Leslie Dale Martin

Case information

Leslie Dale Martin was executed by lethal injection in Louisiana on May 10, 2002.

Timeline

• June 20, 1991 — Leslie Dale Martin and Michael Roland went to the 12th Street Lounge in Lake Charles at about 11:00 p.m. after playing pool and drinking beer for about two hours; Martin and a college student met through Roland and left the lounge together.
• About 1:30 a.m. (June 21, 1991) — After Roland and most of the victim's friends had left the lounge, the victim asked Martin for a ride home and Martin agreed.
• About 7:30 a.m. (June 21, 1991) — Martin visited Leo Guimbellot, his carpentry supervisor on a recent job, and stated he had met a blonde college student the night before, left the lounge with her, and woke up on Galveston Beach not knowing where he was.
• Nearly two weeks later — The victim’s decomposed body was found nearly two weeks later in a pumphouse in the rural Louisiana town of Iowa.
• May 10, 1992 — A jury found Martin guilty as charged of first degree murder.
• May 1992 — After a penalty phase hearing, the jury recommended the death penalty and Martin was sentenced to death by the judge.
• January 9, 2002 — Martin was moved from death row to the death house.
• Feb. 8, 2002 — The U.S. Supreme Court halted Martin’s execution less than half an hour before he was scheduled to die; it was his fifth stay of execution.
• Feb. 9, 2002 — The date for execution was not the same day as the stay.
• May 10, 2002 — Martin was executed at Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola by lethal injection at 8:16 p.m.

The offence

Christina Burgin was a 19-year-old college student and part-time employee at a pizza outlet. She was last seen alive leaving a lounge with Martin on June 20, 1991. Her decomposed body was found nearly two weeks later in a pumphouse in the rural Louisiana town of Iowa.

Martin related that he had put a rope around the girl's neck, choked her, cut her throat, dug her eyes out, and jumped up and down on a wooden board placed across her neck. Prosecutors said Martin raped and stabbed Burgin, then jumped on a board placed over her neck and gouged out her eyes. Burgin’s body was so decomposed that identification was almost impossible. The police found a rope around her neck and a wooden board nearby which contained human blood.

Investigation

Martin’s statements and subsequent reporting by Huey Rushing led to police discovery. Martin told Huey Rushing that he thought he may have killed someone the previous evening and asked Rushing to provide him with an alibi by saying he had spent the night at Rushing's home. Rushing refused. Martin told Rushing that on the way back to Lake Charles the woman threatened to report him for rape.

Rushing related Martin’s story to his girlfriend, but they deemed it unreal until Rushing heard nine days later that a girl was missing after leaving the 12th Street Lounge. Rushing reported the story to the police. During a search of sheds in the Iowa area, authorities discovered the victim’s decomposing body with a rope around her neck and a wooden board containing human blood nearby. A warrant was obtained and Martin was arrested.

At the time of investigation and trial, there was little physical evidence due to the condition of the body. A tampon taken from the body tested negative for seminal fluid, but a forensic expert testified that, due to decomposition, the test could be a “false negative”.

Arrest

The police obtained a warrant and arrested Martin after they found the victim’s decomposing body in a search of sheds in the Iowa area and found a rope around her neck and a wooden board nearby containing human blood.

Trial

Indictment and court proceedings

Martin was indicted by a Grand Jury for first degree murder and brought to trial.

The trial was bifurcated, with a guilt phase and a penalty phase. At the completion of evidence in the guilt phase, the jury returned a unanimous verdict of guilty as charged.

In the penalty phase, the prosecution relied on evidence presented in the guilt phase. The defense presented mitigating evidence by a psychiatrist and members of defendant’s family. The jury unanimously recommended the death penalty and Martin was later sentenced to the same by the judge.

Witness testimony and inmate testimony

Rushing, Guimbellot, and Roland testified to the facts about the evening and what they said they learned. Other testimony came from inmates with whom Martin was incarcerated after his arrest.

Robert Williamson testified that Martin stated he left the lounge with the victim, drove to a side road past Iowa and had sex with the highly-intoxicated victim. Williamson testified that when the victim accused him of taking advantage of her, Martin feared a return to the penitentiary and pulled her from the truck and strangled her, but had difficulty killing her. Williamson also testified that Martin disclosed that he had revealed the incident to a friend with whom he had “done time,” and that the friend had betrayed him to the authorities.

Michael Fontenot testified that Martin stated the victim asked for a ride home from the lounge, and he took her on a dirt road where he had sex with her after removing her tampon which she later reinserted. Fontenot testified that when the victim accused him of rape during the ride back, Martin pulled over near Iowa and strangled her until she passed out. Fontenot also testified that when she resumed breathing, Martin strangled her with a rope and dragged her to a shed, where he left her. Fontenot testified that his friend told the police “where he put the body and everything”.

