Peter Miniel

Case details

Peter Miniel was executed by lethal injection in Texas on October 6, 2004.

The offence

On May 8, 1986, Peter Miniel and his friend James Russell, Jr. went to Paul Manier’s residence at Northpoint apartments. Miniel suggested to Russell that they rob Manier. Miniel asked Russell to pretend to retrieve cocaine out of his car as a distraction. Russell went outside briefly, and when he returned, Manier was in a bedroom with Miniel.

As Manier leaned over the bed cleaning a mirror with a blanket in preparation for snorting cocaine, Miniel struck him in the back of the head with a beer mug. Manier fell to his knees and tried to cover his head, but Miniel hit him a few more times and knocked Manier on his side. Miniel told Russell to get a shock absorber sitting on the table and to hit Manier with it. Russell struck Manier in the head with it four times. Miniel told Russell he was not hitting Manier hard enough, so Miniel took the shock absorber and hit Manier in the head four or five times himself.

Because Manier was not yet knocked out, Miniel told Russell to stab Manier with a knife. Russell opened his knife but hesitated. Miniel then grabbed Russell’s knife and stabbed Manier. Manier kept moving, so Miniel asked Russell to hold Manier down while he attempted to cut Manier’s throat. The knife was dull, so Miniel proceeded to stuff the corner of a blanket down Manier’s throat.

Manier suffered thirty-nine stab wounds, ten cuts and six blunt trauma injuries to his head, including a hole in his skull.

Miniel and Russell stole the stereo that was in the living room and stole from the victim’s wallet. The victim had only twenty dollars in his wallet. They also washed off Paul’s blood, hid the knife, and went to eat. In one description, Russell stole the stereo equipment while Miniel helped load it in the trunk of their vehicle. In another description, they searched the apartment for drugs or money but could not find any, so they took the victim’s stereo equipment.

Investigation

Miniel was arrested later in the month in Chicago. Miniel confessed to police.

Miniel admitted that after killing Manier he was disappointed to find that the victim had only twenty dollars in his wallet.

Some stolen stereo components were recovered in Chicago from a neighbor who bought them from Miniel for $100. The rest of the stereo was recovered in Huntsville, Texas after Miniel gave an oral confession.

Arrest and confession

Miniel was arrested in Chicago in May 1986. He made an electronically recorded oral confession after his arrest.

At the suppression hearing described in the appeals material, Miniel claimed his confession was involuntary and described alleged coercion and abuse during his arrest and interrogation by Chicago police officers, including claims of being grabbed and threats, as well as claims that he was not notified of his Miranda rights and that his request to talk to a lawyer was refused. The two Houston detectives and three of the Chicago officers testified to rebut those claims and stated there had been no such coercion or abuse. Miniel was handcuffed to a ring on the wall in the interview room, and a photograph was introduced showing Miniel standing shirtless immediately after the interrogation and confession.

Trial

Miniel was indicted by a Harris County grand jury for capital murder and robbery of Paul Manier. A jury found Miniel guilty of capital murder.

In the trial description of the evidence, the decedent’s roommate managed to remain asleep in a separate bedroom during the attack. The physical attack included at least one bash to the back of the head with a beer mug, several poundings about the head with a shock absorber, and multiple stabbings and cuttings with a knife, which resulted in a total of 49 wounds as described in the trial discussion.

The jury convicted Miniel of capital murder. In one account, the jury deliberated briefly before returning a guilty verdict.

Russell testified against Miniel in exchange for a 50-year prison sentence after Russell accepted a plea arrangement described in the materials.

Sentencing

After a separate punishment hearing, the court assessed a death sentence.

During punishment, a special issue asked: “Is there a probability that the defendant, Peter J. Miniel, would commit criminal acts of violence that would constitute a continuing threat to society?” The jury unanimously found beyond a reasonable doubt that the answer was “Yes.”

At punishment, the State presented witnesses including Illinois prosecutors and Illinois probation officers and offered testimony about Miniel’s convictions and reputation for violence. Testimony also described an outstanding motion to revoke probation alleging another aggravated battery involving beating a girlfriend with a motorcycle chain and a decorative wooden spoon, and testimony that the initial aggravated battery involved beating the same girlfriend with “numchuks” (a martial arts instrument). An officer with the Humble, Texas Police Department testified about Miniel’s bad reputation for being violent. Miniel presented testimony from a Harris County Sheriff’s Department jailer about no disciplinary problems while incarcerated pending trial, and other witnesses including an assistant chaplain who testified to religious conversations in jail and that Miniel’s conversion was sincere, using the phrase that he had “a true commitment to repent from his life.”

The assistant medical examiner provided testimony described as consistent with a method of torture known as “juking.”

Appeals

Miniel appealed his conviction and sentence.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed Miniel’s conviction and sentence.

The U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari review.

