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Glen James OCHA
A.K.A.: "Raven Raven"
Classification: Murderer
Characteristics: Drugs
- Alcohol
Number of victims: 1
Date of murder: October 5,
1999
Date of arrest:
Same day
Date of birth:
October 27,
1957
Victim profile: Carol Skjerva
(female, 28)
Method of murder: Strangulation by hanging
Location: Osceola County, Florida, USA
Status: Executed
by lethal injection in Florida on April 5,
2005
Ocha, drunk and high on Ecstasy, met Carol Skjerva at the Kissimmee
bar where he worked. She gave him a ride to his home, where they had
consensual intercourse.
However, when Skjerva said she would tell her boyfriend about the
incident and mocked Ocha’s anatomy, he became angry. Ocha retrieved
a rope from his garage with which he attempted to strangle Skjerva
three times.
In his impaired state, he was too weak to kill her, so he hanged her
from a kitchen door and drank a beer as he watched her choke to
death. After hiding her body inside a home entertainment system in
his garage, Ocha took Skjerva's car and drove to Daytona Beach.
When he was arrested for disorderly intoxication, he confessed to
the murder. This was his version of events. Ocha pled guilty at his
trial and later waived further appeals after his direct appeal
failed.
Citations:
Ocha v. State, 826 So.2d 956 (Fla. 2002) (Direct Appeal)
Final Meal:
A chicken breast, potato salad, corn, two biscuits and a large glass
of Pepsi.
Final Words:
"I would like to say I apologize to Carol Skjerva, the girl that I
murdered, her family and her friends. This is the punishment that I
deserve. I'm taking responsibility for my actions. I want everybody
to know I'm not a volunteer but this is my responsibility I have to
take." In a written statement, Ocha stated, "I unjustly took the
life of Carol Skjerva. I have made my peace with my God and go now
to face His judgment.”
ClarkProsecutor.org
Florida Department of
Corrections
DC Number: 911117
Name: OCHA, GLEN J
Race: WHITE
Sex: MALE
Hair Color: BROWN
Eye Color: BROWN
Height: 5'11''
Weight: 291
Birth Date: 10/27/57
Current Facility: FLORIDA STATE PRISON
ProDeathPenalty.com
Gov. Jeb Bush signed a death warrant for a
convicted murderer who strangled and hanged an Osceola County woman
more than five years ago. Bush set April 5 as the day of execution
for Glen Ocha, who has changed his name legally to Raven Raven. Ocha,
47, was convicted of killing Carol Skjerva, 28, at his Buenaventura
Lakes home Oct. 5, 1999.
He was drunk and high on Ecstasy when he
met Skjerva at a bar. She drove him home, and the two had sex.
Afterward, Skjerva made a disparaging comment, enraging the man.
Ocha tried to strangle her three times until his arms got tired. So
he hung Skjerva from a door and drank a beer while she died.
UPDATE:
Glen Ocha is scheduled to be executed by
injection Tuesday at Florida State Prison near Starke, ending his
quest to die after being arrested for the 1999 strangulation of a
woman who gave him a ride home from a bar. His latest defense
attorney, Greg L. Hill, and Carolyn Snurkowski, a capital appeals
attorney for Attorney General Charlie Crist, said Monday there are
no appeals pending to save the life of the 47-year-old man.
He pleaded guilty to the Oct. 5, 1999, killing of
Carol Skjerva, 28, who was working at a convenience store. Ocha, who
changed his name to Raven Raven while in prison, is scheduled to die
at 6 p.m. Tuesday. An anonymous executioner, who is paid $150 for
his services, will inject a lethal cocktail of chemicals to stop his
heart and his breathing.
Court documents show Ocha met Skjerva at a bar in
Kissimmee, where he was employed engraving beer mugs. He was drunk
and high on Ecstasy when she drove him home to Buenaventura Lakes
and they had intercourse. When Skjerva told Ocha she was going to
tell her boyfriend and made fun of his anatomy, he became enraged.
He made her sit in a chair and gathered some rope from his garage
before strangling her 3 times until his arms began tiring.
Then he
hanged Skjerva from a kitchen door and drank a beer while she died.
After hiding her body inside a home entertainment system in his
garage, Ocha took Skjerva's car and drove to Daytona Beach. When he
was arrested for disorderly intoxication, he confessed to killing
the woman. Ocha pleaded guilty and would not let a public defender
present evidence to try and avoid execution.
After the Supreme Court affirmed his conviction
in 2002, Ocha filed a motion with the trial court to drop his
appeals and dismiss his attorneys. In May, the Florida Supreme Court
ordered the trial court to hold a hearing on his competency. When it
ruled June 11 that Ocha was competent, he discharged his state
lawyer, Mark Gruber. Gruber said he fought to get Ocha ruled
incompetent. "He had demonstrated the kind of behavior that was at
time erratic," Gruber said. In a letter to Assistant Attorney
General Stephen D. Ake, Ocha asked that his execution be carried out
without delays. "Sir I wish for my execution to come swift and
unhampered." Hill was scheduled to meet with his client Monday, but
said he did not expect to file any motions for Ocha. "He seems more
than coherent," Hill said.
Court records show Ocha has exhibited suicidal
behavior since 1978, when he asked police to shoot him. Once in jail,
Ocha tied his jacket to the bars and attempted to hang himself. He
has a long history of drug and alcohol abuse. After a 2-year stint
in the Army, he was given a general discharge because he used drugs.
Snurkowski said Ocha's case was recently reviewed by Osecola County
Circuit Judge Margaret Waller, who ruled that Ocha, a 10th-grade
drop out, could end all his appeals. "This was a very heinous crime
... After a thorough and thoughtful appeals process, that was the
end of it," said Bush spokesman Jacob DiPeitre after Bush signed the
death warrant.
Skjerva's friends and family said they miss the
trusting young woman who was engaged to be married and eager to have
children. Skjerva had moved to Florida to study to become a flight
attendant. She was working at a convenience store just before her
death. "We still think about her every single day," Skjerva's aunt,
Brenda Scott, 49, of Spokane, Wash., said last week. "She was loved.
She still is loved." Skjerva's former fiance, Brian Lewis of Osceola
County, said he does not plan to attend the execution despite a
handwritten invitation by Ocha. "I just put it in God's hands and
let the universe take care of it," said Lewis, 39, a single father
of a 14-year-old boy Skjerva was helping raise. I forgave it a long
time ago. There's nothing I can do to change it. I've just moved on
with my life."
UPDATE:
A convicted killer who did not try to
block his execution with a last-minute appeal said in his final
statement that he was receiving his just penalty. "This is the
punishment that I deserve. I am taking responsibility for my actions,"
Glen Ocha, 47, said speaking calmly while strapped to a gurney
moments before a lethal mix of chemicals began to flow. Ocha had
warned that he would kill again if he did not receive the death
penalty.
