Stanley L. Hall

Executed March 16, 2005 12:06 a.m. by Lethal Injection in Missouri


12th murderer executed in U.S. in 2005
956th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
1st murderer executed in Missouri in 2005
62nd murderer executed in Missouri since 1976


Since 1976
Date of Execution
State
Method
Murderer
(Race/Sex/Age at Murder-Execution)
Date of
Birth
Victim(s)
(Race/Sex/Age at Murder)
Date of
Murder
Method of
Murder
Relationship
to Murderer
Date of
Sentence
956
03-16-05
MO
Lethal Injection
Stanley L. Hall

B / M / 26 - 37

08-01-67
Barbara Jo Wood

W / F / 44

01-15-94
Drowning
None
06-21-96

Summary:
Stanley Hall and Rance Burton drove to a St. Louis shopping center looking for a vehicle to steal to use in a drive by shooting. They approached Barbara Jo Wood as she pulled into the parking lot and forced her at gunpoint to the passenger side and then drove her in her car to the McKinley Bridge. Wood was forced out of the car, and eventually thrown off the bridge to the icy river 75 feet below. Witnesses in a passing car saw the struggle and notified police. Burton got back in Wood’s car and drove away. The police arrived and captured Hall moments after he pushed Wood off the bridge. The body of Barbara Jo Wood was recovered from the river 7 months later. Following his arrest, Hall admitted forcing Wood over the guardrail. At the time, Hall was on parole for wounding a 4-year-old girl while he was chasing and shooting at a man in St. Louis in 1987.

Citations:
State v. Hall, 955 S.W. 2d 198 (Mo. banc 1997) (Direct Appeal).
Hall v. Missouri, 523 U.S. 1053 (1998) (Cert. Denied).
Halt v. State, 16 S.W. 3d 582 (Mo. banc 2000) (PCR).
Hall v. Luebbers, 341 F.3d 706 (8th Cir. 2003). (Habeas)
Hall v. Roper, 124 S.Ct. 2031 (2004) (Cert. Denied).

Final Meal:
T-bone steak, shrimp and french fries.

Final Words:
"I'd like them to know I'm sorry, seriously sorry."

Internet Sources:

Capital Punishment in Missouri from Missouri.Net (Stanley L. Hall)

State of Missouri v. Stanley L. Hall, 955 S.W. 2d 198 (Mo.banc 1997)

Stanley Hall was executed at 12:06 a.m., March 16, 2005.

Case Facts: On the evening of January 15, 1994, Stanley Hall and Rance Burton borrowed a car and drove to the South County Shopping Center in St. Louis, Missouri. They were searching for a vehicle to steal. Hall and Burton got out of their car and approached Barbara Jo Wood’s car as she pulled into the parking lot. They forced her at gunpoint to the passenger side and then drove her in her car to the McKinley Bridge.

Wood was forced out of the car, and there was a struggle on the bridge. At some point she was wounded. Witnesses in a passing car saw her bleeding. Burton got back in Wood’s car and drove away. Wood, pleading for her life was still holding on to Hall as he tried to lift her over the bridge railing. He eventually succeeded, and Wood fell ninety feet to the river.

Meanwhile, the two witnesses in the car had notified the Venice, Illinois police department. The police arrived and captured Hall moments after he pushed Wood off the bridge. The icy condition of the river impeded search and rescue attempts.

Both witnesses identified Hall as the man they has seen struggling with Wood. After waiving his Miranda rights, Hall identified Barbara Jo Wood from a picture as the woman he had thrown into the river. Seven-and-a-half months later, the lower portion of a torso matching Wood’s physical condition was found in the Mississippi River.

Legal Chronology

1994
01/15 -Stanley Hall murders Barbara Jo Wood in St. Louis, Missouri.

1996
03/18 - Hall goes on trial for First Degree Murder in the Circuit Court of St. LouisCounty. On March 27, 1996, Hall is found guilty, and the jury recommends a sentence of death.
06/21 - That court sentences Hall to death.

1997
10/21 - The Missouri Supreme Court affirms Halt’s conviction and sentence.

1998
03/30 - The United States Supreme Court denies Hall’s petition for writ of certiorari.

1999
02/20 - Hall files a post-conviction relief motion in the circuit court.
05/11 - Circuit court denies Halt’s post-conviction relief motion.

2000
04/25 - Missouri Supreme Court affirms the circuit court’s denial of Hall’s post-conviction relief motion.

2001
01/16 - Hall files a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court.
09/05 - The United States District Court denies Hall’s petition for writ of habeas corpus.

2003
09/02 - The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirms the denial of Halt’s petition for writ of habeas corpus.

2004
04/19 - The United States Supreme Court denies Hall’s petition for writ of certiorari.
07/27 - State files motion to set execution date with the Missouri Supreme Court.

2005
02/15 - Missouri Supreme Court sets Hall’s execution for March 16, 2005.

Missouri Death Row News

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"Missouri Executes Stanley Hall," by Tim O'Neil and Heather Ratcliffe. (AP 03/16/2005)

POTOSI, Mo. (AP) -- Eleven years after he threw a woman to her death in the icy Mississippi River, Stanley L. Hall of St. Louis was executed by injection.

