MondayDecember 14, 2015Reading, Pennsylvania

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Berks &
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MEMORY OF SANDY HOOK

VICTIM WILL LIVE ON
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SHOOTING ANNIVERSARY ON SCHOOL DAY FOR FIRST TIME / A6

READING EAGLE
readingeagle.com

Pa. lawmakers
set for more
budget battles

Executing Justice
DEATH PENALTY PERSPECTIVESPART TWO OF FIVE

Fighting for their lives

House leaders expect a deal,

but snags remain with Senate
Th e A s s o c i at e d P r e s s

HARRISBURG The House of Representatives began leaving its imprint on the Senates expansive package of budget-related
legislation Sunday night, signaling the start
of a contentious new week and another new
showdown over how to end the state governments ve-month-old budget stalemate.
Pressure to resolve the ght has ratcheted
up amid layoffs and closings by a social services sector increasingly crippled without billions in state aid and mounting borrowing by
school districts and counties that could exceed
$1 billion soon, if it has not already.
On Sunday night, Gov. Tom Wolfs office
and House leaders said they were still sorting through hundreds of pages of legislation
sent by the Republican-controlled Senate last
week in a weeklong sprint to advance a $30.8
billion budget plan.
House leaders stressed that they hoped
to wrap up a budget deal this week. After a
brief Sunday night session, the House will
return today.
But both Republicans and Democrats, along
with Wolfs office, are still raising problems
with elements of the Senate legislation that,
among other things, overhauls public pension
benets, smashes state control over the sale
of wine and advances the cause of charter
schools.
We know weve got to get a budget passed,
said House Minority Leader Frank Dermody,
D-Allegheny, after leaving a meeting with
Majority Leader Dave Reed, R-Indiana. And
were looking forward to getting it done this
week.
The broad outlines of the Senates spending bill are supported by Wolf and House
Democrats. It would be accompanied by a
$1.2 billion tax increase, the details of which
have not been settled or written into legislation.
No more encores: Bills aim to prevent future
budget standoffs. B9

READING EAGLE: SUSAN L. ANGSTADT

An attorney who has represented ve men

in capital cases describes the thrills and
agonies that go with the difficult work.

in Lancaster, was sentenced

to death. One case, involving
Julius C. Enoe, ended in an
acquittal.
In Kirwans telling, the
Enoe case is the stuff of Hollywood.
After a Schuylkill County
judge declared a mistrial in
the 2010 murder and robbery of a Shenandoah man,
Enoe, who is black, went into
his second trial facing an allwhite jury and a hostile courtroom packed with the victims

By Nicole C. Brambila
Reading Eagle

obert J. Kirwan II never asks whether a client

is innocent or guilty.
In a 25-year career that started in the Berks
County district attorneys office, Kirwan has represented ve men in capital cases from Berks, Lancaster
and Schuylkill counties. Only one, Abraham Sanchez Jr.

family who at one point wore

T-shirts depicting three monkeys in nooses representing
the three defendants.
Following the not-guilty
verdict, the courtroom erupted in chaos. Kirwan and Enoe
slipped out a service exit to
elude the riotous crowd.
[ See Fighting >>> A4 ]

Defense
attorney
Robert J.
Kirwan II
shows the
amount
of legal
paperwork
generated in
capital cases.

Jurors in capital cases face serious challenges. A4

DA supportive, not zealous, on death penalty. A5

TODAY
Sports

Good Morning

The Briefing

Nation

Life

EAGLES SCORE LATE FG,

TURN BACK BILLS, MCCOY

A HOME RUN FOR

VETERANS CENTER

TIME TO TAKE ACTION

ON GUN VIOLENCE

SEARCH ENDS IN
SHOOTING PROBE

CITIZEN SCIENTISTS
AT MIFFLIN SCHOOL

All-stars from two baseball leagues again donate

their game proceeds to
the Lebanon VA. A2

The California shootings

show the need for steps
to keep rearms out of
the wrong hands. B3

Divers wrap up their

work scouring a lake for
evidence in the California
terrorist attack. A8

Elementary students get

a hands-on science lesson by planting 450 tulip
bulbs this fall. D1

Philadelphia nds a way to win for the second straight week, and thats all that matters,
Steve Patton writes. C1
Weather report
Fog with a shower, then rain;
winds: 7-14 mph. A10

52 66

Index
ADVICE
BRIDGE

D11
D12

CLASSIFIED
C8
COMICS
D8D10
HOROSCOPE
D10

MONEY
OBITUARIES
OPINION

A9
B8B9
B10

PUZZLES
TV TONIGHT

D10
D7

2015 READING EAGLE COMPANY

A4

MONDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2015

READING EAGLE, READING, PA.

