Lawyers argue whether Pittsburgh triple homicide defendant's intellect should bar death penalty

A judge Friday delayed jury selection in a triple homicide case in Pittsburgh that was supposed to start after the weekend as lawyers continued to fight over whether the defendant ought to face the death penalty.

Prosecutors are seeking capital punishment for Ronald Steave, 32, whose alleged victims include a 12-year-old boy.

But Steave’s defense attorneys say the death penalty should be off the table because their client has an IQ of 70, making him, they say, intellectually disabled.

Under a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court case, it is unconstitutional to sentence a person with intellectual disability to death.

Prosecutors in May 2022 announced their desire to put Steave to death. His lawyers have filed various motions in the case, including to contest the death penalty, but it wasn’t until this month that they tried to argue that his intellect should make him ineligible for capital punishment.

A hearing on the matter was scheduled for Friday morning, but the defense expert wasn’t available.

Meanwhile, an expert who evaluated Steave for the court said he didn’t have enough information before him to make a final decision.

The parties are expected to reconvene Monday morning.

Earlier this week, Steave’s lawyers and prosecutors battled over whether a statement the defendant made to police that pinned the blame on one of the victims should be admitted.

The prosecution admitted to making a mistake by not turning over the evidence, and the defense asked for the entire case to be thrown out. But Allegheny County Judge Edward J. Borkowski declined to dismiss the case, ruling that the oversight was not a level of prosecutorial misconduct that would warrant a dismissal.

‘Sub-average intelligence’

Pittsburgh police said Steave killed his ex-girlfriend, Nandi Fitzgerald, 28; her son, Denzel “Buddy” Nowlin Jr, 12; and her friend, Tatiana “Tay” Hill, 28, at a home on Hamilton Avenue in Homewood on Dec. 31, 2021.

Five months later, the Allegheny County District Attorney’s office filed a notice that it would seek the death penalty against Steave, citing seven aggravating factors in the case, such as that he has a significant history of felony convictions involving violence.

Dr. Bruce Wright, a psychiatrist, testified Friday that he evaluated Steave the day before.

Wright agreed with the defense expert that Steave’s IQ is 70, signaling “significantly sub-average intelligence.”

But Wright told Allegheny Common Pleas Judge Edward J. Borkowski that he would need additional information about the defendant’s social skills and ability to function in society before he could render a final opinion.

Wright said that Steave has lived independently, earned his GED, has a driver’s license and is able to cook. But Wright had no information available about Steave’s childhood, medical or school history.

Deputy District Attorney Brian Catanzarite told the court that the prosecution is planning to call an expert from Philadelphia to evaluate Steave and provide a second opinion, prompting frustration from the judge.

“For 20 years, your office has relied on Dr. Wright, who’s respected on both sides of the aisle,” Borkowski said.

“The commonwealth is entitled to their own expert,” Catanzarite responded.

“In terms of the ethics and integrity of your office, if Dr. Wright says Steave is intellectually disabled, you want to contest that?” Borkowski asked.

“We may want to contest it, yes,” Catanzarite said.

Moratorium still in place

There are currently seven pending death penalty cases in Allegheny County. There had been an eighth against a man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend at their Blawnox workplace, but prosecutors withdrew it earlier this month after the victim’s family told prosecutors that the death penalty would negatively impact their children’s well being.

All of the pending cases have been filed since former Gov. Tom Wolf declared a moratorium on the death penalty in February 2015.

Since taking office last year, Gov. Josh Shapiro has called on the state legislature to abolish it.

The last execution in Pennsylvania was in 1999, and there are currently 95 people on death row, including six from Allegheny County.

The most recent person to be sentenced to capital punishment was Richard Poplawski, who was convicted of killing three Pittsburgh police officers in 2011.