Jurors find inmate guilty in '99 gutting
Rudy Sablan may face execution
By Sara Burnett, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Originally published 05:04 p.m., May 8, 2008
Updated 12:03 a.m., May 9, 2008
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A federal jury will begin hearing arguments Monday on whether an inmate should be sentenced to die for a gruesome 1999 murder at the U.S. Penitentiary in Florence.
Jurors on Thursday found Rudy Sablan guilty of killing his cellmate, Joey Estrella.
They now must choose whether to sentence Sablan to death or to life in prison.
Prosecutors said Rudy Sablan encouraged his cousin William Sablan, who suffers from mental problems, to kill their cellmate. They said Rudy Sablan strangled Estrella with a headphone cord, rendering him unconscious. William Sablan then cut Estrella's neck with a razor, killing him.
Afterward, William Sablan cut open the body and the cousins pulled out Estrella's organs, prosecutors said.
Rudy Sablan's attorneys argued he got along well with Estrella for months before William Sablan joined them in the small cell.
It was William Sablan who got into a fight with Estrella, and William Sablan who was solely responsible for the killing, defense attorneys said.
They also said a key government witness - another inmate who claimed he saw Rudy Sablan strangling Estrella - is a habitual liar who made up the story to get a deal from the government.
William Sablan was convicted last year for the same crime but was spared the death penalty by a separate jury.
burnetts@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5343
Comments
Posted by theQ on May 8, 2008 at 5:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Yes he should....and just make that decision.
Posted by WarrenJimmyBuffett on May 8, 2008 at 6:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)
It is much more cost effective to let the prisoners kill each other than to spend the legal fees.
Posted by Heidi on May 8, 2008 at 7:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Of course they're liars...they're convicted criminals of serious felonies!
Posted by Fresh on May 8, 2008 at 7:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)
If they pulled his organs out after slitting his throat while knocked out, they should put a bullet in him today!
Posted by CirclingTheDrain on May 8, 2008 at 7:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Where's Jeffrey Dahmer when you need him!!
Posted by MattGuyver_007 on May 8, 2008 at 9:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Sentence this waste of a soul to death and hope he waives all appeals.
Posted by Chadley25 on May 8, 2008 at 9:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
It rarely ceases to amaze me the horrors that man is capable of inflicting on his fellow man... for all the good we (as a common species) do for our shared world and one another, things like this more than balance it out. Just horrible... and really, RMN, thanks for the grizzly details.
Posted by happymike44 on May 8, 2008 at 9:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)
These guys were never humans,because real human beings never do this to each other.These kinds of people go around preying on the most vulnerable of people.Also they only seem to have remorse after being caught.What kind of man strings someone's intestines around the room like a holiday streamers.They both deserve to sit on old smokey till they have no life left in them.If they are mentallyh disturbed then lock them up so they never get out alive.These make a valid argument for the pro gun lobby.
Posted by Lovnlivn on May 8, 2008 at 11:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Preaching that killing is wrong through the act of killing itself is the simple definition of hypocrisy. If nothing else this case seems to expose the flaws of the prison system if three highly dangerous individuals can be placed together in a 8 x 8 cell with minimal supervision and razors while guards fail to do their job. It is foolish to think that "real human beings never do this to each other," when we are embroiled in the middle of a bloody war overseas in the name of freedom and democracy. Real human beings have the capacity to see the truth and grant clemency to end the cycle of killing.
Posted by SMITTY2008 on May 9, 2008 at 8:08 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The only human above is Lovnlivn.
The rest of you blood thirsty ghouls sicken me and you monsters are the kind of things that make America the laughing stock of the civilized world. Killing a killer is an act of barbaric revenge which shows the people of America as being unworthy, discpicible, demons. I hope at least on of you low life scum who posted pro-death penalty rants are victims of "American Justice" and are sent to a secret prison, detained for years without being charged, and never get to notify your families where you have been taken. That would make my heart sing to see an a American citizen become the victim of that oximoron "American Justice."
Posted by SMITTY2008 on May 9, 2008 at 8:09 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The only human above is Lovnlivn.
