Stanko receives second death sentence

CONWAY — Stephen Stanko received his second death sentence Thursday afternoon, this time for the fatal shooting of a 74-year-old man.

Jurors took just 45 minutes Monday afternoon to convict Stanko for armed robbery and the murder of Henry Lee Turner, a Florence County native, in his Conway home more than four years ago. The same jurors deliberated on the sentence for a little more than an hour.

Fifteenth Circuit Court Judge Steven John allowed Stanko to address the jurors with a handwritten note during closing arguments before they headed into their deliberation.

During that address, Stanko said, “the reason I wanted to do to this was to apologize, I don’t know if it'll make a difference to the family whether they accept it or weather they want to accept it , I hope that some day they will, but I am sorry."

“In going to court I just didn’t want to hurt anybody else and that’s why I didn’t want my family here,” he said, “because I didn’t want them to go through this.”

“It’s the first step, in talking so briefly with them,” 15th Circuit Solicitor Greg Hembree said of Turner’s family members who were at the trial since it began. “You could see the relief on their faces. Guilty is really what they are about, I mean, they wanted to hold him accountable for his actions, for killing their dad and family member, so that’s been accomplished and that’s a huge relief for them.“

"It's been a long time coming and it's definitely closure for me," said Turner's older son Roger Turner, Thursday, "even though I don't have my father anymore, obviously not only he (Stanko) affected my life but he affected many lives."

Before resting their case Monday, prosecutors presented their rebuttal witnesses to refute what the defense put up during the weekend.

The team brought in forensic psychologist Dr. Pamela Crawford, who told the jury that when she interviewed Stanko for 17 hours in 2006, she concluded “he has a grandiose sense of self importance, failure to conform to social norms and lack of remorse.”

Before her testimony, Crawford told 15th Circuit Court Judge Steven H. John, in the absence of the jury, Stanko said he was in fear of his life and that’s why he had to shoot Turner.

“It’s clear from what he told me that not only did he remember the events, but he was asserting that he was defending himself,” Crawford said, “which sort of rules out an insanity defense in the sense that he said that, ‘I remembered it, I did this because I was trying to protect myself,’ and that’s just pretty crucial.”

John didn’t allow the details of the conversation between Crawford and Stanko to be heard by the jury.

During closing arguments both sides asked the jury to come up with a verdict that “will speak the truth. “

“Folks, let me tell you something,” Deputy 15th Circuit Solicitor Fran Humphries said. “He had plans, and if you can plan, you will appreciate the wrongfulness of your actions. And if you appreciate them, then he is not insane, not by law of the State of South Carolina, “

“He has a severe case of antisocial personality disorder,” defense attorney Bill Diggs countered, “but he has a severe case of it because it manifests not only in terms of lying and stealing but killing. I mean. if you think you could recognize the rightness or wrongfulness of your conduct, would you do it with your family member?”

Diggs and along with attorney Brana Williams rested their case Sunday after working to convince jurors that Stanko was insane when he killed Turner in 2005.

Stanko didn’t testify in his own defense.

Police said Turner’s murder was only one of many crimes Stanko committed in one week. He already received the death penalty for the killing of 43-year-old Laura Ling of Murrells Inlet, a librarian who lived with Stanko.

Investigators found Ling’s body after a teenager, later identified as Ling’s daughter, called police from the home and said she had been raped. They said Turner’s murder happened a few days later. A Georgetown jury convicted Stanko guilty of the murder and sexual assault in August 2006.

Stanko was sentenced to death soon after his conviction.

Stanko and his legal team appealed that sentence within a year. His lawyers argued in S.C. Supreme Court the jury wasn’t questioned properly and Stanko didn’t have a fair chance in court.

In 2008, the Supreme Court ruled against the appeal and wouldn’t allow a new trial for Stanko.

The appeal process delayed the trial for Turner’s death.

The Stanko case received national attention when a nationwide search for him followed the Turner and Ling slayings. U.S. Marshals tracked him down and arrested him in an Augusta, Ga., shopping center.

The CBS show television show “48 Hours” also featured the Stanko case in January 2007.

Stanko will also serve 20 years for the armed robbery of Turner.

He will be kept in close confinement until he can be transported to the South Carolina Department of Corrections.