The Commission on Capital Cases updates thisinformation regularly. This information, however, is subject to change and maynot reflect the latest status of an inmate’s case and should not be relied onfor statistical or legal purposes.
Sanchez-Velasco, Rigoberto (H/M)
DC# 088795
DOB: 01/04/59
Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Miami-Dade County, Case#86-137102
Judge, Trial: The Honorable Allen Kornblum
Judge, 3.850 Motion: The Honorable Victoria Platzer
Attorney, Trial: Joel Hirschhorn
Attorney, Direct Appeal: Barbara Levenson
Attorney, Collateral Appeals: Pro se
Date of Offense: 12/13/86
Date of Sentence: 09/23/88
Circumstance of Offense:
The defendant, Rigoberto Sanchez-Velasco, raped and murderedthe 11-year-old female victim by strangling her.
At the time of the offense, Sanchez-Velasco was residingwith the victim and her mother in Hialeah, Florida. On the evening of December12, 1986, the victim’s mother left for work, leaving Sanchez-Velasco to staywith the victim.
By the defendant’s own admission, the murder occurred asfollows: During a conversation between Sanchez-Velasco and the victim, thevictim asked him if he still loved a former girlfriend. He responded bygrabbing her around the neck with both hands. She fell on the bed, and he pulledher T-shirt up around her neck, twisting it like a tourniquet. She fell to thefloor, so he stood on the bed and used the twisted T-shirt to lift her backonto it. She did not make any noise, and he believed she was dead. He removedher clothes, then his own, and he raped her. He took the victim’s jewelry andleft the residence.
Sanchez-Velasco was arrested two days later at a motel on Miami Beach. The evidence showed that in addition to the shock of being attacked by atrusted adult, the victim suffered the panic of not being able to breathe. Italso indicated that the injury was likely to cause extreme pain before shedied.
Additional Information:
| Current Prison Sentence History: |
| Offense Date | Offense | Sentence Date | County | Case No. | Sentence Length |
| 04/19/1995 | 3rd Degree Murder | 06/23/98 | Bradford | 9500214 | 15 Years |
| 04/19/1995 | 3rd Degree Murder | 06/23/98 | Bradford | 9500214 | 15 Years |
Bradford Count Circuit Court # 95-0214
On April 19, 1995, Sanchez-Velasco stabbed and killed twoinmates while incarcerated at Union Correctional Institution. He was convictedon two counts of third-degree murder and received a sentence of 15 yearsimprisonment for each conviction.
Trial Summary:
12/14/86 Sanchez-Velasco as arrested.
01/13/87 Sanchez-Velasco was indicted on thefollowing:
Count I: First-DegreeMurder
Count II: Sexual Battery
Count III: Robbery
Count IV: Burglary
08/18/88 The jury found Sanchez-Velasco guilty onCounts I, II and III.
The defendant was acquitted of CountIV.
08/19/88 Upon advisory sentencing, thetrial jury, by a majority vote of 8-4, that the defendant be sentenced to death
09/23/88 Sanchez-Velasco was sentenced as follows:
Count I: Death
Count II: Life
Count III: 5 years
Appeals Summary:
Florida Supreme Court—Direct Appeal
FSC #73,143
570 So.2d 908 (Fla. 1990)
09/30/88 Appeal filed.
10/11/90 FSC affirmed the conviction and sentence.
12/26/90 Motion for rehearing denied.
01/25/91 Mandate issued.
United States Supreme Court--Petitionfor Writ of Certiorari
USSC #90-7579
500 U.S. 929 (1991)
04/02/91 Petition filed.
05/13/91 USSC denied the petition for Writ ofCertiorari.
Circuit Court—3.850 Motion
Circuit Court #86-137102
05/13/93 Motion filed.
10/30/96 Trial court granted the motion todischarge counsel and dismiss the 3.850 Motion.
Florida Supreme Court—3.850 Appeal
FSC #89,511
702 So.2d 224 (Fla. 1997)
12/11/96 Michael Bowen, special appointedpost-conviction counsel for Sanchez-Velasco, filed the appeal.
12/04/97 Florida Supreme Court affirmed thedischarge of counsel and dismissal of the 3.850 Motion.
01/05/98 Mandate issued.
United States Supreme Court—Petition forWrit of Certiorari
USSC #97-1702
525 U.S. 811; 119 S. Ct. 42; 142 L. Ed. 2d 33
02/02/98 Petition filed.
10/05/98 USSC denied petition.