Hall, 37, was pronounced dead at 12:06 a.m. in the Potosi Correctional Center for the murder of Barbara Jo Wood of south St. Louis County on Jan. 14, 1994. He and an accomplice had kidnapped her from the South County Shopping Center because they planned to use her car in a drive-by shooting. Hall admitted that he threw the struggling Wood from the McKinley Bridge. The accomplice was never charged.

"I'd like them to know I'm sorry, seriously sorry," Hall said late Tuesday night, in his final statement to the Wood family. Eight of Wood's relatives, including her mother, Phyllis Velcheck, 81, witnessed the execution.

Hall was the first person put to death in Missouri since October 2003. Last fall, Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon and several prosecutors criticized the Missouri Supreme Court for not setting execution dates for six murderers, including Hall.

Missouri has executed 62 people since 1989, when it resumed carrying out the penalty under current Supreme Court rules. Missouri executed a modern-era record nine in 1999 and six in 2002 before the slowdown that drew criticism.

Hall had a last meal of T-bone steak, shrimp and french fries before learning that the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his appeal shortly after 6 p.m. Tuesday. Gov. Matt Blunt sealed his fate one hour later by refusing to reduce the sentence.

"It is undisputed that Stanley Hall killed Barbara Jo Wood," Blunt said in a statement. "I hope this action brings (her family) the closure they deserve and I hope God will have mercy on Stanley Hall's soul." Nelson L. Mitten, Hall's lawyer, told the courts he recently uncovered new evidence of Hall's mental retardation that would make him ineligible for the death penalty. "I think it's unfortunate that the courts have not recognized Mr. Hall's mental retardation and taken appropriate action to see that this execution is halted," Mitten said.

Hall's last hope had been gubernatorial clemency. "So now there is going to be another killing," said Margaret Phillips of Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty. Opponents of capital punishment held vigils in St. Louis and other cities, and gathered outside the prison fence. Mark Velcheck of Florissant, one of Wood's brothers, said earlier Tuesday he was relieved that the sentence would be carried out. "I'm glad for Barbara that this person will pay the price," said Velcheck, a witness. "You hate to say you want somebody to die, but this guy deserves it."

Reached by telephone shortly before the Supreme Court ruled, Hall said he hoped for a reprieve but was prepared to accept death. He said he converted to Islam seven years ago. "I am not ready to go, but I am so very prepared," Hall said. "I'm still keeping faith and hope alive. I want (Wood's) family to know how so very sorry I am for being involved in what I was involved in. If I had a gun, I'd shoot myself if it would bring her back."

Wood, a mother of two grown sons, worked for a title insurance company in Clayton. She had gone to the mall to report for her part-time job at Dillard's. Hall wanted a car to shoot a man who had wounded one of his cousins a month earlier. At the time, Hall was on parole for wounding a 4-year-old girl while he was chasing and shooting at a man in St. Louis in 1987.

Mitten said he had uncovered a report showing that the Special School District of St. Louis County had listed Hall's IQ at 57 when he was seven. The claim of "new evidence" was important because courts rarely consider appeals based upon information they had heard before. But Nixon argued that Hall's own defense psychologist testified in 1996 that Hall was not mentally retarded. On Monday, the federal appeals court said Mitten failed to show that the old IQ report "could not have been discovered previously . . ."

ProDeathPenalty.Com

On the evening of January 15, 1994, Stanley Hall and Rance Burton borrowed a car and drove to the South County Shopping Center in St. Louis, Missouri. They were searching for a vehicle to steal. Hall and Burton got out of their car and approached Barbara Jo Wood's car as she pulled into the parking lot. They forced her at gunpoint to the passenger side and then drove her in her car to the McKinley Bridge. Wood was forced out of the car, and there was a struggle on the bridge.

At some point she was wounded--witnesses in a passing car saw her bleeding. Burton got back in Wood's car and drove away. Wood, pleading for her life, was still holding on to Hall as he tried to lift her over the bridge railing. He eventually succeeded, and Wood fell ninety feet to the river. Meanwhile, the two witnesses in the car had notified the Venice, Illinois police department. The police arrived and captured Hall moments after he pushed Wood off the bridge. The icy condition of the river impeded search and rescue attempts. Both witnesses identified Hall as the man they had seen struggling with Wood. After waiving his Miranda rights, Hall identified Barbara Jo Wood from a picture as the woman he had forced over the guardrail. Seven-and-a-half months later, the lower portion of a torso matching Wood's physical description was found in the Mississippi River.

On March 7, 1994, a year and eight months before Hall gave his statement pursuant to the alleged plea agreement, he gave the St. Louis County police a complete confession. Hall gave a detailed account of his trip to the mall, the kidnapping of Barbara Jo Woods, and the theft of her car. He recounted how Woods was pleading for her life as he struggled with her on the bridge. He described how, first, she grabbed on to the car door; then she was shot; next she grabbed hold of Hall; and finally, she clung to the bridge itself as Hall struggled to lift her over the guardrail. Hall confessed that he was the one who pushed her until she finally went over the railing.

