Stanley Hall

Case overview

Stanley Hall was convicted of murder in the first degree, kidnapping, robbery in the first degree, and two counts of armed criminal action for the kidnapping, shooting, and killing of Barbara Jo Wood. Hall was sentenced to death, and the judgment was affirmed on direct appeal. He later sought post-conviction relief and federal habeas relief, and the denials were affirmed. Hall was executed by lethal injection in Missouri on March 16, 2005.

Timeline

• January 15, 1994 — Stanley Hall and Rance Burton kidnapped Barbara Jo Wood at gunpoint from the South County Shopping Center in St. Louis, Missouri, forced her in her car to the McKinley Bridge, and caused her death by throwing her into the icy Mississippi River.
• May 10, 1994 — Hall entered a plea of not guilty to murder in the first degree, kidnapping, robbery in the first degree, and three counts of armed criminal action.
• March 7, 1994 — Hall gave the St. Louis County police a complete confession.
• March 15, 1996 — Hall filed a “Motion to Enforce the Negotiated Plea Agreement” seeking to enter a plea of guilty in exchange for a life sentence.
• March 18, 1996 — Hall went on trial for first-degree murder in the Circuit Court of St. Louis County.
• March 27, 1996 — Hall was found guilty; the jury recommended a sentence of death.
• June 21 (year not specified in the record text) — The court sentenced Hall to death.
• October 21, 1997 — The Missouri Supreme Court affirmed Hall’s conviction and sentence.
• March 30, 1998 — The United States Supreme Court denied Hall’s petition for writ of certiorari.
• February 20, 1999 — Hall filed a post-conviction relief motion in the circuit court.
• May 11 (year not specified in the record text) — The circuit court denied Hall’s post-conviction relief motion.
• April 25, 2000 — The Missouri Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court’s denial of Hall’s post-conviction relief motion.
• January 16, 2001 — Hall filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court.
• September 5 (year not specified in the record text) — The United States District Court denied Hall’s petition for writ of habeas corpus.
• September 2, 2003 — The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of Hall’s petition for writ of habeas corpus.
• April 19, 2004 — The United States Supreme Court denied Hall’s petition for writ of certiorari.
• July 27 (year not specified in the record text) — The State filed a motion to set execution date with the Missouri Supreme Court.
• February 15, 2005 — The Missouri Supreme Court set Hall’s execution for March 16, 2005.
• March 16, 2005 — Stanley Hall was executed by lethal injection in Missouri.

The offence

On the evening of January 15, 1994, Stanley Hall and Rance Burton borrowed a car and drove to the South County Shopping Center in St. Louis, Missouri. They were searching for a vehicle to steal. They approached Barbara Jo Wood’s car as she pulled into the parking lot. Hall and Burton forced her at gunpoint to the passenger side and drove her in her car to the McKinley Bridge. Wood was forced out of the car and there was a struggle on the bridge. At some point she was wounded, and witnesses in a passing car saw her bleeding.

Burton got back in Wood’s car and drove away. Wood was pleading for her life and was still holding on to Hall as he tried to lift her over the bridge railing. Hall eventually succeeded, and Wood fell ninety feet to the river. Hall pushed Wood off the bridge. The police arrived after witnesses notified them, and Hall was captured moments after he pushed Wood off the bridge. The icy condition of the river impeded search and rescue attempts.

Seven-and-a-half months later, the lower portion of a torso matching Wood’s physical condition was found in the Mississippi River. Later accounts also described a fisherman finding Wood’s body in the Mississippi River seven months after her murder.

Investigation and evidence

Two witnesses in a passing car notified the Venice, Illinois police department after seeing the struggle on the bridge. Police arrived and captured Hall moments after Wood was pushed off the bridge. Both witnesses identified Hall as the man they had seen struggling with Wood.

After waiving his Miranda rights, Hall identified Barbara Jo Wood from a picture as the woman he had forced over the guardrail. Hall later admitted forcing Wood over the guardrail. Hall gave a detailed account of his trip to the mall, the kidnapping of Barbara Jo Wood, and the theft of her car. Hall confessed that he was the one who pushed Wood until she finally went over the railing.

Arrest

Police arrived and captured Hall moments after he pushed Wood off the bridge.

Trial

A jury convicted Stanley Hall of murder in the first degree, kidnapping, robbery in the first degree, and two counts of armed criminal action. The jury recommended a sentence of death, and the trial court followed the recommendation and sentenced Hall to death.

The trial court imposed the death sentence for the first-degree murder count after a jury trial. The record also described that, at the time of trial, Hall was on parole for wounding a 4-year-old girl while he was chasing and shooting at a man in St. Louis in 1987.

Motion to enforce negotiated plea agreement

On March 15, 1996, three days before Hall’s trial was set to begin, Hall filed a “Motion to Enforce the Negotiated Plea Agreement” seeking to enter a plea of guilty in exchange for a life sentence. Hall alleged that the State had negotiated a plea agreement and that he had completed the conditions required of him. Hall maintained that the terms of the agreement were that the State would recommend a life sentence on the conditions that Hall provide complete and truthful information about the crime and all those involved, specifically Rance Burton; pass a lie detector test; and that the State independently corroborate his information about Burton.

