Updates come in the mail every few months on letterhead from the Georgia attorney general\u2019s office. But, they rarely say anything new the family of a slain army sargeant cares to hear about death row inmate Reinaldo Rivera.<\/p>\n
The last update explained holdups with the death penalty related to concerns that a drug used in executions might cause the inmate pain.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis pain that he suffers is far less than the pain caused Marni and Chrisilee,\u201d said Wendy Knopp, older sister of Rivera\u2019s first victim, 21-year-old Army Sgt. Marni Glista.<\/p>\n
Sgt. Glista\u2019s family waits on the death sentence to be carried out as the lengthy judicial process continues.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going on 11 years since Marni\u2019s death,\u201d said Knopp, of Puyallup, Wash. \u201cIt would be nice to have that final closure, but it\u2019s not up to us either.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Richmond County Superior Court jury sentenced Rivera to death in January 2004 for Glista\u2019s murder. Glista was found unconscious and barely breathing inside her home on Sept. 5, 2000, after being attacked the day before. She died Sept. 9 at Doctors Hospital. Glista was strangled, according to the indictment.<\/p>\n
Rivera confessed that he raped and killed three other women. A fourth, Chrisilee Barton, survived a brutal stabbing and gave investigators clues that led to his capture.<\/p>\n
Especially near the anniversary of Glista\u2019s death and her July birthday, the family wonders what her life would be like today if not for Rivera.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was married. Would she have kids; what would her career path look like?\u201d Knopp said.<\/p>\n
The death sentence appeal of the serial rapist and killer moved to the Georgia Supreme Court where a decision to review his request for habeas corpus should be issued by the end of March.<\/p>\n
Most recently, Rivera\u2019s lawyer for the habeas petition was granted a 10-day extension by the courts on Sept. 6 to file a brief regarding the inmate\u2019s mental competency. His lawyer, Brian Kammer from the Georgia Resource Center in Atlanta, stated that he needed more time to write a well-researched brief given the court\u2019s demands and his workload for other death penatly cases, Hansen said.<\/p>\n
Kammer denied a request for interview.<\/p>\n
The state has six months to rule on the case after the court term to which it has been assigned this month, according to Jane Hansen, public information officer for the Georgia Supreme Court. The case will be argued through written briefs after the court denied a request to hear oral arguments in June, she said.<\/p>\n
As Glista\u2019s family waits on this chapter in their lives to close, they cling to their faith in God and the courts.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me and my family, we have a tremendous amount of faith in Christ. He is the final judge and jury,\u201d Knopp said. \u201cI hope the sentence is carried out. I do believe in the justice system.\u201d<\/p>\n
At this point in the appeals process, Rivera, who sits on death row in Jackson, Ga., is asking the Georgia Supreme Court to challenge the most recent ruling against him.<\/p>\n
On March 31, Superior Court Judge William Fears ordered a final ruling denying Rivera\u2019s petition for habeas.<\/p>\n
Rivera insisted from his first confessions that he wanted a death sentence.<\/p>\n
According to the judge\u2019s final order, Rivera \u201cconsistently, both at trial and during these habeas proceedings, indicated that he has no desire to appeal his convictions and sentences.\u201d<\/p>\n
Peter Johnson, an Augusta criminal defense attorney who represented Rivera during his original trial, said Rivera\u2019s appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court, if authorized, must continue with the original grounds of the habeas trial.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they deny it, then he is dead in the water,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n
According to Johnson, the only other option for Rivera would be taking the case to the U.S. Supreme Court where he would need to raise a constitutional question with the trial. Johnson said he did not know enough about Rivera\u2019s habeas petition to determine if that\u2019s possible.<\/p>\n
Richard Dieter, executive director for the Death Penalty Information Center, said the U.S. Supreme Court does not accept many death penalty appeal cases.<\/p>\n
If Rivera chooses to take his appeal to federal courts, the process could take even more time moving through district and circuit courts and the U.S. Supreme Court, Dieter said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEach one of those steps could take six months or longer,\u201d he said. \u201cAny time an inmate can say I don\u2019t want to appeal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Serial killer Rivera still awaiting final judgment
\nBy Meg Mirshak
\nStaff Writer
\nSunday, Sept. 11, 2011<\/p>\n