National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty

Missouri - Stanley Hall - February 20, 2005

On March 16, 2005 the State of Missouri is scheduled to execute Stanley L. Hall, a 37-year-old black male, for the murder, kidnapping, and robbery of Barbara Jo Wood in St. Louis. This will be the first execution in the State of Missouri in almost a year and a half. Missouri courts have been hesitant to issue death warrants, resulting in an unofficial moratorium on its death penalty. They have overturned approximately half of the considered death sentences in the last two years, according to the Associated Press.

Despite this, an execution date has been issued for Stanley Hall who, along with Rance Burton (who was not given the death penalty even though he admittedly shot the victim), was responsible for the death of Barbara Jo Wood. Hall was tried by an all-white jury that excluded any prospective jurors who oppose the death penalty.

There are circumstances that have prompted Hall to file motions regarding his ineffective defense counsel. So far all have been denied. Examples of these issues are:

· During Hall’s trial, prosecution showed numerous gruesome photographs of the body believed to be the victim of this crime. Such photos are admissible unless the probative value is outweighed by the inflammatory nature of the photographs or if they are used solely for arousal of the jury. Since identification of the body of the victim was not an issue at trial, these photographs were arguably used solely for shock value and had no probative value. Unfortunately, this objection was not raised by defense during trial.

· Remarks made by prosecution were deemed to be “personalization” (i.e., instilling fear in the jurors by personalizing the evidence). Prosecutors called on the jurors to protect their mothers, daughters, and sisters and make sure Stanley Hall was brought down. In a later stage of appeal defense argued that prosecutors “crossed the line” by “calling on the jurors’ most primitive fears.” Again, this point was not raised by defense counsel at trial or upon direct appeal.

· The Defendant entered into a plea bargain with the state for a sentence of life without parole. The Courts aren’t forced to accept the terms of a plea bargain negotiated by the State, but “if the state receives a confession through promises of leniency, however, and then the State reneges, that confession cannot be used at trial.” Prosecutors managed its way around this rule by having the defendant give his confession on two occasions and linked only one to the plea bargain. They then only submitted the other confession at trial as evidence.

Defense counsel neglected to raise any issue of the confession and polygraph test that were given as a condition of the plea bargain until the mitigating stage of the sentencing phase. Since this evidence was not relevant to the defendant’s character or previous history, it was not allowed at this point in the trial and consequentially the jury was never made aware of the issue.

· Finally, in the sentencing phase the prosecutor related a story of his childhood dog that had problems with “distemper” and the vet told him he’d have to put the dog down because that was the only solution. As a little boy he was very sad that there was no other solution, but he explained that people had to do what was best for society and the people around them. The prosecutor then compared this dog to the Defendant. The courts frowned on this tactic used by prosecution but overruled the defense’s objection.

The governor of Missouri receives a non-binding recommendation from the Board of Probation and Parole for clemency/commutations.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"Police detective sees killer “get what he had coming," by Heather Ratcliffe. (March 17, 2005)

POTOSI, Mo. - As the blinds were raised to expose a window on the Missouri execution chamber, Tim Fitch leaned forward in a plastic chair in the witness gallery to get a better last look at the murderer who had confessed to him 11 years before. Beyond the glass, Stanley Hall lay motionless on a gurney, only his head peeking out from a crisp white sheet that hid an intravenous needle that was to deliver three lethal drug doses to his arm. He never looked Fitch's way. Hall turned to the right to look at his family behind another window. He smiled, mouthed a few inaudible words and then closed his eyes forever.

It was 12:06 a.m. Wednesday. Fitch said his thoughts were not on Hall at all but on Barbara Jo Wood and the painful death she suffered when Hall tossed her off the McKinley Bridge. "He got off too easy for what he did," said Fitch, a St. Louis County police major. He now heads the Patrol Division, but in 1994 he was a detective working on the killing of Wood, a random carjacking victim slain to eliminate the witness.

Fitch and his partner, Detective Tim Hagerty, had listened to Hall describe lifting the woman, who was already shot, over his head and throwing her alive into the frigid Mississippi River. It was the audiotape the officers made of the confession that helped persuade a St. Louis County jury to convict Hall and sentence him to death. This was the first time Fitch attended an execution, something he said he did to represent all the police and prosecutors on the case. "It's not going to bring Barbara Wood back," he said. "But I'm happy for the family. I could see this brought some closure."

Eight members of Wood's family, who witnessed Hall's execution at the prison in Potosi, asked officials to speak with Fitch and the two prosecutors who were there with him. The three were met in the family's waiting room with hugs and thank yous. "I just want to thank everyone who was involved in this case," Indigo Knight, Wood's niece, said later. "This has brought a lot of closure to our family." The prosecutors, Dean Waldemer and Keith Jensen, declined to comment. After his conviction, Hall had thrown a 200-pound table at them in court.

