7
LOPEZ, Estamistado, Mexican eleétrocuted T,xas (ifillacy County) June 10, 1932.
THE STATE OF TEXAS,
I, : Clerk
wee ceen ens eceseneesess ‘ pa
t f -,
. County of..
of
of the District Court of...
is a true and correct ‘copy of ‘the original Bill of Indictment, filed in said Court on the... day
eS a - FR a
Given under my hand and the seal of said Court, at office in 8 ae _the
Clerk.
‘ District Court, ra County, Texas.
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<i = County, Texas, do hereby certify that the foregoing
dD
Austin
fhe Hb EN DEC a4 TECK CO4
In the Name and by the Authority of the State of Texas:
THE GRAND JURORS, for the County of Willacy ------- -
State aforesaid, duly selected, empaneled, sworn, charged and organized as aap at the
Crizin
August - -
—
al
Term A. D. 19 30 of the,l District Court for. = County, upon their oaths in said Court present that
Radic reg ‘
weary Lopes}. ote ae a me ee heen be
~
uf a! or about the
15th day of
July, 1530,
hundred si thirty, ee ea
og : NBs ee yo tes Mies of : ote ace
- Tce. == - --+- | A.D. one thousand nine
and before the presentment of this. indictment, in the County
ty ‘of WA Llacy, ,----- i Sala maa “and State of Texas, ‘did then and there unlawfully
/ t ioe : ae : t ‘ ol ‘
Baer voluntarily, and with malice aforethought kil) Jeous Villareal
vy striking and cutting him with an ex -- :
Aoife
against the peace and dignity of the State. ler ANG:
r 3 Foreman of the Grand J:
cD RR ak ase Ga ERLAAR Ala.
os Shari A RC te
LOSADA, Davis, Hispanic, injection TXSP (Cameron), June 4, 1997.
ROMERO, Jesus, Jr., Hispanic, injection, TXSp, (Cameron), May 20, 1992.
Losada and Romero were migrant farm workers. Losada was the leader of a gang
comprised of Romero and other Hispanic farm workers. On December 23, 1982, they,
and two other members of the gang, Jose F. Cardenas and Rafael Leyva, Jr., picked up 15-year-
old Olga Lydia Perales at a party on the pretext of driving her home. They gang-raped her
and then, on the orders of Losada, the stabbed and beat her to death with an iron park. At
the time of the murder, Romero had been on parole only three weeks from a 10-year sentence
for aggravated sexual assault. Cardenas received a life sentence while Leyva, who had been
convicted of rape only, was sesntenced to twenty years in exchange for his testimony against
the others.
that the defendant, Cohamsabed Tet 9 who has. ‘boon | adjudged :
to be guilty o: murdex with pat ines and whose punishuent has boon
assessed by e verdict of the dary at death, shall on.
the /o _ Gay of Diese PN i a ’ 1982, in Huntsvilis , at the
| State Penitentiary; bs electrocuted by causing to pass through te i
, body of the cata todann slots Rear “ourrent of elect roity of sat = oS
flotent intensity to cause death, and the application and. con~
3 ed tiinuance through the body of the said Crtomnnalle te AT ‘until !
LS 2 ihe cit Codannsale dy sleds, ie dead. And that the Cheat .
of this aoury shail issusg a death war raxt. in aac orianve with
; this sentence and diract sane ‘to the Warden of the Stato Penitene
ed tiary at Huntsville , and deliver the sam to. the Sheritt of, Millag
, )
County, Taxas, to be by hin delivered to « sald Warden, ‘together with ar
: , the said condenmed Cataldo BS 5k and the said Warden shall ;
execute said death varrant in ac 109 7daN3 4 with the daw in such 2
eases provided, and the said + , dogendant ds
remanded to jail to await the execution of this centences
e . ey MA Kat
a M Kent
a. alr cE
j
} phi s Sa Be eee eae ey Re aN ee a ties eae Ra I ya SE NC re SPOR EBON et oa Ser Pte *¥ ; s =
PSA PINNED ONE IR VAM 21) OCS PROPEL. CORT RR RS EY es BER DE ROO ORS WAN ADIET *o.. WMO UE ONENESS e TNS! CRIA n ts)
{kere ost Pieters ha
“gee stats op Wax Bisis eee the “rtainal Distriet Sout
VS. 4s — WALLeoy County , Toxase a
ayer’ 9th, 1952. wees
v
end his ame el being prosent, ‘for the ‘purposs_ of ee :
the sentence of the Law. pronounced against hin in acuordance bee
wlth the vordict and jndgaent reniored against hin norotn
at a former | tem of this court, tomwit; on tne 2f. aay of hy
. aa : and. trom which said Judgoant ho expec
in thie CAUses and ie beupen tho aozondantl
prosence of the said Gace
a ee Pere chim: atufallove gos
Court. Of Willacy. eet ‘State of. Texas
“Estanislado topene: Sentence filed on the | of ‘May 1932.
AO ge iN
De tT Set fener
; Fie dy i isp
seat cane sab vt.
nee
i Hate
ig ia
e- e
4 ae on lege sige
& PF an i,
He made the familiar arguments against capital punishment,
contending the poor receive short shrift from the
criminal-justice system, that the penalty is inherently barbaric
and desensitizes the public to violence, and that maintaining
inmates on death row is not cost-effective.
ear SP AbAEL GS shstiyas see ,
"Personally," he said, "some prisoners may deserve the death :
penalty. But to carry it out simply is counter-productive."
Also present was J ohnson-B ey's defense attorney, Jim Marcus,
a member of the Houston-based Texas Defense Services, which
provides lawyers for death row inmates.
Marcus said the U.S. Supreme Court tumed down a final appeal
on Johnson-Bey's behalf about 3 p.m. A last-ditch appeal to
Gov. George W. Bush for clemency also proved futile.
"We knew this was a very serious execution date," Marcus said.
Johnson-Bey, he said, was genuinely remorseful over the
Snyder robbery-murder and had succeeded in rehabilitating
himself. |
"If the jury trying this case could see what has happened to him
in the 11 years he's been on death row, they would say that he
_ certainly doesn't-pose a continuing threat to society," Marcus
In his final statement, Johnson-Bey told his family -- his brother
and sister were among witnesses -- that he loved them.
"Always be strong," he said in a subdued voice. "Keep your
heads up and faith in Jesus."
As the impact of the lethal drugs became apparent, the
condemned man's brother wept and was led from the witness
room. : ‘
Johnson-Bey was pronounced dead at 6:18 p.m. Losada was
taken to the death chamber shortly after 7, after about _
two-thirds of the media had left. >
In a brief statement he thanked his sister, Dee Dee, for being "a
good sister to all of us." He urged his family to trust in God,
and he proclaimed, "If it matters to anyone, I did not kill Olga."
He was declared dead at 7:30 p.m:
The next scheduled execution is Wednesday, when Earl Russell
Behringer, 33, will be put to death for the September 1986
killings of Daniel Meyer Jr., 22, and his fiancee, Janet Hancock,
21, at a lovers lane in Mansfield. Both were repeatedly shot in
the head with a 9 mm pistol. |
durwo
Ce-4¢-/77 U/
MI u 24 LSD ni 9 1 yu nh al | ( ix ) i x 5
Boe) /4 7k iw
dants, an 18-year-old and a 17-year-
old.
The victim was garroted in his fa-
ther’s car as he was reciting the final
words of a prayer. It was alleged that
two of the defendants were with him
while the other two sat in another car
as lookouts and the fifth defendant,
charged with masterminding the
murder, waited at home to hear that
the deed had been done.
White Plains, New York—June 26, 1992:
Convicted a month earlier for the
January 1989 gunshot murder of
Betty Jean Solomon, her lover's wife,
28-year-old former schoolteacher
Carolyn Warmus was sentenced toa
maximum term of 25 years to life.
Just before Westchester County
Court Judge John Carey pronounced
Sentence, the sobbing and shaking
woman whimpered, “I did not kill
Betty Jean Solomon. I don't want to
spend time in jail for something I
didn't do.” She went on to say that
she was devastated and asked for le-
_niency on the basis of her declared
innocence.
In passing sentence, Judge Carey
labelled the crime as having been
planned maliciously and cold-
bloodedly by the convicted woman,
He said, “No community which hopes
to be bound by the rule of.law can tol-
erate any such merciless Slaughter.”
14 Inside Detective
Laahe
The judge also sentenced Warmus to
5 to 15 yearsona separate conviction
for criminal possession of a weapon,
specifying that this sentence may be
served concurrently.
The case, which made national
headlines, is presented with com-
plete, behind-the-scenes details in
the story titled “9 Slugs Shattered the
‘Fatal Attraction’ Triangle” in the De-
cember 1992 issue of True Detective
Magazine, which will be available at
newsstands on September 10th.
ULTIMATE JUSTICE DISPENSED...
Little Rock, Arkansas — May 7, 1992: After
the U.S. Supreme Court denied an
appeal filed by his attorney, 25-year-
old Steven Douglas Hill, the youngest
of 35 prisoners or Arkansas’ death
row, was executed by lethal injection.
Hill stood convicted in the 1984 slay-
ing of Arkansas State Police Investi-
gator Robert Klein. The lawman was
shot to death when Hill and another
man went on a crime spree after
breaking out of state prison.
It was shortly after his arrest that
Hill confessed to the cop-killing, Lat-
er, after their trial, Hill's accomplice
asserted that he, not Hill, was the ac-
tual shooter. Michael A. Cox, who
was sentenced to an 86-year prison
term for kidnapping and assault,
maintained that the two men agreed
between themselves that Hill should
coe aa carmen: ‘ Pee
%
Carolyn Warmus (both photos): 25 years to life for “Fatal Attraction” Slaying.
Mtalwe Mov, ($6>
claim responsibility for the actual
shooting. The pair believed that be-
cause Hill was 18 years old at that
time, a jury would be less likely to im-
pose the death penalty.
Officer Klein was felled by a shot-
gun blast when he and other lawmen
Surrounded a home where Hill and
Cox were holed up. After escaping
from a Wrightsville Prison work detail
in October 1984, the two fugitives
burst into a Woodson home, bound
the family members, Swiped some
firearms, and stole a pickup in which
they fled to the second house, where
Convicted for cop-killing, Steven Hill
was executed by lethal injection.
the police action went down.
A bid for clemency to Arkansas
Governor Bill Clinton was also de-
nied. Hill was pronounced dead eight
minutes after he received the lethal
injection.
Huntsville, Texas — May 21, 1992: Jesus Ro-
mero, a 27-year-old migrant worker
convicted of a rape-murder, became
the 49th person to be executed tn
Texas since the state resumed capital
punishment in 1982. Romero was
tried in 1985 for raping and murder-
ing 15-year-old Olga Perales in an as-
Sault by four gang members.
During his trial, Romero was 19,
and he giggled as witnesses de-
scribed how the victim was stabbed,
beaten witha Pipe, and raped repeat-
edly. In contrast, he was somber, vis-
ibly nervous, just before receiving the
lethal injection. 000
=
i ee, ee ne Bens >
i eee ee <a ae
Send | CaRe ren ee Rn nae ese Repr
2.1 Sareea ETT EERE AAO OM ey
William Andrews
NEXT TUESDAY MARKS THE
latest hearing in a long appeals
process for William Andrews,
who has spent more than 17
years on death row. In 1974
Andrews and Dale Selby held u
an electronics store in Ogden,
Utah, and kept five hostages
the building’s basement. THe
bystanders were tied up and
forced to drink liquid drai
cleaner during a brutal toyture
session. Although Andrevws left
_the room before Selby raped one
woman and shot all the hostages,
killing three of them, both men
were convicted of murder.
(Selby was executed in 11987.)
The Tenth Circuit Court\of
Appeals ruled last year that
Andrews received competent
representation, but his cufrent
public defender assigned to the
case made a number of tactical
errors. They criticize the ,
lawyer—who had been _
practicing just two months
before the case came to trial—for
not conducting a defense wholly
independent from Selby’s, and
say he failed to effectively cross-
examine witnesses for the
prosecution, which could have
helped Andrews avoid
execution. If the state court does
not find a reason to delay the
sentence once again, it will order
that Andrews die by lethal
injection or firing squad within
60 days.
9
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YOU DONT ALWAYS GET ©
[ae
As Coleman goes to the chair, :
questions remain about his case—
and the sags of legal defenders
By RICHARD LACAYO
WITH TWO POWERFUL JOLTS OF ELECTRIC-
ity, Roger Keith Coleman was executed
last week in Virginia. But the questions
about his guilt could not so easily be dis-
posed of—in part because his court-
appointed lawyers failed to put them to
rest at his trial. On the night that Wanda
Fay McCoy was murdered, Coleman
claimed to have been at several points
around the coal-mining town of Grundy.
Shouldn’t his lawyers have tried to retrace
his steps on that night and search out wit-
nesses? Shouldn’t they have ventured into
McCoy’s or Coleman’s home? At the very
least, shouldn’tt é
‘bag of bloody sheets and two cow-
Judy Haney
NOW ON DEATH ROW IN ALABAMA
appealing her 1988 sentence,
Judy Haney admits paying her
brother-in-law to kill her husband
in 1984. Her motive, she says, was
more than 15 years of physical
abuse. Haney’s appeals attorney
claims that her court-appointed
lawyers at the trial failed to obtain
hospital records of treatment for
injuries that\she says were inflict-
ed by her husband. “If the jury
had appreciated the role of the
abuse Haney and her children had
suffered, it would have been a
very strong mitigating factor,”
says Haney’s new attorney, Ste-
phen Bright. A hospital worker
initially said such records could
not be found; one of the trial attor-
neys, Gould Bir, finally located
them—after the sentencing. Dur-
r irts McCoy’s neighbor found a few
days after the murder?
Over six years ago, Jesus Romero was
sentenced to death for taking part in the
1984 gang rape and murder of a 15-year-
old in San Benito, Texas. He might have
been sent to a mental hospital instead if
his court-appointed attorney had present-
ed available evidence to the jury that sup-
ported an insanity defense. “His lawyer
had no idea there was information avail-
able that Romero was completely insane at
‘the time of the crime,” contends Nick
Trenticosta, who handled Romero’s ap-
peals. During the course of his appeals, a
lower federal court ruled that Romero had
received ineffective counsel at his trial,
but a higher appeals court reversed that
ruling. Last week Romero died by injec-
tion in Huntsville, Texas.
Accused killers don’t tend to be attrac-
tive people. Quite a few of them, perhaps
the overwhelming majority, are guilty.
But even the most dubious characters a
_supposed to get a fair trial; in Which their
attorneys are equipped to make the best
possible case on their behalf. Because the
majority of murder defendants are also
broke, however, many of them get court-
appointed lawyers who lack the resources,
experience or inclination to do their ut-
most. When the Supreme Court restored
capital punishment in 1976, it did so in the
expectation that death sentences would be
imposed in a fair and equitable manner. It
hasn’t always worked that way. Some peo-
ple go to traffic court with better prepared
lawyers than many murder defendants
tempt and jailed for a night after
the judge coricluded he was in-
toxi n court. “This kind of
jal has no place in the legal sys-
tem,” says Bright. But since the
jury members did not witness
Blair’s drunkenness and weren't
told of it, it could not have influ-
enced their verdict. Blair says he
deeply regrets the drinking inci-
dent. He insists, however, that
Haney undermined her own de-
fense by taking the stand, against
his advice, and leaving the im-
pression that she had master-
minded the crime. Says he: “She
was not underrepresented one
damn bit.”
TIME, JUNE 1, 1992
ing the trial, Blair was held in con- ©
J
: Feces Romero executed for San Benito saarder |
By MICHAEL GRACZYK
Associated Press Writer
HUNTSVILLE — A Rio Grande
Valley man who giggled during his
murder trial was put to death early
today for raping and killing a teen-
age girl nearly eight years ago.
Jesus Romero, 27, was given le-
thal injection for killing ‘Olga Per-
ales in. an attack that. involved
several other young men. One of his
companions also is under a death
sentence.
Romero had no final. statement.
His attorney, Elizabeth Cohen, en-
tered the death chamber and said
she loved him. Romero, visibly ner-
vous and appearing near tears,
stared intently at her.
He was pronounced dead at 1:40
a.m. CDT, seven minutes after the
lethal injection was administered.
He had little reaction to the injec-
tion, gasping a few times and utter-
- ing a single grunt.
The execution was the seventh
_ this year in Texas and the 49th since
—— i Oe, t
Brownsville
e
Jesus Romero
the state resumed capital. punish-
ment in 1982. Both totals by far are
the highest in the nation. _
Romero’s death came after the
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals,
the state’s highest criminal court,
refused to block the execution. Late
Tuesday, a federal judge in Browns-
* ville issued a stay, but the state -
appealed to the 5th U:S: Circuit
Court of Appeals. in New Orleans,
which lifted the lower court order.
The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3
ruling early today, also refused to
halt the execution.
Testimony showed Perales, 15,
who lived near San Benito and knew
her alleged killers, was stabbed in
the chest and stomach, beaten about
the head with a pipe and raped
repeatedly before her death. o
Romero was seen giggling at the
i- defense table as witnesses re-
counted the slaying at his 1985 trial.
A jury took just seven minutes to.
decide on the death sentence.
Testimony showed Romero and
his companions were drinking beer
and taking drugs the night Perales
was killed. She was riding with.
them in a car after attending a-
party. She was raped and killed
after her attackers worried that she
would tell others about the assault.
Her body was dumped in a remote
-area near San Benito and was found
the next day, Christmas Eve 1984.
Romero initially told police. the
girl willingly went.with them. After
his conviction and sentence, he
blamed others for hatching a plan to
rape the girl,
“Things just al out of. hand, ” he
‘said.
Two of Romero's co-defendants
also were convicted of capital mur-
der. Davis. Lozado is . awaiting
“death, while Jose Cardenas receiv
Another man received .20 years
for sexual assault Perales’-death.
‘In their appeals, Romero’s attor-
- Meys contended Romero had psycho-
logical problems and.that-the attor-
ney who defended him during the
trial was incompetent. “
At the time of his arrest, Romero
was free on bond for three weeks
after serving.only a few months of.a
10-year sentence for aggravated.
sexual assault on the daughter of a
San Benito police officer.
Se eee a a
eet eee +
©1992, The Brownsville Herald. All rights reserved.
Born on the Fourth of July, 1892
Wednesday, May 20, 1992 | ~
a
In Graham v. State, 643 S.W.2d 920
(Tex.Cr.App.1981), in an appeal from a con-
viction for capital murder, we held that
there was sufficient evidence to corrob-
orate the accomplice witness where defend-
ant was placed at the scene of the crime
close to the time the offense occurred and
another witness saw a man from behind
who looked like “the accused leaving the
building where the crime occurred shortly
after it happened.”
[3] In order to support a conviction
based upon an accomplice witness’ testimo-
ny, there must be corroborating evidence,
other than the testimony of the accomplice
witness which tends to connect the defend-
ant with the offense. Art. 38.14, supra,
Hardesty v. State, 656 S.W.2d 73 (Tex.Cr.
App.1983), Graham v. State, supra, Brown
v. State, 657 S.W.2d 117 (Tex.Cr.App.1983).
[4] Itis not necessary that the evidence
corroborating the accomplice witness testi-
mony directly link the accused to the crime
or be sufficient in itself to establish guilt.
It is sufficient if the combined cumulative
weight of the incriminating evidence fur-
nished by the non-accomplice witnesses
tends to connect the accused with the com-
mission of the offense. Granger v. State,
683 S.W.2d 387 (Tex.Cr.App.1984).
[5] The statement given by appellant
corroborates the testimony of Leyva in that
it places the appellant with the codefend-
ants beforé, during and after the sexual
assaults upon and murder of the deceased.
The statement recites details such as the
place where the deceased first appeared,
the scene of the crime, the hitting and
stabbing of the deceased, the location of
the place where the body of the deceased
was dragged, the departure from the scene
and disposal of the knife and other items.
The statement further corroborates the tes-
timony of Leyva in that appellant admits
therein that he and Leyva dragged the
deceased into the bushes.
[6] We find that the appellant’s state-
ment contained evidence which tended to
connect appellant with the crime. In addi-
tion, the underwear recovered from appel-
EX PARTE CAMPBELL . Tex. 523
Cite as 716 S.W.2d 523 (Tex.Cr.App. 1986)
lant’s residence determined to have blood
stains consistent with appellant and de-
ceased’s blood type is a circumstance which
may be considered. The corroboration was
sufficient. The evidence supports the con-
viction.
Even when we employ the now rejected
standard of Fortenberry we find the cor-
roboration sufficient and the evidence am-
ple to support the convictions.
The judgment is affirmed.
CLINTON, J., concurs in the result.
© & KEY NUMBER SYSTEM
4nms
Ex parte Delmas Scott CAMPBELL.
No. 69620.
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas,
En Banc.
Sept. 17, 1986.