The rest of you blood thirsty ghouls sicken me and you monsters are the kind of things that make America the laughing stock of the civilized world. Killing a killer is an act of barbaric revenge which shows the people of America as being unworthy, discpicible, demons. I hope at least one of you low life scum who posted pro-death penalty rants are victims of "American Justice" and are sent to a secret prison, detained for years without being charged, and never get to notify your families where you have been taken. That would make my heart sing to see a pro-death penalty American citizen become the victim of that oximoron "American Justice."
Posted by PajamaPulitzer on May 9, 2008 at 8:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)
SMITTY:
Wow! All that hatred is going to eat you up.
These men strung the victim's innards about their cell and you have the audacity to call people seeking justice "blood thirsty ghouls"?
"Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed"
Genesis 9:6.
Posted by DoubleChubbyChuck on May 9, 2008 at 9:11 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I hope they made them clean up their damn mess.
Posted by happymike44 on May 9, 2008 at 9:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)
These guys are just plain scary.Who kills someone then strings the intestines up like holiday streamers.That is pretty close to what a serial killer does.By the way these guys deserve to get a trip to the old smokey chair for a little shake and bake session.The world will be better place for all without them.Plus people like this make a good argument for a nice little pistol just in case of emergency.
Posted by Squatch on May 9, 2008 at 1:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Im amazed how people love to knock on america and say "The rest of you blood thirsty ghouls sicken me and you monsters are the kind of things that make America the laughing stock of the civilized world. Killing a killer is an act of barbaric revenge which shows the people of America as being unworthy, discpicible, demons." other countries dont put up with the scum like we do. Go to China and commit this same crime and see what happens to you. We are one of the few countries that actually keeps murderers, rapist & terrorist alive. So before you so on preaching about how bad America is look at how many people we have sentenced to life in prison.
Posted by NotUrFriend on May 9, 2008 at 3:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This type of crime is only disturbing in the fact that....Why are they argueing life or death? Just put the guy down like a wild animal. At least an animal doesnt kill our of spite, and certainly doesnt do this to its own kind. Best for us all would be the death penalty.
Lets hope things pan out.
Its only justifiable.
Posted by mt on May 9, 2008 at 6:45 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"while the guards fail to do their jobs" You must be a moron plain and simple. How do you feel the guards failed? Do you think they can be in all places at all times. Move to whatever country you think is better and quit complaining about how bad America is. The death sentence in the United States needs to be used more often. Not only as a punishment but also as a deterrent. Many of these criminals aren't afraid of prison but they are afraid of death. The only way capital punishment will work is if it is used often enough to send the message kill and you will be killed. Save the killers, save the terrorist save everone except the innocent people that are hurt every day because the punishments are not harsh enough. Killing an innocent is wrong but killing a killer fits. Possibly Lovn and Smitt can create their own happy little world where they dance and sing and pick flowers and nothing bad happens. Keep us posted and let us know how that works out. But Lovn make sure you create your own happy place in another country since this one is so horrible.
Posted by Lovnlivn on May 9, 2008 at 10:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
There is something about prison-made alcohol in the cell of a maximum security penitentiary that makes it seem certain that the prison guards failed to do their jobs. As some one who attended the court room proceedings on multiple occasions, I can say with absolute certainty that if you do indeed stand by the death penalty, it is paramount to make every possible effort to familiarize yourself with every aspect of the case. Telling this man "to sit on old smoky" is an atrocity when you make your opinions solely based on the twisted, fear mongering press. This isn't about holding hands and picking flowers, it's about making sure that justice is served in the fairest way possible. Controlling a society by fear only establishes totalitarianism and should be avoided at all costs. No one here is excusing the actions that occurred on October 10, 1999. In every sense they were horrific, but the fact of the matter is, the crime has already been attributed to someone else who plead guilty. To seek the death penalty for another person for the same crime makes us, as a society, no better than the men in that cell. Blood thirst on the part of the law abiding citizen is inexcusable. Nobody here is putting America's reputation as a world power and progressive nation in question; however capital punishment shows just how far we have to go. Wiping Joey Estrella’s blood clean with the blood of Rudy Sablan only leaves his blood on our hands.
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