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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
 
 
 
 
 

Florida Supreme Court
Briefs and Opinon

 
 
opinion initial brief of appellant
 
answer brief of appellee reply brief of appellant
 
 
 
 
 
 

Summary:

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.

 

 

 
 
 
 
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