Wood, 44, a mother of two grown sons, was on her way to work at the South County shopping center when Hall and an accomplice kidnapped her in her car on Jan. 15, 1994. "This is the crime that every father, husband or brother fears," Fitch said. "Imagine sending your wife to the mall to go shopping and never see her again. This is why we have the death penalty, for horrific crimes like this."

The day after Wood disappeared, police in Illinois notified county detectives that they had arrested a suspect. Witnesses had called Venice police after seeing someone struggling with a woman on the bridge. Officers arrived in time to catch Hall but too late to save Wood. Fitch and Hagerty, handling the case because Hall had disappeared in their venue, peppered Hall with questions, and he eventually described the kidnapping and murder. Not enough evidence could be developed to charge the suspected accomplice.

Hall's lawyers failed to win a delay Tuesday night based on arguments that his IQ was too low to qualify for execution. He chose a last meal of steak, shrimp and French fries. In his last statement Tuesday night, Hall apologized to the Wood family. Hall, who said he found religion in prison, told them he was "truly and sincerely sorry."

The family was not moved. "It doesn't quite mean so much to say you're sorry when you're about to die," said Daniel Velcheck, Wood's youngest brother. "I don't believe him. I thought I saw a smile on his face before he closed his eyes. He was only sorry he was getting killed."

As several of Hall's relatives watched him die at the execution chamber, they smiled and laughed and pumped their fists. "That was something he asked for," said Stephanie Hall, Stanley Hall's wife. "He didn't want to see us cry. He wanted to see smiles in his last moments." She said Stanley Hall smiled at the family during his last moments because he knew he was going to a better place. She said he mouthed the words "I love you" and "Keep up" as an encouragement to them to be strong. Stephanie Hall said she and her husband wanted to express his regret to the Wood family years ago, but because of pending legal appeals, he was advised not to.

Death penalty opponents demonstrated at several locations, including the Potosi Correctional Center, which was conducting Missouri's 62nd execution since capital punishment was restored under current law. A Catholic priest from St. Louis, the Rev. Carl Kabat, 71, of the Oblate order, was arrested when he attempted to enter the prison in protest. "I don't think anyone has the right to take another life," Kabat said. "I certainly sympathize with Ms. Wood's family, and I know it hurts. But I'm not sure that this really brings closure. It's only vengeance."

Fitch said he felt little reaction to the execution itself but appreciated the gratitude of the victim's family. "What we do, we are doing for those people," he said. "Stanley Hall got what he had coming to him."

KSDK-TV

"Missouri Death Row Inmate Executed For 1994 Murder Of Lemay Woman," by Ann Rubin. (3/16/2005 12:34:02 PM)

(KSDK) -- The state of Missouri carried out the execution of Stanley Hall early Wednesday morning. Hall's life ended nearly 11 years after he kidnapped a Lemay woman, shot her and threw her body into the Mississippi River. Stanley Hall spent his last hours Tuesday with his wife, his mother and his extended family at the state prison in Potosi. Hall's wife Stephanie says, "It's been a long day. For the last few days, not much sleep. Emotions are like a roller coaster."

They say Hall has been holding up well, and in a phone interview a few hours before his scheduled execution he admitted he has made his peace, "I prepared myself 11 years ago for this day to come. My spirits are strong and now that we have received the decision that Governor Blunt and others have made, it's something I have to live with." In 1994, Hall kidnapped and later killed Barbara Jo Wood. He took her at gunpoint from a south St. Louis County shopping mall, shot her, and pushed her off the McKinley Bridge to her death. A fisherman found her body in the Mississippi River seven months after her murder.

Wood's family has said repeatedly that her killer should be shown no mercy. "I think that the facts of this case are being forgotten, of the extreme brutality of this murder that he and his accomplice committed 11 years ago," said Scott Wood, the victim's son.

Stanley Hall wants the Wood family to know he is sorry, "I've spoken to several news channels and radio stations and extended my condolences and my sympathies to the family."

With all his appeals exhausted and his request for clemency denied, Stanley Hall made the most of his last hours, and he had a few words for the people he loves, "I want all my family and friends, my other son and all the people who gave me support to know that I'm still standing strong, and I'm going to be that way until the last second, minute, hour, or whatever it is."

Springfield News-Leader

"State executes killer Stanley Hall; Penalty opponents pray as Missouri ends 17 months without an execution." (03-16-05)

St. Louis — Missouri proceeded with its first execution in 17 months, putting killer Stanley Hall to death early today. In the final hours of his life, Hall said he was at peace. Hall, 37, died by injection at the Potosi Correctional Center for the 1994 murder of Barbara Jo Wood of St. Louis County. The U.S. Supreme Court denied Hall's request for a stay of execution Tuesday evening and Gov. Matt Blunt later denied clemency.

Blunt said he found no reason to set aside the result of previous judicial decisions in the case. "My thoughts and prayers are with Barbara Jo Wood's family," Blunt said in a written statement. "I hope this action brings them the closure they deserve, and I hope God will have mercy on Stanley Hall's soul."

Still, Hall, in a telephone interview, said his spirits were high. "I still have hope and faith that things come out for the better," Hall said. "Still at the same time, I'm prepared for the worst."