Marlin Sweet testified as a cellmate known some years earlier and testified about Martin’s statements to him. Martin related events of the evening to Sweet, stating that he wanted to have sex with the victim, but that she refused because of her menstrual period. Martin said he “had to have her” and “overpowered her,” although she resisted and fought back. Sweet testified that Martin said when the victim became hysterical after the sexual encounter and threatened to go to the police, Martin decided he was not going back to prison for “nobody.” Sweet testified that Martin choked her, first with his hands and then with a rope. Sweet testified that Martin put a wooden board across her neck and jumped on it two or three times. Sweet testified that Martin then cut out her eyes with a knife so that she could not identify him.

Aggravating circumstances found at sentencing

After the penalty phase hearing, the jury sentenced Martin to death based on aggravating circumstances including that (1) the offender was engaged in the perpetration of an aggravated rape, and (2) the offense was committed in an especially heinous, atrocious or cruel manner.

Verbatim material in trial-related discussion

The appellate opinion included the following excerpt from Sweet’s testimony:

Q: [PROSECUTOR] You said that he didn't say where they went, it was to be together, but what happened then?
A: Well, he said that he wanted to have sex with her.
Q: Uh-huh (yes).
A: But she refused because her ministration [sic] was on. ....
Q: What did he do then?
A: He said he had to have her.
Q: Okay.
A: So he overpowered her.
Q: He overpowered her. Did he tell you how he overpowered her?
A: He struggled with her.
Q: He struggled with her?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: Did he tell you if she fought back?
A: Yes, she did. She resisted.
Q: And what happened then?
A: He overpowered her and had sex with her. ....
Q: ... Did he tell you what happened next?
A: Yes. He said that after he was finished she became hysterical and went to threatening him about she was going to tell the police, and that he was wrong for what he did.
Q: She was hysterical at the time according to him?
Q: What did he think then? Did he tell you what he was thinking about then?
A: He said he was thinking about going back to the prison.
A: And he said he wasn't going back to prison for nobody.
Q: What happened next?
A: He said his mind clicked and he began to choke her. ....
Q: Did he tell you if she was fighting back?
A: Yes, sir, she was struggling.
Q: While he was trying to kill her?
A: Yes, sir. (Emphasis added.)

Sentencing

In the penalty phase, the jury unanimously recommended the death penalty and the judge sentenced Martin to death. The jury found aggravating circumstances including aggravated rape and that the offense was committed in an especially heinous, atrocious or cruel manner.

Appeals

Direct appeal and certiorari

Martin v. Louisiana, 115 S.Ct. 2252 (1995) (Cert. Denied). State v. Martin, 645 So.2d 190 (La. 1994) (Direct Appeal).

Federal habeas

Martin v. Cain, 206 F.3d 450 (5th Cir. 2000) (Habeas).

A later decision on remand affirmed the denial of habeas relief under Williams v. Taylor, 120 S. Ct. 1495 (2000), after the Supreme Court vacated and remanded.

Habeas claims discussed

On federal habeas review, certified claims involved testimony of the State’s key witness (Sweet) concerning Martin’s committing the murder in connection with aggravated rape, including ineffective assistance of counsel and a Brady claim. The court concluded that the application was not unreasonable under AEDPA’s standards for state-court adjudications on the merits.

Execution

Execution date, location, method, and time

On May 10, 2002, Martin was executed at Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola by lethal injection.

He was pronounced dead at 8:16 p.m. in the Louisiana State Penitentiary’s death chamber.

Final meal and final statement

Martin’s last meal consisted of boiled crawfish, crawfish stew, a garden salad with Italian dressing, oatmeal cookies and whole milk with chocolate syrup.

He declined to make a statement before his death.

Final words and remarks

Warden Burl Cain quoted Martin’s statements during the execution process. The execution reports included these quotations:

• Martin said to Cain: “When am I going to feel something? I don't feel anything.”
• Cain replied: “You're going to feel sleepy in just a minute.”
• Martin told Cain: “When am I going to feel something? I don't feel anything.”
• Cain said Martin’s words included “Be ready to see Jesus' face.”
• After the drugs were injected, Martin could be seen mouthing the words “You're fired,” to his defense attorney, Clive Stafford-Smith.
• The warden said he asked Martin if he wanted to offer comments to the witnesses, and Martin responded, “No, there's no point in commenting to anybody else,”.