Hall alleged that in November 1995, he confessed again pursuant to the purported plea agreement. The motion to enforce the plea agreement alleged that Hall gave the police “a complete and truthful account” but did not summarize the second confession further. Even if there had been a plea agreement and the State breached it after obtaining a second confession, the record stated that Hall’s only relief would be the exclusion of the second confession.

Sentencing

After the jury recommended death, the trial court sentenced Hall to death.

Hall appealed, and the Missouri Supreme Court affirmed his conviction and sentence.

Appeals

Direct appeal

In October 1997, the Missouri Supreme Court affirmed Hall’s conviction and sentence.

On March 30, 1998, the United States Supreme Court denied Hall’s petition for writ of certiorari.

Post-conviction relief and related proceedings

Hall filed a post-conviction relief motion. The circuit court denied the motion. The Missouri Supreme Court affirmed the denial of post-conviction relief on April 25, 2000.

The record described Hall’s amended post-conviction motion asserting fifty-eight claims of ineffective assistance of trial and appellate counsel. Seven were withdrawn, and the post-conviction court dismissed all but two remaining claims without an evidentiary hearing. Following an evidentiary hearing, the remaining two claims were denied. The appellate review described that only three claims were raised on appeal, each denied without an evidentiary hearing.

The record addressed, among other issues:

• Hall’s claim that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object to “improper personalization” during the state’s rebuttal argument in the guilt phase.
• Hall’s claim that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to request a mistrial in response to police sergeant Tim Hagerty’s testimony about his disbelief of some of Hall’s statements during a custodial interview.
• Hall’s claim that appellate counsel was ineffective for failing to assert an error in the admission of photographs of a torso discovered near Chester, Illinois.

On September 2, 2003, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of Hall’s petition for writ of habeas corpus. On April 19, 2004, the United States Supreme Court denied Hall’s petition for writ of certiorari.

Outcome

Stanley Hall was executed by lethal injection in Missouri on March 16, 2005.

Aftermath and final statement

Hall was pronounced dead at 12:06 a.m. in the Potosi Correctional Center. Witnesses, including eight relatives of Barbara Jo Wood, witnessed the execution. Hall had a last meal of T-bone steak, shrimp and french fries.

Hall’s final statement to the Wood family included the following quote:

"I'd like them to know I'm sorry, seriously sorry."

Hall also expressed remorse and described his regret to the Wood family in later accounts, including:

"I am truly and sincerely sorry for what took place and what I was involved in."

In a separate account of Hall’s final words to people who supported him, he said:

"I want all my family and friends, my other son and all the people who gave me support to know that I'm still standing strong, and I'm going to be that way until the last second, minute, hour, or whatever it is."

Other details

People involved

• Stanley Hall — defendant; convicted and sentenced to death; executed on March 16, 2005.
• Rance Burton — accomplice; kidnapped Barbara Jo Wood with Hall; the record described that Burton shot Wood; Burton was not given the death penalty and the accomplice was never charged in one account.
• Barbara Jo Wood — victim; kidnapped at gunpoint; forced into her car; driven to the McKinley Bridge; wounded; killed when she was thrown off the bridge into the icy Mississippi River.
• Tim Fitch — St. Louis County police major; described as a detective in 1994; testified about attending the execution and about the investigation and confession.
• Detective Tim Hagerty — police officer who transported Hall and interviewed him; testified in court.
• Nelson L. Mitten — Hall’s lawyer who sought to halt the execution and raised arguments about Hall’s IQ and mental retardation.
• Jay Nixon — Attorney General who responded to Hall’s request to avoid execution based on IQ/mental retardation claims.
• Gov. Matt Blunt — governor who denied clemency and denied a reduction of sentence in related accounts.
• Dean Waldemer and Keith Jensen — prosecutors mentioned as declining to comment about the execution.
• Stephanie Hall — Stanley Hall’s wife.

Places mentioned

• South County Shopping Center, St. Louis, Missouri
• McKinley Bridge, associated with the Mississippi River crossing between St. Louis and Illinois
• Venice, Illinois police department (where witnesses notified police)
• Potosi Correctional Center, Potosi, Missouri
• Mississippi River (where Wood’s body was recovered seven months after the murder)
• Chester, Illinois (near where a torso matching Wood’s physical description was found in one account)
• Clayton, Missouri (location associated with the St. Louis County police department)

Confession details

The record stated that Hall gave a complete confession to St. Louis County police on March 7, 1994, a year and eight months before Hall gave his statement pursuant to the alleged plea agreement. Hall’s confession included:

• the trip to the mall,
• the kidnapping of Barbara Jo Woods,
• the theft of her car,
• how Wood pleaded for her life as she struggled with Hall on the bridge,
• how Wood first grabbed the car door, then was shot, next grabbed hold of Hall, and finally clung to the bridge itself as Hall struggled to lift her over the guardrail,
• and that Hall pushed Wood until she went over the railing.

Additional legal citations contained in the record

• State v. Hall, 955 S.W. 2d 198 (Mo. banc 1997) (Direct Appeal)
• Hall v. Missouri, 523 U.S. 1053 (1998) (Cert. Denied)
• Halt v. State, 16 S.W. 3d 582 (Mo. banc 2000) (PCR)
• Hall v. Luebbers, 341 F.3d 706 (8th Cir. 2003) (Habeas)
• Hall v. Roper, 124 S.Ct. 2031 (2004) (Cert. Denied)