AUSTIN, Texas – Death row inmate Brandon Daniel appeared briefly in court Friday to ask to waive his appeals in order to speed up his execution.
"I think that he has a goal that we wants the judge to help him achieve and I think that he's very articulate in what he wanted to do," said Travis County District Attorney's Office Prosecutor Gary Cobb.
In April 2012, Daniel shot and killed senior police officer Jaime Padron inside a North Austin Walmart. A jury convicted Daniel of capital murder and sentenced him to death in 2014.
This past February, Daniel wrote a letter to Judge Brenda Kennedy stating he has carefully considered his options and wants to waive his appeals and represent himself to speed up his execution.
In the letter, Daniel wrote his lawyer tried to talk him out of waiving his appeals, but his mind was made up and he listed reasons why he wanted to speed up his execution.
"I want justice to be served and I feel that the punishment is appropriate for my crime; we are both interested in saving the taxpayer's money, the time of all involved and in sparing my family and the victim's family any more angst than necessary; and, finally, I would like to limit my time in prison to the least amount possible," Daniel wrote.
Brad Urrutia, who represented Daniel during the capital murder trial, was at the hearing.
"I think he's always felt the weight of what he's done," Urrutia said.
"I think that being an extremely intelligent person, he's made the decision rather than spend the rest of his life living with the consequences of what he's done, he'd rather suffer the consequences of what he's done," said Cobb. "They would like to see the judge do what the defendant is asking the judge to do, which is allow him to represent himself and proceed forward with this."
Cobb's office has been in touch with Padron's family about what it going on.
The Austin Police Department echoed that sentiment, releasing the following statement:
On April 6, 2012, Mr. Daniels was arrested after he murdered Senior Police Officer Jaime Padron in cold blood. Mr. Daniels was tried, convicted and sentenced by a jury comprised of members from our diverse community. There is no doubt that Mr. Daniels committed the heinous crime he was convicted of, therefore the department is not opposed to the granting of his petition.
The Austin Police Association also said its membership is not opposed.
The judge ordered Daniel undergo a psychological evaluation, testing his competence. She also allowed his attorneys to have one of their experts evaluate him. That evaluation is expected to happen within the next week and Daniel will stay in the Travis County jail until it is done and he goes back to court for a ruling.
In his letter, Daniel also said he would like to fire his other appellate attorney Ariel Payan because he filed an appeal against his wishes.
Payan told KVUE the appeal he filed to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is mandatory in every case when someone is sentenced to death. He went on to say his job is not to do what his clients want, but what is in their best interest and what is required by law. He added Daniel can't waive this appeal and the process will take time.
"You can safely guess it's going to take at least six months from today and probably more like something between six months and two years," said Payan.
Cobb estimates it could take 18 months to two years before Daniel is executed, if his request is granted.
The average prisoner spends 10 years on death row and it costs the state about $2.3 million.