Executing Justice

The jury took three days to find him guilty of murder,

but only hours to give him the death penalty. We were
stunned. It kind of made me even more against the
death penalty because of the way its applied.
Defense attorney Robert J. Kirwan II, on the verdict against his client, Abraham Sanchez Jr.

Fighting for their lives

[ From A1 >>> ]
A framed picture of Kirwan
and Enoe in the attorneys
Reading office reads, Its not
about winning and its not
about losing, its about seeking the truth. Next to it is a
framed court order from Sept.
2, 2011, that reads: It is hereby ordered the jurys verdict of
not guilty on all counts shall
be recorded and defendant
discharged immediately.
Every Christmas Kirwan
hears from Enoe, usually a
card expressing his gratitude.
I enjoy doing this, said Kirwan, 50. Its the courtroom.
Im not a big fan of sitting in
the office all day long pushing
papers.
And then he launches into
a favorite quote from famed
attorney Clarence Darrow:
The only real lawyers are trial
lawyers, and trial lawyers try
cases to juries.

NORTHWEST LANCASTER COUNTY REGIONAL POLICE

Abraham Sanchez Jr., then 18,

was among four men charged
in 2007 with killing 65-yearold Ray P. Diener, the owner of
a water purication company,
outside his front door in Elizabethtown.

for Kirwan demonstrates all

thats wrong with capital punishment.
Against the death penalty
In 2009, Sanchez stood trial
If the Enoe case illustrates for the murder of 65-yearthe thrill of litigating and old Ray Diener in a botched
winning, the Sanchez case burglary.

During the penalty phase,

Kirwan and co-counsel Jeff
Conrad presented evidence
that Sanchez had endured unspeakable abuse that included
beatings from his father, who
on at least one occasion ducttaped Sanchez to a chair and
left him to defecate and urinate on himself, Kirwan said.
A doctor also testified that
Sanchez had sustained brain
trauma.
The defendants IQ was 70,
indicating a mental disability, which would make him
ineligible for the death penalty. In 2002, the Supreme
Court ruled the execution of
the intellectually disabled unconstitutional.
Hes the guy, of all the people I ever represented, that
probably should not be there,
Kirwan said, noting Sanchez
is intellectually disabled.
Conrad, Sanchezs attorney during the penalty phase,
showed jurors a picture of
his battered face, saying If
you beat a child and subject
him to mental torture, this is
what you get.

It was the most heartwrenching, raw emotional

testimony, Kirwan said.
The Lancaster County jury
deliberated seven hours.
The jury took three days
to nd him guilty of murder,
but only hours to give him the
death penalty, Kirwan said.
We were stunned. It kind of
made me even more against
the death penalty because of
the way its applied.

He has a certain gravitas

Kirwan is one of nearly 400
attorneys in the commonwealth who have met the qualifying standards to represent
defendants in capital cases.
Berks County has roughly two
dozen such attorneys.
The quality of capital representation has long been
a concern in Pennsylvania,
which established minimum
qualications in 2004.
A Reading Eagle investigation in October found
nearly one in five Pennsylvania inmates sentenced to
death in the past decade were
represented by attorneys

disciplined for professional

misconduct at some point in
their careers. And further, the
majority of these disciplined
attorneys had been found by
Pennsylvania courts to be ineffective in at least one capital
case.
Theyre not always the
best attorneys in the world,
Kirwan said of capital attorneys. They cut corners, and
as a result of cutting corners
they get in trouble with the
disciplinary board.
State records show Kirwan,
who takes appointments when
public defenders and conict
counsel cannot, has not been
disciplined.
Capital cases can be very
demanding, requiring up to
500 hours or more to prepare and try. To make it work,
in the weeks leading up to
a capital trial, Kirwan said
hell put in 70-hour weeks,
working as many of his cases
ahead as he can to free up his
schedule.
These capital cases typically
do not pay well. The Berks
County Office of Court Ad-