About 30 death penalty opponents gathered at a chapel behind St. Agnes Cathedral in Springfield on Tuesday night to pray for a stay of Hall's execution and drum up support for a moratorium in Missouri. The Rev. Larry Maddox, president of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said the country's criminal justice system was flawed and unfair to African-Americans. He called on Christians to oppose the death penalty. "We need to wipe it out," Maddox said. "It's not good for this country. It's not good for this state." Laura Graham of Springfield, who attended the vigil, said she opposed the death penalty because she believes in the "sanctity of life." "It just doesn't make sense," said Graham, 51.

Wood's brother, Mark Velcheck of Florissant, said Hall should be shown no mercy. "The thing that bothers me is people are portraying him as a victim. He's not a victim. He's a murderer ...," Velcheck said.

Hall's attorney, Nelson Mitten, sought to halt the execution based on testing he recently discovered showing that Hall's IQ at age 7 as measured at 57. An average IQ is 100. Subsequent IQ scores for Hall were generally in the 70-75 range. Attorney General Jay Nixon said that put him in the borderline mentally retarded range. The U.S. Supreme Court banned executions of the mentally retarded in 2002, and Missouri issued a similar ban a year earlier. But there is no ban against executing the borderline mentally retarded.

On Jan. 15, 1994, Hall and a friend borrowed a car and drove to South County Mall in search of a car to steal and use in a drive-by shooting. Wood arrived at the mall for her part-time job at the Famous-Barr department store. The men pulled a gun, forced Wood into the passenger seat of her 1991 Geo and drove her to the McKinley Bridge over the Mississippi River. There, Wood was forced out of the car and shot. With Wood struggling and pleading for her life, Hall lifted her over the bridge railing, and she dropped 90 feet into the icy water. Witnesses notified police, who captured Hall moments later.

MissouriNet.Com

"State Executes Stanley Hall For 1994 Killing," by Stve Walsh.

Unofficial Death Penalty Moratorium Ends

Early this morning, Stanley Hall was executed for killing Barbara Jo Wood. Appeal after appeal came and went. Finally, with all appeals exhausted, Hall was executed early this morning and pronounced dead at 12:06. In Hall's final statement, he apologized to the Wood family for what he had done. Wood's relatives, who witnessed the execution, made it clear they were not ready to accept the apology and expressed satisfaction that justice had been carried out. The execution ends an unofficial moratorium on the death penalty in Missouri. There hadn't been an execution in the state since John C. Smith was put to death in October of 2003.

Missouri has executed convicted killer Stanley Hall for the 1994 murder of a St. Louis woman. On the evening of January 15, 1994, Stanley Hall and an accomplice searched the South County Shopping Center in St. Louis for a car to steal. They came across Barbara Jo Wood, who was pulling into the parking lot, and kidnapped her at gunpoint - taking her to the McKinley Bridge, which crosses the Mississippi River at St. Louis. Wood was forced out of the car, a struggle ensued, and she was shot. Hall then threw his victim over the guardrail into the water 90 feet below. Hall was quickly arrested, admitted the crime, and was sentenced to death.

Columbia Missourian

"First Missouri execution since 2003," by Annie Getsinger. (March 16, 2005)

In a telephone interview from his holding cell in Potosi, Hall also expressed remorse for killing Barbara Wood, 44, in 1994. “I am truly and sincerely sorry for what took place and what I was involved in,” he said.

Hours before the execution, Wood’s brother, Mark Velcheck of Florissant, said Hall deserved no mercy. “The thing that bothers me is people are portraying him as a victim. He’s not a victim. He’s a murderer. His time has come,”’ Velcheck said.

In 1996, Hall was convicted of the murder of Wood, a St. Louis County woman, and was sentenced to death. He and an accomplice abducted Wood from South County Mall in January 1994, intending to use her car in a drive-by shooting. They took her to the McKinley Bridge, where they shot her. Hall then threw her over the guardrail and into the Mississippi River. He was arrested and confessed to the murder, but his accomplice was never charged.

Hall’s death sentence mobilized death penalty opponents in Columbia, where 24 people gathered Tuesday evening at a vigil outside the Boone County Courthouse to protest Hall’s execution. Jeff Stack, coordinator of Mid-Missouri Fellowship of Reconciliation, organized the event, which was attended by members of his organization and other local groups within Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty as well as those who did not represent an organization. Stack and two others who attended the vigil went to the parking lot of St. Luke’s Methodist Church for a prayer vigil.

“I would like to see the abolition of the death penalty or at least a moratorium on it so that we can better see how it is used and the fairness or unfairness of it,” said Jean Murray of Ashland, who attended the two vigils in Columbia and one in Jefferson City at the Capitol. Stack traveled to Potosi later in the evening.

Hall’s request to the Missouri Supreme Court for a stay of his execution on the grounds that he was mentally retarded was denied Monday. Under the 2002 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Atkins v. Virginia, it is unconstitutional to execute a person who is mentally retarded. The motion requested that Hall be resentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility for parole and also requested a hearing.

