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Toronto Patterson
Executed on August 28, 2002.
The debate in the US regarding the general application of the death penalty continues, but the issues surrounding the execution of juveniles (those persons below the age of 18 at the time of the crime) attract intense debate. As of December 2001, approximately 82 juveniles sit on death rows around the United States (US). Toronto Patterson, who was just 17 years of age at the time of his offense, may soon face execution in Texas. The execution of Toronto would be contrary to not only American standards of justice, fairness, and decency, but also would be in contravention of international law and fundamental standards of human rights.
Case Summary
Case Summary
On June 6, 1995, Valarie Brewer discovered the body of her sister, Kimberly, in a recliner in front of the television set. In a bedroom of the house, the bodies of Kimberly's daughters, six-year-old Jennifer Brewer, and three-year-old Ollie Brown were discovered. There were no valuables taken from the house. Upon searching the garage, three of the four wheels on the BMW automobile belonging to Valarie's brother were found missing. It was apparent someone had tried, unsuccessfully, to remove the fourth wheel. Aware her cousin, Toronto Patterson, recently had his own wheels stolen, Valarie immediately thought of him as a suspect and informed the police. Patterson told police that two Jamaican men had threatened him and his girlfriend, forcing him at gunpoint, to assist one of the men in removing the wheels from the BMW, while the other man distracted Kimberly. Toronto continues to maintain this account of events, asserting that he was not the person responsible for the murders. The identity of the killer was a hotly contested issue at the trial.
Toronto Patterson
With the support of his grandmother, Toronto Patterson was raised by his teenage mother. He proved to be a promising student when he was in grade school. However, his home-life became increasingly erratic. Toronto Patterson took the brunt of his mother's frustration in the form of whippings. Drug and alcohol abuse were pervasive within Toronto's world--it was an accepted way of life. Even though drugs and gangs surrounded Toronto, he never became a gang member or used drugs. When Toronto was nine years of age, his baby sister, Kenisha, was born. She suffered from a serious brain defect. Toronto was left to care for her and became increasingly fond of his sister who died just before the age of two. Kenisha's death deeply impacted Toronto.
Despite, his troubled home-life, Toronto still achieved in school, receiving grades that placed him on the honor roll. However, in order to provide even the most basic of necessities Toronto began to sell drugs for his cousin. The selling increased and his school attendance fell, until he dropped out of the school system. In spite of the profound neglect and abuse, many positive aspects of Toronto Patterson's personality were preserved. An examination of his social history and background would have revealed a more human face, but regrettably, the jury was never given the opportunity to know and maybe to understand the real Toronto Patterson.
Patterson's Confession Was Extracted by Questionable Interrogation Tactics that were Withheld From the Jury
Toronto Patterson was taken into custody, placed in a small interrogation room and left to wait for half an hour. When the detective first entered the room, he was friendly and Toronto testified that he felt he could trust him. He admitted to being scared because he had never before been interrogated by a police officer. Toronto gave the detective a statement in which he admitted his presence at the crime scene, but not to the murders themselves. Shortly thereafter, the detective re-entered the room after consulting with another officer and began to shout. Forcing Toronto to sit in the corner of the room, the detective spat in his face and accused him of lying in his first statement. He falsely told Toronto that he had recovered the murder weapon and the Dayton wheels. The detective then described the murder scene to Toronto, which he states was the first time he had heard details of the shootings. The detective accused Patterson of killing his three cousins and then punched and pushed him with his finger in various places to illustrate where the victims had been shot. These accusations persisted for half an hour. At one point, the detective's beeper went off and after looking at the display, he again misleadingly informed Toronto that his fingerprints had been found on the murder weapon. Toronto was held incommunicado for over four hours, scared and confused. Toronto Patterson signed a statement in which he admitted to shooting his cousin, Kimberly, and then shooting into her children's room with his eyes closed. The detective denied punching Toronto in the head and forcing him into a corner of the room during the interrogation. He did admit that he had been trained to make a suspect uncomfortable during an interrogation.
The homicide detective who interrogated Toronto has a history of using questionable tactics to extract confessions in high profile crimes. One month after Patterson's interrogation, but before the trial, the detective was involved in the interrogation of another capital murder investigation, that of Michael
 Martinez. After taking Martinez's initial statement, the detective obtained two subsequent statements. Between statements, the detective confronted Martinez with "new facts" and told him, "We know you are lying." He threatened to charge Martinez' girlfriend unless he signed the subsequent statements. Another individual was ultimately charged with the capital murder to which the detective had compelled Martinez to confess. The evidence of the detective's coercive interrogation tactics in the Martinez case was excluded at Toronto's trial.
Executing Juvenile Offenders is Contrary to International Law
The execution of child offenders is in contravention of international law and fundamental standards of human rights. The ultimate goal of the international community is to abolish the death penalty under all circumstances, however, until that time there are restrictions on the categories of persons who can be
 executed, juveniles being one of the restricted categories. The prohibition of the execution of juveniles is referenced in a number of international treaties, declarations, and statements by international bodies, in addition to the laws of the majority of nations. Please refer to the International
Instruments section, for more explanations of juvenile offenders and international law.
Juvenile Offenders: Issues of Mitigation
By their very nature, teenagers are less mature, and therefore less culpable than adults. Adolescence is a transitional period of life when cognitive abilities, emotions, judgment, impulse control, and identity are still developing. The IJP offers overviews on brain
development and trauma as possible mitigation factors for juvenile offenders.
Case Timeline
Toronto Patterson was convicted of capital murder in Dallas in November of 1995. The conviction was affirmed on direct appeal in January of 1999. The following month, in February of 1999, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals also denied Toronto relief in his state post-conviction application for writ of habeas corpus. In October of 1999, the United States Supreme Court denied a petition for certiorari following Patterson's direct appeal. The convicting court immediately set an execution date for February 24, 2000. However, on December 16, 1999, the federal district court in Dallas stayed Patterson's execution pending litigation of his federal petition for writ of habeas corpus.
Patterson filed his federal petition on October 4, 1999. In August of 2001, however, the federal district court denied relief, and, in September, denied Patterson's application for certificate of appealability. Patterson filed an application for certificate of appealability and brief in support in the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in November of 2001. The Attorney General was recently granted an extension of time to respond to Patterson's appellate brief until January 11, 2002.
Application for Certificate of Appealability and Brief in Support
Click here (PDF Format)
Petition for Writ of Certiorari
Click here (PDF Format)
The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles voted 16 to 1 against recommending that Patterson's death sentence be commuted to life. They voted 17 to 0 against recommending a 120 day reprieve.
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