Judge won't drop Tarrant DA's office from Richardson capital-murder appeal

Monday, Aug. 24, 2009

By MELODY McDONALD

mjmcdonald@star-telegram.com

A state district judge has denied an attorney’s request to recuse the Tarrant County district attorney’s office from the appellate case of Death Row inmate Chelsea Richardson because of allegations of misconduct by a former prosecutor.

Visiting state District Judge Steven Herod faxed his ruling to both parties but offered no explanation or opinion about his decision. Herod, who is from Eastland County, has traveled to Tarrant County on several occasions for hearings on the issue.

"I’m in the process of making a decision on what action I’m going to take next," said Bob Ford, Richardson’s appellate attorney. "I need to consult with my client, and she is in the penitentiary. We’ll move on from that point."

Ford could allow Richardson’s case to proceed or file a writ of mandamus with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals challenging Herod’s ruling. A mandamus is an order from a higher court to a lower court to withdraw a ruling if it is found that the lower court erred or ignored the law.

Chuck Mallin, chief of the district attorney’s appellate division, said: "We are very pleased with the judge’s order. We are waiting for Bob Ford to make his decision and, once he does, we will go from there."

Ford had said the lead prosecutor on Richardson’s case, Mike Parrish, withheld a report from Richardson’s defense team and interfered with her attorney-client privilege. It’s the second time that Parrish had been accused of misconduct on a death-penalty case. Parrish retired from the district attorney’s office last year amid the controversy.

Richardson, 25, was sentenced to death after her conviction in May 2005 of capital murder in the slayings of her boyfriend’s parents, Rick and Suzanna Wamsley of Mansfield. Authorities have said that Richardson, boyfriend Andrew Wamsley and friend Susana Toledano killed the couple in 2003 so Andrew Wamsley could inherit his parents’ $1.65 million estate.

Toledano and Wamsley are serving life sentences.

Richardson, portrayed as the mastermind in the crime, became the first Tarrant County woman to receive the death penalty.

Ford, Richardson’s court-appointed attorney, later filed a post-conviction writ of habeas corpus saying Richardson was illegally convicted because of legal errors and misconduct.

In previous hearings, Ford said Parrish committed a Brady violation when he failed to turn over Toledano’s psychological report to Richardson’s defense team. A Brady violation occurs when a prosecutor violates a defendant’s constitutional rights by withholding evidence favorable to the defense.

Ford also says Parrish failed to reveal to a judge or a grand jury foreman that he had been indirectly receiving information from Richardson’s legal assistant about the case, interfering with her attorney-client privilege.

During the latest hearing in June, Ford introduced two public documents that outlined Parrish’s problems in another death-penalty case. In December, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned the conviction of Death Row inmate Michael Toney after the Tarrant County district attorney’s office agreed that Parrish failed to turn over to the defense at least 14 documents containing exculpatory or impeaching evidence.

Toney was sentenced to death in 1999 for the 1985 bombing of a Lake Worth trailer that killed three people. The withheld evidence cast doubt on the testimony of Toney’s ex-wife and former best friend, who were key witnesses against him. No physical evidence connected Toney to the bombing.

The district attorney’s office voluntarily recused itself from the Toney case, which is now being handled by the Texas attorney general’s office.