Yuma has ties to 3 death row inmates

With the execution of Richard Bible on June 30, there are now three inmates left on death row with ties to Yuma County — Alvie Kiles, Gregory S. Dickens and Theodore Washington.

Alvie Kiles, 50, has been on death row since March 1990 for the triple homicide of his girlfriend, Valerie Gunnell, and her two daughters, 9-month-old Lecresha and 5-year-old Shemaeah.

On February 9, 1989, Kiles and Gunnell resumed a long-standing argument over Kiles' propensity for stealing Gunnell's food stamps to buy cocaine, according to Arizona Supreme Court documents. During the argument, Kiles went to his car to retrieve a tire jack and then pummelled Gunnell to death.

Kiles then killed the two children because they were “crying and hollering and screaming” at the sight of seeing their mother murdered.

Although he was convicted in 1989, the Yuma County Superior Court declared he received ineffective counsel and ordered a retrial.

A second jury reconvicted Kiles in 2000 on first-degree murder charges, yet could not agree on the death sentence so he received consecutive life sentences.

In 2006, a jury in Maricopa County discovered aggravating factors in the case and sentenced him to death.

Kiles immediately filed an appeal which centered on irregularities in his trial and excessive media coverage, claiming the Yuma Sun's nearly 100 articles prejudiced the jury. It was rejected by the Arizona Supreme Court in 2009.

Despite the rejection and the crime occurring over 20 years ago, Kiles will likely not see the death chamber any time soon.

He is currently awaiting the appointment of a state post-conviction counsel, which will delay any warrant of execution for at least 15-20 years, said Amy Rezzonico, press secretary for the Arizona Attorney General's Office.

Gregory S. Dickens, 46, has been on death row since December 1993 for the murder of Bryan and Laura Bernstein at a rest area near Telegraph Pass.

Dickens and 16-year-old Travis Amaral were staking out the rest area for victims to rob. When the Bernsteins arrived, Amaral took the gun that Dickens had stolen, forced the couple into the desert and shot both Bryan and Laura in the head.

In 2000, Dickens' appeal alleged that the judge in his trial, Yuma County Judge Tom Cole, was homophobic, according to Sun archives. He also appealed saying he had an ineffective defense lawyer. The appeals failed.

In 2007, Dickens and other Arizona death row inmates filed an appeal claiming Arizona's use of lethal injection violates the eighth amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.

According to court documents, the complainants asserted that “if the sodium thiopental, (one of three drugs used in an execution,) is administered incorrectly, the inmate will be improperly anesthetized and experience tremendous pain and suffering” throughout the execution.

The appeal made it to the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The justices ruled in favor of Arizona.

Currently, Dickens is awaiting an opinion from the Ninth Circuit on his execution. If Dickens loses, his case will be reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court and then the state will seek a Warrant of Execution, meaning Dickens could be executed in one to two years, said Rezzonico.

Theodore Washington, 51, has been on death row since January 1988 for the murder of Sterleen Hill at her home in Yuma.

On June 8, 1987, Washington and Jimmy Mathers accompanied Fred Robinson from Banning, Calif., to the Yuma home of Ralph and Sterleen Hill. Ralph and Sterleen were the parents of Robinson's estranged common-law wife, Susan Hill. Susan had visited her parents in an attempt to leave her abusive husband. Unbeknownst to Robinson, Susan had left Yuma weeks earlier and moved back to California.

Later that night, the three men forced themselves into the Hill residence and identified themselves as narcotics agents.

They tied up Sterleen and Ralph and shot each of them with a 12-gauge shotgun. Ralph survived. Sterleen did not.

All three men were convicted and sentenced to death, but only Washington remains on death row.

In 1990, the State Supreme Court determined the evidence against Mathers was insufficient and acquitted him.

As for Robinson, in February 2010 the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Robinson received inadequate counsel during the penalty phase of his trial and ordered that Robinson receive a new sentencing hearing.

The case is currently in the Yuma court system. If Robinson is resentenced to death, he will likely not receive a date of execution for another 15-20 years, said Rezzonico.

Washington's case is pending oral argument in the Ninth Circuit where the court is determining if it has jurisdiction to review his case. They have been debating for six years.