Jefferson Parish man facing death sentence is denied a new trial

Isaiah Doyle in 2005 (JPSO)
This thing will go on and on and on. At some point we have to bring this matter to a conclusion so we can go to the next step." -Judge June Darensburg

Attorneys for Isaiah Doyle, the last convicted killer in Jefferson Parish to receive a death sentence, lost their bid for a new trial Wednesday, after a state judge rejected their arguments that newly discovered evidence at least warrants having a jury reconsider his punishment. Judge June Darensburg's decision means that Doyle's first-degree murder conviction and death sentence for killing Hwa Lee in Marrero only weeks before Hurricane Katrina made landfall is automatically appealed to the Louisiana Supreme Court.

At issue was whether Doyle's appeals attorneys have new evidence that was not available to his defense team before the March 2011 trial. Prosecutors said the evidence is not new. Darensburg said the six years between the killing and his trial was ample time for attorneys to prepare the defense.

"This thing will go on and on and on," Darensburg, of the 24th Judicial District Court, told Doyle's attorneys. "At some point we have to bring this matter to a conclusion so we can go to the next step. This court is of the opinion that what you are looking to present to the court, if presented to this court, will not change my mind."

Doyle, 31, who appeared to doze off during the hour-long hearing at the Jefferson Parish Courthouse in Gretna, was immediately sent back to death row at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola.

He killed Lee, 26, on Aug. 4, 2005, while she was working behind the cash register at her parents' convenience store at Barataria Boulevard and Eighty Arpent Road in Marrero. Doyle, after a drug-fueled, all-night crime spree with his friend Jose Rojas, walked to the counter, pulled out a .45-caliber pistol and demanded cash and packs of Kool cigarettes. She complied, even showing Doyle the empty register drawer. Doyle shot her four times, killing her.

Doyle never denied killing Lee, telling Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office detectives initially that it was an accident. Yet, in startling testimony during the penalty phase of his trial, he outright admitted guilt. "The only reason she was shot four times is because the gun jammed," he testified. "Otherwise, I would have emptied the gun in her f------ head."

His defense team during the trial argued Doyle could not legally receive a death sentence because of lifelong mental illness, meaning he would automatically be sentenced to life in prison. Prosecutors argued Doyle was faking mental illness. The jury recommended death.

On Wednesday, Doyle's appellate attorneys, Richard Bourke and Christine Lehmann, argued they were able to speak with Rojas only after he pleaded guilty to his role in Lee's death, and that was after Doyle was convicted and sentenced to die.

Rojas claimed that Doyle was heavily under the influence of heroin, cocaine and Xanax when he killed Lee, and by law, the intoxication affected his ability to form specific intent to kill, Bourke argued. "It is genuinely newly discovered evidence," he said.

Separately, a doctor has since confirmed a previous diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder, a finding based largely on observations since Doyle has been confined to death row, Bourke argued. The mental condition was exacerbated by the drug use, the attorneys said.

During the trial, Doyle sent shock waves through the courtroom by telling jurors he wanted to kill them. He pointed to a man on the jury and told him he would decapitate him. He said he would gun them all down if he had an AK-47 assault rifle.

Bourke called it "unregulated expressions of frustration and anger because of the illness," which is being corrected with anti-psychotic medication. "It would be a grave injustice ... not to have a jury consider all of that information, place it all in context," he said.

Assistant District Attorney Vince Paciera said Doyle was faking mental illness in an attempt to get out of a death sentence. "When I said he was crazy like a fox, I meant it then and I mean it now," Paciera argued, saying that he saw no difference in Doyle's behavior in court Wednesday and that from his trial two years ago.

Bourke also argued that Louisiana and Jefferson Parish violated the National Voter Registration Act, which affects the pool of residents eligible for jury service.

The attorney urged Darensburg to at least order a new penalty phase, at which evidence could be presented to a new jury which could decide whether Doyle gets life in prison or the death penalty.

"This is the last and only stage of proceedings in which we're allowed to present this material," Bourke said. "No other court between now and Mr. Doyle's execution will ever (have) this court's discretion."

The Jefferson Parish district attorney's office has not sought a first-degree murder conviction and death penalty since Doyle was charged in the case in November 2005.