Vernon Lee Evans
Encyclopedia
Vernon Lee Evans is a Maryland
death row
inmate. In 1984, he was convicted and sentenced to death together with drug kingpin Anthony Grandison
for the 1983 murders of Susan Kennedy and David Scott Piechowicz. David Piechowicz and his wife Cheryl (Susan Kennedy's sister) had been scheduled to testify against Grandison at trial on federal drug charges.
Evans' death sentence was overturned on appeal in 1991; however, the following year, a new jury again sentenced him to die. That sentence was upheld on direct appeal to the Maryland Court of Appeals
in 1994, and a petition for post-conviction relief was denied in 1997. The U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland denied Evans' federal habeas corpus petition in 1999, and in 2000 that decision was upheld by the Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. Since then, Evans has also filed motions for a new trial and to correct an illegal sentence; however, those have all been denied as well. He was scheduled for execution in February 2006, but his execution was suspended. All executions in Maryland are currently on hold until the state drafts and approves new execution procedures.
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
death row
Death row
Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
inmate. In 1984, he was convicted and sentenced to death together with drug kingpin Anthony Grandison
Anthony Grandison
Anthony Grandison is an American drug dealer and murderer who is currently awaiting execution in Maryland. He was sentenced to death for ordering the killing of a pair of witnesses more than 25 years ago....
for the 1983 murders of Susan Kennedy and David Scott Piechowicz. David Piechowicz and his wife Cheryl (Susan Kennedy's sister) had been scheduled to testify against Grandison at trial on federal drug charges.
Evans' death sentence was overturned on appeal in 1991; however, the following year, a new jury again sentenced him to die. That sentence was upheld on direct appeal to the Maryland Court of Appeals
Maryland Court of Appeals
The Court of Appeals of Maryland is the supreme court of the U.S. state of Maryland. The court, which is composed of one chief judge and six associate judges, meets in the Robert C. Murphy Courts of Appeal Building in the state capital, Annapolis...
in 1994, and a petition for post-conviction relief was denied in 1997. The U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland denied Evans' federal habeas corpus petition in 1999, and in 2000 that decision was upheld by the Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. Since then, Evans has also filed motions for a new trial and to correct an illegal sentence; however, those have all been denied as well. He was scheduled for execution in February 2006, but his execution was suspended. All executions in Maryland are currently on hold until the state drafts and approves new execution procedures.