Jurors in capital cases face serious challenges

Reading Eagle

The jurors who sat through

eight days of testimony this
summer in a capital trial for
three homicides voted 12
times before reaching a sentencing decision.
But even then, the unanimous decision for a life sentence rather than execution
for Michael A. Wilkins was
reached for only one of the
murders. With the jury deadlocked on Wilkins culpability for the other two, Berks
County Judge Scott D. Keller
sentenced the 41-year-old to
three consecutive life sentences.
Two jurors a male and
female who had never before
served on a jury agreed to
speak anonymously about a
decision-making process that
typically remains behind the
scenes.
Attorneys burned through
more than 100 prospective
jurors before agreeing on 12
and two alternates. To be selected to sit on a capital trial,
all those designated had to
agree they could sentence
someone to death.
That would prove to be the
easy part.
Detectives had collected a
bevy of evidence surveillance video footage, fingerprints, shell casings, purchase
receipts, eyewitnesses and
more. But deciding a mans
fate and arriving at a verdict
beyond a reasonable doubt
isnt as straightforward as the
characters on Perry Mason
or Law & Order suggest.
The evidence presented in
court, these jurors said, cre-

ated an incomplete and often

confusing puzzle.
It was one of the most
stressful things I have ever
done in my life, the female
juror said, noting she lost sleep
over the case. It takes a toll on
you. You see stuff on TV and
its nothing compared to you
being there experiencing it.
The case itself was ghastly.
Wilkins and his younger
brother in a separate trial
stood accused of the retaliatory killing of two drug dealers
who had ripped them off, and
the torture and murder of a
witness who was set on fire
and her body dumped. A forensic pathologist couldnt
determine whether Jennifer
Velez-Negron was dead before
she was set on re.
Authorities identified
Wilkins brother in surveillance footage, where he could
be seen ring the fatal shots
in the 1100 block of Franklin
Street in 2012.
The jurors retreated to a
locked deliberation room,
each with his or her own
opinion as to Wilkins guilt
or innocence. Taking turns
around the room, everyone
shared whether they thought
Wilkins was guilty and why,
these jurors said.
The room boiled over with
emotion, especially among
the older jurors with children
and grandkids the victims age.
Rafael Alequin and Dario McLemore were both 22. Wilkins
tortured girlfriend, Velez-Negron, was 26.
And then confusion set in.
If Wilkins was there but
didnt shoot and kill Alequin
and McLemore, was he still
culpable, the jurors wanted

Contact Nicole C. Brambila: 610-3715044 or nbrambila@readingeagle.com.

Executing
Justice
About this series: A ve-day
look at Pennsylvanias controversial death penalty system from the perspectives of
those it touches victims
families, a prosecutor and
defense attorney, judges and
the condemned.

Pair who served on panel in recent case

describe the difficulties involved in
reaching a life-and-death decision.
By Nicole C. Brambila

ministration did not have a

cost estimate, but Kirwan and
others who work capital cases
have said an appointment often pays about two-thirds less
than can be earned in private
practice.
But these high-prole cases,
such as the Michael Wilkins
triple murder case in June,
can build the practice in
different ways, Kirwan said,
adding the payoff isnt always
monetary.
You cant say Robert does it
for the money, said Lisa Renninger, Kirwans sister. This
is the taking of a life, and he
takes it seriously because he
realizes whats at stake. Hes
dedicated to a case when he
does take it on.
Conrad, the Lancaster attorney who worked with Kirwan, agreed, saying Kirwan
has the ability to bring the
most sterile facts to life.
I think he has a certain
gravitas, Conrad said before
he added, He truly believes
in what hes doing.

