Rick Rhoades Wiki – Rick Rhoades Biography
Rick Rhoades was executed by lethal injection at the Huntsville State Penitentiary. He was convicted of the September 1991 murders of Charles Allen, 31, and Bradley Allen, 33. The brothers were murdered less than a day after Rhoades was paroled after serving a sentence for robbery.
Rhoades, tied to the death chamber gurney, turned his head and glanced briefly at the relatives of his victims as they walked to a window in a witness area a few feet from him. When the warden asked him to make a final statement, he refused.
Then, when the lethal dose of the powerful sedative pentobarbital began to flow through needles in each of his arms, Rhoades took several deep breaths, gurgled twice, and began to snore, each breath becoming less pronounced. In about a minute, all movement stopped. He was pronounced dead at 6:29 p.m. CDT, 17 minutes after the start of the lethal injection.
Rick Rhoades Age
Rick Rhoades is 57 years old.
Rick Rhoades was executed for fatally stabbing 2 Pasadena brothers
Rhoades, tied to the death chamber gurney, turned his head and glanced briefly at the relatives of his victims as they walked to a window in a witness area a few feet from him. When the warden asked him to make a final statement, he refused.
Then, when the lethal dose of the powerful sedative pentobarbital began to flow through needles in each of his arms, Rhoades took several deep breaths, gurgled twice, and began to snore, each breath becoming less pronounced. In about a minute, all movement stopped. He was pronounced dead at 6:29 p.m. CDT, 17 minutes after the start of the lethal injection.
The US Supreme Court refused to delay Rhoades’ execution on allegations that his constitutional right to due process was being violated because he was prevented from bringing charges that some potential jurors at his trial may have been fired. for reasons of racial discrimination.
Marley Allen Holt, Bradley Allen’s daughter who now lives in Brooklyn, New York, and was born during the Rhoades trial, said she attended Tuesday’s retribution because Rhoades saw her father die and “wanted to see him die.” .
“It’s a strange feeling,” said Kevin Allen, whose two brothers were killed, after witnessing the execution. “I can’t really describe what it is like. It’s the most solemn thing I think I’ve ever been a part of, if that’s the word that’s appropriate.”
The US Supreme Court refused to delay Rhoades’ execution on allegations that his constitutional right to due process was being violated because he was prevented from bringing charges that some potential jurors at his trial may have been fired. for reasons of racial discrimination.
“We hope that the Allen family will find peace after nearly 30 years of waiting for justice for their loved ones,” Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, who attended the execution, said in a statement.
“The death penalty should be reserved for the worst of the worst, and a Harris County jury long ago found this defendant eligible. Let us honor the memory of the victims, Charles and Bradley Allen, and never forget that our focus has and always will be on the victims. ”
In July, Rhoades attorneys had filed a federal lawsuit against State District Judge Ana Martinez in Houston over a request they had made for the judge to order prosecutors to release information related to allegations that some jurors were dismissed for racial discrimination.
Martínez ruled that she lacked jurisdiction to consider the request. The lawsuit was dismissed earlier this month by a Houston federal judge, who also refused to stay the execution. The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit confirmed the dismissal of the lawsuit on Monday and also refused to stay the execution. The appeals court in 2019 had previously denied a similar claim by Rhoades attorneys about allegations that two black jurors were fired due to racial bias. Rhoades is white.
Rhoades’ attorneys had previously argued unsuccessfully in other appeals: that his constitutional rights were violated when childhood photos showing Rhoades in normal, happy activities and designed to show that he was not violent and would do well in prison were excluded during the punishment phase of the trial; that a state investigator gave false testimony at his trial as to whether Rhoades could receive an unaccompanied license if he is sentenced to life in prison; and that “evolving standards of decency” prohibit executions as punishment for murder.
“A 2020 Gallup poll of Americans’ attitudes to capital punishment shows that public support for the death penalty is at its lowest in half a century, with opposition higher than at any time since 1996, “wrote David Dow and Jeffrey Newberry in a court motion. last month.
Rhoades had a long criminal history, including convictions for burglary and auto theft in Florida, Iowa, and Texas when he broke into the home of Charles Allen in the Houston suburb of Pasadena. The house, located near where the brothers’ parents lived, had just been custom-built for Charles Allen and he had invited his brother to temporarily live with him. The two brothers had recently gone through separate divorces.
Charles Allen, who played the piano and dreamed of a musical career, worked as a chemical operator at a local refinery. Bradley Allen worked as a freelance artist. At trial, prosecutors told the jury that the brothers were asleep when Rhoades broke into his home in the early hours of the morning and attacked Charles Allen while he was in his bed. Bradley Allen died when he came to the defense of his brother.
An arrest was not made in the case until about a month later when Rhoades was caught robbing an elementary school. While in custody, Rhoades confessed to killing the brothers. But he claimed that he came out in self-defense after exchanging words with Charles Allen while Rhoades was taking a walk at 2:30 a.m. “He was tired of running. He wanted to tell what happened,” Rhoades said in his confession.
Rhoades was the third inmate to be executed this year in Texas and the sixth in the United States. Four more executions are scheduled for later this year in Texas, the nation’s busiest capital punishment state. In May, Quintin Jones was executed by Texas, breaking a 10-month lull of executions in the state.
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