Ocha's death brought protests from capital punishment
opponents who called the execution another in a series of "state-assisted
suicides. But, in a statement from Ocha read after the execution by
his standby counsel Gregory Hill of Tampa, Ocha said his death was
not a suicide. "Some have suggested that my decisions are nothing
more than a suicide assisted by the state. They are wrong. I have
made my peace with my God and go now to face his judgment," Hill
read from Ocha's statement. Hill met with his client Monday evening
at the prison and said it was Ocha's desire "to accept
responsibility for his actions." Ocha, who had changed his name to
Raven Raven while in Kentucky, also apologized both in the written
statement and in the execution chamber to Skjerva, her family and
friends for her death. "I would like to say I apologize to Carol
Skjerva, the girl that I murdered, and her family and her friends."
National Coalition to Abolish
the Death Penalty
Glen Ocha, FL - April 5, 2005
The state of Florida is scheduled to execute Glen
Ocha, who has legally changed his name to Raven Raven, April 5, 2005
for the 1999 murder of Carol Skjerva in Osceola County.
Ocha met Skjerva at a bar while under the
influence of alcohol and ecstasy. She drove him home and the two had
consensual sex. Afterwards she made a disparaging comment which
enraged him. He then strangled her and placed her detached head in
his lap and began talking to her. He was arrested the following day
for disorderly intoxication while in the possession of Skherva’s
car. He confessed to the murder and told authorities where her body
could be located.
Ocha plead guilty and waived his right to a trial
by jury, as well as to the presentation of mitigating evidence. At
the trial he refused to let a public defender present evidence to
try and avoid an execution. Furthermore, he asked the trial judge to
sentence him to death. He later wrote in a letter, “Sir, I wish for
my execution to come swift and unhampered. Please understand my
sincerest request! Its better for me, and everyone for me to face my
punishment sooner than later.” He then fired an attorney who tried
to help him appeal his death sentence.
At trial, two psychological experts stated they
believed further testing on Ocha was necessary. One psychologist
went so far as to suggest he undergo a neuro-psychiatric evaluation
to rule out the possibility of a brain tumor which may have affected
his behavior and thinking. Ocha did not receive any of the
additional testing suggest by the mental health experts. If these
tests had taken place they may have provided valuable information at
the trial concerning his mental health and competency to stand trial.
Ocha had a history of suicidal thoughts and drug
and alcohol abuse. He had previously suffered two severe head
injuries which are often linked to violent disturbing behaviors.
Ocha also suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and a learning
disability. Ocha suffered from a chaotic and violent childhood. He
had a history of psychiatric disturbances and mental illness and may
possibly have bipolar disorder. It is apparent that Ocha is not sane
and needs medical help, a point that is further supported by his
legal name change from Glen Ocha to Raven Raven.
The history of Ocha's suicidal tendencies are
clearly documented. When previously arrested for an unrelated crime
he asked the arresting officers to shoot him. In 1999 while
incarcerated in Volusia County he was placed on suicide watch.
Five of the last eight executions in Florida have
been of prisoners who have waived their appeals and volunteered to
be put to death. During Governor Bush’s tenure, 16 people on death
row have been executed, seven of whom have dropped their appeals in
order to expedite their own deaths.
The execution of those with mental illness is
prohibited by international law as well as by most countries in the
world. In April of 2000, The UN Commission on Human Rights urged
that all states that do maintain the death penalty do not impose it
on those who are suffering from any form of mental disorder. However,
it is a common occurrence in the United States. There is clear
evidence that Ocha is mentally ill and suicidal. By signing his
death warrant Governor Jeb Bush is merely assisting in the suicide
of a sick man and continuing the unjust practice of executing the
mentally ill.
Please take a moment to urge Governor Bush to
stop the suicide of Glen Ocha! You may use the form letter bellow.
Hand written or personalized letters are encouraged!
Killer who wanted to die is executed
The man
who pleaded guilty to slaying a convenience store worker and had
given up all appeals for his life died Tuesday by lethal injection
Miami Herald
AP - April 5, 2005
Associated Press - STARKE, Fla. - An engraver who
hanged a woman he met at a bar from his kitchen door after sex and
drank beer while she died was executed Tuesday, three years after
firing his attorneys and dropping the legal appeals to his death
sentence.
Glen Ocha's execution by lethal injection came
hours after Gov. Jeb Bush said he thought about postponing the death
sentence out of respect for Pope John Paul II but decided against it
because of sympathy for the victim's family. Bush is a Roman
Catholic and the pope, who died Saturday, opposed capital punishment.
Ocha, 47, apologized to the victim, Carol Skjerva,
and her family before an anonymous executioner injected a lethal
cocktail of three chemicals to stop his heart and his breathing. ''This
is the punishment that I deserve,'' Ocha said in his final statement
from the death gurney. After the statement he closed his eyes, he
breathed heavily for about a minute and then there was no further
movement. He was pronounced dead at 6:10 p.m., Bush's office said.
JURY TRIAL - Ocha had waived a jury trial and
pleaded guilty to the Oct. 5, 1999 killing. Skjerva, 28, a
convenience store employee had given Ocha a ride home from the
Kissimmee bar where he engraved beer mugs. He was drunk and high on
Ecstasy and they had sex. Skjerva told him she was going to tell her
boyfriend and made disparaging remarks about his anatomy. Ocha
became enraged, choked her three times until his arms got tired and
then hanged her from a kitchen door.
HIDING BODY - After hiding her body inside a home
entertainment system in his garage, Ocha took Skjerva's car and
drove to Daytona Beach. He confessed to the killing when he was
arrested for disorderly intoxication. Ocha, who changed his name in
prison to Raven Raven, received a final meal Tuesday morning of a
fried chicken breast, potato salad, kernel corn, two biscuits and a
large glass of Pepsi. He received final visits from two Catholic
priests, the Rev. Dale Recinella of Macclenny and retired Bishop
John Snyder from Jacksonville, plus a visit with his brother, Martin
Ocha, said Sterling Ivey, a spokesman for the state Department of
Corrections.
PREPARED TO DELAY - Bush, a convert to Roman
Catholicism, told reporters earlier Tuesday in Tallahassee that ''I
actually was prepared to delay the execution out of courtesy for and
respect for the pope's passing.'' But he also said he has a duty to
state law and has sympathy for the victims. Bush's decision drew
criticism from Abe Bonowitz, director of Floridians for Alternatives
to the Death Penalty. He had said Ocha's execution would be
``suicide by governor.'' Greg L. Hill, who was appointed as a backup
attorney for Ocha, met with his client Monday evening at the prison
and said it was Ocha's desire ``to accept responsibility for his
actions.''
