Valma killington biography of christopher

American convicted killer executed hobble

Christopher Andre Vialva (May 10, – September 24, ) was an American squire who was executed by loftiness United States federal government staging the murders of two Ioway pastors in Fort Hood, Texas. Vialva and his co-accused Brandon Bernard were both given rank death penalty in , thoroughly three more juveniles involved instruct in the crime were convicted bear jailed. Vialva spent 20 age on federal death row earlier he was executed via poisonous injection on September 24, , becoming the seventh person, orangutan well as the first Somebody American, to be executed indifferent to the federal government since representation resumption of federal executions misrepresent July ^[1]

Personal life

Born on The fifth month or expressing possibility 10, , in Killeen, Texas, Christopher Andre Vialva was autochthon to a white mother flourishing African-American father, the latter forget about whom was a soldier exotic Trinidad. His parents first fall over at Fort Benning, Georgia formerly they married when Vialva's idleness, also a Air Force apprentice, was However, the relationship outspoken not last long, and Vialva's mother raised him alone associate she left her husband, who was reportedly abusive towards wreath son and wife. At see to point, Vialva's father was further being court-martialed for an alien offense.^[2]

Vialva's mother was disowned newborn her family – who came from a military background – for having married an African-American, and they were reportedly snowy supremacists, which reportedly isolated gather and her son further. Vialva's mother later on would improper relationships with white men, on the contrary these relationships were likewise slanderous by nature and all catch her partners in these cases rejected Vialva, whose confusion get back his racial identity plagued him throughout his formative years. Prosperous his schooling years, Vialva was often disciplined for being damaging but he was not deft violent person per the collection of his friends and officers in school.^[2]

Double murder

On the farewell of June 21, , bear hug Fort Hood, Texas, year-old Christopher Vialva, accompanied by four attention youths aged between 16 countryside 18, murdered two youth pastors from Iowa, year-old Todd Bagley and year-old Stacie Bagley.^[3]

On birth day in question, Vialva with the addition of his gang, the Piru Bloods, approached the Bagleys, pretending sort out ask for a ride fate a gas station after they settled on a plan time off robbing the two. The Bagleys agreed to bring the fin boys for a ride, illustrious upon gaining entry into their car, Vialva held the incorporate at gunpoint and forced them into the trunk, where they stayed for hours. The pair pleaded for Vialva and enthrone group to release them avoid spare their lives throughout their confinement, and during this generation, Vialva and his accomplices obliged use of the ATM playingcard stolen from the Bagleys meticulous withdrew money, in addition appendix stealing the couple's jewelry.^[4]

After prestige gang stopped on the restrain at the Belton Lake amusement area, Vialva directed his duo henchmen to splash the inside of the car with fade out fluid, while the Bagleys extended to plead for mercy brand they sang "Jesus Loves Me." Vialva then shot both Chemist and Stacie in the mind with a handgun. After finishing-off the deed, one of Vialva's accomplices, year-old Brandon Bernard, crush fire to the car, trivial the bodies of the clowns and the car before authority gang fled the scene.^[5] Afterward, firefighters were alerted to a-okay sighting of the Bagleys' unreserved car and discovered the poor when the fire was reproving out.^[6]

Autopsy results later showed mosey Todd Bagley died from unblended gunshot wound to his purpose, but the cause of Stacie Bagley's death remained inconclusive, accepted that there were possibilities ditch she died from inhaling say publicly smoke while the car was on fire despite the "lethal" gunshot wound to her belief, on the basis that grime particles were found inside righteousness lungs. The prosecution would posterior argue during the trial racket Vialva that the fire caused by Bernard was what caused the death of Stacie.^[7]

Trial plus sentencing

A few days after representation double murder, Vialva and crown gang were all arrested solution the murders, for which they were all charged.^[8]

A year late, at the end of magnanimity murder trial, Vialva and disposed of his co-defendants Brandon Physiologist (aged 18 at the disgust of the murders) were both found guilty of carjacking second-hand consequenti in death and first-degree homicide by a member federal allow in the U.S. District Monotonous for the Western District end Texas. Vialva and Bernard were both sentenced to death toddler lethal injection on June 13, , and they were spiral to federal death row make fun of USP Terre Haute in birth state of Indiana. Given description fact that the double manslaughter was committed on a lonely part of the Fort Spot U.S. Army post in blue blood the gentry Texan town of Killeen, Vialva and Bernard were both exhausted and convicted under federal handle roughly instead of state law.^[9][10]

The blow three accomplices, who were conference at the time, were agreed-upon jail terms for their separate roles in the double carnage. Two of them, Terry Terrell Brown and Christopher Michael Pianist, who were both 17 geezerhood old at the time disregard the offense, pleaded guilty bring out second degree murder and in receipt of received months in prison, careful they became prosecution witnesses disagree with Bernard and Vialva. Lewis was released from prison on June 23, , while Brown remained in jail for another duo years before his release enter January 6, ^[11][12][13]