Sunday: The widow of a slain

Reading police officer shares
her pain, and the convicted
killer apologizes.
Today: A defense attorney
shares why he opposes the
death penalty.
Tuesday: A former prison
chaplain talks about a convicted killers nal hours before execution.
Wednesday: An exoneree makes peace with the 16
years he lost in prison, 10 on
death row.
Thursday: A murder victims
son extends forgiveness to
his familys killer.

READING EAGLE: TIM LEEDY

Michael A. Wilkins, escorted by Berks County Deputy Sheriffs Richard Reeser, left, and Nicholas
Wingate, leaves court after his conviction on three counts of rst-degree murder and other charges.

to know. The female juror said

they sent notes to the judge
asking for clarity.
Under Pennsylvania law, a
defendant does not have to
directly carry out a murder
to receive the same sentence
as the one who did.
In the end, both jurors said,
it just came down to what the
law said.

Both jurors said it would

have been easier had there
been more footage. Or DNA
evidence. Or tested gunshot residue. Or any host of
other evidence that solves
the crime in a 60-minute TV
drama.
The male juror said at the
trials conclusion, Its certainly a doozie of a rst trial.

The jury deliberated a little

more than ve hours over two
days, nding Wilkins guilty of
all three murders.
I cant imagine any other
serious duty imposed by the
commonwealth, Keller told
jurors, who later thanked
them for their service.
Contact Nicole C. Brambila: 610-3715044 or nbrambila@readingeagle.com.

Online at
readingeagle.com:
View an interactive timeline of Reading
police officers killed in the
line of duty since 1900.
Watch a video about the
death penalty in Pennsylvania.
Listen to reporter Nicole
Brambila and photographer Susan L. Angstadt talk
about the series in a WEEU
interview.
Read our previous coverage on the death penalty.

READING EAGLE, READING, PA.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2015

A5

Executing Justice

DA supportive,
not zealous,
when it comes
to death penalty
John T. Adams says there are cases in which
capital punishment might be justied, but
he can be satised with life sentences.
By Nicole C. Brambila
Reading Eagle

Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams slipped

into Judge Scott D. Kellers
courtroom to hear how the
case was progressing.
On trial was 41-year-old
Michael A. Wilkins, who faced
the death penalty for the retaliatory killing of two drug
dealers who had ripped him
off in a fake cocaine deal, and
the torture and murder of a
witness who was set on re
and her body dumped.
The jury came back with a
guilty verdict. But instead of
sentencing Wilkins in June
to death, the jury gave him
life in prison.
Adams also sought the
death penalty in the triple
homicides for Wilkins younger brother, Maurice Wilkins,
35. In October, the younger
Wilkins pleaded guilty to the
murders and received a life
sentence in a deal in which
prosecutors dropped the
death penalty.
Although he has steadfastly
supported capital punishment
in the commonwealth and opposed Gov. Tom Wolfs moratorium on executions, Adams
says he is not a death penalty
zealot. And his reaction to the
Wilkinses cases seems to support that.
Im just as happy with a life
sentence as I am a death sentence, Adams said.
I am satised that they will
be incarcerated, Adams said
of the Wilkins brothers. They
will not be a threat to our
community ever again. And
frankly, community safety is
the utmost of my concerns.
Whether theyre on death row
or serving a life sentence, Im
ne with that.

Seeking death less and less

Adams, who took office in
2008 as a Democratic writein candidate, has sought the
death penalty six times and
has two more pending.
Berks juries issued death
sentences in two of the cases:
to Albert Perez for the 2008
murders of his ex-girlfriend
and her 5-year-old daughter,
made to look like a murdersuicide; and to Glenn Lyons
for the 2008 stabbing death
of a Lebanon County woman
with whom hed been having
an affair.
A third man sentenced to
death since Adams took office,
convicted cop killer Cletus
C. Rivera, was prosecuted by
the state attorney generals
office.
More than half of the 11
men sentenced to death and
currently on death row from
Berks were prosecuted under former District Attorney
Mark C. Baldwin.
Its a penalty I rarely seek,
Adams said. I could seek it a
lot more.
During the height of the
tough-on-crime era, juries
in the commonwealth were
sentencing a dozen or more
inmates to death each year,
peaking in 1994 before drop-