PUBLIC DEFENDER - Ocha would not let a public
defender present evidence to avoid execution. After the state
Supreme Court affirmed his conviction in 2002, Ocha filed a motion
with the trial court to drop his appeals and dismiss his attorneys.
In May, the Supreme Court ordered the trial court to hold a hearing
on his mental competency. Ocha fired his state lawyer, Mark Gruber,
when he was ruled competent June 11. Ocha had warned that he will
kill again if he did not receive the death penalty.
Of the 16 inmates executed under death warrants
signed by Bush, seven did not fight their execution. Ocha was the
60th person executed in Florida since the 1976 reinstatement of the
death penalty and the first since May 26, when John Blackwelder who
was so intent on being executed that he killed a fellow inmate and
pleaded guilty.
Execution today for killer who wants to die
By Ron Word -
Miami Herald
April 5, 2005
Glen Ocha choked and hanged a woman in 1999 after
she made fun of his anatomy, and since then he has rebuffed efforts
to save him from the death penalty. He is scheduled to be put to
death at 6 p.m. today.
Glen Ocha is scheduled to be executed by
injection today at Florida State Prison near Starke, ending his
quest to die after being arrested for the 1999 strangulation of a
woman who gave him a ride home from a bar in Kissimmee. MOOcha,
who changed his name to Raven Raven while in prison, is scheduled to
die at 6 p.m. An anonymous executioner, who is paid $150 for his
services, will inject a lethal combination of chemicals to stop
Ocha's heart.
SEX, THEN DEATH
Court documents show Ocha met Skjerva at a bar in
Kissimmee, where he was employed engraving beer mugs. Ocha was drunk
and high on Ecstasy when she drove him home to Buenaventura Lakes
and they had sexual intercourse. When Skjerva told Ocha she was
going to tell her boyfriend and made fun of his anatomy, he became
enraged. He made her sit in a chair and gathered some rope from his
garage, which he held tight around her neck until his arms tired.
Then he hanged Skjerva from a kitchen door and drank a beer while
she died. After hiding her body inside a home entertainment system
in his garage, Ocha took Skjerva's car and drove to Daytona Beach.
When he was arrested for disorderly intoxication, he confessed to
killing her.
Ocha pleaded guilty and would not let a public
defender present evidence in an effort to avoid a death sentence.
After the Supreme Court affirmed his conviction in 2002, Ocha filed
a motion with the trial court to drop his appeals and dismiss his
attorneys. In May, the Florida Supreme Court ordered the trial court
to hold a hearing on his competency. When it ruled June 11 that Ocha
was competent, he fired his lawyer.
Gruber said he fought to get Ocha ruled
incompetent. ''He had demonstrated the kind of behavior that was, at
times, erratic,'' Gruber said. In a letter to Assistant Attorney
General Stephen D. Ake, Ocha asked that his execution be carried out
without delay. ''Sir I wish for my execution to come swift and
unhampered,'' he wrote. Hill was scheduled to meet with his client
Monday, but said he did not expect to file any motions on his behalf.
''He seems more than coherent,'' Hill said.
SUICIDAL TENDENCIES
Court records show Ocha has exhibited suicidal
behavior since 1978, when he asked police to shoot him. Once in jail,
Ocha tied his jacket to the bars and tried to hang himself. He has a
long history of drug and alcohol abuse. After a two-year stint in
the Army, he was given a general discharge because he used drugs.
Defense lawyer Snurkowski said Ocha's case was recently reviewed by
Osecola County Circuit Judge Margaret Waller, who ruled that Ocha, a
10th-grade dropout, could end all his appeals.
Abe Bonowitz, director of Floridians for
Alternatives to the Death Penalty, argues the execution of Ocha is
another case of ''suicide by governor.'' Of the 16 inmates executed
under death warrants signed by Gov. Jeb Bush, seven had dropped
their appeals and did not fight their execution.
''This was a very heinous crime . . . After a
thorough and thoughtful appeals process, that was the end of it,''
said Bush spokesman Jacob DiPeitre after Bush signed the death
warrant.
Ocha will be the 60th person executed in Florida
since the 1976 reinstatement of the death penalty. It will be the
first since May 26, 2004, when John Blackwelder was put to death.
Blackwelder was so intent on being executed that he killed a fellow
inmate and pleaded guilty.
No stay; State executes Ocha
By Eva Kis
The Independent Florida
Alligator Online
April 6, 2005
RAIFORD — Gov. Jeb Bush said Tuesday morning that
he might stay an execution scheduled for that night in deference to
the pope’s passing Saturday. No such order came. But then, Glen
James Ocha would not have wanted it.
Ocha, 47, was sentenced to die for the Oct. 5,
1999 murder of a convenience store employee in Osceola County after
pleading guilty at his trial and refusing to allow his public
defender to present any evidence. Later, he waived all possible
appeals and dismissed his attorneys.
In his final statement, afforded to every death
row inmate before execution is carried out, a coherent and contrite
Ocha explained himself, beginning with an apology to his victim and
her family and friends. “This is the punishment that I deserve. I am
taking responsibility for my actions… this is my responsibility I
have to take,” he said.
Attorney Gregory Hill, Ocha’s standby counsel,
read a statement Ocha dictated at a press conference following the
execution. “I unjustly took the life of Carol Skjerva. I have made
my peace with my God and go now to face His judgment.”
Twenty-seven witnesses, none from Ocha’s family
or Skjerva’s immediate family — who are not allowed to attend the
execution — watched silently as a lethal injection was administered
to Ocha at 6:01 p.m. He was pronounced dead at 6:09 p.m.
Department of Corrections spokesman Sterling Ivey
spent part of his day with Ocha, saying he woke up at 5 a.m. in what
Ivey characterized as a “very positive” mood. “He indicated to
officers outside his cell that he was looking forward to his
execution,” Ivey said. However, Ocha did elect to take the sedative
offered to condemned prisoners before their sentence is carried out.
Though death row inmates are not granted special
privileges on their final day, they do receive a traditional last
meal. Personally prepared by the prison’s food service director,
Ocha requested a chicken breast, potato salad, corn, two biscuits
and a large glass of Pepsi served at 10:30 a.m., Ivey said. Instead
of watching television, Ocha spent Tuesday morning with his brother,
Martin Ocha, and Chaplain Dale Recinella. Recinella stayed until
late in the afternoon, conversing with Ocha in his jail cell, Ivey
said.
Protesters across the street from the prison
numbered more than 30 by the time Ocha’s execution was scheduled to
begin. Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty Director Abe
Bonowitz addressed Gov. Bush, but not for deciding not to delay
Ocha’s execution — rather, for the hypocrisy he sees in the Catholic
governor continuing to sign death warrants. “The pope had called for
an end to the use of the death penalty,” he said. Bush “is mocking
the pope by going forward with it.”