During his trial, the psychologist who testified in his defense did not indicate that Hall was mentally retarded. However, as Nelson Mitten, Hall’s most recent attorney, pursued his school records as part of a clemency application, he found that they, along with IQ tests, provided evidence of mental retardation that was never entered into the trial. When Hall was tried, both the Atkins case and a similar Missouri statute from 2001 had not been decided, and mental retardation was not considered a mitigation factor, Mitten said. “The psychologist from Mr. Hall’s trial has reviewed the new records, which he believes call into question his earlier decision,” Mitten said.

The American Association on Mental Retardation’s Web site states that “mental retardation is generally thought to be present if an individual has an IQ test score of approximately 70 or below.” While tests placed Hall’s IQ both above and below 70, the tests vary by a deviation of five points. His attorney said Hall, whose highest score on record placed his IQ at 75, was mentally retarded. A test done when Hall was 7 years old reported an IQ of 57.

Phyllis Velcheck, Wood’s 81-year-old mother, was at Potosi along with several other family members to witness Hall’s execution. In an interview early Tuesday, she said Hall’s supporters were “grasping at straws.” “All of this was in the trial. They’re just bringing it up at the last minute,” she said of the claim that he was mentally retarded. “He’s already had 11 more years than my daughter, who he killed, and I’m looking forward to his execution tonight. It will put a finality and ending to it all.”

Mark Velcheck, Wood’s brother, expressed similar sentiments. He was present at the execution. “It’s important (to be there) because that’s a family member he murdered, and my sister would have wanted us to be there,” he said. “I’m not saying that his dying is going to bring her back, but I just want an end to this.” Velcheck said he couldn’t see his sister’s killer being rehabilitated. “My sister was a nice person with a couple of boys,” he said.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday afternoon to deny Hall’s appeal. Hall and his attorneys then sought a stay of execution from the U.S. Supreme Court. The request was denied just after 6 p.m. Tuesday in a message faxed to Mitten. A request for clemency from Gov. Matt Blunt was also denied. A news release from Blunt’s office said he “found no reason to set aside the result of previous judicial decisions of the case.”

“We kill a human being, and it tells us more about our state and our society rather than the individual we kill,” said Stack, who visited and interviewed Hall three times for KOPN/89.5 FM and the Mid-Missouri Fellowship of Reconciliation newsletter.

Hall married his wife, Stephanie, on March 4. The two met through her stepson, who was an inmate at Potosi. She described her husband as someone who had changed during his incarceration. Through the now-defunct Youth Enlightenment Program, designed to allow prisoners to help at-risk kids reform their behavior, Hall worked to mentor young offenders and potential offenders, she said. Interviewed over the phone from prison Tuesday morning, Hall said he enjoyed being able to help in this capacity. “I know deep in my heart that I’ve had the opportunity to touch some that might be in the same position I am in now,” he said.

Despite this change in outlook, Hall said he felt the justice system let him down throughout his trial and the appeals process. But it was his 11-year-old son he seemed to have most on his mind the day before his death. Hall only recently found out he was the father of the boy. The son is now living in circumstances similar to those in which he grew up, he said. “I had no one there to assist me and guide me when I was his age,” Hall said of his son. “I feel like I should have all of my life to be able to teach him to stay on the right path.”

St. Louis Today

"Killer hopes his IQ spares him from date with death," by Tim O'Neil. (03/11/2005)

Six days before his scheduled execution, Stanley L. Hall asked the Missouri Supreme Court on Thursday to spare his life because of new evidence that he is mentally retarded.

Hall, 37, is scheduled to be executed early Wednesday for throwing Barbara Jo Wood of south St. Louis County to her death from the McKinley Bridge into the icy Mississippi River on Jan. 15, 1994. Hall and an accomplice abducted her at the South County Mall because they wanted to use her 1991 Geo Storm in a drive-by shooting.

Wood, 44, had gone to the mall for her part-time job at Dillard's. She had been shot but was still alive and struggling when Hall threw her into the river. Partial remains were found in the river eight months later near Chester, Ill.

On Feb. 15, the Missouri Supreme Court set Hall's execution date. In his petition Thursday, Nelson L. Mitten, Hall's lawyer, asked the court to delay the execution, consider new evidence of Hall's mental abilities, and either reduce the sentence to life in prison or order a new sentencing hearing. Attorney General Jay Nixon will respond in court "and fight any effort (by Hall) to avoid his penalty," spokesman Scott Holste said. In 2001, the Missouri Legislature established guidelines to bar the execution of the legitimately mentally retarded. One year later, the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed the execution of mentally retarded persons.

Mark Velcheck of Florissant, one of Wood's brothers, said he hoped the court throws out Mitten's request. He is one of six relatives, including the victim's mother, Phyllis Velcheck, 81, who intend to witness the execution in the Potosi Correctional Center. "(Hall's) been talking retardation from the beginning. He's never even said he's sorry, so I don't buy anything he says," Mark Velcheck said. "I guess I just want to see him die."

