Aryan Brotherhood Members Face Federal Death Penalty
Jim Kouri, CPP
July 30, 2006
A federal jury found four members of the notorious white-supremicist group, The Ayran Brother guilty on Friday on charges that they used murder and intimidation to continue their drug-dealing operations within a prison.
Prosecutors charactized the conviction as being part of one of the largest federal capital cases ever, with more than a dozen suspects facing the death penalty.
Prosecutors say they spent six years collecting evidence in the case. Forty people were originally arrested. Nineteen made plea deals and one died. In the fall, more suspects will face juries in two trials.
Barry "The Baron" Mills, Tyler "The Hulk" Bingham, Edgar "The Snail" Hevle and Christopher Overton Gibson are the first to stand trial in the federal RICO case. The four were all members of The Aryan Brotherhood and two of them -- Mills and Bingham -- are eligible for the federal death penalty.
In addition, Mills, Bingham and Hevle were convicted of the murder of fellow prisoner, Arva Lee Ray, whom they killed at the Lompoc, California, prison in 1989. Mills and Bingham were acquitted by the jury of the murder of another inmate.
During the trial, the attorney representing Mills is disputed the credibility of witnesses, asking jurors to carefully consider their credibility.
Mark Fleming, who represented Mills, told jurors that many of the prosecution's witnesses were given incentives to testify, such as cash, reduced prison sentences and even freedom in exchange for testimony.
Apparently the members of the jury did not find Fleming's argument credible nor compelling a delivered guilty verdicts on all charges but one.
Prosecutors charactized the conviction as being part of one of the largest federal capital cases ever, with more than a dozen suspects facing the death penalty.
Prosecutors say they spent six years collecting evidence in the case. Forty people were originally arrested. Nineteen made plea deals and one died. In the fall, more suspects will face juries in two trials.
Barry "The Baron" Mills, Tyler "The Hulk" Bingham, Edgar "The Snail" Hevle and Christopher Overton Gibson are the first to stand trial in the federal RICO case. The four were all members of The Aryan Brotherhood and two of them -- Mills and Bingham -- are eligible for the federal death penalty.
In addition, Mills, Bingham and Hevle were convicted of the murder of fellow prisoner, Arva Lee Ray, whom they killed at the Lompoc, California, prison in 1989. Mills and Bingham were acquitted by the jury of the murder of another inmate.
During the trial, the attorney representing Mills is disputed the credibility of witnesses, asking jurors to carefully consider their credibility.
Mark Fleming, who represented Mills, told jurors that many of the prosecution's witnesses were given incentives to testify, such as cash, reduced prison sentences and even freedom in exchange for testimony.
Apparently the members of the jury did not find Fleming's argument credible nor compelling a delivered guilty verdicts on all charges but one.
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