VICKI LYNNE HOSKINSON - 8 yo (1984)/ Convicted: Frank Jarvis Atwood - Flowing Wells AZ

Judge rejects child-killer Atwood’s evidence tampering claim

September 13, 2012 5:15 pm
Kim Smith, Arizona Daily Star

A U.S. District Court judge has denied a motion that would’ve granted child-killer Frank Jarvis Atwood a hearing where his attorneys could argue detectives planted evidence that landed him on Arizona’s death row.

Atwood, 56, was sentenced to die in May 1987 for the Sept. 17, 1984, kidnapping and slaying of Vicki Lynne Hoskinson, 8.

During his trial, jurors heard testimony that pink paint on Atwood’s front bumper matched that on Vicki's bike. Prosecutors argued Atwood knocked the girl down in the course of her kidnapping with his Datsun 280Z.

In June, attorneys on both sides of the case spent four hours arguing over whether defense attorneys should be allowed to present evidence they say proves police transferred the paint to Vicki’s bike, manufactured the accident reconstruction and destroyed evidence that may have helped Atwood prove his innocence.

U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour took the matter under advisement.

In his written decision released earlier this week, Coughenour said the defense attorneys engaged in “unbridled speculation” and a Pima County Superior Court judge made the correct decision when he rejected the same claims several months ago.

The judge went on to say he is aware defense attorneys are still conducting an informal investigation, but he is not “inclined to permit further use of Criminal Justice Act funds for this endeavor.”

Although she knows authorities didn’t tamper with the evidence, Stephanie Brandt said she was worried the judge would rule in Atwood’s favor, making Monday’s anniversary of her sister’s disappearance even harder to bear.

“It’s crazy how much time has gone by,” Brandt said. “You feel like you’re living in a dream until something like this happens. At least this makes it real again in a good way . . . at least it finally feels like we’re getting somewhere.”

During the June hearing, defense attorney Larry Hammond showed pictures to Coughenour he said prove detectives planted the paint. Two side-by-side photos reportedly show Atwood's bumper before it was removed and flown to Tucson and after it was replaced. In the latter photo, the bumper appears to be misaligned.

Hammond also showed the judge a blown-up photo of the bumper. He said he has two expert witnesses who will testify the reflection in the bumper shows Vicki's bike chain guard - even though the bumper and the bike weren't supposed to be in town together at that time.

Assistant Arizona Attorney General Lacey Gard argued Atwood wasn't entitled to an evidentiary hearing because a state court judge had already ruled on the matter.

During the hearing, Coughenour was shown a photo of the bumper’s reflection.

Coughenour told Hammond he didn’t see the chain guard, the man holding the chain guard or the wheel.

Stanton Bloom, Atwood's trial attorney, has said without the paint evidence he believes the state would have had a hard time convicting Atwood. They didn't find Vicki's blood, fingerprints or hair inside the car.

Hammond did not return a phone message left for him Thursday.

However, Hammond has said he intends to file a motion asking Coughenour to reconsider a June 2005 decision rejecting Atwood’s claim that his earlier attorneys were ineffective. The defense attorney will base his motion on a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court decision.

In this week’s written ruling, Coughenour warned he will not extend an Oct. 1 deadline to file that motion “given the extraordinary delays that have already occurred” in the case.

http://azstarnet.com/news/local/crime/judge-rejects-child-killer-atwood-s-evidence-tampering-claim/article_3e08732e-fdfa-11e1-af50-0019bb2963f4.html

High court case delays an Atwood resentence

March 08, 2013 12:00 am
Carli Brosseau Arizona Daily Star

A decision on whether a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court decision created a possibility for longtime death-row inmate Frank Jarvis Atwood to get a new sentencing hearing has been delayed by yet another Supreme Court case.

Atwood was convicted of kidnapping and murdering 8-year-old Vicki Lynne Hoskinson. He was sentenced to die in May 1987.

On Thursday, his attorneys tried to persuade U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour to reconsider a 2005 decision that prevented them from arguing that Atwood's original attorney was ineffective during his sentencing hearing.

Attorney Paula Harms argued that the Supreme Court's decision in Martinez v. Ryan significantly changed the law about ineffective-assistance claims and the decision applies in this case.

If the judge finds that the case applies and that Atwood's claim has merit, Atwood could get a new sentencing hearing at which his attorneys plan to present previously unheard evidence about Atwood's mental illness and sexual abuse during adolescence.

Assistant Arizona Attorney General Lacey Gard argued the 2012 decision does not apply, and the judge who sentenced Atwood knew most of the mitigating evidence when he sentenced him to death.

Coughenour declined to rule on the Martinez question until the Supreme Court decides another case, Trevino v. Thaler, which deals with procedures surrounding ineffective-assistance claims.

The oral arguments for the case already have been held.

http://azstarnet.com/news/local/crime/high-court-case-delays-an-atwood-resentence/article_63bf2fc1-d9ce-57fc-a027-c013468e885e.html