Former UA student likely to spend years on death row
Jack Willems
Issue date: 1/14/09 Section: News
Former UA student Zachariah Marcyniuk is scheduled to be executed June 30 after being convicted of the murder of Katharine Wood last March. However, he is not likely to be executed any time soon, a spokeswoman for the Arkansas Department of Corrections said.
Those convicted of capital murder will spend an average of 11 to 12 years on death row because of appeals, said Dina Tyler, spokeswoman for the department. The appeals process gives those convicted of capital murder an automatic appeal to the Arkansas Supreme Court and allows multiple appeals in both federal and state courts, Tyler said.
"It is not uncommon to have proceedings before several different courts," she said.
Many of those convicted will spend even more time on death row, but the average is weighed down by those who forgo appeals and accept the death penalty, Tyler said. Usually those that forgo appeals are those that have killed family members, she said.
Marcyniuk and Wood had a long relationship until a few weeks before Wood's death when the two broke up. Witnesses at the trial said Marcyniuk had trouble accepting the break up.
Marcyniuk was convicted of capital murder Dec. 10. The next day the jury recommended the death penalty to Fourth Judicial Circuit Judge William Storey, who accepted the recommendation. Marcyniuk was eligible for capital murder under Arkansas criminal law, which states that anyone who deliberately caused the death of another person or has the premeditated intent of causing death to another person is guilty of capital murder. Capital murder also is defined as committing a murder in the act of committing a burglary, and Marcyniuk was also charged with burglary.
The jury considered Marcyniuk's violent history and the cruel and depraved manner of the crime before recommending the death penalty. Marcyniuk previously was convicted of aggravated assault in 2005 for holding his then girlfriend against her will while threatening to commit suicide. Marcyniuk was sentenced to two years probation for the assault while the former girlfriend filed three orders of protection against Marcyniuk that year.
Those convicted of capital murder will spend an average of 11 to 12 years on death row because of appeals, said Dina Tyler, spokeswoman for the department. The appeals process gives those convicted of capital murder an automatic appeal to the Arkansas Supreme Court and allows multiple appeals in both federal and state courts, Tyler said.
"It is not uncommon to have proceedings before several different courts," she said.
Many of those convicted will spend even more time on death row, but the average is weighed down by those who forgo appeals and accept the death penalty, Tyler said. Usually those that forgo appeals are those that have killed family members, she said.
Marcyniuk and Wood had a long relationship until a few weeks before Wood's death when the two broke up. Witnesses at the trial said Marcyniuk had trouble accepting the break up.
Marcyniuk was convicted of capital murder Dec. 10. The next day the jury recommended the death penalty to Fourth Judicial Circuit Judge William Storey, who accepted the recommendation. Marcyniuk was eligible for capital murder under Arkansas criminal law, which states that anyone who deliberately caused the death of another person or has the premeditated intent of causing death to another person is guilty of capital murder. Capital murder also is defined as committing a murder in the act of committing a burglary, and Marcyniuk was also charged with burglary.
The jury considered Marcyniuk's violent history and the cruel and depraved manner of the crime before recommending the death penalty. Marcyniuk previously was convicted of aggravated assault in 2005 for holding his then girlfriend against her will while threatening to commit suicide. Marcyniuk was sentenced to two years probation for the assault while the former girlfriend filed three orders of protection against Marcyniuk that year.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Vicki Edwards
posted 1/15/09 @ 2:46 PM CST
My daughter was the formal girlfriend of Zacharia. She is the one that filed 4 orders of protection in 2005. She was the one he held in a speeding car with a loaded gun to his head. (Continued…)
Cancer Cure
posted 1/21/09 @ 2:01 AM CST
It sounds like he was mentally disturbed and should have been in a mental institution. He will not get mental help in prison.
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