Bonowitz contended Ocha wanted to die before he
murdered Skjerva. Court documents show Ocha previously asked police
officers to shoot him during a 1978 altercation. “This is suicide by
governor,” Bonowitz said. “Society deserves to be safe, but we don’t
need the death penalty.”
Ocha was the 60th prisoner in Florida to be
executed since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. Executions
are carried out after the governor signs a death warrant issued by a
court, after the defendant is found guilty. A private citizen serves
as executioner and is paid $150 to carry out the death sentence,
which in this case involved injecting a lethal chemical cocktail
intravenously. Department of Corrections official Debra Buchanan
said an ad seeking voluntary executioners was placed in newspapers
statewide in 1978, offering that same amount of money for their
services. “We’re still working off the original list,” she said of
the volume of responses.
State Attorney’s Office spokesman Spencer Mann
said a violent crime needs to satisfy several criteria before
prosecutors can seek the death penalty. “Was the murder heinous or
atrocious, no mercy given?” he said. Also, “whether there were
issues of torture” and lack of “regard for the humanity of the
victim.” Mann said those stipulations then are weighed against
“potential mitigating circumstances, such as whether the defendant
had a criminal history, whether there are any mental competency
issues or other factors that would speak on the defendant’s behalf.”
Though Ocha’s mental status was disputed by his
first attorney, Mark Gruber, a judge eventually declared him
competent.
On the night of Oct. 5, 1999, Ocha, drunk and
high on Ecstasy, met Skjerva at the Kissimmee bar where he worked,
an Osceola County arrest warrant shows. She gave him a ride to his
home, where they had consensual intercourse. However, when Skjerva
said she would tell her boyfriend about the incident and mocked
Ocha’s anatomy, he became angry. The documents state Ocha retrieved
a rope from his garage with which he attempted to strangle Skjerva
three times. In his impaired state, he was too weak to kill her, so
he hanged her from a kitchen door and drank a beer as he watched her
choke to death. When he was arrested for disorderly intoxication the
following day in Volusia County, Ocha confessed to killing Skjerva.
Florida has executed 59 inmates since 1979
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
April 5 2005
Following is a list of 59
inmates executed since Florida resumed executions in 1979:
1. John Spenkelink, 30, executed May 25, 1979,
for the murder of traveling companion Joe Szymankiewicz in a
Tallahassee hotel room.
2. Robert Sullivan, 36, died in the electric
chair Nov. 30, 1983, for the April 9, 1973, shotgun slaying of
Homestead hotel-restaurant assistant manager Donald Schmidt.
3. Anthony Antone, 66, executed Jan. 26, 1984,
for masterminding the Oct. 23, 1975, contract killing of Tampa
private detective Richard Cloud.
4. Arthur F. Goode III, 30, executed April 5,
1984, for killing 9-year-old Jason Verdow of Cape Coral March 5,
1976.
5. James Adams, 47, died in the electric chair on
May 10, 1984, for beating Fort Pierce millionaire rancher Edgar
Brown to death with a fire poker during a 1973 robbery attempt.
6. Carl Shriner, 30, executed June 20, 1984, for
killing 32-year-old Gainesville convenience-store clerk Judith Ann
Carter, who was shot five times.
7. David L. Washington, 34, executed July 13,
1984, for the murders of three Dade County residents _ Daniel
Pridgen, Katrina Birk and University of Miami student Frank Meli _
during a 10-day span in 1976.
8. Ernest John Dobbert Jr., 46, executed Sept. 7,
1984, for the 1971 killing of his 9-year-old daughter Kelly Ann in
Jacksonville..
9. James Dupree Henry, 34, executed Sept. 20,
1984, for the March 23, 1974, murder of 81-year-old Orlando civil
rights leader Zellie L. Riley.
10. Timothy Palmes, 37, executed in November 1984
for the Oct. 19, 1976, stabbing death of Jacksonville furniture
store owner James N. Stone. He was a co-defendant with Ronald John
Michael Straight, executed May 20, 1986.
11. James David Raulerson, 33, executed Jan. 30,
1985, for gunning down Jacksonville police Officer Michael Stewart
on April 27, 1975.
12. Johnny Paul Witt, 42, executed March 6, 1985,
for killing, sexually abusing and mutilating Jonathan Mark Kushner,
the 11-year-old son of a University of South Florida professor, Oct.
28, 1973.
13. Marvin Francois, 39, executed May 29, 1985,
for shooting six people July 27, 1977, in the robbery of a ``drug
house'' in the Miami suburb of Carol City. He was a co-defendant
with Beauford White, executed Aug. 28, 1987.
14. Daniel Morris Thomas, 37, executed April 15,
1986, for shooting University of Florida associate professor Charles
Anderson, raping the man's wife as he lay dying, then shooting the
family dog on New Year's Day 1976.
15. David Livingston Funchess, 39, executed April
22, 1986, for the Dec. 16, 1974, stabbing deaths of 53-year-old Anna
Waldrop and 56-year-old Clayton Ragan during a holdup in a
Jacksonville lounge.
16. Ronald John Michael Straight, 42, executed
May 20, 1986, for the Oct. 4, 1976, murder of Jacksonville
businessman James N. Stone. He was a co-defendant with Timothy
Palmes, executed Jan. 30, 1985.
17. Beauford White, 41, executed Aug. 28, 1987,
for his role in the July 27, 1977, shooting of eight people, six
fatally, during the robbery of a small-time drug dealer's home in
Carol City, a Miami suburb. He was a co-defendant with Marvin
Francois, executed May 29, 1985.
18. Willie Jasper Darden, 54, executed March 15,
1988, for the September 1973 shooting of James C. Turman in Lakeland.
19. Jeffrey Joseph Daugherty, 33, executed March
15, 1988, for the March 1976 murder of hitchhiker Lavonne Patricia
Sailer in Brevard County.
20. Theodore Robert Bundy, 42, executed Jan. 24,
1989, for the rape and murder of 12-year-old Kimberly Leach of Lake
City at the end of a cross-country killing spree. Leach was
kidnapped Feb. 9, 1978, and her body was found three months later
some 32 miles west of Lake City.
21. Aubry Dennis Adams Jr., 31, executed May 4,
1989, for strangling 8-year-old Trisa Gail Thornley on Jan. 23,
1978, in Ocala.
< 22. Jessie Joseph Tafero, 43, executed May 4,
1990, for the February 1976 shooting deaths of Florida Highway
Patrolman Phillip Black and his friend Donald Irwin, a Canadian
constable from Kitchener, Ontario. Flames shot from Tafero's head
during the execution.
