Pablo Serrano files motion to preclude death penalty
Pablo Serrano’s lawyers filed a motion to preclude the death penalty as a sentencing option in his case.
ABC 17 previously reported Serrano is facing the death penalty after he was charged with murder in Montgomery County.
According to the motion, a lot of the mitigation work has to be done in Mexico where Serrano was born. A mitigation specialist has been chosen and is willing to travel the Mexico to do the work.
The specialist’s total cost estimate was $59,000 and the court ruled for the State of Missouri to pay $40,000 of it. However, the state has refused to pay the amount.
Court documents state that the delays in th process of litigating and obtaining funding often mean that the requested services arrive too late for counsel to make effective use of the services. Delays also mean that evidence may be lost.
Serrano’s attorneys believe that if he is forced to proceed to a death penalty trial without a thorough mitigation investigation, the judge will be precluded from considering aspects of his character and have access to necessary records.
The attorney’s said, “Without access to evidence regarding Pablo’s mental health, medical, and social histories available only in Mexico, as well as character evidence available only through his family and friends who only speak Spanish, the jury will be deprived of mitigating evidence that it is constitutionally required to consider.”
Because of the state’s refusal to pay for the specialist’s travels, Serrano’s lawyers are issuing an order to preclude the death penalty as a sentencing option.