Execution timeline (as described)

• 7:45 p.m. — The 13 witnesses were led to the death house. The viewing room was divided into two segments by a wall and a sliding door.
• 7:50 p.m. — Richard Stalder, secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, handed documents to Martin’s attorney, Clive Stafford-Smith, indicating the U.S. Supreme Court’s refusal to halt the execution.
• 7:52 p.m. — Similar paperwork was handed to a representative of Gov. Mike Foster.
• 7:58 p.m. — Martin was led into the death chamber. As 10 straps were used to tether Martin to the gurney, laughter and loud talking could be heard from the family’s side. Stafford-Smith and spiritual adviser Paula Emanuel embraced each other, held hands, and, at times, wiped away tears. Martin was seen mouthing inaudible words to Emanuel.
• 8:00 p.m. — The window curtain dividing the witnesses and the death chamber was closed to maintain the anonymity of the medical technicians who installed the intravenous devices.
• 8:05 p.m. — The curtain was opened. Martin spoke frequently with Warden Burl Cain at his head the entire time. Sound was turned on only if Martin had any official last words, and he declined to make a statement. Martin had a monitor clipped to his finger and tubes running into his wrist and stomach. He was dressed in a white T-shirt and white pants with prison-issued slippers.
• 8:16 p.m. — The coroner and the medical director checked Martin’s chest and neck with a stethoscope, pulled his eyelids up, and declared Martin officially dead over the microphone. The body was sent to the prison morgue, held overnight, and Martin’s family would get the body Saturday. Cain said they intended to cremate the body.

Background

Martin was born in Shreveport on April 24, 1967, and was executed on May 10, 2002.

He was on parole for an aggravated rape charge and had previous convictions from age 14.

Prior rape conviction

In 1984, Martin raped his own 14-year-old sister at knifepoint while their mother was in the hospital. He was sentenced to 10 years but served only five.

Conduct and statements prior to killing Christina Burgin

Martin had repeatedly made statements that he would never go back to prison and killed Christina so she would “not complain.”

He told Huey Rushing that the woman threatened to report him for rape.

Martin also described having fought with a “country boy” in the lounge and told his supervisor about waking on Galveston Beach not knowing where he was.

Escape from death row

Martin and three other inmates briefly escaped from death row in November 1999. Authorities said the four condemned men used smuggled hacksaw blades to cut their way through their cell doors. Prison chase teams caught them about 2 miles from their cells. Cain blamed the security lapse on a guard who accepted a bribe to smuggle hacksaw blades to the inmates and inattention by other officers. No one was prosecuted because of the incident.

Other details

People mentioned in connection with the execution and case

• Christina Burgin — victim; parents witnessed execution: Charles Burgin and Diane Godeaux.
• Trisha Martin — Martin’s mother; visited him.
• Clive Stafford-Smith — Martin’s attorney.
• Denise LeBoeuf — attorney mentioned in appeals and legal filings.
• Warden Burl Cain — prison warden.
• Richard Stalder — secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections.
• Richard Stalder and a representative of Gov. Mike Foster were mentioned in execution documentation.
• Paula Emanuel — Martin’s spiritual adviser described as humanist from the Netherlands.
• Johnny Creed — assistant corrections secretary mentioned in the execution witness room compromise.
• Sister Helen Prejean and the Moratorium Campaign were mentioned in connection with protests.
• Antonin Scalia — Supreme Court justice who halted the execution about 20 minutes before the scheduled entry.
• Parris N. Glendening — Maryland governor who suspended all executions pending a study the night of Martin’s scheduled execution.
• Marlin Sweet — inmate witness.
• Robert Williamson — inmate witness.
• Michael Fontenot — inmate witness.
• Michael Roland — Martin’s companion and the person who met Martin to the victim through him.
• Leo Guimbellot — carpentry supervisor.
• Huey Rushing — person to whom Martin asked for an alibi and to whom Martin told details including the shed in Iowa and statements about rape avoidance.
• Patricia Minaldi — a state district judge mentioned regarding statements about Sweet.
• Mike Canaday — state district judge mentioned in connection with decisions about motion and hearings.
• Bernette Johnson — justice described as the only dissenter in one referenced ruling.

Statements and quotations elsewhere in the case material

The following quotations were included in the narrative:

• Martin told his aunt: “I guess the bitch threw up in my truck.”
• Martin told his cousin: “I fought with a 'country boy' in the lounge.”
• Martin said he wanted “not to be turned in for rape again.”
• Martin’s mother wrote a letter arguing about fairness of her son's legal treatment: “Apparently death penalty cases are too important to leave to the courts because they don't care enough for the integrity of the system to care whether or not the accused get a fair trial”.
• Charles Burgin said: “I swear to God, we're going to get him,” and later: “People talk about closure — I'm tired of hearing this.”
• Diane Godeaux said she was “ecstatic.”
• Martin’s attorney Clive Stafford-Smith said: “We are all better than the worst thing we've ever done.”
• Another quotation from Stafford-Smith: “I don't want people left with the impression that this is somehow someone who is cold and calculating.”
• Cain quoted Martin as saying: “No, there's no point in commenting to anybody else,”.
• Martin was described as mouthing “You're fired” to his defense attorney.