Mitten said he was preparing a petition for clemency to Gov. Matt Blunt when he discovered Hall was diagnosed with an IQ of 57 when he was 7 years old. Mitten said a psychologist diagnosed him last week with an IQ of 65. Mitten had been planning to join a lawsuit by another condemned Missourian that the state's method of execution by lethal injection is unconstitutionally cruel and unusual. But he said Thursday he changed his strategy when he found the additional evidence of retardation.

Missouri has not executed anyone since October 2003.

State v. Hall, 955 S.W.2d 198 (Mo. 1997) (Direct Appeal).

Defendant was convicted in the Circuit Court, St. Louis County, Emmett M. O'Brien , J., of murder in the first degree, kidnapping, robbery in the first degree, and two counts of armed criminal action, and was sentenced to death. He appealed. The Supreme Court, White, J., held that: (1) defendant had not entered into enforceable plea agreement; (2) certain veniremembers were properly removed for cause; (3) state did not violate Batson; (4) plea negotiations, results of polygraph test, and police reports were not admissible as mitigating evidence in penalty phase; (5) prosecutor's improper closing argument did not cause defendant manifest injustice; (6) jury instructions were proper; and (7) death penalty was not disproportionate. Affirmed.

WHITE, Judge.
A jury convicted defendant Stanley Hall of murder in the first degree, kidnapping, robbery in the first degree, and two counts of armed criminal action. The jury recommended a sentence of death. The trial court followed the recommendation. This Court has exclusive jurisdiction over the appeal. Mo. Const. art. V, section 3. We affirm the judgment.

I. FACTS

This Court reviews the facts in the light most favorable to the verdict. State v. Shurn, 866 S.W.2d 447, 455 (Mo. banc 1993).

On the evening of January 15, 1994, Stanley Hall and Rance Burton borrowed a car and drove to the South County Shopping Center in St. Louis, Missouri. They were searching for a vehicle to steal. Hall and Burton got out of their car and approached Barbara Jo Wood's car as she pulled into the parking lot. They forced her at gunpoint to the passenger side and then drove her in her car to the McKinley Bridge.

Wood was forced out of the car, and there was a struggle on the bridge. At some point she was wounded--witnesses in a passing car saw her bleeding. Burton got back in Wood's car and drove away. Wood, pleading for her life, was still holding on to Hall as he tried to lift her over the bridge railing. He eventually succeeded, and Wood fell ninety feet to the river. Meanwhile, the two witnesses in the car had notified the Venice, Illinois police department. The police arrived and captured Hall moments after he pushed Wood off the bridge. The icy condition of the river impeded search and rescue attempts.

Both witnesses identified Hall as the man they had seen struggling with Wood. After waiving his Miranda rights, Hall identified Barbara Jo Wood from a picture as the woman he had forced over the guardrail. Seven-and-a-half months later, the lower portion of a torso matching Wood's physical description was found in the Mississippi River.

A. Motion to Enforce Plea Agreement

On May 10, 1994, Hall entered a plea of not guilty to murder in the first degree, kidnapping, robbery in the first degree, and three [FN2] counts of armed criminal action. On March 15, 1996, three days before Hall's trial was set to begin, Hall filed a "Motion to Enforce the Negotiated Plea Agreement" seeking to enter a plea of guilty in exchange for a life sentence. Hall alleged that the State had negotiated a plea agreement with him, that he had completed the conditions required of him, and that the State was refusing to honor the agreement. Hall maintained that the terms of the agreement were that the State would recommend a life sentence on the following conditions: (1) that Hall provide complete and truthful information about the crime and all those involved, specifically Rance Burton, (2) that he pass a lie detector test, and (3) that the State independently corroborate his information about Burton.

On March 7, 1994, a year and eight months before Hall gave his statement pursuant to the alleged plea agreement, he gave the St. Louis County police a complete confession. Hall gave a detailed account of his trip to the mall, the kidnapping of Barbara Jo Woods, and the theft of her car. He recounted how Woods was pleading for her life as he struggled with her on the bridge. He described how, first, she grabbed on to the car door; then she was shot; next she grabbed hold of Hall; and finally, she clung to the bridge itself as Hall struggled to lift her over the guardrail. Hall confessed that he was the one who pushed her until she finally went over the railing.

Hall alleges that in November 1995, he confessed again pursuant to the purported plea agreement. The motion to enforce the plea agreement does not allege that the first and second confessions differed in any respect, however. The motion does not summarize the second confession other than to state that Hall gave the police "a complete and truthful account." Though Hall requested to make an offer of proof on other issues, he never offered to prove the contents of the second confession. Even if there had been a plea agreement, and the State breached it after obtaining a second confession, and Hall did pass a lie detector test, Hall's only relief would be the exclusion of the second confession. [FN3] Id. The trial court did not have before it any allegations or offers of proof regarding any information the State may have gained through the second confession. As it was not detrimental to Hall to repeat an earlier confession and the State did not unjustly benefit by hearing the confession a second time, the record supports the trial court's ruling.

* * *

Considering the crime, the strength of the evidence, and the defendant, this Court finds that the sentence is proportionate to cases where the sentencer found beyond a reasonable doubt any one of the above aggravating circumstances.

Hall v. State, 16 S.W.3d 582 (Mo. 2000) (PCR).