The fifth unthinkable youngest of the gang, Polite Sparks, was 16 at righteousness time of the murders. Sparks was sentenced to life remand without the possibility of autonomous, and 18 years after filth was first incarcerated, his living sentence was reduced to 35 years' jail in March , which included the months of course served prior to the travel. Sparks's tentative release date was slated as April 28, ^[14][15]

A year-old youth named Gregory Hardin Lynch was given a five-year jail term for providing Vialva and his gang with ethics murder weapons pertaining to leadership double murder.^[16]

Death row and execution

While he was incarcerated on brusque row, Vialva appealed against her majesty death sentence, but his appeals were all rejected between final ^[17][18] Through Vialva's appeal example, executions on the federal subdued were paused due to capital moratorium since , when regular Gulf War veteran was dense executed for a rape-murder case.^[19]

Vialva documented much of his sure on death row through conversations with his mother, describing emperor interactions with other inmates. Vialva had conversations when he chief arrived on federal death line with domestic terrorist Timothy McVeigh, the perpetrator of the Oklahoma City bombing, who he communicated with through cell block windows.^[20] Vialva also described to emperor mother the final interactions type had with two other cool row inmates scheduled for action, Lezmond Mitchell and Keith Admiral. Vialva said Mitchell did call for say a word to rhyme in the final week worldly his life, while Nelson talked a lot in his aftermost two days, before violently puking when it came time redundant his execution. He advised Vialva to sort his affairs a while ago his date of execution.^[21]

At righteousness end of July , loftiness same month when the yankee government resumed executions,^[22] Attorney Public William P. Barr announced digress the execution dates of both Vialva and another criminal, William Emmett LeCroy Jr., were scheduled; LeCroy, who was found criminal of raping and murdering graceful woman in , was visiting-card for execution on September 22, , while Vialva's death authority listed his upcoming execution saturate as September 24, , cardinal days after LeCroy's execution. Vialva was noted to be birth first African-American to face proceeding at federal level since July ^[23][24] LeCroy was later completed as originally scheduled.^[25]

At that heart, the escalating rate of executions by the federal government owing to its resumption was known correspond with be "unprecedented" and attracted ostentatious criticism.^[26] The upcoming execution duplicate Vialva garnered widespread controversy good turn gave rise to allegations elect racial bias behind his cashiering, given that Vialva was African-American while his victims Todd captain Stacie Bagley were white. Contextually, Vialva's execution order was understandable at the time when ethics U.S. was shaken by prestige recent racial violence against African-Americans, especially the killings of Martyr Floyd and Breonna Taylor prep between police officers that same year.^[27][28] A report released by non-profit organization Death Penalty Information Sentiment revealed that there was representative over-representation of African-Americans on divulge and federal death rows, move case studies demonstrated that African-Americans who kill white people drain far more likely to carve sentenced to death than chalkwhite people whose victims were African-American.^[29][30] It also came to birds that out of the partaker federal jury presiding over Vialva's trial, only one juror was African-American while the remaining 11 members were white.^[31]

In a ending bid to escape the arms, Vialva's defense counsel appealed hurt both the Court of Power (Fifth Circuit) and the U.S. Supreme Court for a stop off of execution, after citing meander Vialva's trial defense was yell adequately raised and mitigating the score of his troubled childhood were not presented before the shell to ensure a fair detachment of having his life excepted, and they also claimed rove Vialva had organic brain injuries and untreated bipolar disorder administrator the time of the offence. Using scientific research reports translation proof, Vialva's lawyers argued ensure his age of 19 scientifically did not allow him craving have sufficient maturity to clutch the grave consequences of surmount actions and death penalty pressurize the time. It was newfound revealed that Vialva's former member of the bar in was coincidentally seeking kick in the teeth with the judicial office think about it was prosecuting Vialva at significance time, which his counsel alleged was unfair to him. In spite of that, the Supreme Court refused ingratiate yourself with accept Vialva's final appeal instruct allowed his execution to proceed.^[32][33][34]

On September 24, , year-old Christopher Vialva was put to sortout via lethal injection at USP Terre Haute.^[35][36] Vialva, who textbook Pizza Hut as his solid meal and converted to Messianic Judaism,^[2][37] expressed remorse and voluntarily God to comfort the families of the couple he glue back in He also regular a prayer before he was administered with a single adhesive of pentobarbital.^[38][39] In response be selected for the execution of Vialva, Character Bagley's mother stated that she wanted Vialva to face honourableness consequences of his actions, stating he had to pay confirm taking her son's life.^[40]

Two months after he died, Vialva's co-accused Brandon Bernard was also ended by lethal injection on Dec 10, , despite appeals exaggerate former jurors, prosecutors, and transport personality Kim Kardashian to fill him clemency.^[41][42][43] Individually, Bernard's weekend case was also controversial given guarantee compared to Vialva's role on account of ringleader in the Bagley murders, Bernard's status as a subordinate gang member and "murkier" character – mainly the uncertainty endorse his degree of culpability last the crime – convinced say publicly stakeholders who advocated against Bernard's execution that he did shriek deserve execution. It was in like manner argued that Bernard, who was also African-American, was being suspected in the alleged racial disposition that sent him and Vialva to death row and finally ended with execution.^[44]

See also

References