23. Anthony Bertolotti, 38, executed July 27,
1990, for the Sept. 27, 1983, stabbing death and rape of Carol Ward
in Orange County.
24. James William Hamblen, 61, executed Sept. 21,
1990, for the April 24, 1984, shooting death of Laureen Jean Edwards
during a robbery at the victim's Jacksonville lingerie shop.
25. Raymond Robert Clark, 49, executed Nov. 19,
1990, for the April 27, 1977, shooting murder of scrap metal dealer
David Drake in Pinellas County.
26. Roy Allen Harich, 32, executed April 24,
1991, for the June 27, 1981, sexual assault, shooting and slashing
death of Carlene Kelly near Daytona Beach.
27. Bobby Marion Francis, 46, executed June 25,
1991, for the June 17, 1975, murder of drug informant Titus R.
Walters in Key West.
28. Nollie Lee Martin, 43, executed May 12, 1992,
for the 1977 murder of a 19-year-old George Washington University
student, who was working at a Delray Beach convenience store.
29. Edward Dean Kennedy, 47, executed July 21,
1992, for the April 11, 1981, slayings of Florida Highway Patrol
Trooper Howard McDermon and Floyd Cone after escaping from Union
Correctional Institution.
30. Robert Dale Henderson, 48, executed April 21,
1993, for the 1982 shootings of three hitchhikers in Hernando County.
He confessed to 12 murders in five states.
31. Larry Joe Johnson, 49, executed May 8, 1993,
for the 1979 slaying of James Hadden, a service station attendant in
small north Florida town of Lee in Madison County. Veterans groups
claimed Johnson suffered from post-traumatic stress syndrome.
32. Michael Alan Durocher, 33, executed Aug. 25,
1993, for the 1983 murders of his girlfriend, Grace Reed, her
daughter, Candice, and his 6-month-old son Joshua in Clay County.
Durocher also convicted in two other killings.
33. Roy Allen Stewart, 38, executed April 22,
1994, for beating, raping and strangling of 77-year-old Margaret
Haizlip of Perrine in Dade County on Feb. 22, 1978.
34. Bernard Bolander, 42, executed July 18, 1995,
for the Dade County murders of four men, whose bodies were set afire
in car trunk on Jan. 8, 1980.
35. Jerry White, 47, executed Dec. 4, 1995, for
the slaying of a customer in an Orange County grocery store robbery
in 1981.
36. Phillip A. Atkins, 40, executed Dec. 5, 1995,
for the molestation and rape of a 6-year-old Lakeland boy in 1981.
37. John Earl Bush, 38, executed Oct. 21, 1996,
for the 1982 slaying of Francis Slater, an heir to the Envinrude
outboard motor fortune. Slater was working in a Stuart convenience
store when she was kidnapped and murdered.
38. John Mills Jr., 41, executed Dec. 6, 1996,
for the fatal shooting of Les Lawhon in Wakulla and burglarizing
Lawhon's home.
39. Pedro Medina, 39, executed March 25, 1997,
for the 1982 slaying of his neighbor Dorothy James, 52, in Orlando.
Medina was the first Cuban who came to Florida in the Mariel boat
lift to be executed in Florida. During his execution, flames burst
from behind the mask over his face, delaying Florida executions for
almost a year.
40. Gerald Eugene Stano, 46, executed March 23,
1998, for the slaying of Cathy Scharf, 17, of Port Orange, who
disappeared Nov. 14, 1973. Stano confessed to killing 41 women.
41. Leo Alexander Jones, 47, executed March 24,
1998, for the May 23, 1981, slaying of Jacksonville police Officer
Thomas Szafranski.
42. Judy Buenoano, 54, executed March 30, 1998,
for the poisoning death of her husband, Air Force Sgt. James
Goodyear, Sept. 16, 1971.
43. Daniel Remeta, 40, executed March 31, 1998,
for the murder of Ocala convenience store clerk Mehrle Reeder in
February 1985, the first of five killings in three states laid to
Remeta.
44. Allen Lee ``Tiny'' Davis, 54, executed in a
new electric chair on July 8, 1999, for the May 11, 1982, slayings
of Jacksonville resident Nancy Weiler and her daughters, Kristina
and Katherine. Bleeding from Davis' nose prompted continued
examination of effectiveness of electrocution and the switch to
lethal injection.
45. Terry M. Sims, 58, became the first Florida
inmate to be executed by injection on Feb. 23, 2000. Sims died for
the 1977 slaying of a volunteer deputy sheriff in a central Florida
robbery.
46. Anthony Bryan, 40, died from lethal injection
Feb. 24, 2000, for the 1983 slaying of George Wilson, 60, a night
watchman abducted from his job at a seafood wholesaler in
Pascagoula, Miss., and killed in Florida.
47. Bennie Demps, 49, died from lethal injection
June 7, 2000, for the 1976 murder of another prison inmate, Alfred
Sturgis. Demps spent 29 years on death row before he was executed.
48. Thomas Provenzano, 51, died from lethal
injection on June 21, 2000, for a 1984 shooting at the Orange County
courthouse in Orlando. Provenzano was sentenced to death for the
murder of William ``Arnie'' Wilkerson, 60.
49. Dan Patrick Hauser, 30, died from lethal
injection on Aug. 25, 2000, for the 1995 murder of Melanie
Rodrigues, a waitress and dancer in Destin. Hauser dropped all his
legal appeals.
50. Edward Castro, died from lethal injection on
Dec. 7, 2000, for the 1987 choking and stabbing death of 56-year-old
Austin Carter Scott, who was lured to Castro's efficiency apartment
in Ocala by the promise of Old Milwaukee beer. Castro dropped all
his appeals.
51. Robert Glock, 39 died from lethal injection
on Jan. 11, 2001, for the kidnapping murder of a Sharilyn Ritchie, a
teacher in Manatee County. She was kidnapped outside a Bradenton
shopping mall and taken to an orange grove in Pasco County, where
she was robbed and killed. Glock's co-defendant Robert Puiatti
remains on death row.
52. Rigoberto Sanchez-Velasco, 43, died of lethal
injection on Oct. 2, 2002, after dropping appeals from his
conviction in the December 1986 rape-slaying of 11-year-old Katixa
``Kathy'' Ecenarro in Hialeah. Sanchez-Velasco also killed two
fellow inmates while on death row.
53. Aileen Wuornos, 46, died from lethal
injection on Oct. 9, 2002, after dropping appeals for deaths of six
men along central Florida highways.
54. Linroy Bottoson, 63, died of lethal injection
on Dec. 9, 2002, for the 1979 murder of Catherine Alexander, who was
robbed, held captive for 83 hours, stabbed 16 times and then fatally
crushed by a car.