Petitioner sought postconviction relief after the Supreme Court, 955 S.W.2d 198, affirmed his convictions and death sentence for first-degree murder, first-degree robbery, and armed criminal action. The Circuit Court of St. Louis County, Emmett M. O'Brien, J., denied relief. Petitioner appealed. The Supreme Court, Holstein, J., held that defendant did not receive ineffective assistance of trial counsel or appellate counsel. Affirmed. On January 15, 1994, Hall and Rance Burton went to the South County Shopping Center in St. Louis County looking for a vehicle to steal and use in a drive-by shooting. The two noticed Barbara Jo Wood pulling into a parking lot, approached the vehicle and forced her to accompany them at gunpoint. With her sitting on the passenger side, they drove the vehicle to the McKinley Bridge, which traverses the Mississippi River from the city of St. Louis to Illinois. Once there, Wood was forced to exit the car. Burton shot Wood, firing several rounds. He got back into the vehicle and left. However, Hall remained outside the vehicle. Though bleeding from her wounds, Wood struggled with Hall and begged for him to spare her life. After some initial difficulty, Hall lifted the woman over the bridge guardrail, dropping her some ninety feet to the icy river below. Hall was later identified by witnesses in a passing vehicle as the person seen struggling with Wood. After being arrested, Hall confessed that Wood was the woman he forced over the guardrail. Some seven months later, a lower torso identified as Wood's was recovered alongside the Mississippi River near Chester, Illinois. The site is about seventy miles downstream from the McKinley Bridge. On this evidence, Hall was convicted and sentenced to death.

Hall v. Luebbers, 341 F.3d 706 (8th Cir. 2003) (Habeas).

Following affirmance of his murder conviction and death sentence, 955 S.W.2d 198, and of denial of postconviction relief, 16 S.W.3d 582, petitioner sought habeas corpus relief. After holding that State of Missouri had not opted-in for expedited habeas review of capital sentences under Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA), the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, Jean C. Hamilton, J., denied petition on merits. State appealed, and petitioner cross-appealed. The Court of Appeals, Riley, Circuit Judge, held that: (1) Missouri's postconviction appointment mechanism did not satisfy AEDPA standards for expedited review; (2) petitioner did not overcome presumption of correctness attaching to state findings that prosecutor's strikes conformed to Batson; (3) petitioner was not entitled to specific performance of plea agreement; (4) prosecutorial remarks in closing argument did not violate defendant's right to fair trial; (5) any error in excluding character evidence in penalty phase was harmless; and (6) any vagueness in instruction on one of six aggravating factors found by jury was harmless. Affirmed.

RILEY, Circuit Judge.
A jury convicted Stanley Hall (Hall) of first degree murder and assessed the death penalty as punishment. After the Missouri Supreme Court affirmed Hall's conviction, sentence, and denial of post-conviction relief, Hall petitioned the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (2000). The district court [FN2] held the State of Missouri (State or Missouri) had not opted-in for expedited habeas review and denied Hall's petition. Missouri appeals, and Hall cross-appeals. We affirm.

I. BACKGROUND A. Factual Background

In January 1994, Hall and Rance Burton (Burton) drove to the South County Shopping Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Searching the parking lot for a vehicle to steal, Hall and Burton approached Barbara Jo Wood's (Wood) car as it entered the parking lot. At gunpoint, Hall and Burton forced Wood into the passenger side of her car. Hall and Burton then drove Wood's car to the McKinley Bridge. Stopping on the McKinley Bridge, Hall or Burton forced Wood out of her car. A struggle ensued, during which Wood suffered some injuries. Burton then returned to Wood's car and sped away, leaving Hall and Wood on the bridge. Hall lifted Wood over the bridge railing. Pleading for her life, Wood held onto Hall. Struggling, Hall hurled Wood off the bridge and into the frigid Mississippi River where she died. Two witnesses reported the incident. The police arrived and arrested Hall. After waiving his Miranda rights, Hall confessed to throwing Wood into the river.

B. Procedural Background

A jury convicted Hall of kidnaping, two counts of armed criminal action, robbery in the first degree, and murder in the first degree. After the presentation of penalty-phase evidence, the jury found six aggravating factors and recommended capital punishment. The trial court accepted the jury's recommendation and sentenced Hall to death. Hall appealed his conviction and sentence to the Missouri Supreme Court, which affirmed. See State v. Hall, 955 S.W.2d 198, 211 (Mo.1997). Hall filed for post-conviction relief, raising numerous ineffective assistance of counsel claims. The Missouri post-conviction court denied Hall relief. Hall appealed three ineffective assistance of counsel claims to the Missouri Supreme Court. The Missouri Supreme Court affirmed. See Hall v. State, 16 S.W.3d 582, 588 (Mo.2000).

* * *

For the foregoing reasons, we conclude Hall's conviction and punishment does not result "in a decision that [is] contrary to, or involv[es] an unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law" or "in a decision that [is] based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented." 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1)-(2). Further, we conclude Rule 29.16 fails to comply with AEDPA's opt-in requirements. Therefore, we affirm.