DEATH PENALTY PHASE BEGINS FOR ARYAN BROTHERHOOD PRISON GANG MEMBERS
Randy L. Harrington
August 29, 2006
SANTA ANA, CA—Federal prosecutors on Monday told a jury that “At some point, somebody has to stand up and say, 'That's enough.' For Barry Mills and Tyler Bingham, todays the day. We're standing up and saying enough.” Federal prosecutors are asking that the jury return a death sentence against Barry “The Baron” Mills, and Tyler “The Hulk” Bingham, who are the convicted leaders of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joey Blanch gave a reminder to the jury in the first day of the death penalty phase of the trial that Mills and Bingham were already convicted of conspiracy, racketeering, and murder. Mills and Bingham were convicted by the same jury at the end of July.
Defense Attorney for Mills, H. Dean Steward, said that the defense would show that the defendants were goodhearted people, who acted as they did to survive in a violent prison system. Bingham's attorney, Michael White, reserved his opening statement until the government had completed their case-in-chief.
US Attorney Blanch told the jury that “Mills is a six-time, multi-murderer and if he'd had his way he would have been responsible for 12 murders. Prison sentences did nothing to deter him from his criminal behavior.”
Mills and Bingham are the reputed leaders of the federal branch of the Aryan Brotherhood, a white supremacist prison gang. Their convictions last month are for criminal activities that go back almost 30 years.
Mills and Bingham were charged with 32 murders, and attempted murders as prosecutors painted a grand plot to kill gang rivals, and even those fellow Aryan Brotherhood members and associates in an effort to control a syndicate of drug dealing, and other criminal enterprises. While prosecutors say that the action crippled the Aryan Brotherhood they remain silent on how they are going to deal with the void and vacuum created by the loss of the Aryan Brotherhood, that has been filled by other, older, and larger prison gangs like the Mexican Mafia, The Crips, The Bloods, The Texas Syndicate, as well as the new and violent white supremacist prison gang- the Nazi Low Riders.
The Aryan Brotherhood is a small prison gang, and federal authorities have said that the gang is responsible for less than 1% of the criminal activity in the nations prison system. Federal prosecutors have charged more than a dozen members of the prison gang in what is believed to be the largest capital punishment case in US history. More trials are expected to get underway later this year.
Mills who is 58 and Bingham who is 59, were convicted for the murder of Arva Lee Ray, an inmate at California's Lompoc Federal Prison in 1989. They were also convicted of racketeering in the leadership roles that they had in other acts of murder and attempted murder, to include the deaths of two black DC Blacks prison gang members in a 1997 race riot at the Federal Prison in Lewisburg, PA. All crimes that made them death penalty eligible.
The death penalty, which is the last phase of a capital punishment trial, is expected to last about a week. The first phase of the trial lasted six months, and included evidence and testimony provided by numerous jail house informants, who were one-time gang members, as well as self-admitted conspirators, and murderers.
Prosecutors were almost assured of a conviction against at least Mills and Bingham according to their defense attorneys because of the white supremacist beliefs of the defendants, and because of the fact that the defendants were convicts in prison. Juries traditionally like to convict racists, and almost always convict prisoners.
SOURCES/CONTRIBUTORS: ASSOCIATED PRESS; US CLERK OF THE COURT FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA; FEDERAL BOP; ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Copyright 2006 Randy L. Harrington. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Republication or redistribution of this Article, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Randy L. Harrington. For information about serial reproduction, and distribution rights contact the author Randy L. Harrington.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joey Blanch gave a reminder to the jury in the first day of the death penalty phase of the trial that Mills and Bingham were already convicted of conspiracy, racketeering, and murder. Mills and Bingham were convicted by the same jury at the end of July.
Defense Attorney for Mills, H. Dean Steward, said that the defense would show that the defendants were goodhearted people, who acted as they did to survive in a violent prison system. Bingham's attorney, Michael White, reserved his opening statement until the government had completed their case-in-chief.
US Attorney Blanch told the jury that “Mills is a six-time, multi-murderer and if he'd had his way he would have been responsible for 12 murders. Prison sentences did nothing to deter him from his criminal behavior.”
Mills and Bingham are the reputed leaders of the federal branch of the Aryan Brotherhood, a white supremacist prison gang. Their convictions last month are for criminal activities that go back almost 30 years.
Mills and Bingham were charged with 32 murders, and attempted murders as prosecutors painted a grand plot to kill gang rivals, and even those fellow Aryan Brotherhood members and associates in an effort to control a syndicate of drug dealing, and other criminal enterprises. While prosecutors say that the action crippled the Aryan Brotherhood they remain silent on how they are going to deal with the void and vacuum created by the loss of the Aryan Brotherhood, that has been filled by other, older, and larger prison gangs like the Mexican Mafia, The Crips, The Bloods, The Texas Syndicate, as well as the new and violent white supremacist prison gang- the Nazi Low Riders.
The Aryan Brotherhood is a small prison gang, and federal authorities have said that the gang is responsible for less than 1% of the criminal activity in the nations prison system. Federal prosecutors have charged more than a dozen members of the prison gang in what is believed to be the largest capital punishment case in US history. More trials are expected to get underway later this year.
Mills who is 58 and Bingham who is 59, were convicted for the murder of Arva Lee Ray, an inmate at California's Lompoc Federal Prison in 1989. They were also convicted of racketeering in the leadership roles that they had in other acts of murder and attempted murder, to include the deaths of two black DC Blacks prison gang members in a 1997 race riot at the Federal Prison in Lewisburg, PA. All crimes that made them death penalty eligible.
The death penalty, which is the last phase of a capital punishment trial, is expected to last about a week. The first phase of the trial lasted six months, and included evidence and testimony provided by numerous jail house informants, who were one-time gang members, as well as self-admitted conspirators, and murderers.
Prosecutors were almost assured of a conviction against at least Mills and Bingham according to their defense attorneys because of the white supremacist beliefs of the defendants, and because of the fact that the defendants were convicts in prison. Juries traditionally like to convict racists, and almost always convict prisoners.
SOURCES/CONTRIBUTORS: ASSOCIATED PRESS; US CLERK OF THE COURT FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA; FEDERAL BOP; ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Copyright 2006 Randy L. Harrington. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Republication or redistribution of this Article, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Randy L. Harrington. For information about serial reproduction, and distribution rights contact the author Randy L. Harrington.