55. Amos King, 48, executed by lethal inection
for the March 18, 1977 slaying of 68-year-old Natalie Brady in her
Tarpon Spring home. King was a work-release inmate in a nearby
prison.
56. Newton Slawson, 48, executed by lethal
injection for the April 11, 1989 slaying of four members of a Tampa
family. Slawson was convicted in the shooting deaths of Gerald and
Peggy Wood, who was 8 1/2 months pregnant, and their two young
children, Glendon, 3, and Jennifer, 4. Slawson sliced Peggy Wood's
body with a knife and pulled out her fetus, which had two gunshot
wounds and multiple cuts.
57. Paul Hill, 49, executed for the July 29,
1994, shooting deaths of Dr. John Bayard Britton and his bodyguard,
retired Air Force Lt. Col. James Herman Barrett, and the wounding of
Barrett's wife outside the Ladies Center in Pensacola.
58. Johnny Robinson, died by lethal injection on
Feb. 4, 2004, for the Aug. 12, 1985 slaying of Beverly St. George
was traveling from Plant City to Virginia in August 1985 when her
car broke down on Interstate 95, south of St. Augustine. He abducted
her at gunpoint, took her to a cemetery, raped her and killed her.
59. John Blackwelder, 49, was executed by
injection on May 26, 2004, for the calculated slaying in May 2000 of
Raymond Wigley, who was serving a life term for murder. Blackwelder,
who was serving a life sentence for a series of sex convictions,
pleaded guilty to the slaying so he would receive the death penalty.
60. Glen Ocha, 47, was execited by injection
April 5, 2005, for the October, 1999, strangulation of 28-year-old
convenience store employee Carol Skjerva, who had driven him to his
Osceola County home and had sex with him. He had dropped all appeals.
Florida inmate executed for '99 slaying
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
The
Associated Press - April 5 2005
STARKE, Fla. -- An inmate who
pleaded guilty to strangling a woman who gave him a ride home from a
bar was executed Tuesday, after firing his attorneys and dropping
his legal appeals.
Glen Ocha's execution came hours after Gov. Jeb
Bush said he thought about delaying it out of respect for Pope John
Paul II's death, but decided against it because of sympathy for the
victim's family. Bush's office said Ocha, 47, was pronounced dead at
6:10 p.m. That was a few minutes after an anonymous executioner
injected a lethal cocktail of three chemicals to stop Ocha's heart
and his breathing.
In his final statement, made from his death
gurney just before the lethal cocktail was administered, Ocha said,
"This is the punishment that I deserve.'' He also said, "I would
like to say I apologize to Carol Skjerva, the girl that I murdered,
and her family and her friends.'' After the statement he closed his
eyes, he breathed heavily for about a minute and then there was no
further movement.
Ocha had waived a jury trial and pleaded guilty
to the Oct. 5, 1999, killing of convenience store employee Skjerva,
28, who had given him a ride home from the Kissimmee bar where he
worked. After having sexual relations, Ocha said, he choked her
three times until his arms got tired. He then hanged Skjerva from a
kitchen door and drank a beer while she died.
Ocha, who changed his name in prison to Raven
Raven, received a final meal Tuesday morning of a fried chicken
breast, potato salad, kernel corn, two biscuits and a large glass of
Pepsi. He received final visits from two Catholic priests, the Rev.
Dale Recinella of Macclenny and retired Bishop John Snyder from
Jacksonville, plus a visit with his brother, Martin Ocha, said
Sterling Ivey, a spokesman for the state Department of Corrections.
Bush, a convert to Roman Catholicism, told
reporters earlier Tuesday in Tallahassee that ``I actually was
prepared to delay the execution out of courtesy for and respect for
the pope's passing.'' But he also said he has a duty to state law
and has sympathy for the victims.
Bush's decision drew criticism from Abe Bonowitz,
director of Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. He had
said Ocha's execution would be ``suicide by governor.''
Greg L. Hill, who was appointed as a backup
attorney for Ocha, met with his client Monday evening at the prison
and said it was Ocha's desire ``to accept responsibility for his
actions.'' He met his victim at a bar in Kissimmee, where he
engraved beer mugs. He was drunk and high on Ecstasy when she drove
him home and they had sex. He said he became enraged when Skjerva
told Ocha she was going to tell her boyfriend and made fun of his
anatomy. After hiding her body inside a home entertainment system in
his garage, Ocha took Skjerva's car and drove to Daytona Beach. He
confessed to the killing when he was arrested for disorderly
intoxication.
Ocha would not let a public defender present
evidence to avoid execution. After the state Supreme Court affirmed
his conviction in 2002, Ocha filed a motion with the trial court to
drop his appeals and dismiss his attorneys. In May, the Supreme
Court ordered the trial court to hold a hearing on his mental
competency. Ocha discharged his state lawyer, Mark Gruber, when he
was ruled competent June 11. Ocha had warned that he will kill again
if he did not receive the death penalty.
Of the 16 inmates executed under death warrants
signed by Bush, seven did not fight their execution. Ocha was the
60th person executed in Florida since the 1976 reinstatement of the
death penalty and the first since May 26, when John Blackwelder who
was so intent on being executed that he killed a fellow inmate and
pleaded guilty. ___ On the Net: Florida Department of Corrections:
http://www.dc.state.fl.us/
Man gets wish: his execution
Some death penalty
opponents say Glenn Ocha commited suicide. He said he was accepting
justice
by Carrie Johnson -
St. Petersburg Times
April 6, 2005
STARKE - Glenn Ocha woke up Tuesday morning and
told the guards outside his cell he was ready to die. He had been
waiting for this day for more than six years, dismissing the lawyers
who tried to delay his execution, and waiving all of his appeals.
At 6:01 p.m., as he lay strapped to a gurney at
Florida State Prison, Ocha - convicted of killing 28-year-old Carol
Skjerva on an October night in 1999 - said he was not a man
desperate to die, but a sinner trying to repent. "I would like to
say I apologize to Carol Skjerva, the girl that I murdered, her
family and her friends," said Ocha, 47. "This is the punishment that
I deserve. I'm taking responsibility for my actions. I want
everybody to know I'm not a volunteer but this is my responsibility
I have to take." With that, Ocha closed his eyes and lay completely
still as a lethal dose of chemicals was injected into his veins. He
joined the growing number of death row inmates in Florida who
hastened their deaths, a practice critics call "suicide by governor."
Six of the last nine inmates waived appeals and refused attempts to
delay their executions. Ocha was pronounced dead at 6:09 p.m.
"If I had stomach cancer, one of the most painful
ways to die, I could not get an assisted suicide in this state,"
said Abe Bonowitz of Floridians for Alternatives to the Death
Penalty, who led a group of about 40 protesters outside the prison
Tuesday. "But if I commit a murder, the state will bend over
backwards to help me die."