Petition for postconviction habeas cor-
pus was brought. The 265th Judicial Dis-
trict Court, Dallas County, John Ovard, J.,
recommended that relief be denied. The
Court of Criminal Appeals, Onion, PJ.,
held that: (1) jury, not judge, was proper
fact finder to determine whether deadly
weapon was used in commission of offense,
and (2) jury’s verdict of guilty on murder
indictment, which contained language that
charged defendant with murder by shoot-
ing victim with handgun, was sufficient
affirmative finding that deadly weapon was
used in commission of offense to justify
sentence.
Relief denied.
Clinton, J., joined in judgment and filed
opinion.
Teague, J., dissented and filed opinion.
is
cruel and unusual punishment pro-
hibited by the Eighth and Four-
teenth Amendments, Gregg v Geor-
gia, 428 US 153, 227, 231, 49 L Ed
2d 859, 96 S Ct 2909 (1976), we
would grant certiorari and vacate
the death sentence in this case.
No. 86-5901. John Thomas Fugitt,
Petitioner v Georgia
479 US 1070, 93 L Ed 2d 1011, 107
S Ct 963, reh den (US) 94 L Ed 2d
783, 107 S Ct 1595.
January 27, 1987. Petition for writ
of certiorari to the Supreme Court of
Georgia denied.
Same case below, 256 Ga 292, 348
SE2d 451.
Justice Brennan and Justice Mar-
shall, dissenting.
Adhering to our views that the
death penalty is in all circumstances
cruel and unusual punishment pro-
hibited by the Eighth and Four-
teenth Amendments, Gregg v Geor-
gia, 428 US 153, 227, 231, 49 L Ed
2d 859, 96 S Ct: 2909 (1976), we
would grant certiorari’ and vacate
the death sentence in this case.
_
No. 86-6061. Jesus Romero, Peti-
tioner v Texas
479 US 1070, 93 L Ed 2d 1011, 107
S Ct 963.
January 27, 1987. Petition for writ
of certiorari to the Court of Criminal
Appeals of Texas denied. ;
Same case below, 716 SW2d 519.
MEMORANDUM CASES
Justice Brennan and Justice Mar-
shall, dissenting.
Adhering to our views that the
death penalty is in all circumstances
cruel and unusual punishment pro-
hibited by the Eighth and Four-
teenth Amendments, Gregg v Geor-
gia, 428 US 153, 227, 231, 49 L Ed
2d 859, 96 S Ct 2909 (1976), we
would grant certiorari and vacate
the death sentence in this case.
—_————
No. 86-5841. Floyd D. Parker, Peti-
tioner v United States a
479 US 1070, 93 L Ed 2d 1011, 107
S Ct 964. |
January 27, 1987. Petition for writ
of certiorari to the United States
Court of Appeals for the District of
Columbia Circuit denied. Justice
Scalia took no part in the considera-
tion or decision of this petition.
Same case below, 255 App DC 343,
801 F2d 1382.
No. 86-5865. Lois E. Hilton Ford,
Petitioner v United States.
479 US 1070, 93 L Ed 2d 1011, 107
S Ct 964.
January 27, 1987. The motion of
petitioner to deter consideration of
the petition for a writ of certiorari is
denied. Petition for writ of certiorari
to the United States Court of Ap-
peals for the Fifth Circuit denied.
Same case below, 797 F2d 1329.
al Rel SOT ee, Odes Pat a : Peter 2 eS ae
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522 Tex.
turned to the car and they left the scene
and Losada said, “We all did it, you know.
Everybody had a part in it.” Losada threw
the knife “into some canal.” Appellant
then handed his knife to Losada so he could
throw it out. Cardenas stopped on a
bridge and Losada threw the girl’s clothes
out. Leyva was instructed by Losada to
not tell anyone that they were together.
The remaining three were going to say “all
we know is that we dropped the girl off at
the Azteca.” Losada warned Leyva “Just
keep your mouth shut and if you don’t the
same thing is going to happen to you.”
Appellant made a written confession, the
following portions of which were admitted
into evidence.
Omitting the warning and formal parts,
the confession recites:
“The party started to break up around
11:00 or 11:30 P.M. We left in Joe’s
[Cardenas] car. Joe was driving. Davis
[Losada] and Rafa [Leyva] were in the
back seat. We drove out to what is
known as La Piedra and drove down a
narrow road from a bigger road for ap-
proximately one city block in distance.
Davis, with the knife in one hand, forced
[deceased] to make out with him, Rafa
made out with her, then Joe made out
with her. Davis got a pipe and started
hitting [deceased] about the head. Rafa
hit her also. Joe did hit her. After-
wards, [deceased] was laying there and
Davis stabbed her. After Davis stabbed
her Rafa got a hold of one leg and I got
a hold of the other leg and we pulled her
into the bushes. I don’t know what hap-
pened to the pipe and didn’t see it any-
more when we left the area.
“When we left the area Joe was driving.
Rafa and I were in the back seat, and
Davis was in the front passenger side.
As we traveled down a dirt road, Davis
got rid of the knife that was used to stab
[deceased] and also got rid of another
knife. He did this by throwing the
knives out the window. We then trav-
eled some more and we then stopped on a
small bridge that goes over a drainage
ditch there by the overpass that is close
716 SOUTH WESTERN REPORTER, 2d SERIES
to the Valley Buick Company located just
southeast of San Benito. When we
stopped there Davis gave Rafa some oth-
er items and Rafa threw those out in the
drainage ditch also.
“Rafa was dropped off first by the Ber-
tha Cavazos School.
“I have been shown two photos by Inves-
tigator Joe Alvarado of the District At-
torney’s Office and I have identified both
pictures as being #1, that of [deceased],
the way we left her that night there in
the bushes. Photo # 2 is the way we left
[deceased] after Rafa and I dragged her
into the bushes. I have initialed, dated,
and placed the time on both photos.”
A search of appellant’s residence result-
ed in the recovery of a man’s “blooded
underwear” at the bottom of a garbage
bag. Raul Guajardo, a chemist with the
Department of Public Safety, testified his
analysis revealed that human blood was on
the sides of the underwear. The findings
were consistent with either Type A or Type
AB. Blood samples from the deceased and
appellant were both type A. Blood sam-
ples of the three codefendants showed all
of them to be type O.
[2] Proof that the accused was at or
near the scene of the crime at or about the
time of its commission, when coupled with
other suspicious circumstances, may tend
to connect the accused to the crime so as to
furnish sufficient corroboration to support
a conviction. Brown v. State, 672 S.W.2d
487 (Tex.Cr.App.1984); Passmore v. State,
617 S.W.2d 682 (Tex.Cr.App.1981).
In Jackson v. State, 516 S.W.2d 167 (Tex.
Cr.App.1974) in an appeal from a murder
conviction, we held:
“It is well established that ... admis-
sions or confessions, under most circum-
stances, will be sufficient to corroborate
the accomplice witness. We reject any
contention that appellant’s testimony
must be excluded in ascertaining the suf-
ficiency of the evidence to corroborate
the accomplice witness because he testi-
fied he acted in self-defense.”
Scapa
“pet
pe Se
( 871
NOW MO ,
Losa
04,4)
7 ROMERO v. LYNAUGH
Cite as 884 F.2d 871 (Sth Cir, 1989)
mary judgment denied plaintiff adi relief,
and so also did the amended judgment.”
Id. at 128 n. 4 (emphasis in original).
Under the Harrell test, we would be
without jurisdiction even if the district
court had purported to grant the first mo-
tion for reconsideration but, in the same
order, had made it clear that the effect of
the judgment was unchanged. Here, how-
ever, the court specifically denied the mo-
tion. Moreover, unlike the court in Dixie
Sand, the court a quo did not abandon its
original ground for dismissal (improper ser-
vice of process) but merely added, by way
of explanation, that even if, arguendo, that
ground were inapplicable, an alternative
ground would justify the same result. The
court could have accomplished its end sim-
ply by ruling “denied.” By explaining that
an alternative analysis supported the iden-
tical judgment, the district court cannot be
said to have either granted the motion to
reconsider or effectively to have amended
the judgment.
The interest of finality requires that par-
ties generally get only one bite at the rule
59(e) apple for the purpose of tolling the
time for bringing an appeal. The appellant
here had ample opportunity to request re-
consideration and, following its denial, to
file a timely notice of appeal. His notice,
instead, being untimely, the appeal is DIS-
MISSED.
W
(0) € KEY NUMBER SYSTEM
T
Jesus ROMERO, Petitioner-Appellee,
Cross—Appellant,
Vv
James A. LYNAUGH, Director, Texas
Department of Corrections,
Respondent-Appellant Cross—Appellee.
No. 88-6100.
United States Court of Appeals,
Fifth Circuit.
Oct. 5, 1989.
Convicted murderer who was sen-
tenced to death applied for writ of habeas
corpus. The United States District Court
for the Southern District of Texas at
Brownsville, Filemon B. Vela, J., granted
writ. State of Texas appealed. The Court
of Appeals, Patrick E. Higginbotham, Cir-
cuit Judge, held that: (1) trial counsel was
not ineffective, as district court found, in
failing to present defendant’s youth, intoxi-
cation, and family background as mitigat-
ing factors at sentencing, and (2) additional
claims of ineffective assistance that were
summarily rejected by district court were
also without merit.
Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and
remanded.
1. Criminal Law @641.13(7)
Trial counsel in capital murder prose-
cution was not ineffective for failing to
argue defendant’s youth, intoxication, and
family background as mitigating factors at
sentencing; defense counsel had engaged
in substantial preparation for trial, and
there was nothing to suggest that any miti-
gating facts were not before jury. USS.
C.A. Const.Amend. 6.
2. Criminal Law ¢641.13(2)
Trial counsel was not ineffective for
failing to raise insanity defense after filing
notice of intent to do so, where notice ac-
companied request for examination by psy-
chiatrist and filed report of that examina-
tion found that defendant was competent
to stand trial, that he suffered no mental
disease or defect which would impair his
ability'to distinguish right from wrong, and
that, while defendant was intoxicated at
time of offense, he was able to realize
consequences of his conduct. U.S.C.A.
Const.Amend. 6.
3. Criminal Law ¢641.13(6) _
Trial counsel was not ineffective for
failing to file discovery motion, where actu-
al discovery obtained exceeded that which
would have been obtainable by formal mo-
tion. U.S.C.A. Const.Amend. 6.
4, Criminal Law © 641.13(2)
Trial counsel was not ineffective in
failing to challenge for cause venire mem-
Lott sentenced to aie
for courthouse slayings
Continued from Page 1A.
couldn't imagine a less likely per-
son that this could have happened
to.”
Mr. Edwards’ widow, Martha, is-
stied a statement about the case on
‘behalf of the Edwards family: “Our
family is proud of the life John Ed-
wards lived and how he died in an
attempt to get help for other vic-
tims. His legacy will live on for our
sons, Matthew, Pierce and Daniel.”
Mrs. Edwards also thanked pro-
‘secutors and jurors for their work,
as well as court officials and secur-
ity personnel.
“We hope that in the near future,
all trials have a similarly secure en-
vironment where justice can pre-
‘vail over violence,” she said. “Al-
though we are deeply grieved by
our loss, we find great comfort in
' “the fact that we will see John
again.”
/¢. Mr. Lott was convicted of killing
“Mr. Marshall and Mr. Edwards, a
‘Dallas lawyer, in the Fort Worth
-courtroom of the 2nd Court of
‘Appeals. Three other people — a
lawyer and two appeals court jus-
tices — were wounded.
Sought attention
. Mr. Lott turned himself in at
WFAA-TV (Channel 8) in Dallas
about six hours after the 10 a.m.
shooting and gave a videotaped in-
{erview there. He claimed responsi-
bility for the shooting then, saying it
‘was done to bring attention to how
his 1990 divorce and child-custody
suits had. been handled in Tarrant
County, as well as his continuing le-
gal problems.
At the time of the slayings, he was
under indictment in Illinois for al-
legedly sexually assaulting his S-
year-old son. That case is pending.
_ . Prosecutors called 11 witnesses to
the stand in the punishment phase
of the trial, many of them Tarrant
County jail guards who testified that
Mr. Lott often called them obscene
names and harassed other inmates.
An Illinois prosecutor detailed Mr.
Lott's sexual assault indictments in
that state.
In closing arguments Saturday,
prosecutor Mike Parrish told the six-
man, six-woman jury that Mr. Lott is
a man “that thinks of nothing but
killing. This man is a manipulator.
Don't let him manipulate you.”
Mr. Lott did little to manipulate
anyone Saturday. Representing him-
self, as he has throughout the case,
the 45-year-old former lawyer called
Ho witnesses in the punishment
phase. He refused a last-minute re-
quest by Don Anthony, a Dallas man
who voluntarily came to Amarillo to
testify in Mr. Lott's behalf, to testify.
Mr. Lott used only about a minute
of the 30 minutes allotted to him for
his closing arguments. After staring
at jurors for several seconds, he
spoke only a few sentences but
never pleaded for his life.
“You're about to make a life-or-
death decision,” Mr. Lott said. “The
decisions you make and how you
make them should be such that you
can be at ease with yourself and
God. Thank you.”
Qulck verdict
Prosecutor Alan Levy, a former
colleague of Mr. Marshall's, followed
Mr. Lott with an intense, demonstra-
tive appeal to jurors to order the exe-
cution of the man they had taken
less than an hour to find guilty.
“Mr. Lott radiates hate like an
oven radiates heat,” Mr. Levy said.
“What he thought about was an op-
portunity to kill.”
Mr. Levy added that Mr. Lott
would always be a threat to society
because he is “essentially a predator.
Is he a continuing danger to society?
You vet your life he is."'
Associated Press
George Lott is escorted from the Potter County Courthouse
in Amarillo on Friday after being convicted of the shooting
deaths of two lawyers in Fort Worth last summer.
The veteran prosecutor, whose
stirring words brought tears to the
eyes of both victims’ families and
the courtroom audience, then
hammered at Mr. Lott a final time.
“This case is about justice,” Mr.
Levy said, his voice rising. “And on
July 1, 1992, George Lott ambushed
justice, and he very nearly suc-
ceeded in killing one’s hope of jus-
tice. But though justice has slept, it
is not dead.
"Give him a date with the execu-
tioner because he deserves it,” Mr.
Levy shouted. “He's earned it.”
Juror Samuel Burton of Amarillo
said the closing arguments moved
him. But he said that even without
the remarks of prosecutors, the
jury's decision was simple, in part
because of the wealth of evidence
presented by the state and because
Mr. Lott gave a “fairly weak" de-
fense.
“When we got down to the evi-
dence, we knew he was guilty,” Mr.
Burton said. “There wasn’t any se-
rious doubt.”
Mr. Burton said some jurors had a
tough time emotionally deciding on
the death penalty, but he said the
“nature of the crime” and the “ruth- |
lessness with which” Mr. Lott com-
mitted it made thé death penalty the
only choice for them.
Mr. Parrish and Mr. Levy said aft-
erward that they were not surprised
with the relatively swift jury deci-
sions Friday and Saturday.
“His reasoning ... was invalid,”
Mr. Parrish said of the defendant.
“This whole thing was a cover-up for
sexually abusing his son up in Illi-
nois.”
The verdict and punishment are
“no small measure of satisfaction. It
may be some small measure of peace
for the families,” Mr. Parrish said.
Mr. Levy said Mr. Lott “has no re-
spect for the justice system.”
“Mr. Lott's defense was about as
valid as his actions on July 1,” Mr.
Levy said. “He is a terrorist... and
the jury acted accordingly.”
3 ke
sith.
¥
4
Hh
Lawyer sevtencedto death ° as
AMARILLO, Texas — A lawyer was Sac
to death Saturday for. killing two attorneys wi a
a rampage ina Fort Worthcourtroom last ae m
summer that left three other people wounded. A °
Potter County jury deliberated for about an hour.
Saturday before sentencing George Lott'to die by
“injection. The same jury convicted Lotti45; Of
capital murder on'Friday; Lott had. confessed’ in a “
television interyjew, saying he: wanted to: draw; a Re
attention to wrongs. allegedly y.done'to him by. he: 3 ‘
legal system during his: divorce and in athild- #8
molesting charge brought against him by hisex-
wife. He represented himself during the trial. a ae
Prosecutor Alan:Levy said Lott planned for. 3%:
months to ambush a courtroom and kill people 7 ; ag
he didn’t know. “‘Lott radiates hate likea stOKS or
oe
radiates heat, .. Levy said.
Tet Nevado
Mi aT eT oa ze
Rv
a
Ure Che Dallas sora sels
Sunday, February 14, 1993
Jurors give,
Lott death’
for slayings
Prosecutor told panel
gunman was ‘predator’
By Selwyn Crawford
Staff Writer of The Dallas Morning News
AMARILLO — Capital murderer George Douglas
Lott was sentenced to death Saturday dy a Potter
County jury that deliberated
Slightly more than an hour be-
fore returning its verdict.
Mr. Lott, as he did Friday
when he was found guilty of the
shooting deaths of lawyers Chris
Marshall and John Edwards, jae
showed no reaction as the sen-
tence was announced by State
District Judge Sharen Wilson. His f
Sentence will be automatically ap- George Lott
pealed to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
Mr. Lott had no comment as he was led away from
the Potter County Courthouse in handcuf fs.
The family of Chris Marshall, who was a Tarrant
County assistant district attorney, declined to com-
ment after the verdict. A former brother-in-law,
Tom Strittmatter, did talk briefly about Mr. Mar-
shall.
“The word gentleman comes to mind,” Mr. Stritt-
matter said. “He was so gentle, and he was a man. I
Please see LOTT on Page 30A. *
NX
Most)
SUE
COS, thn ‘As TX
(eves)
Dallas, ee Saturday, February 13, 1993
9 Sections
25 Cents
ee aS a
“George Douglas Lott .
. de-
fendant urged jurors to
“ake another look at what
Bs ar ”
Lott found guilty in slayings
of 2 at Tarrant courthouse
By Selwyn Crawford
Staff Writer of The Dallas Morning News
AMARILLO — A Potter County
jury deliberated about an hour Fri-
day before finding George Douglas
Lott guilty of capital murder in the
July 1 slayings of lawyers Chris
Marshall and John Edwards at the
Tarrant County Courthouse.
Mr. Lott, 45, showed no reaction
as Judge Sharen Wilson read the
jury’s verdict.
Chris Marshall’s widow, Betty,
dropped her head into her hands
Lott found suilty
‘Continued from Page 1A.
‘critically wounded — and that the
two lawyers had had no dealings
‘with him.
"| Mr. Lott turned himself in at a
Dallas television station hours after
the shooting, saying that he com-
‘mitted the crimes to bring attention
ta his divorce case and child cus-
tody suit that had been disposed of
in Tarrant County.
In closing arguments, prosecu-
tors portrayed Mr. Lott as a callous
man ‘who had only one thing in
mind when he went to the court-
house that Wednesday morning.
“Somebody who has five (clips of
ammunition) is ready to kill,” pro-
secutor Alan Levy told the jury.
“There’s no question who did the
shooting. Now is there any question
it was intentional? No. He came to
kill and he killed. Ladies and gen-
tlemen, George Douglas Lott is
guilty of capital murder.”
Mr. Lott, who is representing
himself, had presented a brief and
rambling defense Friday morning,
calling only three witnesses who
testified for 35 minutes. But in clos-
ing arguments, he urged the jury to
“take another look at what hap-
and sobbed softly as the verdict was
read. Other family members
appeared to wipe away tears and
clutch hands. Mrs. Marshall, who
worked with her husband as a Tar-
rant County assistant district attor-
ney, did not comment afterward.
Martha Edwards, Mr. Edwards’
widow, showed little reaction. She
declined to say much about the ver-
dict except that she was relieved
when she heard it.
The punishment phase of the
trial began immediately with the
State calling five witnesses. Testi-
mony resumes Saturday morning.
Prosecutors are seeking the death
penalty.
Mr. Marshall and Mr. Edwards, a
Dallas defense lawyer, were killed
when Mr. Lott opened fire with a
Glock 9mm handgun inside the
courtroom of the 2nd Court of:
Appeals. Evidence showed that Mr.
Lott was firing at the three appel-.
late judges sitting at the front of the.
courtroom — two of whom were
Please see LOTT on Page 17A.
in slayings
“Somebody who has five (clips of ammunition) is
ready to kill. There’s no question who did the
shooting. Now is there any question it was
intentional? No. He came to kill and he killed.”
— Alan Levy,
prosecutor
pened” and asked whether there
wasn’t perhaps “another explana-
tion” for the evidence against him.
He then tried to raise doubt in
jurors’ minds about whether he ac-
tually pulled the trigger, despite the
testimony of seven people who said
they were certain Mr. Lott was the
shooter. First, he mentioned initial
statements to police from some wit-
nesses who said he was about 5 feet
8 inches, when actually he is 3
The Dallag Morning News
Saturday, February 13, 1993
inches shorter.
Then he offered a
scenario:
lengthy
He said that he had been sitting |
'| weapons ...
outside the Court of Appeals court-
room moments before the shooting
but left when it occurred.
