Should Randy Guzek get fifth death penalty trial?

A tall stack of new documents submitted to the Oregon Supreme Court outline why Randy Lee Guzek believes his fourth death sentence in the brutal 1987 murders of a Terrebonne couple should be overturned and retried yet again.

The 890-page defense brief was submitted March 20th, four years after Guzek was sentenced to death a fourth time for the murders of Rod and Lois Houser at their Terrebonne home 26 years ago.

The prosecutor on three of the re-trials, now-Clatsop County District ATtorney Joshua Marquis, said Thursday he hoped the 25 years of litigation in this case would preclude any possibility of a successful appeal.

The document obtained by NewsChannel 21 says, “Mr. Guzek was forced to wear a stun belt” in court. “Mr. Guzek repeatedly noted the impact of the stun belt on his ability to concentrate, to assist his attorneys and it’s affect on his demeanor.”

Further on the defense writes, “Mr. Guzek claimed an alibi,” that “he was at home when the murders happened.”

The alibi defense was used in the original trial in 1988, but using it in later trials became a point of contention that made it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The court ruled in 2006 that the defense could not be used for retrial.

“That’s interesting they would say that,” Marquis said. “Unless the Oregon Supreme Court is prepared to overturn the United States Supreme Court, I don’t think that’s going to be an issue.”

The brief also states that Guzek is a “model prisoner,” saying “prison officials expect he would come to their aid if violence was threatened.”

Marquis said, “The defense lawyer’s job is basically to throw as much spaghetti at the wall as humanly possible. Merely because an allegation is made in a document does not mean it is necessarily true.”

Marquis added, that the case is now in the hands of the Oregon Supreme Court, who must figure it all out.

It could take several more years before a decision is made on a retrial. Before that can happen, the state Department of Justice must file a response within six months.

“Forty-eight citizens in Deschutes County have sentenced Mr. Guzek to death,” Marquis said. “Millions of dollars have been spent by taxpayers, providing him excellent representation.”

As of 2010, the case had cost $2.3 million.

“My main thoughts go out to the Houser family, who have endured this ordeal for 25 years,” Marquis said, “It’s my hope that that ordeal is over, or soon will be.”