Ocha, who legally changed his name in prison to
Raven Raven, had a well-documented history of suicide attempts. In
1978, he begged a deputy who was arresting him for an unrelated
crime to shoot him. Ocha also attempted to hang himself with a
jacket in an Orange County holding cell. He pleaded guilty without a
trial to murdering Skjerva, a convenience store clerk from Kissimmee.
When the Florida Supreme Court affirmed his conviction in 2002, Ocha
waived all further appeals and dismissed his lawyers.
Gov. Jeb Bush said he was prepared to delay
Ocha's execution out of respect for the death of the pope, but after
checking with members of the victim's family, he decided to proceed.
Bush said the family members needed closure. "It's not an easy thing
to do, but it's the right thing to do," Bush told reporters Tuesday
morning.
Ocha woke up about 5 a.m. and chatted with guards,
said Sterling Ivey, a spokesman for the state Department of
Corrections. "He was in a good mood, very positive," Ivey said. "He
even indicated he was glad the execution was tonight."
From 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., Ocha visited with his
brother, Martin Ocha, and the Rev. Dale Recinella, a Catholic priest
from Macclenny. At 10:30 a.m., he had a final meal of a fried
chicken breast, potato salad, kernel corn, two biscuits and a glass
of Pepsi. Recinella stayed with Ocha until 4:30 p.m. Ocha requested
and received a Valium before being led to the death chamber, Ivey
said.
Ocha told authorities he met Skjerva at a
Kissimmee bar where he engraved beer mugs. Drunk and high on ecstasy,
he accepted her offer of a ride to his home at Buenaventura Lakes,
where they had sex. Ocha said he grew enraged when Skjerva made a
disparaging remark about his anatomy. He made her sit in a chair
while he got rope from his garage and tried to strangle her. When
his arms grew tired, Ocha hanged her from a door, drinking a beer
and cleaning his kitchen as she died. Next, Ocha stuffed Skjerva's
body in an entertainment center in his garage and drove to Daytona
Beach. He confessed to the murder after he was arrested for
disorderly intoxication. None of Skjerva's family members witnessed
Ocha's execution.
But in a statement read after his death by his
lawyer, Greg Hill, Ocha said he was sorry for the pain he caused
Skjerva's family and friends. He also denied suggestions he was
mentally unfit to waive his appeals, and took issue with those who
labeled his death a suicide. "Throughout this case I have fully
accepted my responsibility and the punishment decided by the courts,"
the statement said. "Many people have given their opinion on whether
I was competent to make these decisions. I have made these decisions
in this case. I have been examined by more doctors than I can count.
Every one of them, at various stages, have found me competent
throughout the proceedings."
Hill spent about two hours with Ocha Monday
night, and said he seemed lucid and aware of his surroundings.
Ocha was the 60th person executed in Florida
since the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, and
the first since May 26, when John Blackwelder was put to death by
lethal injection.
Floridians for Alternatives to
the Death Penalty
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Convicted Osceola County murderer known as Raven
Raven (known as Glen or Glenn Ocha before he legally changed his
name) has been asking to die ever since he was put on trial for
strangling and hanging 28-year-old Carol Skjerva at his (Raven's)
Buenaventura Lakes home Oct. 5, 1999.
According to news reports, Raven, now 47, was
drunk and high on Ecstasy when he met Skjerva at a bar called
Rosie's Pub near his house. She drove him home, and the two had
consensual sex. Afterward, according to what Raven told
investigators, Skjerva made a disparaging comment, enraging him. He
tried to strangle her three times until his arms got tired. So he
hung Skjerva from a door and drank a beer while she died.
Raven pleaded guilty without a trial and would
not let a public defender present evidence to try and avoid
execution. Raven asked an Osceola County circuit judge to sentence
him to die, and then later fired an attorney who tried to appeal the
ruling.
At trial, two psychological experts stated they
believed further testing on Ocha was necessary. One psychologist
went so far as to suggest he undergo a neuro-psychiatric evaluation
to rule out the possibility of a brain tumor which may have affected
his behavior and thinking. Ocha did not receive any of the
additional testing suggest by the mental health experts. If these
tests had taken place they may have provided valuable information at
the trial concerning his mental health and competency to stand trial.
Ocha had a history of suicidal thoughts and drug
and alcohol abuse. He had previously suffered two severe head
injuries which are often linked to violent disturbing behaviors.
Ocha also suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and a learning
disability. Ocha suffered from a chaotic and violent childhood. He
had a history of psychiatric disturbances and mental illness and may
possibly have bipolar disorder. It is apparent that Ocha is not sane
and needs medical help, a point that is further supported by his
legal name change from Glen Ocha to Raven Raven.
The history of Ocha's suicidal tendencies are
clearly documented. When previously arrested for an unrelated crime
he asked the arresting officers to shoot him. In 1999 while
incarcerated in Volusia County he was placed on suicide watch.
Governor Bush has been quite willing to help
murderers who want to die do so, and Raven is taking advantage of an
opportunity afforded only to convicted murderers who are sentenced
to be killed.
Five of the last eight Florida executions were of
prisoners who waived their appeals and asked to be killed. So far
Governor Bush has executed 16 prisoners, seven of whom have been
volunteers. If this execution goes forward, it will be the 60th
execution in Florida since 1979 and the 17th under Governor Jeb
Bush. More information about Florida executions is available at .
Letter Writing Suggestions
Please write a hand written note to Governor Bush
with a message similar to the following suggested language:
"I am writing to ask you to stop signing death
warrants for mentally ill prisoners who waive their appeals. These
prisoners are using you and making a mockery of Florida's legal
system."
Feel free to add any further language, for
example:
Call for a "Time-Out on Executions" in general
until we can be assured that the system is both fair and accurate.
Especially if you are Catholic or Christian,
challenge Governor Bush to adopt a completely "Pro-Life" position by
respecting ALL life, and reference his positions against abortion
and euthanasia.
"We remember the victim, Carol Skjerva, but
killing Glen Ocha will do nothing to bring her back or heal the
wounds still felt by her family.
WRITE TO:
Governor Jeb Bush
Tallahassee Democrat
Ocha v. State,
826 So.2d 956 (Fla. 2002)
Defendant was convicted in the Circuit Court,
Osceola County, Frank N. Kaney, J., of first-degree murder, for
which he received a sentence of death. Defendant appealed. The
Supreme Court held that: (1) sentencing court did not abuse its
discretion by failing to order further psychological testing to
determine defendant's mental condition; (2) defendant's murder of
victim was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel (HAC); (3) it was
not inconsistent for defendant to waive his right to present
mitigating evidence at trial level, yet have appellate counsel
appointed against his wishes; (4) defendant's guilty plea was
voluntary; and (5) death sentence was proportionate. Affirmed.