After listening to news coverage
of the shootings most of the day,
and hearing that no one had been
arrested for it, he said, he figured
he could get free television time to
criticize what he considers the cor-
ruption within the legal system.
“How much does it cost to get
five minutes of air time?” he asked.
So, Mr. Lott said, he went to WFAA-
TV (Channel 8) studios, where he.
confessed to the killings in a video-
taped interview while criticizing:
the justice system. faut
Mr. Lott told jurors that wit
nesses who saw him on television’
the night of the shootings automati-
cally believed that he was the same
man they sawearlierthatday. <:°-
“They go home and watch their
television,” he said. “There’s noth
ing wrong with that. But thei:
click, the power of suggestioti:
That’s him. We’ve got him.” ES
Prosecutor Mike Parrish,
though, speaking after Mr. Lott,’
moved quickly to erase any doubt i in
the jurors’ minds. :
“The defendant neglects to mish?
tion one thing,” Mr. Parrish said.
“How come his Glock fired the ‘21°
shell casings found at the scene?’
And, I guess because people got his
height wrong, he’s not guilty. oe
“Well, people, when someone is
standing over you with a Glock
9mm, spewing death around, they
look a lot different.”
Mr. Parrish then urged the jury
not to be fooled by Mr. Lott’s argu:
ments. He said the facts are simple: .
“On July 1, 1992, he went to.
where he was safe, where he had
been before, and he took his
and he went up there
and sat among the people he was
fixing to slaughter,” Mr. Parrish’
said. “He sat there and then he.
pulled out his weapon of death and
began firing.” Sik
During the punishment phase,
prosecutors called three jail offi-
cers, who testified that Mr. Lott has
cursed them and called them oF
scene names.
‘1 killed as bar patrons foil robbery
" HOUSTON (AP) — A bar pa-
‘tron was fatally shot during a
“robbery that was foiled when
the robber was attacked by
ther customers, police said.
_?.**The crook picked the
‘wrong pub to rob,” said police
Sgt: Boyd Smith.
*- A masked man armed with a
walked into the Wilcrest Pub
on Friday, fired into the air
and tried to rob each of the
patrons. Brett R. Taylor, 21,
was shot when he tried to grab
the gun, police said.
Steven Wayne Woodrow, 23,
was charged with capital mur-
der and remained jailed with-
pogeuee pump shotgun out bond Saturday, police said. — t
| sds a om f 2. fP Aly Hi
Sane JOSS (A )Mencony ~
Sie RR ce: aie oon ool cei oeeieeeiiane
Courtroom assailant
is child-abuse suspect
A man who opened fire in a
Fort Seon Mose courtroom
OSe (C4 t)
last week, killing two people
and wounding three, was the
target of child sexual abuse in-
vestigations in two states, the
Fort Worth Star-Telegram re-
ported Sunday. Jim Owens, an
assistant Illinois state attorney,
said his office has looked into
accusations that George D. Lott,
who turned himself in after the
shootings Wednesday, sexually
abused his 4-year-old son dur-
‘ing weekend visits in Texas and
as Illinois, the paper said. Lott fac-
es trial in Illinois scheduled for
July 20 on criminal sexual as-
sault charges. 7- ‘f a g 2.
From Mercury News Wire Services
LIeRARy Mew s
Lf AG
to he og rr
T-4-9u y
LOS ANGELES TIMES
he said the legal system had done
From The Washington Post
ARLINGTON, Tex.—Lawyer
George Lott was ordered held on
bail of $1,325,000 Thursday after
being charged with capital murder
and deadly assault in the shooting
Wednesday,” >
‘ ago and his pending trial on. child
sexual-assault charges, surren-. .
WFAA-TV in Dallas —
dered at -
about six ]
There, he
that he }
thing” to are
after the inciden
ina taped Sinterviet
spree at avFt. Worth _ Sourtanon:
Lott, 45, ‘saying he was despon-_ ;
dent about his divorce’ 2% years
‘do “a very horrible
y attention to wrongs _
to him.
Two lawyers were killed, two
judges were hospitalized with bul-
let wounds and another lawyer was
grazed by a bullet after a spectator
opened fire with a handgun as a
three-judge panel of the 2nd Judi-
cial District Court of Appeals met
_at Tarrant County Courthouse, au-
horities said.
_ Interviews with court authori-
tie lawyers and neighbors pro-
-duced scattered details about Lott
«and indicated that he was frustrat-
“ed by the handling of his divorce
“and by child-molestation charges
brought by his fgemer wife.
Suspect Charged in Courthouse Shooting Spree.
Records ES that Lott eee
divorced from Margo Livesay in °
January, 1990, and that a jury
awarded her custody of their son, :
Neal, now 4. Lott told television .
“reporters that his appeal of the ©
divorce decree had been denied in :
the 2nd District courtroom and that «
‘he knew none of the. shooting :
victims. \
Lott remains in Tarrant County : :
_jail, where Sheriff Tim Minter said !
he will stay until a trial date is set. * :
He also is charged with carrying a:
weapon in a place where weapons 2 ,
are prohihited. The capital, murder ;
count carries a possible death pen- ;
21
|
& ;
(.6 Tt (Tex )
a.
Gunman Kills 2
And Wounds 3
r
From Page 1
dent in eight years at the down-
town Tarrant County Courthouse,
authorities said. Thirty-five metal
detectors are available there, but
-- none was in use as a three-judge
In Texas Court
4 After 7-hour manhunt,
“suspect turns himself in
. -2-FwU
P| Chronicle Services
Fort Worth, Texas
A spectator in a courtroom
gallery stood up and opened fire
yesterday, killing two attorneys
‘and seriously wounding two of
three appellate judges before “Da
_ fleeing, authorities said.
Nearly seven hours after the
_ ghootings at the Tarrant County
.. Courthouse, an attorney who
- -¢laimed to be the gunman turned. -
. himself in at Dallas television sta- .
. tion WFAA and was arrested. —
George Lott, 45, told reporters
_ |) Killed were Assistant County
», District Attorney Chris Marshall,
“ges
nesses : -
at WFAA-TV that he attacked —
courthouse workers to draw atten-- —
tion to his troublesome divorce. ..
and child custody dispute. |
“It is a horrible, horrible thing I
_ did today. I sinned. I am certainly’
wrong,” he calmly told WFAA on. -
tape. “You have to do a horrible,
horrible thing to catch people’s at-
tention.”
_ Lott faces charges of sexual as-
sault stemming from allegations
by his former wife that he abused’
their 4-year-old son. He denies the
allegations. The shootings occur-|
red two days after a Tarrant Coun-'
ty judge had blocked Lott from
learning his ex-wife’s where-
abouts.
Police Sergeant Paul Kratz said.
Lott was arrested yesterday on sus-
picion of capital murder. Bail set at
$2 million.
The latest in a series of violent
acts in courthouses nationwide
was the fourth gun-related inci-
Low Back eecae f4Al
Franc
Chronvrcle
(SC ot
‘ypappeals panel was meeting, au- _
- thorities said.
The gunman “was simply seat-
ed- in the gallery,” said police
spokesman Ralph Swearingin. “He
stood up without any word and be-~
gan shooting.” |
Lott said on the WFAA tape
that he fired all 17 rounds in his
9mm Glock pistol, then reloaded.
and fired several more times be-
out of the court-
went into the court-
j “]
room, got up and shot apparently
five people,” he said. “One of them
(Edwards) started running and I
shot running out of the room.
_ I was shooting at the court, essen-
tially,
it other people got in the
way.” © ie
As authorities conducted a
- vorce' and custody dispute. The
Fort Worth Star-Telegram report-
ed that he had become obsessed
with battling what he saw as cor-
ruption among judges and fellow
_ ‘lawyefs, as well as a custody sys-”
tem that he believed favors wom-
en.
. Lott's battle with the system |
began in 1987, when his wife, law-
yer Margo Best, filed for divorce.
'Maryellen Hicks, the Tarrant,
County Family Court judge who
presided over the divorce trial in
January 1990, said a jury awarded
custody of the couple’s son, Neal,
’
‘iN
ej
12
i
pi
AMARILLO — George Lott was
found guilty of capital murder
Friday in last summer’s shooting
rampage at a Fort Worth court-
room that left two lawyers dead
and three people wounded.
The jury took just under an hour
to reach its verdict after Lott
delivered a quiet and unemotional
closing argument that centered on
what he called the “power of sug-
gestion.” He showed no reaction to
ee tee el.
the decision. ;
Family members of the victims
filled about five rows of seats
Friday. They sat silently, several
crying, when the verdict was read.
The trial’s sentencing phase be-
gan late Friday and was expected
to resume today. Lott faces life in
prison or death by injection.
During the punishment phase
Friday, prosecutors called three
Tarrant County sheriff's deputies
Continued from Page 33A.
appearance and the descriptions wit-
nesses gave of the gunman last
summer.
But prosecutor Mike Parrish said
Lott can’t explain why the Glock
death around,
pistol he surrendered at WFAA is the
one experts testified was used inside
the courtroom. ft
“Because people got ‘his ‘hei
wrong, that doesn’ ee he’s on
guilty,” Parrish told the jury.:“When
someone was standing there Spewing
who testified that Lott had a bellig-
erent attitude in jail.
Lott surrendered to authorities
last summer.after going to WFAA-
TV in Dallas‘and telling an anchor+
man he was the gunman. After a
interview in:which he coanplained
about the court system, he was
arrested. :
Latt, 45, who represented him-
self in court, told jurors a third-
ott is convicted in rampage
Rsemrer2-(3-93 2 die, 3 shot at courthouse _
ata tn
arrested for the crime becat
was seen outside the court
and because he told the TV s:
he was the gunman.
In Lott’s scenario, “a felle
Satisfied with the legal s\
hears about the shooting anc
. Man on the loose and decid
turn himself in at a TV s
Broadcasts of his confession \
provide wide publicity for his
cism of the courts, Lott said.
‘The Arlington man also pc
to discrepancies between his
: : Pi
person tale_in which a_man was:
nesses — in
described ho
cally shot w
Atto ; ;
they look a lot bigger.” rin of thee Marshall, 41, was
Seven witnesses testified on the
trial's opening day Tuesday: that Lott
was the man they saw standin the
courtroom. Also killed was attorney
S, 33, shot six times as -
the room. ot
John Edward
he ran from
2nd Court of Appeals and be in firin
July 1. Several jurors cried as wit
Cluding two judges —
w the gunman methodi-
ithout warning.
and died in the
ey ae ee
' »
x
{ ec
- eral times to visit the boy.
son in August 1991.
counseling.
he is innocent and asserted that
Best had mistreated the child.
_is not currently eligible to prac- |
-
os ESE
visitation rights.
A court-appointed psychologist
warned at the time that Lott was
suffering from paranoid delu- © 1
sions, said attorney Douglas
Wright, who represented Best in |
the divorce. “The psychologists | §
were telling us he had problems, | r
and he was very outspoken about | i
judges and the legal system,”
Wright told the Star-Telegram.
Best and the couple’s son
moved to Peoria, Ill., after the di--.
vorce, and Lott traveled there sev-
to Best and severely limited Lott’s f
According to court records,
Lott was indicted in April on two~
counts of sexually abusing his son
during a visit Oct. 46, 1991.
Investigators for the Illinois De-_
partment of Children and Family
Services also have filed court docu- |
ments alleging that Lott beat his
In May, an Illinois court banned—
Lott indefinitely from seeing his
son until he and the child received
Lott maintained yesterday that
BY ASSOCIATED PRESS
Judge Hicks told the Star-Tele- Dallas ays read George Lott (left) his rights after he Melee
gram that she feared she may have
“triggered the killings by refusing Gn ffanusre Chronic f,
oe
gh EO he SLAIN | IN COURTHOUSE
ian see <——— “7-2-92
set with me and upset with the sys-
tem.”
State Bar of Texas records
show that Lott became a licensed
attorney in 1981. He stopped pay-
ing dues to the Bar in 1988 and was
placed on inactive status that | EXECUTION: Texas early today executed ex-lawyer
June, about a year after his wife George Lott, 47, for a 1992 Tarrant County’ Courthouse
initiated divorce proceedings. He shooting that killed two lawyers and wounded three other
people. He said he was angry at the court system’s handling
of a divorce and child-molesting charge brought by his ex-
wife. He opposed any appeal of his sentence, making his
execution the quickest from time of conviction to punish-
ment since Texas resumed capital punishment in 1982.
tice, a bar spokeswoman said.
There was no record of any disci-
plinary action against him.
The most recent shooting at the
Tarrant County courthouse was in
1989, when an ex-sheriff’s deputy,
Manny Cabano, killed himself and
his former girlfriend, Juanita Her-
mosilla, after taking her hostage in
a courtroom. She had obtained a
restraining order against him the
day before.
7-20-44
J stave ‘TOUNT, me OR Texas, “OR, 7=25=186%
ls 6: Meat; § COU, And bf hae
cag bs, tility Bw , y
> ee were aN 1g 4) - Py hs :
he Seat 7 ih ~) ‘ {? P on oe hee 23
printing plant from Hampton & Crowford. He was sromiient //
as editor and politician from early“in 1854 until ye
‘\
“A,
deyertre for the Army of. Northern Virgifia in 1861.” He was
if
a man “of decided character, and unwavering in “hi convictions.
*.
Col. Marshall was regarded as a sincere man end ardent
; i ; i,
ee :
friend and had a*genial temper and kind heart. Mr. H. “SB.
f S 4 aS
Marshall, a’son, resideé in Travis county, about seven mile
i \
from Austin (1904). A dauenter, (MrS. Oldham,) died at
/ ~~
Houston about the middle of May, A029, aged 40 years.
Murder and Trial.--In 1861 and 1862 a German gardener
resided on and cultivated the block of ground just west of the
present tenth ward school building. He lived alone, grew
vegetables, and sold them to the people in the neighborhood.
He was a close manager, and accumulated a small sum of money,
which he hoarded at his humble dwelling on the premises.
On the morning of the 20th day of April, 1862, he was
found dead on his hearthstone, with his body badly mutil:ted
and his head split open with an axe, or other heavy and sharp
instrument. Jt was evident that an atrocious murder had been
committed the bearine before, and that the motive was robbery.
It wa.. known that he had some money. A searbh was instituted,
but none found. Several persons interested themselves in
endeavoring to obtain a clew that would lead to the discovery of
the guilty rarty.
Among those engaged in the search was the late Mr.
James 8, Barrow, then a citizen of Austin. After carefully
; appella
Tarrant Courthouse gunman Lott
executed after declining appeals
Continued from Page 21A.
wounded in the shooting.
“What's going to happen tonight...
it’s justified. ... This would be a much
_ different case if it was someone who
had no real education, especially legal
education.” .
_The Austin-based Texas Criminal
Defense ‘Lawyers Association dis:
agreed. It filed a motion Thursday con-
tending that Mr. Lott did not under-
"stand the death penalty,
“He may be legally competent,”
said Dallas lawyer Ronald Go
president of the group, “but he is in-:
competent as a lawyer. He did not
perform the position of lawyer at trial
at all. ... In effect, the state is aiding
and abetting his apparent death wish.
In this state and other states, it is
. illegal to assist in a person's suicide,
and that's all the state is doing”
About 10 am. July 1, 1992, Mr. Lott
walked into the fourth-floor court-
‘room of the 2nd Court of Appeals in
Fort Worth. Witnesses recalled that
the neatly dressed man sat for a few
moments, then pulled a 9mm semiau-
. tomatic handgun from his briefcase
' and began firing.
, One bullet killed Chris
41, a Tarrant County assistant district
attorney who was observing a case,
Mr. Lott wounded Mr. Conder and
te Judges John Hill and Clyde
Ashworth. wes
When John Edwards, a 33-year-old
Dallas attorney preparing to argue a
case later, fled, the gunman reloaded,
chased him into a Stairwell and killed
him. : ;
Hours later, Mr, Lott surrendered
at the Dallas studios of WFAA-TV
(Channel 8), saying he had done a
“horrible, horrible thing.” -
Family members and associates
said he was angry at the judicial sys-
tem over rulings in his divorce and
child-custody battle, 9 sds os
An Amarillo fury took about ‘an
hour to convict Mr. Lott on Feb. 12,
1993, and sentenced him to death the
‘next day. State law provides for a man-
datory appeal. But Mr. Lott filed no
brief and did not avail himself of the
numerous other legal avenues that
almost always delay the average in.
mate’s execution. ’
“Under the Constitution, you have
a right to represent yourself,” said
Charles Mallin, assistant chief of the |
appellate section of the Tarrant Coun-
tY prosecutor's office. “He was afford.
ed every right He had a trial. He had a
direct appeal, and he had the Opportu-
nity to file for any post-conviction re-
lief.” eae agg?
Mr. Lott spent much of his day
Monday yisiting with his mother, Nan-
cy Lott, and sister, Pam Lott.
For his last meal, he requested
french toast with Syrup, a baked sweet
potato with butter, two Sausage patties
and a fried egg.
He was moved from death row at
the Ellis I Unit about 4 p.m, arriving
at the Walls Unit a half-hour later.
Mr. Lott was pronounced dead at
12:19 am.
eter said, “and certainly this case
throws that theory to the wind. This
guy (wanted) the death’ penalty.”
Prosecutor Mallin
“Deterrence is just one aspect of
the death penalty,” he said. “The pri-
mary aspect is punishment, He killed
~ two innocent human beings. I have no
problem.”
nea ae
aos
pee ee
a
[- o tt (Tex
30 A The Dallag Porning News
Thursday, September 22, 1994 H
“ee: HUNTSVILLE, Texas —
i The most surreal aspect
of George Lott’s execu-
ba tion early Tuesday wasn’t
a the lawyer jokes.
2 It wasn't the speed
a With which Mr. Lott
-“*" reached the death cham-
ber, a mere 18 months af.
ter conviction for a July
1992 rampage in which
he killed two lawyers at
GILLMAN
NIGHT BEAT
the Tarrant County Courthouse.
. Or the fact that virtually until the last minute,
the University of Texas law school graduate — who
had insisted on representing himself — could have
prolonged his life with an appeal.
It wasn't even the cheers that erupted every so
often in the hour before Mr. Lott's death from the
brick-faced Walls Unit, as inmates watched the
Dallas Cowboys lose in overtime on Monday Night
Football.
No.
The most surreal aspect of it all was the mock-
ing chant that went up from the crowd gathered
across the street, moments before $71.50 worth of
chemicals began flowing into Mr. Lott’s arm.
“Na na na na. Na na na na. Hey hey hey.
Good-bye,” sang many of the nearly 50 students
from Sam Houston State University, just up the
street in downtown Huntsville.
. You know the tune. You've probably heard it at
School football games. }
This particular rendition was loud enough to
drown out all rational argument on capital punish-
ment.
Mr. Lott was pronounced dead at 12:19 Tuesday
' morning, seven minutes after the injection.
An hour earlier, the only spectator was a lone
death-penalty opponent, his candle flickering in a
tin bucket.
“Executions do not deter crime,” said Mike
Heath, a member of Amnesty International who
has attended vigils for all but a half-dozen Texas
executions in the last seven years. “The state of
Texas should never, ever carry out an execution,
whether someone consents to it or carries out their
appeals to the fullest.”
Usually more death-penalty opponents show up,
he said, but many local activists were out when a
convict from nearby Brazos County was put to
death just last week.
Mr. Lott — whose explanation for the attack on
people he didn't know was bitterness over judg-
ments in divorce and child custody battles — had
Spent too little time on death row to attract the
Support that some inmates cultivate.
Prison officials said Mr. Lott's record-short ten-
ure cut the average time spent before execution in
Texas by 29 days, to under 8% years. He was the
8ist person executed in Texas since 1982.
By 11:20 p.m., a half-dozen students had arrived,
their ranks swelling steadily in the glare of TV
lights.
Many were freshmen, eager to undergo what
apparently is a rite of passage in Huntsville. Many
were criminal justice majors. Some knew ahead of
time who George Lott was and what he did.
With prodding, they offered opinions.
“This guy shot some people. He deserves the
death penalty,” said Sam Abel, 18, a freshman from
Dallas.
“Tm all for it. I believe there is no excuse for
what he did,” said senior Brandon Blue, 21, a
criminal justice major from Corsicana. °
“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth — that’s
Students’ chant makes execution surreal
how I feel, and that's how most of my friends feel,”
said Jeremy Wilson, 20, an aspiring police officer
from suburban Houston.
The guy with the candle had few allies in the
crowd.
One was freshman Colby Grueber, 18, a criminal
justice major from Duncanville.
“I don’t think he should die. I don’t think any-
body should die,” Mr. Grueber said. “I realize he
did something wrong. I think he's got something
mentally wrong with him.”
Mr. Grueber's friends razzed him a bit, but they
sobered up when he said: “I didn’t even know they
executed people here. I knew they had prisons
here, but I didn't know they executed people two
minutes from where I live.”
It was just about then that the singing started...
and laughter broke out... and tears began to well
in the eyes of roommates Amy Atwater and Kim
Whitten, seniors attending their first execution.