Michael A. Wilkins was convicted of three murders, but escaped the death penalty.

ping precipitously. Pennsylvanias statistics mirror whats

been happening in the U.S.
Fewer than a half-dozen
defendants each year this
decade have been sentenced
to death.
I think you will find
throughout Pennsylvania that
we are seeking it less and less,
and I think thats good, said
Adams, noting the reason is
because prosecutors are being
more judicious.
Still, with 181 condemned
inmates, Pennsylvania has
the fth largest death row in
the nation.
State law provides for capital punishment for first-degree murder, or an intentional
killing, with 18 aggravating
circumstances that include
when the victim was a witness, a child under the age of
12, pregnant, tortured or held
hostage as well as for police
officers, among others.

I want to be fair and just

Adams is uniquely situated to oversee the countys
prosecution of death penalty
cases.
Before becoming the countys top law enforcer, Adams
was a defense attorney.
While in private practice,
Adams defended two of the
countys death row inmates,
Roderick Johnson, convicted
for the 1996 drug-related slayings of two cousins, and David
A. Sattazahn, sentenced for
the 1987 Palm Sunday murder
of a restaurant manager.
But of all the accused hes
prosecuted and defended, the
case that haunts him the most
is as interesting as it is telling:
Edward Cruz Goudy.
Goudy rejected a plea agreement for a seven-year sentence in 2003 and was given
life for his role as a get-away
driver in a convenience store
robbery and murder. Goudy
had no prior criminal record.
He was 15 at the time of the
murder.
In 2012, the U.S. Supreme
Court found in Miller v. Alabama that sentencing schemes
mandating life in prison without parole for defendants who
committed crimes as a juvenile amounted to cruel and
unusual punishment and were
unconstitutional because the
young have both a diminished
culpability and a heightened
capacity for change.

READING EAGLE: SUSAN L. ANGSTADT

Seeking death
Berks County has 11 men on death row, the third most in the commonwealth behind Philadelphia and
York counties. Former District Attorney Mark C. Baldwins office prosecuted more than half of those.
Since his 2008 election, District Attorney John T. Adams has sought the death penalty six times,
two of which ended with death sentences. Here is a list of those on Pennsylvanias death row and the
prosecuting attorney or office:
Prosecuted by former
Berks County District Attorney
Mark C. Baldwin
1997

1998

1999

1999

Roderick
Johnson

Shawnfatee
Bridges

David
Sattazahn

Jose
Busanet

Prosecuted by the office

of the Pennsylvania
Attorney General
1986

2007

2008

2009

Randy
Haag

Bryan
Galvin

Cletus
Rivera

Albert
Perez

Berks County District Attorney

John T. Adams says he doesnt
shy away from seeking the
death penalty when appropriate, but is satised in such cases if defendants at least come
away with a life sentence.

The Pennsylvania Supreme

Court, however, ruled the
newly recognized right does
not apply retroactively.
Had Goudy, now 30, been
2000
2005
persuaded as a teen to accept
the plea agreement, he would
have been out of prison by
now. Instead he is serving a
life sentence at the State Correctional Institution at Coal
Township in Northumberland
County.
The Goudy case is a lesson
Richard
Michael
Adams has carried with him
Boxley
Pruitt
into the prosecutors office.
The way Adams sees it, his
job isnt about just getting a
Prosecuted by
conviction.
Berks County District Attorney
I want to be fair and just,
John T. Adams
Adams said. As a prosecutor,
I need to make sure we have
2011
the appropriate controls to
Source: Pennprevent an injustice also.
sylvania DeBerks Senior Judge Linda
partment of
K.M. Ludgate agreed, adding
Corrections,
Adams hasnt lost his common
Berks Counsense.
ty district attorneys office
The job is not to win cases,
Ludgate said. The job is to
Photos courtesy
of the Pennsylva- ensure justice is done.
Glenn
nia Department
Contact Nicole C. Brambila: 610-371of Corrections
Lyons
5044 or nbrambila@readingeagle.com.