David Woods was executed by the State of Indiana for the murder of Juan Placencia
According to court documents David Woods and two accomplices would go to the home of Juan Placencia. When Juan answered the door he was immediately stabbed by woods who would continue to stab him causing his death
David Woods would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
David Woods would be executed by lethal injection on May 4 2007
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When Was David Woods Executed
David Woods was executed on May 4 2007
David Woods Case
David Leon Woods was executed by lethal injection early Friday for killing a 77-year-old man during a 1984 burglary. Woods, 42, was pronounced dead at 12:35 a.m. Central Daylight Time, officials at the Indiana State Prison said.
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected requests that Woods’ execution be stayed Thursday, as did the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels also denied clemency for Woods on Thursday. The state Parole Board had earlier unanimously recommended against granting clemency. Woods’ attorneys had tried to stop the execution on the grounds that Indiana’s lethal injection protocol constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. He also disputed the state court’s method of determining whether he was mentally retarded, which could have rendered him ineligible for the death penalty. Federal courts won’t stop execution
The U.S. Supreme Court today turned down two requests from David Leon Woods to block his execution, The Associated Press reported. Woods had challenged with the high court the state Supreme Court’s method of determining whether he is mentally retarded. Separately, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago today denied the second of two requests for intervention. Today’s federal court actions appeared to leave no further legal options for Woods.
Daniels won’t grant clemency
Gov. Mitch Daniels today said he will not grant clemency to David Leon Woods, who is set to be executed by lethal injection early tomorrow in a 1984 murder. Daniels said he based his decision on the parole board’s recommendation, which unanimously recommended against it, and on the wishes of the victim’s family. Barring court intervention, Woods will be put to death at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City sometime before dawn Friday.
Woods was convicted of fatally stabbing Juan Placencia in April 1984.
Aside from his clemency bid, Woods has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block his execution, challenging the state Supreme Court’s method of determining whether he is mentally retarded. His lawyer, Linda Wagoner, said she planned to appeal a federal court’s ruling denying a preliminary injunction to delay the execution. Should it go through, Placenia’s family will be the first to view an execution since Indiana changed its law last year giving relatives of murder victims the right to watch executions.
Sen. Tom Wyss, R-Fort Wayne, said he proposed the change after meeting with the prison warden and discovering victims’ families had to get permission from the person being put to death if they wanted to watch the execution. “The person being executed already has caused these people harm. Obviously, they’ve lost a loved one in some way, and they have to ask his permission if they feel they want to watch?” Wyss said. “It just seemed like the state was giving them another slam.”
Prison spokesman Barry Nothstine said he could recall only one execution where a victim’s family member watched. That was two years ago when Kevin A. Conner allowed relatives of three men he killed in Indianapolis to witness his death. Nothstine said Gregory Scott Johnson invited a relative of 82-year-old Ruby Hutslar of Anderson to watch his execution two years ago, but that person did not attend.
The victim’s son, Gene Placencia, who lives in Ridgecrest, Calif., said he wants to watch the execution to show support for the system. “I won’t be there because I’m bitter. I won’t be there because I hate him — I don’t care for the person, but I don’t hate him,” he said. “We’re going to be there because we need to support our courts and we need to support the laws that have been set forth.”
Placencia said not all his siblings want to watch the execution. “Some of them wanted to deal with it in another way and didn’t want to be present,” he said.
Juan Placencia’s granddaughter, Tonya Hoeffel, who was 20 when he was killed, is not eligible to watch the execution. Only spouses, parents, siblings, children and grandparents can view an execution, and all must be at least 18 years old. A maximum of eight people are allowed. Hoeffel said she would not have wanted to view Woods’ death anyway. “I don’t take any joy in knowing that someone may die on Friday,” she said. “I’m just going to support my family.”
Wyss said that was his intent when he proposed the law. “If nobody wants to go, fine. But no one should have to go before the victimizer and ask permission,” he said. Under the new law, the person being executed can have up to five people watch, down from 10 previously. To accommodate the change, the prison built a separate room for family members of the victim. Woods will be able to see the people he invited and the victim’s family members, Nothstine said.
Hoeffel’s mother, Catherine Placencia, said she has no qualms about watching the execution. “I’ve waited for this to happen for 23 years,” she said. “I’m good with it.”
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