Both expressed ambivalence about the death
penalty, especially as it applied to Mr. Lott — and
absolute certainty that their schoolmates were act-
ing like jerks.
“I feel that justice has been served, but I don’t
feel it has to be a joke,” said Ms. Atwater, a market-
ing major from Houston. “This is making me sick.
It's making me sick standing here.”
Said Ms. Whitten, a Dallasite Studying sports
medicine: “You can be in Dallas and say, ‘Yeah,
yeah.’ When you're here, it’s different. It’s easy to
be somewhere else and say, ‘Go for it.’
“It's pretty sobering that someone's going to be
killed right behind those walls. My dorm was right
at the top of that hill.”
— Lott executed for 2 killings |
By Todd J. Gillman
Staff Writer of The Dallas Morning News
_ HUNTSVILLE, Texas — Most con-.
demned men fight tooth and nail to
- avoid their appointment with death.
George Douglas Lott embraced his.
Just after midnight Tuesday, Mr.
-Lott — a lawyer who confessed to a
July 1, 1992, rampage at the Tarrant
County Courthouse in which he
Killed two lawyers and wounded
one other and two judges — died by
injection. _
His last word was a calmly deliv-
ered, “No,” when a warden asked
— Tarrant gunman declined appeals
whether he had a final statement.
He had the distinction of having
a shorter stay on death. row — 18
months — than any of the other 80
men Texas has put to death since
1982, and one of the quickest nation-
ally. a
The University of Texas law
school graduate sped through the
system with his steadfast refusal of
legal assistance at trial and, more
recently, his refusal to engage in the .
appeals that have pushed the aver-
age death row stay to 8% years in
Texas.
“You're really looking at a legal
suicide here,” said Steve Hall, a
spokesman for the Texas Resource
Center, which helps death row in-
mates find lawyers and whose offers
Mr. Lott rebuffed. “This is a unique
case from the very beginning.”
_ Monday morning, the Texas
Court ‘of Criminal Appeals rejected
DALLAS
the last obstacle to Mr. Lott’s execu-
tion — a request by the Texas Crimi-
nal Defense Lawyers Association to
force a review of whether Mr. Lott
was competent to represent himself.
Few people — not prosecutors,
not the defense lawyers’ group, not
prison officials — had expected a
last-minute change of poet by Mr.
Lott, 47.
“I think it’s his choice,” said
Steve Conder, an assistant Tarrant
County district attorney who was
Please see TARRANT on Page 23A.
MORNING
AIEWS
TUE S. F-20-9¢
George Lott ..
a last meal of french
toast, an egg and sausage.
. requests
50 A The Dalla Morning News
\
Sunday, November 13, 199
r
4
Only three women executed
in Texas, none this century
Continued from Page 41A.
Texas, W.P. Overton, 71, who'd come
to Dallas in 1844, recalled:
“The first legal hanging was in
1853. ... (She) was executed for
knocking a man in the head with an
ax at Cedar Springs. He had hired
her and she murdered him while he
was asleep. I can’t recall their
names.”
The case is recorded in a volume
of district court records preserved in
the Texas-Dallas History and Ar-
chives Division of the J. Erik Jons-
son Central Library.
The State of Texas vs. Jane, a
Slave is dated May 16, 1853:
“We the jury find the defendant
“Tt was in 1853 that the ©
first legal execution took
place in the county. This
was the hanging of Jane
Elkins, a slave who had
murdered a man named
Wisdom at Farmers
Branch.”
— Dallas Guide
and History, 1940
guilty of murder in the first degree.
We further find that the defendant is
a slave of the value of $700 and that
the owner of the defendant has done
nothing to evade or defeat the execu-
tion of the law upon said defendant.”
On May 17:
“And it being demanded of said
Jane if she had anything to say why
judgment and sentence of death
should not there be passed upon her
and the said Jane saying nothing
thereto:
“It is therefore ordered adjudged
and decreed by the court that the
sheriff of Dallas County keep the
said Jane in close confinement in the
common jail of Dallas County until
Friday the 27th of the present month
of May, and that ... between the
hours of 11 o'clock a.m. and 3 o'clock
p.m. the sheriff ... take said Jane
from the common jail] of said county
and convey her to a gallows erected
for that purpose and there ... hang
the said Jane by the neck until she is
dea ”
In a 1940 Dallas Guide and History
manuscript by the Texas Writers’
Project of the Works Projects Admin-
istration:
“It was in 1853 that the first legal
execution took place in the county.
This was the hanging of Jane Elkins,
a slave who had murdered a man
named Wisdom at Farmers Branch.
After a trial before Judge John H.
Reagan, most notable jurist of his
times, the woman was hanged May
27, 1853.”
(The WPA Guide quoted was later
published by the University of North
Texas Press. UNT recently issued A
Month of Sundays, a selection from a
decade of “Texana” pieces. One was
on Jane Elkins. Today’s column will
update the book.)
Five years after Jane Elkins was
hanged, another female slave was
legally executed on Galveston Island,
historian Block (East Texas Mill
Towns & Ghost Towns) told me. She
was known only as Lucy.
In 1857, he said, Lucy, age 39, was
living in Galveston’s ramshackle Co-
lumbia Hotel, run by her owner, Ma-
ria Dougherty.
“In December 1857, Lucy was pun-
ished for some minor infraction. In
retaliation, she set fire to the hotel.
The small blaze was quickly extin-
guished, but this time she was pun-
ished more severely. She swore ven-
geance.
“On Jan. 8, (1857) Lucy
was indicted for murder.
She went to trial four
days later... . Her plea
was ‘not guilty.’ But
evidence persuaded the
jurors to convict her.”
om W.T. Block,
historian |
“On Jan. 3, 1858, Maria Dougherty |
disgppeared. Her body was soon
found, floating in an underground
brick cistern. Her head had been
crushed by blows from a club. Shown
the corpse, Lucy cried out, ‘Yes, |
Killed her and I would do it again.’
“On Jan. 8, Lucy was indicted for
murder. She went to trial four days
later before Judge Peter Gray, who
appointed a lawyer, Major R.H. How-
ard, to defend her. Her plea was ‘not
guilty.’ But evidence persuaded the
jurors to convict her.”
Before taking the scaffold on
March §, 1858, she told a priest she'd
found religion. She expressed her
willingness to die and her hope for
forgiveness in the afterworld.
Sheriff JH. Westerlage triggered
the trap, swinging into eternity the
only woman ever hanged in Galves-
ton County.
Slave LUCY, bl ack,
hanged Galveston, TX 3/5/1858
‘inday, November 13, 1994
Women don’t
often meet the
executioner
" NACOGDO.
%@ CHES — Some his
.£:3@3 tory books will tell
b ie you that just one
4; 8 woman has been
legally executed in
Texas. But | say
three.
KENT Historian W.T.
BIFFLE’S Block of Neder-
TEXANA land in Jefferson
County upped my
count from two to three when I talked with
him the other day at the Freedonia Hotel
in Nacogdoches.
By all counts the cases were few. And
don’t bet the rent that any of four women
now on death row will get the needle soon.
The state's 388 condemned men should
live so long.
Agreed, women aren’t society's big prob-
lem. Men are. But it's odd that the execu-
tioner so rarely meets a woman. :
Out for blood
I was driving on Interstate 30 the day
Susan Smith of Union, S.C., confessed she
had slain her two toddlers. You should |
have heard the enraged Texans calling
radio talk shows.
the switch or put a needle in Mrs. Smith — |
and the blunter the better.
Even KLIF'’s genial emcee Kevin Mc
Carthy, author of zany Gorilla Warfare and
Other Childhood Misconceptions, argued
for resumption of public executions.
Until they strap me on the gurney, I'll
probably favor the death penalty. But pub-
lic executions are an idea whose time has
come and gone. Pay-for-view, anyone?
It was all talk anyway. Just talk. Texans
haven't formally killed a woman in more
than a century. ,
I'm open to arguments that Bonnie
Parker, in a manner of speaking, was exe-
cuted with Clyde Barrow by Texas Ranger
Frank Hamer’s ambush in 1934 But she
‘vas never convicted of anything. Besides,
that was in Louisiana.
Taken from death row
‘Even convicted killer Emma Oliver, a
San Antonio prostitute who'd been arrest.
ed four times for murder and once for
attempted murder, was plucked from death
row in 1951 by Gov. Alan Shivers. She died
of cancer in prison 12 years later.
Someone should have commuted Chip-
ita Rodriguez's sentence. The Handbook of
Texas and other histories name her as the
only woman legally hanged in Texas.
>’ Convicted of murdering a horse trader
in San Patricio County, she was launched
nto legend from a South Texas tree limb
on Nov. 13, 1863,
trial jury.
: Several grand jurors were county em-
ployees, Others had lawsuits pending be-
fore the trial judge. Four grand jurors and
trial jurofs had faced felony indictments.
Two indictments against the prosecutor
were dropped before the trial.
If it wasn't exactly justice, it was at least
swift.
Two days after her indictment, she was
convicted. The next day she was sentenced
to die 34 days later — on Friday the 13th.
Her lawyer withdrew a motion for a new
trial. And when the jurors recommended
mercy, the judge ignored them.
' Adios, Chipita.
"" In 1987, I learned of a woman legally
hanged by Texans in 1853, a decade before
the San Patricio case, A Slave named just
plain Jane or Jane Elkins was executed in
Dallas County.
a
DALLAS MoRN
hea. ING- JUEWS.
1-12-99
Routier trial
renews interest
in women’s fate
KERRVILLE —
All the news re-
ports say Dallas
County's Darlie
Routier, accused
an of murdering two
as eee of her little sons,
Ske is on trial for her
KENT life.
BIFFLE’S Odds are over-
TEXANA whelming that
she’s not.
Nearly 1,000 criminals have been exe-
cuted since Stephen Fuller Austin found-
ed his Anglo colony in Mexican Texas 175
years ago.
Just three were women.
Populating death row in Texas,at the
moment are 444 men. There are six con-
demned women. The men should live so
long. Five males — and no females — are
scheduled to die before May 15.
Texans haven't formally killed a wom-
an since the Civil War.
One may argue that Bonnie Parker was
executed with bandit Clyde Barrow by
Texas Ranger Frank Hamer's 1934 firing
squad. But that was in Louisiana. Besides,
Bonnie Parker was never convicted of a
crime. -
Until recent years, many Texas histor!-
ans believed that only one woman was
legally executed in Texas, an error still
found in history books.
Two female executions are counted in
The New Handbook of Texas, published
last year by the Texas State Historical
Association.
3 discovered
After sweatneck research, we've found
three — two black slaves and an old Te-
jana. By 1997 standards, they were luck-
less and near lawyerless.
Ms. Routier is more fortunate. Her
trial was moved from Dallas County to
Kerr County on a change-of-venue motion
by her first defense team; she’s since
hired a lawyer with winning ways, Doug
Mulder of Dallas.
In contrast, none of the hanged fe-
males was vigorously defended.
Slave Jane Elkins was launched into
eternity in 1853. Death awarded her two
distinctions. She was the first person
hanged by law in Dallas County and the
first woman legally hanged in Texas.
Like her sisters of the noose, she’s a
dim and distant figure. Four decades af-
ter Ms, Elkins hit the hemp, settler W.P.
Overton reported:
“The first legal hanging was in 1853.
[She] was executed for knocking a man
in the head with an ax at Cedar Springs.
He had hired her and she murdered him
while he was asleep. I can't recall their
names.”
Forget and forgive
Mr. Overton will be forgiven for for-
getting Jane Elkins and her victim, a man
named Wisdom. Almost everyone did.
- But the case, presided over by Judge
John H. Reagan, a leading jurist, is docu-
Please see WOMEN on Page 40A.
OMEN hg we iy
Women rarely met Texas’ noose
Continued from Page 39A.
mented in a volume of district court records
preserved in the Texas-Dallas History and Ar-
chives Division of the J. Erik Jonsson Central
Library.
“We the jury find the defendant guilty of
murder in the first degree. We further find that
the defendant is a slave of the value of $700 and
that the owner of the defendant has done notb-
ing to evade or defeat the execution of the law
upon said defendant.”
And on May 17, 1853:
“It being demanded of said Jane if she had
anything to say why judgment and sentence of
death should not there be passed upon her and
the said Jane saying nothing thereto, it is decreed
by the court that the sheriff of Dallas County
keep the said Jane in close confinement in the
common jail of Dallas County until Friday the
27th of the present month of May, and that be-
tween the hours of 11 o’clock a.m. and 3 o’clock
p.m. the sheriff ... convey her to a gallows
erected for that purpose and there hang the said
Jane by the neck until she is dead.”
Five years after Jane Elkins was hanged, an-
other female slave — called “Lucy” — was legally
executed on Galveston Island.
Lucy, 39, lived in Galveston’s ramshackle Co-
lumbia Hotel, run by her owner, Maria Dougher-
ty.
Gulf Coast historian W.T. Block reported this
case to me: “In December 1857, Lucy was pun-
ished for some minor infraction. In retaliation,
she set fire to the hotel. The small blaze was
quickly extinguished, but this time she was pun-
ished more severely. She swore vengeance.
“On Jan. 3, 1858, Maria Dougherty disappeared.
Her body was soon found, floating in an under-
ground brick cistern. Her head had been crushed
by blows from a club. Shown the corpse, Lucy
cried out, ‘Yes, I killed her and I would do it
again.’
“On Jan. 8, Lucy was indicted for murder. She
went to trial four days later before Judge Peter
Gray, who appointed a lawyer, Major R.H. How-
ard, to defend her. Her plea was ‘not guilty.’ But
evidence persuaded the jurors to convict her.”
Before taking the scaffold on March 5, 1858,
she told a priest she’d found religion. She ex-
pressed her willingness to die and her hope for
forgiveness in the afterworld.
The hanging of Chipita Rodriguez on Nov. 13,
1863, is notorious. Many accounts of her case have
been published, counting a book still in print
that blindly insists that she was the only woman
hanged in Texas.
I once read a long poem she inspired. But I’ve
never heard a note of the two operas said to sing
her tragedy. Truth to tell, no one knows much
about the old keeper of a flophouse in San Patri-
cio County. She was-convicted in the ax murder
of a horse trader named John Savage.
If it wasn’t a bum rap, it was a bum trial. I’ll
explain.
The sheriff who arrested the aged woman was
also the foreman of the grand jury that indicted
her. Apparently three members of that grand jury
later served on her trial jury.
Several grand jurors were employees of San
Patricio County. Others had lawsuits pending
before the trial judge. Four grand jurors and trial
jurors had been variously indicted for felonies.
Two indictments against the prosecutor were
dropped before the trial.
Injustice was swift. Two days after her indict-
ment, she was convicted. The next day, she was
sentenced to die 34 days later — on a Friday the
13th. While the prisoner sat in leg irons smoking
corn shuck cigarettes, her lawyer withdrew a
motion for a new trial. And the judge ignored the
jury’s recommendation of mercy for her.
Her ghost got a surprise 122 years later when a
vote by the 69th Texas Legislature absolved her
of the murder. To be sure, lawmakers were play-
ing politics. She may have been guilty as sin.
If Darlie Routier is sentenced to die by the
Kerr County jurors, she’s still a long reach from a
fatal needle. If appeals fail, there’s always the
governor. And Texas governors are pushovers
for women. Gov. Mark White, for example, signed
the bill exonerating Ms. Rodriguez.
More to the point is the case of Emma Oliver, a
San Antonio prostitute who was arrested four
times for murder, seven times for aggravated
assault and once for attempted murder.
Convicted of murder in 1947, she was released
from prison after serving 18 months. In the fol-
lowing year, she was arrested three times for
aggravated assault. In 1949, she was convicted of
murder with malice and sentenced to death for
killing a man in a fight over $3. One might say
she had a flair for the chair. But, hold on.
Emma Oliver was plucked from death row in
19S1 by Gov. Alan Shivers and died from cancer
in prison a dozen years later.
s~
WILLIAMS v. LYNAUGH
Cite as 809 F.2d 1063 (Sth Cir. 1987)
friends recognized the vehicle and told the
detective that they had seen Williams driv-
ing it the night before. The police went to
Williams’ home. Williams ran out the back
gate to a nearby abandoned house. The
police found him hiding in the attic.
Williams was arrested at 7:55 p.m. The
police read Williams his Miranda warnings
and took him to the police station.
At the station, Williams gave a written
confession, admitting that he accosted
Vicky at the bowling alley, took her to a
dark place by the bayou, and hit her in the
face with his fist and with a board. He
denied having sex with her.
Williams’ palm prints and a finger print
were found on the El Camino. Type O
blood, which was Vicky’s blood type, was
found on the board, on Williams’ clothes
and inside the E] Camino.
Williams was indicted for the capital
murder of Vicky Lynn Wright while in the
course of committing kidnapping, robbery
and aggravated rape. He pled not guilty.
At the conclusion of the guilt phase of the
trial, the jury found Williams guilty of capi-
tal murder.
During the punishment phase, the state
presented evidence of four extraneous and
unadjudicated offenses that Williams alleg-
edly committed: (1) the rape of a sixteen-
year-old acquaintance in April 1978; (2) the
abduction and sodomy-rape of a woman on
April 5, 1978; (8) the abduction of a woman
from a post office, her rape and nonfatal
shooting on June 1, 1978; and (4) the ab-
duction and sodomy-rape of a woman on
June 10, 1978. Each of these victims testi-
fied and three identified Williams as their
assailant. In the fourth crime, Williams
was identified by a witness who interrupt-
ed the crime.
The state also presented a witness who
testified that Williams suspiciously ap-
proached her in her apartment complex
parking lot after midnight on April 5, 1978.
According to her testimony, Williams re-
quested help with jumping his car battery,
but walked off when she told him that her
boy friend, who was upstairs, would help.
1065
As evidence in mitigation of punishment,
the defense offered the testimony of
Williams’ family and friends who promised
that they would help to rehabilitate him if
he were given a life sentence. These wit-
nesses testified that Williams had been hit
by an automobile at the age of six. Since
the accident, he had been a slow learner
and had complained of headaches.
The defense also introduced psychiatric
testimony indicating that Williams was bor-
derline mentally retarded. The state rebut-
ted with its own psychiatric testimony.
On September 25, 1978, the jury answer-
ed “yes” to both special issue questions,
and the court assessed punishment at
death. Williams appealed to the Texas
Court of Criminal Appeals, which affirmed
on October 14, 1981. Williams v. State,
622 S.W.2d 116 (Tex.Crim.App.1981) (en
banc). The United States Supreme Court
denied certiorari on March 8, 1982.
Williams v. Texas, 455 U.S. 1008, 102 S.Ct.
1646, 71 L.Ed.2d 876 (1982).
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
stayed Williams’ execution pending his ap-
plication for state habeas relief. After ex-
hausting his state appeals, Williams filed
for federal habeas relief in the United
States District Court for the Southern Dis-
trict of Texas on October 4, 1985. A stay
was granted on October 7, 1985. Judge
Bue dismissed his application, Williams v.
McCotter, Civ. No. H-85-5650 (S.D.Tex.
March 17, 1986), and issued a certificate of
probable cause to appeal to this court on
May 29, 1986. Williams’ stay of execution
remains in effect pending the outcome of
this appeal.
II
A.
Williams first contends that the trial
court failed to correctly apply the Wither-
spoon standard in excluding prospective
juror Mary Oligney for cause, based on her
views against the death penalty. Wither-
spoon v. Illinois, 391 U.S. 510, 88 S.Ct.
1770, 20 L.Ed.2d 776 (1968). At voir dire,
Oligney equivocated in her answers to
1066
questions regarding her ability as a juror
to follow Texas law, even if it meant that -
the defendant would receive the death pen-
alty. Williams claims that Oligney was not
excludable under Witherspoon because her
voir dire responses, although conflicting,
did not indicate that Oligney’s views
against the death penalty would prevent or
substantially impair her performance as a
juror. Williams further argues that be-
cause his trial took place before the Su-
preme Court decided Adams v. Texas, 448
U.S. 38, 100 S.Ct. 2521, 65 L.Ed.2d 581
(1980), the trial judge excluded Oligney
solely on the basis of Article 12.31(b)? of
the Texas Penal Code and disregarded the
Witherspoon standard. It therefore fol-
lows, he argues, that the trial court’s exclu-
sion of Oligney cannot be given the pre-
sumption of correctness mandated by 28
U.S.C. § 2254(d), as explained in Wain-
wright v. Witt, 469 U.S. 412, 105 S.Ct. 844,
83 L.Ed.2d 841 (1985).
[1] We disagree. While Oligney initial-
ly equivocated in her answers at voir dire,
she subsequently concluded that regardless
of the circumstances she “would say ‘no’.
with the death.” IV Trial Transcript at
1292. Oligney’s ultimate statement of ir-
revocable opposition to the death penalty
justified her exclusion under Witherspoon.
Willie v. Maggio, 737 F.2d 1372 (5th Cir.),
cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1002, 105 S.Ct. 415,
83 L.Ed.2d 342 (1984); Williams v. Maggio,
679 F.2d 381, 385-89 (5th Cir.1982) (en
banc), cert. denied, 463 U.S. 1214, 103 S.Ct.