Miniel later filed a state application for writ of habeas corpus, which was denied by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

Miniel then filed a federal petition for writ of habeas corpus in a Houston U.S. district court, and that petition was denied. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied Miniel permission to appeal. The U.S. Supreme Court again denied certiorari review.

In the material about the direct appeal, the Court of Criminal Appeals held: (1) evidence established Miniel’s confession was voluntary; (2) Miniel was not entitled to a jury instruction on a lesser included offense of murder; (3) failing to include instruction regarding intoxication as a mitigating factor in the jury charge at punishment was not error; (4) evidence supported the jury’s finding at the punishment phase that Miniel would be a continuing threat to society; and (5) Miniel was not denied effective assistance of counsel. The judgment was affirmed, with McCormick, P.J., and Clinton, Campbell and Benavides, JJ., concurring in result.

Outcome

He was pronounced dead at 6:22 p.m.

Miniel’s last statement was: “Into your hands, O Lord, I commence my spirit. Amen. I'm ready.” He also said he felt a burning sensation as the drugs began taking effect and then gasped and sputtered before losing consciousness.

Final meal

Miniel requested and received: 20 beef tacos, 20 beef enchiladas, two double cheeseburgers, a pizza with jalapenos, fried chicken, spaghetti with salt, half of a chocolate cake and half of a vanilla cake, cookies and cream ice cream, carmel pecan fudge ice cream, a small fruit cake, two Coca-Colas, two Pepsi-Colas, two root beers and two orange juices.

Other details

• Miniel and James Russell, Jr. went to Paul Manier’s residence to party, and Russell stole the stereo while Miniel helped load it in the trunk of their vehicle.
• Miniel was described as being sentenced to death for the capital murder of Paul Manier in the victim’s North Harris County apartment.
• Russell was charged with capital murder but accepted a 50-year sentence for murder with a deadly weapon in exchange for his testimony against Miniel.
• In the execution accounts, Miniel asked his attorney to file no more appeals and welcomed the execution.
• In a death row interview, Miniel said: “We got into a fight,” and also said: “I don't remember everything, but I know the other guy started stabbing him and he wouldn't die. I started hitting him with the absorber ... One thing led to another. We shouldn't have done that. It was wrong. We were very high and drunk. That was my main problem.”
• In the same interview, Miniel said: “I grew up with a lot of animosity, a lot of anger,” and: “I've been locked up 18 years ... I want to get this over with.” He described the execution as “a relief.”
• Miniel told a later narrative of his position about guilt: “I lied. I want to tell the truth. I am guilty. I was wrong. I want to pay the price I was supposed to.”
• In that narrative he also said: “I've learned from all my mistakes in the past. I'm sorry for what I've done in the past and I want my future to be more peaceful in a better place. I believe in doing good now,” and: “I want to apologize to the family members of the deceased. I would like to make peace with them if possible.”
• Procedural history included: June 30, 1986 — A Harris County grand jury indicted Miniel for capital murder and robbery of Paul Manier; Oct. 10, 1988 — A jury found Miniel guilty of capital murder; Oct. 12, 1988 — Following a separate punishment hearing, the court assessed a death sentence; Jan. 22, 1992 — The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed Miniel’s conviction and sentence; Oct. 5, 1992 — The U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari review; June 17, 1993 — Miniel filed a state application for writ of habeas corpus; Dec. 15, 1999 — The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied state habeas relief; Dec. 14, 2000 — Miniel filed a federal petition for writ of habeas corpus in a Houston U.S. district court; Oct. 29, 2001 — The federal district court denied habeas relief; July 17, 2003 — The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied Miniel permission to appeal; Feb. 23, 2004 — The U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari review; June 22, 2004 — The state district court entered an execution order.
• Citations included: Miniel v. State, 831 S.W.2d 310 (Tex.Crim.App. 1992) (Direct Appeal).
• Prior criminal history in Illinois before the capital murder was described: in September 1982, Miniel was sentenced to 12-months probation for retail theft and did not successfully complete probation; in November 1983, he was sentenced to a year of probation for disorderly conduct and failed to successfully meet probation requirements; about nine months later, he was sentenced to one-year probation for unlawful use of weapons and violated probation by committing felony aggravated battery in March 1985 by striking his girlfriend with “numchuks,” and he pleaded guilty and received a sixty-month probationary sentence; in September 1985, Illinois authorities filed a petition to revoke probation based on a second aggravated battery of the same woman with a wooden spoon and motorcycle chain.
• One narrative description included that Miniel sold some of the stereo in Chicago after his arrest, and that part of the stereo system was recovered in Chicago while another part and the knife used were recovered in the Houston area.
• Another narrative description included that Miniel and James Russell went to Paul’s apartment at Northpoint Square Apartments on May 9, 1986, after arriving to procure marijuana, and that Miniel concocted a plan to rob Paul.