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Pasco killer might escape death row

Jurors have decided Nathan Ramirez should die. But the Supreme Court disagrees.

By BRIDGET HALL GRUMET
Published March 2, 2005

THE DEATH PENALTY The Supreme Court splits 5-4 in a case that takes three inmates off death row in Florida. Main story Graphic: State by state For young D.C. sniper, no chance of death row What it means to ... Pasco killer may escape death penalty Excerpts from the ruling Major rulings

Florida inmates James Bonifay, 31 Age at time of crime: 17 Crime: In Pensacola in 1991, Bonifay meant to kill a clerk at an auto parks store whom Bonifay's cousin blamed for getting him fired. But the clerk called in sick and was replaced by Billy Wayne Coker, whom Bonifay shot and killed. What ruling means: Bonifay could be eligible for parole in about 10 years, but he also was sentenced to life in prison for robbery. He will not be eligible for parole if the sentences are consecutive. If they aren't, he will be. Cleo LeCroy, 41 Age at time of crime: 17 Crime: In January 1981, LeCroy fatally shot a newlywed couple from Miami-Dade who were camping in rural Palm Beach County south of Lake Okeechobee. The bodies of John and Gail Hardeman were found about a week after they didn't return home. John Hardeman had been shot in the head; Gail Hardeman had been shot in the head, neck and chest. What ruling means: LeCroy will be eligible for parole in a few years. Nathan Ramirez, 27 Age at time of crime: 17 Crime: He killed Mildred Boroski, a 71-year-old widow, in 1995. She was in bed at her Pasco County home when Ramirez and a friend broke in. They tied her up, killed her dog and looted the house. Ramirez shot Boroski twice in the head. What ruling means: Ramirez will never be eligible for parole because his crime occurred after a 1994 law that denies parole eligibility for people convicted of first-degree murder.

NEW PORT RICHEY - Nathan Joe Ramirez became one of the youngest men on Florida's death row for one of the most heinous crimes in Pasco County history.

He and a friend broke into Mildred Boroski's home in 1995 to steal the widow's birthday presents. They used a crowbar to beat the life out of her miniature poodle, Chippy.

Then they tied up the 71-year-old woman with telephone cords, raped her and drove her to a grassy field, where they shot her twice in the head with her late husband's .38-caliber revolver.

Their take from the burglary-gone-awry: two guns, a pair of handcuffs, a ring, a cordless phone and about $30, which the teenagers used to play video games the next day.

Twice jurors have decided that Ramirez should be executed for the crime. But they might be trumped by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled Tuesday that executing juveniles is unconstitutional.

Ramirez was just 17 years old - a sophomore at Gulf High School - when Mrs. Boroski was murdered. The ruling appears to take anyone off death row who was under 18 at the time of the crime.

Ramirez appears to be one of three Floridians affected by the ruling and the only one in the Tampa Bay area.

Assistant State Attorney Mike Halkitis, who prosecuted Ramirez, said Tuesday afternoon that he still was digesting the Supreme Court's decision. But he acknowledged: "It seems to suggest he can't be executed."

If that is the case, Ramirez's sentence would become life in prison without parole.

"Obviously, this murder was extremely heinous, and he was the principal party to this murder," Halkitis said. "I think the only mitigation in the whole trial was the fact that he was 17 at the time he committed the crime.

"The Supreme Court seems to suggest no matter how heinous (the crime) and no matter how much guilt the defendant has on his part, if he's under 18 he can't be executed."

The high court's ruling stemmed from a similar case in Missouri. Christopher Simmons was 17 years old when he broke into a neighbor's home, kidnapped her and killed her. In that case, the woman was hogtied and thrown from a bridge.

In the majority opinion, Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote that, "The age of 18 is the point where society draws the line for many purposes between childhood and adulthood. It is, we conclude, the age at which the line for death eligibility ought to rest."

But it was a split 5-4 decision. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor advocated a case-by-case review of a defendant's maturity, while Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas called for leaving the matter up to individual states.

Keith Hammond, the attorney who represented Ramirez at his 2003 retrial, applauded the court's decision on Tuesday. The majority opinion echoed some of the arguments he raised - unsuccessfully - at Ramirez's last sentencing hearing.

"At that age they are less culpable because of their level of maturity, their thought processes," Hammond said. "Society accepts that because everything seems to start at 18."

A jury found Ramirez guilty in 1996 and recommended the death penalty. But the state Supreme Court overturned the sentence in 1999, ruling that deputies illegally obtained Ramirez's confession.

A second jury convicted Ramirez in 2003 without the confession. Once again, jurors opted for the death penalty.

A different attorney is handling Ramirez's latest round of appeals, but Hammond suspects that attorney will file a motion to reduce Ramirez's sentence from death to life. Ramirez will turn 28 next month.

The other teen convicted for Mrs. Boroski's murder, Johnathan Grimshaw, was 18 at the time of the crime. He was sentenced to death in 1996, but a judge determined the jury received incorrect sentencing instructions. The judge gave the case to another jury, which recommended life without parole.

Bridget Hall Grumet can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6244 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6244. Her e-mail address is bhall@sptimes.com

In a 5-4 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court outlaws the executions of death row inmates who committed their crimes when they were juveniles

[Last modified March 2, 2005, 00:47:18]