued that because of ambiguities raised by the two high court opinions, states should be allowed to set the minimum age in death-penalty cases. The judge felt the Thompson ruling applied in the Evans case.
``This court would be in grave error to reject the holding of the United States Supreme Court absent a clear indication that it would overrule the Thompson decision,'' he wrote. ``I am not prepared to conclude that the Supreme Court would overrule Thompson.''
Frank said he was not surprised by the judge's conclusions.
``We're gratified to know that the court is not swayed by emotional and political expediency in applying a very clear Supreme Court precedent,'' Frank said.
Washington and Lee University law professor William S. Geimer has said that Virginia prosecutors have sought the death penalty for defendants under age 16 about five other times in the past two years, always unsuccessfully. None of the cases got beyond pretrial motions, Geimer said.
Prosecutors say they plan to pursue the capital murder charge against Evans. If convicted, Evans could be sentenced to life in prison. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Prosecutor Charles D. Griffith wanted death for Reginald Evans.
Photo
Judge Charles E. Poston says Reginald Evans, now 16, still can be
tried for capital murder in the fatal shooting of A Norfolk cab
driver. But if convicted, Evans' maximum sentence would be life in
prison.
KEYWORDS: CIRCUIT COURT MURDER
by CNB