3553, 77 L.Ed.2d 1399 (1983).
Moreover, the Texas Court of Criminal
Appeals reviewed this case after Adams
was decided and held that Oligney’s views
would have prevented or substantially im-
paired her performance as a_ juror.
Williams, 622 S.W.2d at 118. It is clear
that the Texas appellate court applied the ©
proper Witherspoon standard, and we
must accord its determination a presump-
2. Article 12.31(b) of the Texas Penal Code pro-
vides:
§ 12.31. Capital Felony
(b) Prospective jurors shall be informed
that a sentence of life imprisonment or death
is mandatory on conviction of a capital felo-
~ &
809 FEDERAL REPORTER, 2d SERIES
tion of correctness under section 2254(d).
Sumner v. Mata, 449 U.S. 539, 546, 101
S.Ct. 764, 768, 66 L.Ed.2d 722 (1981).
B.
[2] Williams also challenges the trial
court’s refusal to exclude for cause Alva
Jean Wagner, the twelfth juror selected.
Williams argues that during the voir dire
examination, Wagner exhibited an overall
prejudice and strong bias in favor of the
death penalty and also revealed her inabili-
ty to consider life imprisonment as punish-
ment for a capital murder conviction.
Comparing the trial court’s exclusion of
Oligney for cause at the state’s request
with the court’s refusal to grant the de-
-fense’s challenge for cause against Wag-
ner, Williams complains that the trial court
favored the state and did not apply the
Witherspoon standard evenly.
Again, the Texas Court of Criminal Ap-
peals considered this argument and we see
no basis to question its conclusion. That
court found that Wagner was not unwilling
to follow the law in determining whether
the accused was guilty of capital murder;
nor was she incapable of considering life
imprisonment as an appropriate punish-
ment. Under Witherspoon, Wagner was a
qualified juror because she was capable of
voting for life imprisonment. Oligney,
-however, was excludable because she was
incapable of voting for the death penalty in
a capital murder case. Williams, 622
S.W.2d at 119. We conclude therefore that
the Texas courts correctly and consistently
applied the Witherspoon standard to the
challenges for cause made by the prosecu-
tion and the defense.
Ill
[3] Williams urges that his counsel
failed to provide him with effective assist-
ny. A prospective juror shall be disqualified _
from serving as a juror unless he states under
oath that the mandatory penalty of death or
imprisonment for life will not affect his delib-
erations on any issue of fact.
Tex.Penal Code Ann. § 12.31(b) (Vernon 1974).
1064
rights, where counsel was given advance
written notice that scope of state’s psychi-
atric examination would include determina-
tion of defendant’s future dangerousness,
and at trial it was defendant who first
introduced psychiatric evidence on issue of
future dangerousness. U.S.C.A. Const.
Amends. 5, 6.
Will Gray, Carolyn Garcia, Houston,
Tex., for petitioner-appellant.
Paula C. Offenhauser, Asst. Atty. Gen.,
Jim Mattox, Atty. Gen., Austin, Tex., for
respondent-appellee.
Appeal from the United States District
Court for the Southern District of Texas.
Before POLITZ, GARWOOD and
JOLLY, Circuit Judges.
EK. GRADY JOLLY, Circuit Judge:
Anthony Charles Williams was convicted
in a Texas court of capital murder. In the
separate punishment phase of the trial, the
court sentenced Williams to death based on
the jury’s responses to the two special is-
sue questions.! Williams sought federal
habeas relief based on claims of improper
juror selection, ineffective assistance of
counsel, and violations of his fifth and sixth
amendment. rights resulting from the
state’s use of psychiatric evidence in rebut-
tal at the trial’s punishment phase. The
district court dismissed his application but.
granted a certificate of probable cause.
We affirm the judgment denying him re-
lief.
I
On the evening of June 12, 1978, at ap-
proximately 8:45 p.m., thirteen-year-old
Vicky Lynn Wright went with her sister to
the Big Texas Bowling Alley in Houston,
Texas. Shortly after their arrival, Vicky
1. During the punishment phase of Williams’ tri-
al, two special issue questions, in accordance
with Texas law, were put to the jury: (1) wheth-
er the conduct of the defendant that caused the
death of the deceased was committed deliberate-
ly and with the reasonable expectation that the
809 FEDERAL REPORTER, 2d SERIES
went outside to get some change left in a
friend’s car, a 1977 El Camino. When she
did not return, her sister and friends went
to the parking lot to look for her. They
discovered that the El] Camino was gone.
They called Vicky’s parents and the police.
The police arrived at approximately 11:00
p.m.
Between 9 and 10 p.m. that evening, a
few of Williams’ friends saw him driving
an El] Camino recklessly. He stopped the
car to talk to them, and told them the car
belonged to his girl friend. Williams had
blood on his shirt that he claimed to have
received in a fight.
At=1 aa. on June 18, 1978, A.L.
Anderson noticed the El Camino, with its
flashers on, in front of her house. She
awoke at 4 a.m. and noticed that the car
was still there. She reported it to the
police. After day break, Anderson went
outside and saw blood stains inside the El
Camino. She called the police a second
time, and they arrived at approximately
7:30 a.m. A tire, hub cap and part of the
jack were missing from the vehicle. The
spare tire had been put on the car.
Vicky’s body was discovered in a wooded
area near Williams’ neighborhood at ap-
proximately 4:40 p.m. on June 138, 1978.
The police discovered skid marks, a pack-
age of Kool cigarettes, matches and a
blood-stained board near her body. An au-
topsy showed that Vicky died from a skull
fracture and intercranial hemorrhage from
a blunt trauma to the head. The evidence
showed that the skull fracture could have
been caused by the board found at the
scene of the homicide. Bloody material
was found in her vagina; seminal fluid was
found in her mouth and rectum.
Detective Zeringue arrived at the scene
of the homicide about 6:30 pm. He
showed people gathering at the site a pic-
ture of the El Camino. Two of Williams’
death of the deceased or another would result;
and (2) whether there was a probability that the
defendant would commit criminal acts of vio-
lence that would constitute a continuing threat
to society. Tex.Code Crim.Proc.Ann. art. 37.071
(Vernon Supp.1986).
WILLIAMS v. LYNAUGH
‘ t=.
1067
Cite as 809 F.2d 1063 (Sth Cir. 1987)
ance, particularly at the punishment phase
of the trial. Although Williams claims that
several aspects of his counsel’s perform-
ance were deficient,? he chiefly objects to
his counsel’s failure to investigate the ex-
traneous, unadjudicated offenses presented
by the state as proof of Williams’ future
dangerousness and his counsel’s failure to
engage in discovery of some sort with re-
spect to these offenses. Williams alleges
in his brief that he “specifically informed
counsel that he did not commit [the extra-
neous offenses] and was unaware of such
charges until they were introduced by the
state.” However, his counsel submitted an
affidavit in the state court proceedings,
which is in the record before us, that spe-
cifically denies that Williams ever made
this statement to him.‘ The state trial
court made a finding of fact in the habeas
proceedings that the facts asserted by the
defense counsel in his affidavit were true.
In accord with Sumner v. Mata, 449 US.
539, 101 S.Ct. 764, we apply “the presump-
tion of correctness,” which is mandated by
28 U.S.C. § 2254 for factual determinations
made by state courts, and therefore accept
the state trial court’s finding of fact. The
application of Sumner is particularly ap-
propriate in this case because Williams’
allegation is contained only in statements
in his brief and is unsupported by any
record evidence. Moreover, that Williams
was unlikely to have made such a state-
ment is substantiated by Williams’ failure,
even now, to offer any suggestion of evi-
dence to support his innocence except his
simple denial of the charges to counsel.
Accepting, therefore, the state court’s find-
ing that Williams did not make the alleged
statement to his counsel, we need consider
no further this allegation as a basis for a
claim of ineffectiveness.
3. The specific instances of ineffectiveness al-
leged by Williams are his counsel’s failure to
investigate and develop mitigating evidence
such as medical records from Williams’ child-
hood automobile accident, his counsel’s failure
to request a jury instruction on mitigating evi-
dence, the fact that one of Williams’ counsel
had recently resigned as an assistant district
attorney and was serving as a special prosecutor
in other unrelated criminal cases at the time of
the trial, and that the defense counsel did not
With respect to Williams’ other allega-
tions of ineffectiveness, see supra note 3,
he has shown no prejudice. Strickland v.
Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052,
80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984).
IV
The final claim raised by Williams is that
his fifth and sixth amendment rights were
violated when the state’s psychologist testi-
fied during the penalty stage of the trial.
He claims that the basis of the testimony
was a pretrial psychiatric examination, con-
ducted without advising Williams of his
right to remain silent and his right to con-
sult with counsel. Because the state’s psy-
chiatric evidence was based on an _ un-
warned examination, he argues that the
Supreme Court’s holding in Estelle v. —
Smith, 451 U.S. 454, 101 S.Ct. 1866, 68
L.Ed.2d 359 (1981), supports the conclusion
that his rights were violated.
First, we hold that Estelle v. Smith does
not control this case. In Smith, a capital
murder defendant, who was examined pre-
trial by a state psychiatrist, was given no
Miranda warnings prior to the examina-
tion, and his counsel was not notified in
advance that the examination would encom-
pass the issue of the defendant’s future
dangerousness. At trial, the state intro-
duced psychiatric evidence that was ob-
tained from this examination and used the
evidence to prove the defendant’s future
dangerousness. The defendant offered no
psychiatric evidence at trial and had never
indicated that he would rely on a psychiat-
ric defense. The Supreme Court held that
where the defendant neither initiated a psy-
chiatric defense nor introduced any psychi-
atric evidence at trial, the state’s introduc-
recall the name of his client when he was later
contacted by appellate counsel.
4. In the affidavit, the defense counsel stated:
“Without violating the attorney/client privilege,
the statement ... of the applicant’s brief that
appellant specifically informed counsel that he
did not commit [the extraneous offenses] and
was unaware of such charges until they were
introduced by the state, is totally inaccurate.”
recovered his tracks from place to place until he had reached a point 10 miles
south of Stein farm and was still making his way towards Ellis County when cap- |
tured, The rews of outrage had reached Sheriff's office at 11:30... Sheriff Cabell
with dosse of deputies left immediately for Stein farm and were hot on his trail.
For 7 long hours the chase lasted until about 6 o'clock in afternoon, Joe, after
having been shot at four or five times, was captured. To preventmob violence
Sheriff circulated report that Malone taken to Tarrant County-jail, but hewas
actually in Dallas, Grand Jury convened three days later and he was indicted. Trial
began on July 25, Malone having sent for sheriff and made complete convession two
days earlier. Malone pleaded guilty and sought mercy but prosecutor still presented
witnesses, Mrs, Stein being brought from home on a litter, testifying .and identi-
fying Malone, When evidence submitted to jury, it deliberated 20 minutes before
returning death sentence, Malone senteced to be hanged on July 28 by Judge e
Charles F, Ckin& who set date for Sept. 2, the .minimum time allowed by law
GALEESTON DAILY NEWS, Galveston, Texas, MXSXXR98¥Z224 9-3-1898 (3-3) —
q
| person of aged Mre, Frederic Stein, the wife
ALLASX Tex. Sept. 2-
e ree Ter as eas ~ fall ate a
this morning for the purpose 6 pewsity
if possible, the execution of oe" Ma-
lone, the negro who, on July % last, was
‘sentenced te death for an asmault wpon the
‘of a Dallas coimty farmer, The crowd knew
within the wails of the jail, but this dé not
Maione was up bright and early, and re-
| celved many callers. He wai calm and self-
| posseesed. At 11.30 o'clock he was baptized
in @ bath tub in the corridor around the
2% T. Pardee, Y. B. Brooks, Sam Rainey
i} per.
bicycle
urine «
evemts:
hip: ©.
Vitam
Time:
Woe,
2.00 464,
l, won
t Wal-
WE.
Are,
and J. M. Tolbert, all colored, assisting’ in.
the ceremony, Them he was furnished with
clean clothing, and leleuret
men.
“T bet he will break down soon,”’ aid one,
“Dl take that bet,” Malone replied, quick
When he had donned
etd sent Sheriff Cabell llowing mee-
pad se dltinaiesn thin Dini '
Let's hu B
a
Pitt. Cape Tiediately proceeded to
accommodate him. uieuce
ing to the room in which was the steel cage,
Swung back and the dogmed man appeared.
His hands were ere boat in front o& fiw
wirong twine. He wes let by Sheriff Cabell,
ami was followed by Sterting P. Clark, sher-
iff of Tarrant cousty, and P. C. Moore,
chief of police of Dailas, waa aleo @ mom-~-
ber of the party, having been Invite? by
Sheriff Cabell to accompany him ita the
Clark and Moore and Ohiet Comrmwall acted
a8 assistants to Sheriff Cabell, Sheriff Ca-
bells deputies also assisted him.
give the deputies lime to ¢her-@ passage.
way through the crowd. While this was
piss 3 done, “‘“Dobe’s'’ eves rested on the
ot
ond leleurety proceeded to
dress himac! ‘Troat of a etna number of
ae @ flash.
hia en, Ma-
the foll
‘T am ready if you are.
$
At exactly 12.15 o'clock the iron door jead-
and his elbows were
sheriff of Wise county. G. BE. Cornwall, the
cel to lead Matone to the gallows. Bhoriifa
“A pause was made at (he door tn order (6
d. for the firat ‘time. The sight did
@ him. i the beet, Ha
ae ougnhi 3 as the day he was
Fi
iff in the chase after ‘Doba”
‘that the execution was to be private and
prevent them froni exerting every effort to
get inside or waitmg outaide to hear the
Teérash of the death trap ae it fell.
steel cage where he had been kept, Revs. |
io his #ides with’
iff Cadell rea. rom. the aia thal
r secure the arrest of the perpe-
eos yar £: it was necessary to
ty before 4 : ;
would have ed his esoape and en-
him to have got beyond the borders
“4 Dallas county. A more maar orly piece
or “was probably never done by any
sheriff in Texas than waa done by the sher-
e6, which
Pesult $0 promptly in-his arrest,
Leven er he head secured the prisoner that
OGY was compelied to exdri every enerey
gud exhaust every effort in order fo protect
him from the infuriated clilgens, who were
| determined to take the law into Their own
hands. After traversing many miles of
bey Sheriff Cabelivianded "Doba”’ Joe
safely
ae the Dallas county Jall, but as @
preeautionary measure he had the report
circulated that the prisoner had been taken
to the Tarrant ovunty jai, :
On the morning following the commission
of the offense: theriff Cabell and County
Attorney RK. B. Allen went to the Stein
farm and began their work together, pre-
paratory to securing the conviction of
“Doba’’ doe. No stone was left unturned,
every precaution was taken 10 secure the
“testimony of witnesses, (he testimony wes
reduced to writing and the cola of the law
were so closely gathered @round the pris-
oner that no hope was left for him to es-
cape the well merited and just punistiment
for his crime. The grand jury was at once
convened (o meet on the folowing Mon-
day, and at that time County Attorney Al-
len laid before that body the (teetimony
which fixed “Deba’”’ Joe's
He was indicted on that day, just three
days froam the time the offense was com-
mitted. :
following Monday, July 2, 18%. On Satur-
day before the trial County Attorney Alen
and Sheriff Cabell were sent for by “Doba’’
joe, and afier Mr. Allen had warned the
prisoner that be did not haye to make any
siatement whatever lo atiybody, and that
if he did make a statement it might be
uved against himand could net be used for
him, “Doba’ Joe confessed his guilt end
relaied the horrible details of hia awful
etime.
.. How, A. T, Watts, Hon. A. H. Pielke and
‘Sided W. M, Misyvard wire appointed by
the e@urt to vepresend ‘Doha’ Joe ywpon the
tral of his case.
After one whole day, which was commluned
tn the selection of a jury, “Doba’’ Joe con-
salted with the @ebleiiawytre Who were rep-
resenting him and conchaded, la pivad giilly
and ask for mercy at Uht bareda of the jury.
Notwhihetarmiing His pice of guilty, how-
ever, Courdy Attorney Allied placed tire wit-
heeew upon ihe stad Mra. Biel wae
brought from her home Gn a Hitter to the
court roomier ere from ber ips fi guey
heard the @tory of her outrage: whe itenli-
ted the defendant posiiively, The whole
tee tre ciroumetanees ard facta which
ba’ Joe's quilt beyond doubt were
ta the jury, oe when the bore
af evened
welve etal: of deverstion by
+ was wine te ie
hnifall, when the dark+-
and |
ult apon Bim. .
His case was sei for trial on the,
sovetnor rapt 8
in fy “Texas troops
The BGYx Are Asking Influential
Friends to Help Them Out.
Jacksonvitie, Fir., Sept. 2.—(Special ser-
vice to The News)--Fhe Piret and Second
‘Alabama, iret Ohio and First South Carc-
lina, of the Beventh-army corps, are report-
ed mustered out. © yg
The First and Beco Téxas are reported
certain of selection for Ciba.
There are Triudreda of applications for
discharge. < ‘
“General Kadfer made @ péersonad inepeciion
of the Pbrat division hospital wards.
The beyr are Keaping the wires het, avix-
ing influential men for sasistance to obtain
diecharge. HM. L. MATHEWS,
4 x
Death af a soldier,
San Antonio, Tex,, Sept. 2—Sergeant John
T. Griner, troop M, Wirat Texas cavairy,
died at the post boapital at Fort Bam Hoda.
ton this morning of typhold fever. The de-
etosel wae about & years of see. He was
an excellent sokdiar end.was very popuiar
among hén conpaifaia in arms. He was a
gramieon of the lntw Pot Weidemullior, ane
of the oldest petike wolf Uvahie county. His
retmaina were ahipped to bis former hore in
Uvaide today for iniertment,.ard were es-
corted to the depot by troop M and the regi-
meectrial band,
aii si
Giterrs at Awatin.
Avetin, Yeu. Sept, 3-—-Major Harrison of
ie Porth regiment iy nero jay frow
Houston, He refuses te talk except (hat be
“te here titeier ardern.”
Captain ®, BE. Voutger of troop A, Piru
Texas cavalry. fe here from Fert Mcinioeh,
where bie treon te delng gartieos duty Ha
ease hie Men ere agixious & De mustered)
out, provide? they are kept i the United
cote bal all are wiliig @ go anywhere
1 iain ecenue ems
DEMOCTL ATO HEAD T ART Rae,
ae at Poier Wat .
& verdict a6 %
uy that. 6a” Bpecial
dera of this com
vl will be beid at
, ms City, Tean.,
of Seprember,
hook. the: pur:
fo wurble the
ther they will
birweta, dees,
> Amd. for tue
iting Can
Alabama, -b
and coma:
Patt” Cot phe
hal authorizin
the Taw nd (o
and bonds of
as authorised
peg ee and
y the Legte-
ina, February
powers on this
teber, Jr.
Secretary,
-,
phone 1e,3,
“+f cases “out-of tes are crnsed—b
j
“ vA
;
p a staff, from~ which
stream of white ribbon,
Next camp the ritual serviees con
ducted by Cousul Commander W MH
onteoun., Then the veil was
Mien the monument. wlite ho owas for
Maly dedleated by pouring off and
pure water upon ir,
Sovereign W.-H. Wilder’ re ad the
poem, “Oh, Why Shoutd the Spirit of
Mortal 6@-Prowi'’ The monuusert
Was then-fortially. received by the of
fiors of. the ean. inelading Consul
Commander WH. Jotnisen, Adviser
‘Lietienant RE. Wiband Racker Jolin
Rowiette: ; :
Past Consul Commander E. P. Rmith
followed with au address, In whieh he
explained tbat one of the cardiual
Piineciples of the order was to permit
bo deceased member to: rest in an Un-
twiarked grave, He vold-how this feat.
ure of the order came to be embodied
in its constitution, paid a slowing trib.
, Ute to the fidelity of tbe deceased asa
member of tbe Woodmen and to. his
Worth as aman and citizen, snd con.
cluded: bye drawing a lesson from the
ceremonies and events of the occasion
The megubers then united with the
jcamp bonors salute and the asseiw-
'blage dispersed. .
| This is the firet formal - unvelling
whieh the Woodmen have had in Birm-
ingham, although monuments have
bcen erected by the order over all mem-
4
Deafness Cannot be Cured
by local appBcations as they can
the disea portion of the ear. There 44
only one way to core. deafness, and that ie
by constitutional remedies Deafness ja
caused by ap loflainea condition of the muc.
ous living of tbe Eustachian Tube. When
this tube ls indamed you bare a rumbiin
sound or imperfect nearing. and when ft {Ig
entirely closed, Deafness Is the resuit. and
pniess the infanmation can be taken ont
and this tube crstored to its norma! condi.
tron, hearing will be destroyed forever. nine
Catarrh,
which te nothing but an inflamed condition
of the mucous surfaces. y
We wilh give One Hundred Dollara for
any case Of Deafness (cansed by. catarrh)
that cannot be cured by lail’s Catarrh
Core. Send for circulars; free.
