William Morva– white, age 24

Sentenced to death in Washington County, Virginia

By: a jury

Date of crime: August 20, 2006, August 21, 2006

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Morva fatally shot hospital guard Derrick McFarland (age 32) and Montgomery Sheriff’s Deputy Corporal Eric Sutphin (age 40) during a jail escape. Morva, an inmate at Montgomery County jail, was taken to Montgomery Regional Hospital for treatment of minor injuries. He beat a deputy sheriff unconscious, took his pistol and used it to shoot the unarmed McFarland in the face. The next day, Morva shot Sutphin in the back of the head as Sutphin took part in a manhunt for Morva in Blacksburg. Ultimately, Morva was convicted of three counts of capital murder: one for killing McFarland, one for killing Sutphin and one for committing two murders in less than three years, a capital offense in Virginia. The jury recommended death on all three counts.

Prosecutor(s): Bradley W. Finch

Defense lawyer(s): Tony Anderson, Tom Blaylock

Sources: Richmond Times Dispatch 3/14/08 (2008 WLNR 5320370); Roanoke Times 6/24/08 (2008 WLNR 11903332)

  
Alfredo R. Prieto – Latino, age 22

Sentenced to death in Fairfax County, Virginia

By: a jury

Date of crime: December 6, 1988

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Prieto murdered Warren H. Fulton III (age 22) and Rachael A. Raver (age 22) in 1988. Prieto shot Fulton and then shot Raver and raped her while she died. The murders went unsolved until DNA from the crime scene provided the evidence necessary for a conviction. The defense argued Prieto was mentally retarded and thus ineligible for a death sentence. Prieto is already on death row in California for an unrelated rape and murder but he was extradited to Virginia.

Prosecutor(s): Robert F. Horan, Jr., Raymond F. Morrogh

Defense lawyer(s): Peter Greenspun, Jonathan Shapiro

Source: AP Alert 7/6/07 – VA 21:13:21; AP Alert 3/3/08 – Crime 20:36:34; Daily Press 5/24/08 (2008 WLNR 9929611); www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/23/AR2008052301457.html; www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/19/AR2005121901831.html