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| Court Upholds Conviction of 'Railroad Killer' |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 05/22/2003 |
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The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Wednesday upheld the capital murder conviction and death sentence of a rail-riding drifter known as the ''Railroad Killer'' who admitted killing more than a dozen people across the country. Angel Maturino Resendiz was convicted three years ago in the Dec. 17, 1998, rape-slaying of Houston-area medical researcher Dr. Claudia Benton. He had unsuccessfully pleaded innocent by reason of insanity and admitted to nine slayings to which he was linked at the time. That number has since grown to 13, and he has said he killed even more people. In a dissenting opinion released Wednesday, Judges Paul Womack and Cheryl Johnson said Maturino Resendiz's trial lawyers should have been allowed to admit graphic photographs of their client's other killings to illustrate ''proof of craziness,'' as his appellate attorneys argued. The court's 7-2 majority opinion, written by Judge Lawrence E. Meyers, said state District Judge William Harmon acted within the rules when he excluded the photos, saying they would distract jurors from the case at hand and would cause ''needless delay.'' Maturino Resendiz, a Mexican citizen, has said he wants to expedite his execution. If he decides to stop his appeals, Harmon has said he would conduct a competency hearing to determine if he legally can do so. |
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