: r qd. strdegh ah & CO., Tolefe,
Sold reggists. 75e.
faite Peale Pille are the beat.
not reach
‘
anted at the foot. of the
floqted a.
draws) |
‘to: solve the myateries of these crimes.
SCASBTORIA,
‘Bears the The Kind You Hove Atwa's Bought
- | Bignature a
4 of AICTE, CMA
CASTORI
i fr.
Bears the The Kind You Have Always Bought
Bignature
MAN OF MANY ALPARES.
“Washington, Sept, do Special Exanj
liner Koom, of the Peusion Bureau, bas
parrested dn this clty George Bo Ande d-
lson, a man of many aliases, who fraud
ulently fimpersonated an officer of the
Pension Bureau.) Andersou bad. fier
isome time operated in Marvland anil
a Jong chase.
Men's traveling com.
anions, latest fad, at
aks’, the Clothier,
dba seeps ea
CALLING FOR HELP.
The Czar talks Jike-a man down a well +
Alleghany Record,
‘acon mii ec
Try ‘‘Alabama Brand”
Rolled Oats--and you
will have no other.
CONFESSIONS OF A FIEND.
“y
Joe Matone Pariictpated tn Five Other
Murders and Four Assaults.
St. Louts, Sept. 5.—A special to the
Post Dispatch from Wallas, Texas,
says: Horrtble developments are com.
ing out in connection with the fiendish
career of “Dobie Joe Malone, the ne.
gro executed here Friday. Hig written
and oral confessions to. offi¢ers and
others make [t certalp that he. in ad-
dition to what has heretofore been pub-
lished, participated in five other mur.
ders and four assaults on white wo-
men “vo years ae he crhninaily as-
saulted and then killed Mrs. Dudhan,
wife of a prominent farmer near Oak
CH, a snbarb of Dallas, and be and
another negro, whom the oftieers:.are
now endeavoring to capture, assaulted
and killed three white, women at Eagle
Lake, near Houston, about three year
ago. ee
The best detective talent has failed
-D
londay
os
' 1915 Second Avenue.
ZADING LOW-PRICED HOUSE IN BIRMINGHAM,
ry GoodsCompa
>
ny
at
—— eS es
aereonine
Unbleached Pepperell Sheeting, 10-4,
One case Heavy Unbleached Canton
One case Cotton Toweling, Bleached or Unbleached, at... :
Heavy Indian Head Domestic, one yard wide, at.
wee tasecclasee 40
Flannel at.... Beene cee e eee ee ONGC
per yard...
partment
| One case English | Percalés, 82 inch,
ite dark red and electric blue at 8c,
Hite ang Cation Goods ep’
At Bic
25 pleces new Fall Flannelettes, just
the proper thing for wrappers. at 8140.
"PAC Bio.
- | At 10c
20 dosen Linen Huck Towels, alze 17
238; regular 15c seller; at 10¢,
At 886
*
oe
Damask, aplendid
We a yard, at Ae,
At 4Be % |
-epeanngead eek
Bs age
“@0-4neh German Turkey Red Tadle|
Hatlon Department,
!
2 At 15¢,. : |
20 dozen Ladiew#’ Fast Hose, extra
fine ga uge, double sole, at 15¢ § pair.
At 10c
%
: 8 dozen Ladies’ Bwiss Ribbed
rea) valve 15e, at 106e, ; 1
‘ At 25¢
The Nasareth Seamleng
Walsts, or boys aud gtr
*
Veata,
' Ribbed
ta, all piace, at
At IBGE te
10 dowen Leather Relts, Worth We, at
Wwe, Pi
At48c |.
mM
Mtvch Real Gorman’ Lined Table] adios’ Musi Gowns, tue led abd
;Damenk, aerertnn wegular price henideced yokes; regular price t5e;
ica fardsat the, at 4. i ie avi
ryt a Loued piven POS, j :
ih
ladjacent States and was capuured after |
4
_ pand one eaeb in Virginia, Georgia, Ar-
The Tuskaloosa: Wadding Factory is
nearing completion, Messrs. bo OF:
| Brady and 1) J. Gritha are Wits Raper:
mtending the placing of vin
ery, Which ts aerieog anits :
Dr, and Arno We Binghain have |
retiyned: from a piemsant siddurn of
twoo weeks at Preneh hick >prings,
Tnd :
VIVE T Te
Mer. Jotin denutsoneof Birmingham, is
VISUng his unele, Miro M. i. demJeon,
ev. and Mrs. Witllaker and
Vulla Rovalh have returned
i pleasant. vaeation at Anhturn Ada.
(Miss Julia's deans friends*note with
ploesore: ber retuci,
Mr. Luther: Maxwell has returned
{from a very pleasaor trop to Sr. Louis,
Chicage and Wrukesha
Mr. Walter Goodman, of Centreville,
has accepted a position as night clerk
aft the Washington Horel,
_ soho T. Bradford, assistant postmas
fer” has returned from a delightful
outing at St. Clair Springs,
TERMS OF PEACE DECLARED.
We will give one inonth'’s lessons free
on any Instreement costing aboye $5
bought of us from now until October I,.
We have a large tock to select
from, The cheapest and the best--and
we have the best. Strings for any in-
strumeot. steel or the beat Itallan gut
in the city. Trimmings for any instru-
ment, The best French harps In the
city. We xchange and repair all kinds
of instruments.
Wiliams’ Cash Music Store,
2006 Second Avenue.
_All the latest novel-
ties in jewelry—the
handsomest line ‘we
have ever exhibited-=»
watches, __ brooches,
stick-pins, cuff but-
tons, shirt sets and a
rare assortment, of |
Precious gems’ we
now offer at remark-
ably reasonable prices
HC Abvott & Bro,
Jewelers,
121 N 20th St
2 *NEW INDUSTRIES.
Chattanooga, Sept. 5.—With the end
of summuer the new Industries reported
to the Tradesman begin to gain in num-
ber and jinportsnce, Advices received
during the week. ended Septeniber 3
include @ brush factory Iu North Caro-
Nina, a castor off mill to Arkansas and
cotton msecd oll mills In Arkansas and
South Carolina; a 25,000-epinde cotton
mi in Tennessee and smaller ones in
Mississippi and North Carolina: a
$30,000 ebair factery in Kentockr; a
large couoperage works in Georia: ala
Mixs j
from al
1 case nameless yard wife, so@iiges
20 ¥ards for
HW) pieces Black an
yard.
1 ease
lecuse Best Indigo Bine Calicoes
gee
1921 an
d Navy Blo
tilleries in Virginia and Kentucky: a
‘large grain elevator at New Orleans:
itwo electric light plants fn Tennessee
‘kansag, Texas and Miastasippl, and a
$150,000 electric light, power and rall-
way company .F the latter State:}
flourivg mills in Kentucky, Mississippi,
North Carolina and Teanessee; a glass}
bottle factory in Kentucky: tee facto.
ries In Tennessee and Texas; a general
mining company ta Texaé, and the de.
velopment of since mines ir Kentucky;
fron ore mines in Alabama and tale
mines bi North Cerolina; a paper:
factory in Alabama: a
plow company in Kent
‘a Georgia; a tiee mill ta a
tate: a apoke faciory In Alabania dad
& $1,000,000 stecl works at 8
that State; a trank factory i
pppt; varuiah works In. VI
BAZAR PATTE
ANS |
5%
a Wace eee:
Jos et
ig RP ENS
Satis oy cite k
‘Gast Sig ie idy
ee nae
©
&
ea
a
:
MANNING, Will, black, hanged Greenville,
Texas, 7-11-1905
REVEALING FAGIS FRUM FULICE FILES
These youths were able to provide
the names of several girls squired
by the gun victim in the past few
months. However, Celestino’s
chums, like his father, discounted
the theory that any of the young
women had meant anything more
to him than dates. Charles, they
said, was more interested in getting
ahead in business than in the op-
posite sex.
But the detectives thought other-
wise and they doggedly began a
checkup of the girl friends. How-
.ever, all of them were able to put
themselves beyond any suspicion,
and again the investigators faced
a blank wall.
“Well, we’re certainly getting no-
where in a hurry,” Hellyer observed
. dryly. “If we throw out the woman
angle, what have we got?”
“I’m not ready to give up on that
yet,” Howell said. “I’ve got an idea
I want to play with, but it’ll have
to wait until morning.”
Before calling it a day, the homi-
cide operatives returned to head-
quarters, where they again tele-
phoned St. Vincent’s Hospital. Cel-
estino, they were told, was still alive
but hadn’t regained consciousness.
On the faint possibility that he
might come to during the night,
the detectives detailed a patrolman
to maintain a bedside vigil. Then
the weary sleuths left the station
for some sorely-needed rest.
At 8 o’clock Saturday morning
they were back on the job. Learn-
ing that the youth’s condition was
unchanged, they sent another offi-
cer to replace the one who had
béen on duty overnight’ at the hos-
pital.
“Now,” said Howell, “we can get
busy on that angle of mine. It’s
that blue outfit the mystery girl
was wearing. If she bought it
around here, we might be able to
trace her through the transaction.
Usually, a woman has to have a
suit altered, and in that case there
would be a record at the store.”
So they started a tour of the
downtown. department stores and
women’s shops, realizing that their
chance of success was exceedingly
slight. But they had cracked other
tough cases by sheer persistence
and they were determined to give
this one all they had.
The task proved to be monoton-
ous and discouraging. However, af-
ter visiting a dozen establishments
and getting completely negative re-
ports, they were convinced of one
thing: an all-blue street ensemble
was indeed a rarity in Portland
that summer.
After calling on the larger stores
without turning up a prospect the
homicide team directed their ef-
forts toward the less prominent
shops. The first few they visited
yielded nothing, and then they
walked into a small shop on Wash-
ington Street. Upon learning their
mission, the proprietress raised .
their flagging hopes by nodding.
“Yes, I sold one all-blue street out-
fit recently,” she declared. “It was
‘the only one I’ve ever seen—that
is, with hat, shoes, gloves and purse
to match.”
The detectives drew their breath
sharply before asking the $64 ques-
tion. All their hard work would be
wasted if the answer’ were nega-
tive. And that might mean the case
would never be solved.
“Can you tell us,” Howell queried
, slowly, “the name of the woman
who bought the outfit?”
The shop owner nodded. “Yes, I
have her name in my records,” she
responded. “It was a cash sale, but
the skirt had to be shortened a
trifle and I sent it to the tailor.
I always keep a list of alterations
so I can check them against the-
tailor’s bills at the end of the
month.”
She went to her desk and began
looking through a memorandum
book. Finally she located the right
entry and said: “She gave her name
as Susan Owens. I didn’t take her
address, because she came back to
pick up the skirt.”
Hellyer asked: “Did she happen
to mention anything that might
help us find her?” e
The proprietress meditated for a
moment. “Well,” she replied, “the
only thing I recall is that she said
she could hardly afford such ex-
pensive clothes on her salary. Then
she remarked, ‘I’ll have to get a lot
of tips to make up for this.’”
The detectives thanked the in-
formant and left the shop.
N the sidewalk Hellyer com-
mented: “So the girl’s a wai-
tress. And all we have to do is
check on the hundreds of restau-
rants in town until we find her.”
otherwise perfect crime.
Legal history was in the making.
from strychnine?”
“Tests proved it,” he answered quietly.
(Continued on page 35)
CASE OF THE THREE FROGS
EN Will Manning, a lanky, good-looking farmer, of Celeste, Texas, decided
to get rid of his wife, he didn’t count on science tripping him up on an
Manning’s frail wife died snddenly late in December, 1904, a few days after
presenting her husband with a baby. Her death was so sudden that even her physician
was puzzled, Apparently she had died from complications.
A short time after her death, Manning started going around with a pretty town
belle. Gossip became so strong that Manning was soon being regarded ‘with sus-
Ficion over the strange death of his wife.
Questioning witnesses who had been present at the time of Mrs. Manning’s death,
officers Jearned that she had suffered convulsions. The symptoms pointed to poisoning!
Manning readily admitted being -in love with another woman, but declared em-
phatically that he had had nothing to do with his wife’s death. Officers were not
impressed with his story, On the contrary they believed he had done away with
his wife so he could he free to court the girl.
A court order was promptly secured and Mrs. Manning's body was exhumed.
How were they to prove she had been poisoned? At that time the reputation and
fame of Dr. Landon C. Moore, noted chemist, was just beginning to blossom in
Dallas, Texas, so officers appealed to him to make a test ‘of some sort to determine
whether the woman had been poisoned. Dr. Moore consented to take the case
and was given the viscera of the dead woman.
Retiring to his laboratory, he began a series of tests, the conclusion of whilek
left no doubt that Mrs. Manning had been given an overdose of strychnine and
had not, as many people had thought, died from afterbirth complications.
Manning was promptly indicted for murder and went on trial in Greenville,
Texas, on the morning of April 24, 1905. A crowd overfilled the courtroom, for
they had heard that the state was about to epring something new in evidence.
_Taking the stand, Dr. Moore offered the expert testimony that the woman had
died from strychnine. The defense attorney was instantly out of his chair, pointing
a finger at the chemist. “How do you know, for certain, that Mrs.-Manning died
a
ULE LHe , pe tu Lt, Vay ig Ps 31.
4
a.
_ REVEALING FACTS FROM POLICE FILES
the chief questioned him
ngth. The result was ex~
iing. Leona Pierce had
ied once before, had been
bout one year when she
son. She was 22 years of
cat was all Simpson
fe officer.
he interested in other
less he was a musician.
‘razy about music.” .
as a matter of routine.
isked Simpson to accom-
to Ocean Springs where
clerk could look at him. :
readily agreed. :
sw minutes after arriving
tel the soldier lost much. _
fidence. Facing the room .
latter shook his head,
But another employe
iot the man who register-
es Anderson, Mr. Anglada,
rtainly was here Tuesday
en that girl was killed.
aean that he was in the
oor that he was on the
it the precise moment she: .
dered, but there was =:
soldiers and girls at the
‘e and I’m sure he was one
. Simpson’s violent denial
oye stuck to his story. Re-
-¢ Biloxi the chief asked:
1 prove that you were in
| of Tuesday evening and
@ i rousnt a minute or
1 shrugged. “No, I can’t. I
ow anybody around here
vas alone all the time. I
few games but haven’t the
idea who the guy I bowled
s, or where. he lives. The
he evening I just knocked
drinking a few beers.”
m named three or four of
joints he claimed to have
n the death night. At the
these the attendent threw
ands when asked if he rec-
Simpson as &a Tuesday
istomer. x
» are soldiers coming and
1 the time; big ones. and
es, fat ones and lean ones.
e all in uniform and it’s
- never even look at their
y more—just the uniform.”
ame answers were received
yther places. Thousands of
were stationed at Keesler
ring the war years and the
of Biloxi had become so ac-
da to seeing the uniform
ere that they paid. little
the man wearing “it.
a short conference with
_and other officers the chief
detain Simpson for the
here was..no. evidence.
fim, but the fact that he
have been: at. the Ocean-~
hotel.at the time Anderson
na. arrived was indisputable.
Mri :
Only Simpson, of all the guests
there, knew Leona: and if he had,
by chance, seen her arrive with an-
-other man there was no telling to
what extent his jealousy might
have driven him.-
Simpson made no. objection to
being detained but swore he had
not been outside the city limit of
Biloxi on that night.
VM in Ocean Springs,
Wetzel, Miller and Williams
were faring somewhat better. Many
- hours had been consumed in try-
ing to locate someone who may
have seen Anderson on the high-
way after he left the death cot-
tage, but apparently he had man-
‘aged to keep well concealed. —
However, Wetzel had learned
from one of the bell boys that a
couple in the adjoining cottage had
complained about’ the noise in the
Anderson cottage at about 10:45.
- He had been on the point of going
. to the latter cottage when the tele-.
phone rang and Anderson asked for
some ice water.
Mentally, Wetzel kicked himself.
"> Why hadn’t he thought of the tele-
phone? But until that moment
there had been no-indication that
’ either Anderson or Leona had used
it.
Carefully dusting the telephone
Wetzel joyfully lifted the perfect
‘print of a man’s forefinger. Now he
had something! With his precious
" familiar question.
find he hurried to his laboratory in
Biloxi and after making enlarge-
ments reported to Anglada.
“Compare it with Simpson’s,” was .
the terse comment.
The prints did not match. And
Wetzel, after much work and delay,
finally rounded up four men who
admitted being out at Ocean
Springs with four girls on Tuesday
night. Taken to Ocean Springs
they were recognized by several
people who had been there at the
time the soldiers had their party.
As Wetzel surmised, an honest
mistake had been made, and as a
matter of fact one of the four.men_
- strongly resembled Simpson: The
latter was released with the request
that he hold himself in readiness’ .- ,
when and if he was needed.
“Now what?” Wetzel asked the
Pt
“You tell me,” retorted the chief.
“If Cogk can find the taxi driver
‘that took Anderson and Leona out.
to Ocean Springs Tuesday” night
‘maybe we can get something from"...
that. If he can’t, then all I can...
think of is to check Leona from —..
the time she got on the bus until —
she got off in New Orleans, or Bi-
loxi.”
‘Anglada,
drove to the bus station in Biloxi.
To their pleasant surprise the tick-
et agent recalled the slain woman
perfectly.
Wetzel and Rossetti
“I noticed her because she made —
“Yes, I am.”
that Mrs. Manning was poisoned.”
room that she was poisoned.”
with your test,” he ordered.
syringes,” the chemist explained. ©
jury ‘box,
the syringe to capacity. Next
Dr. Moore. had: proved beyond
with the aid of three frogs.
CASE. OF THE THREE FROGS
(Continued from page 31)
“Are you prepared to swear on oath that strychnine was the positive cause of -
death?” the defense attorney ventured.
The defense attorney turned to the judge and said, “Your Honor, my client is:
on trial for first degree murder. J think there should be further proof to the court
- “I’m prepared,” Dr. Moore declared, “to prove by a chemical test in the court-
A buzz swept the courtroom, The judge banged his gavel for order. “Go ahead:
“J will need an ounce of strychnine, three toad frogs and three hypodermic
A deputy sheriff was dispatched to a nearby drug store to get the requested
y the officer ‘was back with a sack’ and ‘a_
items while court was recessed. Presentl
o placed them on a table in front of the
box. He handed them to Dr. Moore, wh
The chemist mixed the ounce of strychnine in a glass of water, then filled one
of the syringes with it. Reaching into the box, he removed one of the frogs, inserted -
the syringe in his leg and injected the fluid. He released the frog.and the small
animal hopped off the table onto the floor, Presently he fell over,
vulsively and died. Every eye was on Dr. Moore as he filled the second syringe
with pure water. This he injected into another frog’s leg. Released, the frog
hopped off, unhurt, finally being retrieved by a court official.
ontaining the viscera of the dead woman.
d the third syringe into the fluid, filling
d it into the third frog, The animal was
turned loose on the floor and started bounding off, In a few moments he was dead,
doubt that Mrs, Manning had been poisoned,
The grim-faced jury filed out quietly, deliberated only a few minutes and returned
a verdict of guilty of murder in the first degree. . aes
Will Manning paid with his life on the gallows
Dr. Moore then reached for the vial c
He showed it to the court, then insert
he inserte
. \
kicked con- .
for 2 crime that was proved
—By Reese Hart
3B
MANNING,
black bar
4
“CALL THE NEXT witness,” directed the dis-
trict attorney.
Quietly he filed in, the surprise witness for
the state, on whom a man’s life depended. He
followed the bailiff to the stand and took the
oath.
It was a tense moment. The jury was expec-
tant and even the judge was unmistakably drawn
toward the figure in the witness box. For had it
not been rumored that the state was to present
an unusual expert, whose testimony would seal
the defendant’s doom? Instinctively they knew
that legal history was in the making.
The scene was Greenville, Texas. The date was
April 24, 1905. :
“State your name,” said the prosecuting
attorney. —~ . :
“Dr. Landon C. Moore.”
“Your business?”
“T am a chemist.”
ged Greenville
“Did you examine the viscera of the deceased,
Mrs. Will Manning?”
“J did.”
“State to the jury the results of your analysis.”
“I found that the deceased had in her viscera
enough strychnine to cause her death.”
“That is all,” said the district attorney trium-
phantly. “You may have the witness.” He ges-
tured toward the defense counsel.
The courtroom was electrified.
“Your Honor, I object!” the defense attorney
cried, springing to his feet. “By what token does
this witness presume to state that Mrs. Manning
died from strychnine? We cannot be interested
in laboratory theory. A man’s life is at stake.”
He looked at the jury beseechingly.
“Objection overruled. You may cross-examine
the witness.” : :
2)
Hn
Scornfully the lawyer turned toward the wit-
ness stand.
“You say that you examined the viscera of the
deceased and found strychnine to be present?”
“JT did.”
“Dr. Moore, did you perform tests which settled
beyond all doubt that the element you found
in the viscera of the dead woman was strych-
nine?” ‘
“I performed the necessary chemical tests.”