Pariente, J., concurred as to conviction, and concurred in result
only as to sentence, with written opinion, in which Anstead, J.,
joined.
PER CURIAM.
We have on appeal a judgment of conviction of first-degree murder
and a sentence of death. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, §
3(b)(1), Fla. Const.
The facts
On October 5, 1999, the appellant, Glen
James Ocha, who also calls himself "Raven Raven," met the victim,
Carol Skjerva, at Rosie's Pub in Kissimmee, Florida. They left the
bar together and the victim drove the appellant to his home, where
the two had consensual sexual intercourse.
Afterwards, the victim
made disparaging comments about Ocha and threatened to tell her
boyfriend about the incident. Ocha became angry and forcefully told
the victim to sit in a chair, as he paced back and forth deciding
how he would address the situation. Ocha then entered the garage
where he found a length of rope which he proceeded to use in
strangling the victim. As he applied pressure, he lifted her off of
the floor several times to ensure that she was dead.
Finally,
because he ascertained that the victim's heart was still beating,
Ocha again tightened the rope around Skjerva's neck, hung the cord
over an interior door to the garage, and closed the door on the rope,
catching it between the door and its frame. Ocha then left the
victim hanging from this door location.
Ocha then consumed a beer, cleaned the area,
removing bottles and ash from the kitchen table, and changed his
clothing. After several minutes he returned to lower the victim's
body from the door and force it into the cabinet portion of an
entertainment center located in the garage.
Thereafter, Ocha left
the premises and drove the victim's car to Daytona Beach, where he
was arrested on October 6, 1999 for disorderly intoxication. While
in jail, Ocha confessed to detectives of the Daytona Beach Police
Department that he had murdered Skjerva. The detectives promptly
notified the Osceola County Sheriff's Office of the appellant's
statements. Thereafter, Ocha was transferred to incarceration in
Osceola County, where he gave a detailed description of the murder
to detectives.
On November 1, 1999, Ocha was indicted for
first-degree murder. Based upon the testimony of three mental health
professionals, the trial judge concluded that Ocha was competent to
enter a guilty plea. Ocha acknowledged to the trial court that he
had, in fact, signed the plea form, waiver of jury trial, waiver of
presentation of mitigation of evidence, and the acknowledgment that
the State was seeking the death penalty, voluntarily and without
coercion after reading and understanding the documents. Ocha further
stated that he was not currently suffering from, nor had he been
treated in the past for, mental or emotional disorders and was not
under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The State then related the
facts of Ocha's crime, and the trial court ordered a presentence
investigation (PSI) to be conducted prior to the sentencing hearing.
On July 6, 2000, the trial court reconvened for a
hearing on sentencing. The State presented evidence of three
aggravating factors: Ocha's prior commission of a violent felony,
that the instant murder was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel
(HAC), and that it was cold, calculated and premeditated (CCP). As
to the first aggravator, the trial court admitted certified copies
of Ocha's conviction in Kentucky for attempted premeditated murder
and robbery in the first degree, and his incarceration in various
Kentucky prisons. With regard to the second and third possible
aggravators, the court received testimony from Dr. Sashi B. Gore,
the chief medical examiner, who examined the victim's body at the
scene and later conducted an autopsy, *960 and Ed Boykin, a Deputy
Sheriff of Osceola County.
Dr. Gore testified that the victim's death
resulted from ligature strangulation. Moreover, he stated
hypothetically, that strangulation of a conscious person to the
point that one becomes unconscious requires "from thirty, sixty
seconds to up to three to four minutes." The doctor testified that,
initially, a victim may be so frightened as to experience cardiac
arrhythmia when she sees the perpetrator approaching with the intent
and capacity to strangle. The victim then experiences pain during
the actual strangulation.
He further stated that he could not
conclusively testify as to any defensive wounds on the victim due to
decomposition of the body prior to the autopsy. He could, however,
specifically identify the ligature that was used in the
strangulation of the victim because its texture matched the patterns
left on the victim's neck. Consistent with Ocha's wishes and
instructions, defense counsel did not cross-examine Dr. Gore.
Ed Boykin testified that he arrived at Ocha's
home on October 7, 1999, after a "well-being check" by the Osceola
Sheriff's Office--which was prompted by the report from the Volusia
County Sheriff's Department--revealed the victim's body in the
garage. Detective Boykin identified several photographs of the crime
scene and an audio tape and transcript of Ocha's October 11, 1999,
statement to the Osceola Sheriff's Office. Additionally, Detective
Boykin recounted Ocha's version of the events in relation to the
photographs. Again, defense counsel reiterated that Ocha did not
want him to cross-examine the witnesses.
Despite Ocha's waiver of
the right to present mitigation, defense counsel proffered the
competency hearing testimony of Drs. Tressler, Berns, and Berland,
which, absent Ocha's clear instructions to the contrary, he would
have otherwise fully presented for the trial court's consideration.
Additionally, Dr. Berland's testimony would address the existence of
fifteen possible mitigating factors. Defense counsel proffered
several letters written by Ocha to the victim's fiancé, to the
prosecuting assistant state attorney, and to defense counsel, which
showed remorse; he also submitted for consideration Ocha's
cooperation with the investigating police departments.
Ultimately, the trial court found the prior
violent felony and HAC aggravators had been proven beyond a
reasonable doubt. However, the court did not find the CCP aggravator
present because Ocha did not act with a heightened and premeditated
plan or design to kill.
The court gave little weight to the
mitigator that Ocha was a good prisoner in Kentucky; some weight to
his history of suicidal thinking; some weight to Ocha's artistic
ability; little weight to his report of two severe head injuries;
some weight to his extensive history of alcohol and drug abuse;
little weight to Ocha's learning disability; little weight to Ocha's
ability to form a warm and caring relationship; little weight to his
urging his ex-wife to seek a more professional career; no weight to
Ocha's military service; little weight to his post-traumatic stress
disorder; little weight to his chaotic and violent childhood; little
weight to Ocha's remorse for the murder; some weight to the fact
that he was intoxicated with alcohol and Ecstasy (MDMA) on the night
of the offense; little weight to his psychiatric disturbance; and
little weight to his having been a hard worker in the Kentucky
prison system. The trial court determined that the aggravators "far
outweigh[ed]" the mitigators and sentenced Ocha to death.
* * *
Based upon the foregoing, we conclude that the
evidence contained in the record is sufficient to support the
appellant's conviction for first-degree murder. Additionally, his
death sentence is proportional. Because Ocha has identified no
reversible error by the trial court below, we affirm the appellant's
conviction and sentence of death. It is so ordered.