United States District Court, Southern District—Petition Writ of HabeasCorpus
USDC #98-2967-CIV
12/04/98 Petition filed.
06/25/01 USDC granted motion to withdraw petition.
United States Court of Appeals, 11thCircuit—Habeas Appeal
USSC# 01-13969
287 F.3d 1015
07/10/01 Appeal filed.
04/02/02 USCA affirmed the District Court’smotion to dismiss the petition filed without Sanchez-Velasco’s consent.
Florida Supreme Court—Petitionfor Writ of Habeas Corpus
FSC# 02-1903
09/06/02 Petition filed.
09/18/02 Petition dismissed.
Florida Supreme Court—Petitionfor Writ of Habeas Corpus
FSC# 02-2102
828 So. 2d 389
09/27/02 Petition filed.
09/30/02 Petition dismissed.
Clemency
12/03/91 Clemency hearing held (denied).
Warrants
09/05/02 Death warrant signed by Jeb Bush.
10/02/02 Planned date of execution.
Factors contributing tothe delay in execution of sentence:
The defendant’s 3.850motion was in the trial court for more than three years before a decision wasrendered.
Case information:
Sanchez-Velasco filed hisDirect Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court on 09/30/88. Addressed issuesincluded that the trial court erred in denying the motion to suppress the hisconfession, in allowing jurors who opposed the death penalty to be excused andin denying a motion for a mistrial. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed theconviction and sentence on 10/11/90. Rehearing was denied on 12/26/90. Amandate was issued on 01/25/91.
Sanchez-Velasco filed hisPetition for Writ of Certiorari on 04/02/91 in the United States SupremeCourt. The petition was denied on 05/13/91.
Sanchez-Velasco filed a3.850 Motion with the circuit court on 05/13/93. The court grantedSanchez-Velasco’s motion to discharge counsel and dismiss the 3.850 Motion on10/30/96.
Michael Bowen filed a 3.850Appeal on 12/11/96 with the Florida Supreme Court. Bowen was appealing hisdischarge as Sanchez-Velasco’s special appointed post-conviction and dismissingSanchez-Velasco’s 3.850 Motion. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the circuitcourt’s discharge of counsel and dismissal of 3.850 Motion on 12/04/97. Mandate issued 01/05/98.
Sanchez-Velasco filed hisPetition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in the United States Supreme Court on02/02/98. The petition was denied on 10/05/98.
Sanchez-Velasco petitionedthe United States District Court, Southern District, for a Writ of HabeasCorpus in 12/04/98. He subsequently filed a pro se motion to withdraw the petition, which his attorneysopposed. After a competency hearing in May 2001, the court ruled he was competentand granted the motion to withdraw the petition. The United States Court ofAppeals affirmed the District Court’s dismissal on 04/02/02.
Sanchez-Velasco filed aHabeas Appeal in the United States Court of Appeals in the 11thCircuit on 07/10/01. The United States Court of Appeals affirmed the DistrictCourt’s motion to dismiss the petition filed without consent.
Sanchez Velasco filed aPetition Requesting this Honorable Court to Respect My Constitutional Rightsand Not to Interfere, Intervene or Delay the Legal Process in My Case andSentence, which was treated as a Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus on09/06/02 with the Florida Supreme Court. The petition was dismissed on09/18/02 because there were not any other petitions pending with the FloridaSupreme Court.
Note: Sanchez Velasco has expressed to variouscourts that he wishes to forego all future appeals and not contest his deathsentence.
Sanchez-Velasco has had 11 psychological evaluations andthree competency hearings in state circuit court. He has been determined to becompetent at each hearing.
The district court asked Sanchez-Velasco if he understoodwhat would happen if he did not have an appeal pending. Sanchez-Velascoreplied: “ Sure my sentence might be carried on sometime whenever thegovernment decided to do so. And really it not a matter of whether my sentencebe carried out or not. The matter is that I won’t be able to hurt anybody nomore. . . . I haven’t stopped kill people since I been in the DOC departmentunder the DOC supervising. I has killed people repeatedly, repeatedly,repeatedly, even while being on death row.”
Note: On April 19,1995, Sanchez-Velasco stabbed and killed two inmates while incarcerated atUnion Correctional Institution.
On July2, 2002, Sanchez-Velasco stabbed an inmate while incarcerated at Florida StatePrison.
Report date: 05/25/01 TB
Approved: 00/00/00 WS
Updated: 07/12/02 JFL
Updated: 09/25/02 SQ