_ “But did you perform the necessary _physio-.
logical tests? Did you, or did you not, test this
substance you claim to be strychnine on living
matter to discover the reaction?” Now the de-
fense attorney leaped in for the kill. “Do you
know, Dr. Moore,” he roared, “that my client
stands ready and willing to drink to the last drop
the contents of Exhibit A, which you have labeled
strychnine and obtained, supposedly, from the
viscera of Mrs. Manning?”
It was a master stroke. For a second Dr.
Moore hesitated. He was stunned. .
“Answer me,” shouted: the lawyer. “Are you
prepared to prove that what you have called
strychnine is actually the deadly stuff you claim
it to be?” "
For a second Dr. Moore reflected. Suddenly
his eyes lit up. Then he spoke with confidence.
Sends Out For Poison
“I am prepared to prove that the substance is
strychnine.” He turned to the presiding judge.
“If you please, Your Honor, I should like to
have you send the bailiff to the drug store to
secure an ounce of powdered strychnine.”
“The request is granted. Court stands adjourned
for 30 minutes in order that the state may carry
on with its testimony,” the judge announced.
om De TELAT ES.
(FUG UST LE72-
Texas, on July P
crentilic
leuth
/JURY THAT TEST TUBES
COULD SNARE A SLAYER
0
BY JOHN R. FRANCHEY
(Special Investigator for All-Fact Detective)
The throng in the courtroom sat patiently
through the recess, eagerly awaiting the judge’s
rap to announce the beginning of the last act in
this unprecedented legal drama. Will Manning,
the defendant, conferred-in whispers with his
attorney for a few minutes, then sat back and
stared at Dr. Moore with nervous apprehension.
Manning was a handsome, debonair farmer
living at Celeste, Texas, with his young wife
when, on December 29, 1904, Mrs. Manning pre-
sented her husband with a child. The doctor who
had supervised the delivery had left the Manning
home fully confident that (Cont’d on next page)
Two tiny threads sealed the doom of Dewey
Hunt, who killed a street car motorman.
Not on Smyhlas /is7Pon,
Corel he State: Columbia Sc
fos fea
7
MAS
4) /
C
/
Sa ce a
PS NTR 2S COLES Fe
lington “Trust company:
“Owing to the financial troubles of |
the Independent Cotton Oil company,
the diréctors deem it to the interests of | the South
the stockholders of the railroad will take triplicate re-
the depositors and
of the Darlington Trust company
close the doors temporarily.
company and assure all stockholders |
that they will be paid in full.
“By order of the board of directors.
ci ae “E. C. Lide,
“Cashier.”
The O11 Company.
and the news of a receiver having been
appointed for this company followed
soon. Your correspondent wanted only
the most acccurate information con-
cerning the situation and what fol-
lows 1s official:
Gotng first to Mr. Bright Williamson,
president of the Independent Cotton
Oil, company, and one of its largest
stockbdlders, the following statement
secured from President Willlam-
son:
' Mr. Williamson’s Statement.
“Ten days ago, because of the so-
Neitation of my friends, I accepted
the position of president of the Inde-
pendent-Oll -company at a- special
meeting. I at once began investiga-
tions and a few days ago I found some
inaccuracies which I had verified yes-
terday. I feared these were serious
enough to place the company in the
hands of a receiver, so called a
director's meeting by telegraph. Seven
out of nine members were present, Mr.
Nachman being in’Paris and Mr. Is-
rael not being able te attend. After
hearing my report these gentlemen
were of the unanimous opinion that a
receiver should be appointed and today
An order from Judge Watts appoints
me to that position to take charge at
once,”
It is impossible now to get any defi-
nite statement regarfling the assets
and Habilities of the company.
‘The capital stock of the Independent
company was nominally $1,000,000 and
the stock sold last week as high as
75 petcent. of the par value. The lia-
bilities-will approximate $500,000, so ‘it
is belfeved. :
The Independent Cotton Oil company,
under the management of President
R. K. Dargan, has had a record and
reputation seldom equalled. When he
took charge of the one mill upon which
the organization was afterwards found-
ed, the stock was selling at 50 cents
-on the dollar. Latterly the company
’ has operated plants at Charleston,
Darlington, Mullins, Kingstree, Tim-
monsvule, Syracuse, Effingham,
Wadegtoro, N. C., Cheraw, Lamar,
Homer, Lydia, Swift Creek, Mechanica-
ville, Marion, Manning. Auburn, Mont-
clare, Davis Station, N. C., Summerton.
and Packsville. These 21 plants are
atill er the direct contro! of the
In hdent Cotton Oil company, con-
stituting its vayious branches.
Mr. K. Dargan is president of
the Darlington Trust company, which
was organized April 1, 1905, with au-
thorized capital of $200,000. Thé Inde-
ndent.Cotton O11 company borrowed
,000, so it is cortectly stated. from
the Trust company on demand loan.
“These loans were. for yesterday
amd coyld not be met; but it is author-
itatively stated that depositors and
stockbolders of the -Turst
will be paid in full and will be paid at
Mr. Bright Williamson, recetver, has
> at once gone to work and says he will | aq:
% make an official ole Suenest tn a fewl,
y a
days, jugt as soon as the necessary
facts can be ascertained. He has been
oe?
-the Jong distance ‘phone all. day
various sections senting
reese Whe Se KAYEEU GUUEBS OL Like Pare
to} showing the number of officers and en-
The di-|lsted men to be transported by the
rectors have examined the books of the | railroad, making inquiry of the captain
It. will be seen by this notice that the jal record books, including morning re-
Independent Oi] company was tnvolved | Port, sick report and duty roster are
company |
Yoceiving telegrams and messages over
| diately proceed to arrange transporta-
'ton for all companies of. the Third in-
fantry over the Atlantic Coast Line
railroad, except Company E of
| Barnwell, which will be transported by
ern railway. The local ngent
celpts from the cantain of the company
; that all parties are enlisted men or offi-
cers of his organization. The agent
i will then forward to this office. the
! original recetpt, the duplicate being for-
warded to the regimental commander
jand the triplicate presented to the dis-
~ bursingyeffcer for coltection.
| “Company commanders will see that
| brought with them to camp, and it {s
; absolutely: necessary to have these
| books to keep the records of each or-
|Sanization during the encampment.
| “The commanding officer will arrange
| with the railroad companies to have his
' regiment reach here not later than noon
;of the 18th inst. Transportation, pay
‘for sevend days and subsistence will be
| allowed officers and mene -A ¢onsoli-
dated morning report will be delivered
lto the adjutant of the regiment upon
his arrival at Columbia.” ‘
i tn te
THE QUINBY CASE HEARD
| BY COMMERCE COMMISSION
Charges Against Clyde Lime Before
Interstate Commerce Comun iasion.
A Trip to Peach Section.
Augusta, Ga., July 7.—The interstate
commerce commission this morning
heard the plaintiff's side in the case of
J. L. Quinby vs. the Clyde Bteamship
company involving alleged unreason-
able rates on cotton mill products be-
tween lower South Carolina and New
England points. The contention ts that
i mills in the lower part of the State
have to pay a rate higher than those
iin the northern part though nearer the
commission
heard two witnesses jn regard to the
The members of the commission
left tonight for points in the peach
Associations of Two Staten Elect om.
tions convention came to a close to-
night with a smoker, and passing of
resolutions of thanks to the citizens of
Asheville for the entertainment provid-
;ed for them. Yn a brief address by
lina association, the joint convention
Just closed was declared to be the: most
succeusful fin the history of the agrso-
elation. The reports read during the
various meetings, he said, showed
marked ‘progress of North Carolina
journalism. \ ;
. Today the members of the two asso-
|clations went on an excursion to
1 Waynesville, 28 miles out on the Mur-
) phy branch, on a special! train furnish-
ed by the Southern railway. At that
icity the citizens welcomed the vist- |
tors {n a, most hospitable manner, af-
| fording them a drive over the most
; Picturesque portions of the country.
| The following are the officers elect-
Virginia association, sete R.
James, Danville, Va.; vice pres{dent,
D.:B. Ca secre-
association,
bot ae ie
Apasdy
-
Sheri
bs 4
»—
=<
Qa
ora
MANGED FOR WIFE MURGER.
Wil Menaige Put to Death at Green-
Tex, Yentergay, hie
Texas, July 7.—Will Man-
Charleston terminal of the steamship | will not to Washington premapent-
company. ly un some tem ui
In the afternoon: the . wh time in Sep J
relation of the fruit shipping of this deeply sensible -
| obra and the Armour Refrigerating Geue made er eee eee:
ne.
growing district to take further testi-| When he takes cha of the depart-
mony in the case. ment he will give ‘ap gathvety por nia
: o> ractice. egy
THE EDITORS AT ASHEVILLE. Pielaane. Roosevelt paid an ap-
propriate ‘and
life and of: the late Secreta
OS eo yr ores State John Hay in his addrens.be-
* . °° “_— o t : .
ginia-North Carolina Press associa- Gen ae Pate Ucational associa
lowed this: tribute with an estimate
of the aah
f
thesé two men, nat entirely unique as
R. M. Phillips of Raleigh, the newly | th resi indicated son
elected prestdent of the North Caro- peggiel ads te ade om ret diel
cabinet, enabled him
that the country always had at
command
ty.
Revenue
spent three days’ in &:,@uccessful still
hunt In the upper
yi nith= nay
The authorities -have. placarded the
town recommending: the people not to
50 upon the streets should be Kniaz Po-
temkin appear. * <i S,° at
oy:
Novorosstysk is at the hea
rossiysk bay on the northe
the Black sea, - “oy.
prea of
‘7
nd of Novo-
t coast of
*@
A Mutiny. ;
Sebastopol, July’ 7.—A naval magis-
trate Is investigating @ mutiny on the
transport Prout... “°°:
One hundred
tress here and thé others are still. on
board. ane rey
. a er MA Ba
ithe Wloste Opaers.
Odessa, July 7,<Vice Admiral Chouk-
nin has telegraphed the governor gen-
eral of Odessa that the»Black-eea fieet
has been ordered to capture or destroy
the Knias Potemkin.
Theodosia, Crimea! July 7.—The re-
Ports sent from.Odessa to London
newspapers regarding the bombard-
ment of Theodosia: are untrue. Order
is fully maintained {n the town by the
troops. i : '
Before leaving Theodosia the Kniaz
Potemkin sighted. a British collier
which she followed seaward and from
which she took.a quantity of coal.
moc
MR. ROOT’S ACCEPTANCE |
~ * - FORMALLY ‘ANNOUNCED
President Roosevelt Refers to Mr.
Root’s Personal Sacrifice im. As-
buming Office Again,
Oyster Bay, I. I., July 1.—Official
announcement:“fas madé here today
that Elfhu Root has been appointed
secretary of state in the following
statement: - fe
“Elihu Root. has accepted the tender
by the president of
of state. He’
fice in a couple of weeks but it will
fled’ at Mr. Root’s. acceptance and Is
Ing _up the burdens and” duties of a
member of the cabinet:
eloquent tribute to the
Tove today. He fol-
office. The example of
of his
Fg. so gl mora)
its
the pervices' pt men of abili-
a
AN SLLICIY STILL.
s
stable
having
In the
a
pnd: , pailors. of the
Prout have been: tm ned.in the for-‘
is much ‘grati-|
ofmfice.
STATISTICIAN HOLMES
HAS GROWN ¥
The Sccret of the Leak Mna
an Pinain as
Day.
Washington, July 8—The
day says that as a result o
vestigation of the charges
the cotton statistics of the d&
of ‘agricuiture; the removal of
Holmes, associate statistician
suspended some days ago, wi
nounced by Secretary Wilson
connection with the report of |
service agents.
“There is the best of author
Past says, “for the statement
report will show that the cl
Richard Cheatham of Atlant
tary of the Southern Cotton
tion, that figures relative to
ton drop were not only ma:
for the purpose of affecting |
ket at different times, but t
were given out In advance fc
a speculative way by a broke
York, were sustained. The sc
vice agents found that Hol:
grown immensely wealthy 11
years. 3
Jordan Affects Market.
New York, July *.—A state:
tributed; to President Jordan
Southern Cotton assoctation Ir
tlon to abnormally high prices
ton is supposed to have affe
cotton market today and caus.
cline of 16 points, October a
10.67’ at neon; December at 1
January at 10.77. The market
an average of five to seven
down. President Jordan in hi
ment advised the farmers to s
cents,
>.>
BACK FROM PANAMA
Mr. J. C. Keyan of Greenville ane
EK. Russell of Anderson.
Special to The State .
Greenville, July i.-—Mr. J. (
who has been holding a gov:
job jn- Panama, \s at home on
Mr. Keys declares Panama co
are not so bad as painted by ne
correspondents. He has had a
yellow fever in light form, a
holds a certificate of immuni:
the Panama sanitary officer.
Am Anderson Bey.
Spectat to The State.
Anderson, July 7.—Mr. Wil!
Russell, who Yeft his Nome in 1
about two months 1go to accep!
tion in the canal service on tl
mus of Panama, bas just re
from «#' stack of yellow fever.
stricke "with the terrible dines
ing th: latter part of last mor
has entirely recovered from
fects. Mr. J. €. Keys of Gr
also suffered an attack, khd on
covery reatgned from the ser
accept a position in Furman
sity. :
Mr G. W. Chambers of Pets
Florida, has been «lected to the
of teacher of Engiish fn. th:
school department of the city
He succeeds Miss Iaanbel Wick:
resigned to accept « position
schools of Tampa. Florida.
nr
ROOT MAY DIG CANAL.
Centre! of Isthmus May be Gi
State D
epartment. |
Oyster, Bay, L. 1, July 7.—It
er,
> JB
ye
re
ae tal De ae |
Page 12 ™@ Tuesday, May 19, 1992 ™ The Brownsvill
Stay denied
From staff and wire reports
Lawyers for condemned mur-
derer Jesus Romero of San Benito
on Monday lost one of three ap-
to halt his scheduled execu-
tion Wednesday for the 1984 rape-
slaying of a 15-year-old girl. -
- State District Judge Darrell Hes-
ter denied the motion to stay Rom-
ero’s execution and sent his order to
the Court of Criminal Appeals and
to Romero’s attorneys. ;
Romero, 27, faces lethal injec-
tion before dawn Wednesday for ~
the fatal stabbing and beating of
Olga Perales, also of San Benito,
on Dec. 23, 1984.
He also has appeals pending
with the Court of Criminal Ap-
peals and the U.S. Supreme
Court.
‘One of Romero’s co-defendants,
Davis Lozada, also received a
death sentence and is on death
row. .
Jose Cardenas received a life.
sentence. Rafael Leyva Jr. re-
ceived 20 years for sexual assault.
Leyva was the state’s principal
witness in the Brownsville trial.
‘According to testimony before
Hester, Romero, Losada, Leyva
and Cardenas offered Perales a
ride home from a party, then
forced her to go with them to a
secluded area near San Benito.
After being sexually assaulted,
she was hit repeatedly on the
head with a pipe, which the path-
ologist’s report said was likely the
cause of her death. She then was
stabbed.
A jury took just seven minutes
to return a death penalty for
Romero, a migrant worker.
Romero was seen giggling at
his trial as witnesses recounted
the teen-ager’s killing.
At the time of his arrest, he had
been free on bond for three weeks
after serving only a few months of
a 10-year sentence for aggravated
sexual assault on the daughter of
a San Benito police officer.
Attorney Elizabeth Cohen, of
the Austin-based Texas Resource
Center, which arranges legal help
for death row inmates, said Mon-
day she was seeking clemency
from the Board of Pardons and
Parole and from Gov. Ann Rich-
ards.
| “Jt turns out that Romero was
‘mentally ill and brain-damaged at
the time of the crime,” Cohen
said. ‘I have extensive documen-
tation.” .
In her court motions, the attor-
ney contends Romero had been
committed twice to state mental
hospitals and said she has state-
ments from two court-appointed
state psychiatrists who both say it
was likely Romero was temporar-
ily insane at the time of the
crime.
‘None of this ever was
presented in front of a jury or any
court,” she said. ‘“‘We’re basically
arguing he shouldn’t even have
e Herald (Tx) |
for Romero execution
been tried for capital murder.”
Hester’s denial order included a
statement by Harlingen psychia-
trist Dr. Humberto Diaz that
Romero was competent to stand
trial “and testify at the trial in his
own behalf,” and that “the has
sufficient present ability to con-
sult with his lawyer with a rea-
sonable degree of rational under-
standing and a rational as well as
factual understanding of the pro-
ceedings against him.”
\
after an examination of Romero
by the psychiatrist on June 28,
1985.
The doctor said Romero was
alert, well-oriented and in good
contact with reality.
In the order, Hester wrote,
“There is no credible evidence
that Applicant was insane at the
time of the offense.”
Hester wrote, ‘‘There are no
previously unresolved issues of
fact which are material to the
legality of Applicant’s conviction
and sentence and an evidentiary
hearing is not required. The Ap-
plicant’s allegations do not pro-
vide a basis for relief.” }
The Texas Attorney General’s
office has called Romero’s execu-
tion likely.
Romero would be the seventh
Texas death row inmate to be
executed this year and 49th since
the state resumed capital punish-
ment in 1982.
The 2-page letter by Diaz came —
=
a
HUNTSVILLE, Tex., May 20 (AP) - —
A man convicted of raping and mur-
dering a 15-year-old girl in an assault
by four gang members was executed
by lethal injection early today at the
state prison here.
The man, Jesus Romero, 27 years
old, was the 49th person executed in|’
Texas since 1976, when the Supreme
| Court let states resume capital punish-
‘ment. That total is higher than in any,
other state.
7-Minute Decision
Testimony at his trial in 1985 showed
ithat Mr. Romero and-his three co-
defendants were drinking beer and tak-
ing drugs the night the victim, Olga
Perales, was killed: near San Benito.
4 Texas Executes Man in Murder ofa a| 15- Year- Old
Miss s Perales was Stabhed twice! in Sine
chest and the abdomen, beaten on the
head with a pipe and raped repeatedly.
The jury took just seven minutes to.
decide on the death sentence for Mr.
| Romero, a migrant worker.
Mr. Romero at first told the police
that the girl had willingly left with him
and his three friends after a party.
After his conviction and sentence, he,
blamed others for hatching a plan to
rape her.
A Federal judge on Tuesday’ granted
Mr. Romero a reprieve from execution,
but the United. States Court of Appeals
for the Fifth Circuit, in New Orleans,
quickly overruled him.
_ Mr. Romero’ s lawyers, who contend-
_peals
ed = had devehdtogical problems
and that his trial ‘lawyer had been
incompétent,’also asked Gov. Ann W.
Richards. to halt the execution, but she .
refused. Earlier. Tuesday, a state ap-.
jourt refused to block it.
Twa co-defendants were also con-
victed of capital murder. One was sen-
tenced to death, the other to a life
prison term. Another man received 20
years for sexual assault. The police
said'all three, as well as Mr. Romero,
belonged to a gang known. as La Cliqua.
At the time of his arrest, Mr. Romero
had been free on bond for three weeks
after serving only a few months of a 10-
year sentence for aggravated sexual
assault. j
"THURSDAY, MAY 21, 1992.
4
rc
ow, and Jose Cardenas received
executed
a a oON NR '
In slaying. .
Associated Press
HUNTSVILLE, Texas — A vis-
ibly nervous 27-year-old was put
to death by injection Wednesday.
for raping and killing a teen-age
girl nearly eight:years ago.
Jesus Romero’s demeanor was:
far different from the cocky 19-
year-old who giggled as witnesses
at his 1985 trial recounted the
slaying of 15-year-old Olga Per-
ales. eae ;
Romero had no final statement.
His attorney, Elizabeth Cohen,
entered the death chamber and
said she loved him. Romero, ap-
pearing near tears, stared intent-
ly at her. -
His, attorneys had argued he
had psychological problems and
that his trial lawyer was incom-
petent. The U.S. Supreme Court,
in a 6-3 ruling early Wednesday,
refused to halt the execution.
According to testimony, Rome-
ro and some companions were
drinking and taking drugs the
night Perales was repeatedly
raped, stabbed and beaten near
San Benito in 1984. |
“T think the punishment fits
the crime,” assistant attorney
general Drew Durham said after
watching Romero die.
At the time of his arrest, Rome-
ro, a migrant worker, had been
free on bail after serving part of a
sentence for aggravated sexual
assault on a police officer’s
daughter.
The execution was the seventh
this year in Texas and the 49th
since the state resumed capital
punishment in 1982. Both totals
by far are the highest in the na-
tion.
Two of Romero’s co-defendants
also were convicted of capital
murder. Davi zado is on death
a life term.
ATTY |
at « |
| v)
Thursday, May 21, 1992/Las Vegas Review-Journal/7A (N
| Nation . A-8 Wednesday, May 20, 1992 kk*
\
~ ‘Todat _ | Rapist-killer
— Update, 4/2) | executed in Texas |,
. f ; - = EXAMINER NEWS SERVICES 2 |
Texas inmate z |. 2 .| _HUNTSVIIS, Teses — A I | aa
. Vaden j man who giggled during |e ,
faces execution Q | we U was executed by injection early:|P wy. oo af ene oe 7
ge LE. T a : 3 M Wednesday for raping and murder-' at Appeal Rejected
ape tictummic ag SO zo 3 Ss yg Da aaa cote, a |s — Texan Executed =
be ee ee sae an | = 3s | death after the U.S. Supreme |] e Ya) Huntsville, Texas — A man who
. a a emetic. = Court rejected a late-hour appeal. =| at" — giggled during histrial was execut- -
prot and Murder Of 8 La veers oe — oe He had no final statement. ; -| 2&8 | ed byinjection early today for rap-
gir . a Ss} et ¢ Romero became the 49th person os _ ing and murdering a 15-year-old
* ede me Sat Jesus . ie executed in Texas since the Su- ol & girl. ig ea
pang a a Se erro Oe bs, preme Court in 1976 let states re- "| S° | __ Jesus Romero, 27, went to his
Circuit Court of Appeals in New ee \ om’ sume capital punishment. The to-' ©] = }: death after the US. Supreme re- }
Orleans quickly overruled him. g © i ty Sete a es 4| & fF: jected alatehour appeal: |
Romero’s attorneys were expect- : = é \— Romero's attorneys had argued : He had no final statement. a eres
ed to appeal to the U.S. Supreme & when that he had (deep rae Eee < os Romero became the 49th. per- [|
Court, which generally refuses to and that his lawyer at his rm <=” | — sonexecuted in Texas since the Su- -]| _.,
block executions. ye ™ been incompetent. Earlier Tues- a S. + preme Court in 1976 let states re- .
Romero’s attorneys, who con- En day, a federal judge granted him a = } sume capital punishment. The || °S
tend that he had psychological - Ss reprieve, but a federal appeals =. | total is by far the nation’s highest. | | $
problems and that his defense at- =F court quickly lifted it. ES = | Romero’s attorneys had argued | |-=
torney at trial was incompetent, r— According to testimony, Rome- ay that he had psychological prob- =
also asked Gov. Ann Richards to _ ro and some companions were: lems and that his lawyer at his trial ae
° >; oye e : wy’ n
halt the execution. Associated Press em ¢ drinking beer and taking drugs the 4 pee | was incompetent. -Earlier yester- iF
; Ss night Olga Perales was killed near | ¢ day, a federal judge grantedhima || 72
Sf ee am | anes |:
erales wa » |. court quickly lifted it.
Wednesday pss stabbed twice in the chest and | | See ‘
Svs stomach and beaten in the head
May 20, 1992 with a pipe. |
872 884 FEDERAL REPORTER, 2d SERIES
bers who stated they could not consider
minimum penalty for murder, responded
negatively to question as to whether defen-
dant was as innocent as anyone in court-
room, stated that death penalty would be
more humane punishment than life impris-
onment where defendant did not consider
life of victim, or expressed shock at fact of
crime’s occurrence in venire member’s
hometown. U.S.C.A. Const.Amend. 6.
5. Criminal Law ¢641.13(2)
For purposes of ineffective assistance
of counsel claim, selection of jury is inevita-
bly call upon experience and intuition of
trial lawyer, who must draw upon his own
insights and empathetic abilities. U.S.C.A.
Const.Amend. 6.
6. Criminal Law ¢641.13(6)
Trial counsel was not ineffective for
failing to block receipt of evidence that was
either clearly admissible or duplicative of
evidence that was properly received. U.S.
C.A. Const.Amend. 6.
Robert S. Walt, Asst. Atty. Gen., Jim
Mattox, Atty. Gen., Austin, Tex., for re-
spondent-appellant cross-appellee.
George Scharmen, San Antonio, Tex.
(Court-apoointed), for petitioner-appellee
cross-appellant.
Appeals From the United States District
Court Southern: District of Texas.
Before CLARK, Chief Judge, &
GARWOOD, and HIGGINBOTHAM,:
Circuit Judges.
PATRICK E. HIGGINBOTHAM,
Circuit Judge:
In this death penalty case, the State of
Texas appeals from the grant of Jesus
Romero’s application for writ of habeas
corpus. The United States District Court
for the Southern District of Texas conclud-
ed that Romero’s lawyer so abbreviated the
closing argument and otherwise failed to
offer mitigating circumstances in the sen-
tencing phase of the trial that he failed to
render constitutionally required assistance.
The court ordered the death sentence com-
muted to life, persuaded that the ordered.
relief was within the broad remedial: power!
of a federal court to fashion appropriate:
relief for constitutional violations, ..2;
Texas appeals, contending that couse
was effective and that in any event he) f
district court exceeded its authority in comm
muting the sentence to life. Romero’ ‘de Ay
fends the ordered relief; he also appe
contending that the district court erred’in’
not finding that his lawyer was ineff,
in thirteen other respects. °
We are persuaded that Texas gaye
Romero a fair trial and that the efforts 0
his lawyer met the constitutional standard
of effective counsel. We reverse the gran
of relief and remand with instruction:
enter an order denying Romero’s petiti
for a writ of habeas corpus. We do:no
reach the question of authority of a federal
habeas court to commute a death sentence;
leaving it for a case requiring its reso
tion.
On July 20, 1985, a Texas jury fourid
Jesus Romero guilty of the capital murder
of Olga Lydia Perales during the course‘of
aggravated sexual assault. The jury gave
affirmative answers to the two questio
required by Tex.Code Crim.Proc.Ann. a
37.071 (Vernon Supp.1988), and punishment; ’
was set at death. The judgment and sen-
tence were affirmed on direct appeal...
Romero v. State, 716 S.W.2d 519 (Tex:
Crim.App.1986). The United States Su--
preme Court denied certiorari. Romero v.:
Texas, 479 U.S. 1070, 107 S.Ct. 968, 93°.
L.Ed.2d 1011 (1987). On March 20, 1987,’
six days before his scheduled execution,’
Romero filed an application for writ of:
habeas corpus in the state trial court pur-
suant to Tex.Code Crim.Proc.Ann. art. 11.-:
07 (Vernon Supp.1988). The trial judge:
found no questions of fact and forwarded
the application to the Court of Criminal-
Appeals. That court stayed execution and
remanded the case to the trial court with
instructions to conduct a hearing on the
issue of effective counsel. Ex parte
Romero, No. 16,943-01 (Tex.Crim.App.
March 24, 1971). On May 28, 1987, follow:
oe = |
Ch on a
ROMERO v. LYNAUGH 875
Cite as 884 F.2d 871 (Sth Cir. 1989)
goes over a drainage ditch there by the
overpass that is close to the Valley
Buick Company located just southeast
of San Benito. When we stopped there
Davis gave Rafa some other items and
Rafa threw those out in the drainage
ditch also. ;
Rafa was dropped off first by the
Bertha Cavazos School.
“I have been shown two photos by
Investigator Joe Alvarado of the Dis-
trict Attorney’s Office and I have iden-
tified both pictures as being #1, that
of [deceased], the way we left her that
night there in the bushes. Photo # 2
is the way we left [deceased] after
Rafa and I dragged her into the
bushes. I have initialed, dated, and
placed the time on both photos.”
A search of [Romero’s] residence re-
sulted in the recovery of a man’s “blood-
ed underwear” at the bottom of a gar-
bage bag. Raul Guajardo, a chemist
with the Department of Public Safety,
testified his analysis revealed that hu-
man blood was on the sides of the under-
wear. The findings were consistent with
either Type A or Type AB. Blood sam-
ples from the deceased and [Romero]
were both type A. Blood samples of the
three codefendants showed all of them to
be type O.
As part of his plan to persuade the jury
of Romero’s lesser involvement, Wood at-
tacked the credibility of the state’s witness,
Leyva and argued in closing at the guilt,
phase that Romero’s involvement was more
limited than Leyva had testified. Wood
offered two witnesses, his sister Leticia
Esparza and Alejandro Espinoza, a lab
technician. Wood, consistent with his plan,
attempted by this testimony to offer an
innocent explanation for the shorts with
blood stains of his type, found in a search
of the home following the murder. The
sister testified that Sylvia, one of Romero’s
three other sisters, and one of ten children,
was Mongoloid and lacked full ability to
care for herself; that she had found Syl-
via’s blood stained briefs at home on previ-
ous occasions. The technician testified
that Sylvia’s blood sample tested A-posi-
tive.
At the sentencing phase, convicted of
capital murder, Romero’s difficult situation
became even more grim. The _ state
presented witnesses who testified concern-
ing other assaults of women by Romero.
Marianne Alvarez testified that less than
three weeks before Olga Perales’s murder
Romero, armed with a pistol, attempted to
force her into a stolen car. When she
resisted he beat her in the face with his fist
stopping only when a passing motorist pro-
duced a pistol and fired at a then fleeing
Romero.
The state then produced Norma Charles
who testified that only eight days before
Olga Perales’s murder Romero assaulted
her as she walked home, knocking her to
the ground and hitting her fifteen to twen-
ty times in the face with his fists -and
beating her head on the pavement. He fled
when her boyfriend, Henry Thomas came
upon the scene. Thomas also testified at
the punishment phase, corroborating Nor-
ma Charles’s testimony. Three local police
officers then testified to Romero’s bad rep-
utation, and of Romero and his brothers
fighting with their father. They testified
that Romero’s family was very violent.
Romero did not testify at trial.
Romero’s lawyer had argued extensively
at the guilt phase and offered only the
following in closing at the sentencing
phase:
Defense Counsel: Ladies and Gentlemen,
I appreciate the time you took deliberat-
ing and the thought you put into this.
I’m going to be extremely brief. I have
a reputation for not ‘being brief.
Jesse, stand up. Jesse?
The Defendant: Sir?
Defense Counsel: Stand up.
You are an extremely intelligent jury.
You’ve got that man’s life in your hands.
You can take it or not. That’s all I have
to say.
Il
There were three witnesses at the evi-
dentiary hearing before the state trial
judge on Romero’s state habeas petition.
Two attorneys testified as expert witness-
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ing the ordered hearing, the trial court
filed detailed findings of fact and conclu-
sions of law. These findings by the judge
who presided at Romero’s trial are signifi-
cant and we will return to them. The
Court of Criminal Appeals denied Romero’s
petition for relief without written order.
Ex parte Romero, No. 16,943-01 (Tex.
Crim.App. June 9, 1987) and the trial court
set Romero’s execution for July 22, 1987.
On July 16, 1987, Romero filed a petition
for writ of habeas corpus with the United
States District Court for the Southern Dis-
trict of Texas and on July 17, 1987, that
court granted his unopposed request for
stay of execution. The federal district
court did not conduct an evidentiary hear-
ing, but relied upon the transcript of the
hearing before the state trial judge. It
rejected Romero’s broad gauged attack on
the constitutionality of the Texas death
penalty statutes, and rejected asserted er-
rors in the failure of the trial judge to
instruct the jury, sua sponte, regarding
mitigating factors to be considered at the
sentencing phase, and to define the mean-
ing of the words “deliberately” and “proof
beyond a reasonable doubt.” It then re-
jected thirteen specifications of ineffective
assistance of counsel at trial, concluding
that they failed to “pass the ‘deficiency’
prong of the Strickland analysis.” Rome-
ro and Texas appeal only the rulings on
ineffective assistance. We will first de-
scribe the events at trial and then turn to
the habeas findings of the State trial judge
regarding the performance of Romero's
lawyer. Finally, we will address the dist
trict court’s decision regarding each of the
asserted failures.
II
Jesus Romero’s role in the rape and slay-
ing of Olga Lydia Perales are set out in the
opinion of the Court of Criminal Appeals:
[Romero], along with Jose Cardenas,
Davis Losada and Rafael Leyva were
indicted for the offense of capital murder
of the victim, a fifteen-year-old junior
high student in San Benito. Said offense
was alleged to have occurred on Decem-
ber 23, 1984.
ROMERO v. LYNAUGH
Cite as 884 F.2d 871 (Sth Cir. 1989)
, down....
right hand on her head pushing to her
873
Codefendant Leyva, who was sixteen
years of age at the time, went to his
juvenile probation officer on January 8,
1985 and reported the instant offense.
Texas Ranger Bruce Casteel, District At-
torney Alvarado and an attorney for Ley-
va, Horacio Berrera (who continued to
represent Leyva) were summoned. Ley-
va made a statement at that time about
the offense in which he admitted his
presence at the offense but denied any
other involvement.
At trial Leyva testified on behalf of
the State. The testimony of Leyva at
trial reflected the following. A party,
which was attended by the deceased, was
held at Ray Amaya’s house in San Benito
on the night in question. Cardenas, Lo-
sada and [Romero] approached Leyva in
downtown San Benito in Cardenas’ car
and invited him to go to a party with
them. Prior to arrival at Amaya’s house
they went “cruising” for about an hour
during which time all of them were
drinking beer and smoking marijuana.
Upon arrival at Amaya’s house it was
discovered that the party had broken up
and only Amaya and the deceased were
present. The deceased came out and
“started going to the car slowly ... all
of a sudden Jesse [Romero] pushed the
girl [the deceased] inside the car.”
Cardenas was in the driver’s seat and
[Romero] pushed the deceased into the
passenger side of the front seat. “Jesse
[Romero] was holding the girl’s head
- He was holding it with the
knees ... he was telling her just to keep
quiet.” The testimony of Leyva reflects
that they drove to a place beside the lake
called La Piedra. During that time
[Romero] was holding the deceased’s
head down and telling her to be quiet.
The deceased was asking to “leave her
alone” and “take her home.” Davis Lo-
sada first had sex with the deceased.
Davis put “a knife to her neck ... and
she got on ‘four’ giving Davis a blow job
... the girl was Saying to take her home
and just to leave her alone and Davis
was telling her to shut up and if she
didn’t shut up something was going to
874
happen to her, and the girl was kind of
like weeping ...”
[Romero] “unzipped his pants and got
inside the car while the girl was on
‘four,’ and still gave Davis the blow job,
he got in through the back and started
having sex with her.” After [Romero]
finished, Leyva “started having sex with
her in the back.” The deceased contin-
ued to ask to be taken home and Carde-
nas removed a pipe from the car that
“looked like a baseball bat.” A discus-
sion ensued as to whether the deceased
would tell anyone and the deceased in-
sisted that she would keep quiet and say
nothing. Leyva testified that he told the
others that she would keep quiet and
they kept telling him “That’s no good.
She’s going to say something and we are
going to get in trouble.” Cardenas hand-
ed Leyva the pipe and Leyva hit the girl
on the forehead with the pipe. The de-
ceased did not fall down and [Romero]
grabbed the pipe out of Leyva’s hand
and “started hitting the girl ... he was
hitting her head with both hands on the
pipe.” The deceased fell to the ground
after [Romero] hit her the second time
and after she fell to the ground Romero
hit her “three or four or five times at the
most.” The girl stopped making noise
after [Romero] “finished hitting her.”
Someone else hit her “three or four
times.” Leyva then observed Cardenas
hitting the girl “with both hands on the
pipe.” “Jesse [Romero] was giggling
while he was hitting the girl.” Losada
told Leyva to “grab the girl.” Losada
and [Romero] “both came at me with
knives.” [Romero] then observed ‘the
girl move and Losada said “Just to make
sure she’s dead, I’ll stab her.” Losada
again told Leyva to drag the girl into the
bushes and after dragging her “half-
way,” Davis told [Romero] “to give me a
hand” and “my [sic] and Jesse [Romero]
dragged the girl way back in the
bushes.” (Romero] with a knife in his
hand told Leyva “Stab her or I'll stab
you.” Leyva stabbed the girl “from the
waist to her chest” and gave the knife
back to [Romero]. Leyva and his three
companions returned to the car and they
884 FEDERAL REPORTER, 2d SERIES
left the scene and Losada said, “We all
did it, you know. Everybody had a part
in it.” Losada threw the knife “into
some canal.” [Romero] then handed his
knife to Losada so he could throw it out,
Cardenas stopped on a bridge and Losa-
da threw the girl’s clothes out. Leyva
was instructed by Losada to not tel] any-
one that they were together. The re-
maining three were going to say “all we
know is that we dropped the girl off at -
the Azteca.” Losada warned Leyva
“Just keep your mouth shut and if you
don’t the same thing is going to happen *
to you.”
[Romero] made a written confession,
the following portions of which were ad-
mitted into evidence. ;
Omitting the warning and formal
parts, the confession recites: oe
The party started to break up
around 11:00 or 11:30 p.m. We left in '
Joe’s [Cardenas] car. Joe was driving.
Davis [Losada] and Rafa [Leyva] were
in the back seat. We drove out to
what is known as La Piedra and drove
down a narrow road from a bigger
road for approximately one city block
in distance. Davis, with the knife in
one hand, forced [deceased] to make
out with him, Rafa made out with her,
then Joe made out with her. Davis got
a pipe and started hitting [deceased]
about the head. Rafa hit her also.
Joe did hit her. Afterwards, [de-
ceased] was laying there and Davis
Stabbed her. After Davis stabbed her
Rafa got a hold of one leg and I got a
hold of the other leg and we pulled her
into the bushes. I don’t know what
happened to the pipe and didn’t see it
anymore when we left the area.
When we left the area Joe was driv-
ing. Rafa and I were in the back seat,
and Davis was in the front passenger
side. As we traveled down a dirt road,
Davis got rid of the knife that was
used to stab [deceased] and also got
rid of another knife. He did this by
throwing the knives out the window.
We then traveled some more and we
then stopped on a small bridge that
Lott —
surprised
onlookers -
ome at trial execs
age over legal system '
—(S-. Saif
ay Selwyn Crawford GBs
iff Writer of The Dallas Morning News 2 oe
.
AMARILLO — In the end, there
seemed to be no way to predict the
-actions of convicted capital mur:
-derer George DouglasLott.
In July, armed with a Glock 9mm
handgun and hundreds of rounds:
of ammunition, Mr. Lott opened fire
inside a Tarrant County Court..
house, killing prosecutor Chris’
Marshall and defense lawyer John
_.Edwards. Three others, including
two appeals court justices, were |
wounded. . - |
Mr. Lott, 45, took responsibility
for the’shootings in a taped inter- —
view at WFAA-TV (Channel.8), say.
ing he did it to bring attention: to
what he considered corruption: ‘in
the criminal justice system. § <<:
But during his five-day trial Tast
week in Amarillo, in which ‘He
represented himself, Mr. Lott only
occasionally alluded to his percep-
tions of unfairness in the legal sys-
tem. That strategy — if that is what
it was — surprised prosecutors and
others who had closely followed the
case.
“You know, I thought represent
ing himself, at some point the guy
would use the trial as a forum to
spew out all his criticisms of the
criminal. justice.system,” said lead ;
prosecutor Alan Levy. “But he’
didn’t do that. I was surprised.”
Mr. Lott, a nonpracticing lawyer,
never called any witnesses to sup--
port possible. reasons for his.
avowed distrust of lawyers and:
judges. Mr. Levy even acknowl-
edged that prosecutors did not use
Mr. Lott’s taped confession at Chan-'
nel 8 because the confession, with |
Mr. Lott’s statements about unfair-:
ness in the justice system, was more
helpful to the defense than the
State.
Even. during closing arguments |
during the guilt or innocence and
punishment phases of his trial,
Please see LOTT’S on Page 23A.-
°
| — ' o
‘. i
‘
ie Wklas
2 -~15 73
fhornias Vews
Lott’s low-key
surprised trial observers
| Continued from Page 21A.
' when he could have talked for a to-
tal of one hour about almost any-
| thing, Mr. Lott did not blast the le-
| gal system.
“I think Mr. Loti’s defense was
_ about as valid as his actions on July
1st,” Mr. Levy said moments after a
| Potter County jury decided that Mr.
Lott should receive the death pen-
| alty.
State District Judge Sharen Wil-
son refused to comment directly on
| Mr. Lott’s competence in represent-
' ing himself, but she made it clear
_ that his defense strategy surprised
_her.,
oO _was expecting something
more,” J udge Wilson said. “But this
wasan opportunity for him to try to
| show he’s a good lawyer.”
Mr. Lott surprised the judge on
‘another matter as well — court-
room security. Because Mr. Lott had
beefi prone to irreievant, and some-
timés obscene, outbursts in the
courtroom during pretrial hearings
in Fort Worth and Amarillo, Judge
Wilson ran a tightly secured court-
room during the trial.
‘All spectators, including rela-
tives of the victims, had to sign in
every time they entered the court-
room. They also had to walk
through metal detectors. All purses
| and briefcases were searched. In ad-
| dition to the three bailiffs assigned
to guard Mr. Lott in the courtroom,
Judge Wilson assigned an undis-
defense
closed number of armed under-
cover officers seated in the audi-
ence.
“Security-wise, we were pre-
pared for the worst,” Judge Wilson
said after the trial. “But after voir
dire (jury selection), I believed we
would get through the trial with
him acting like a lawyer.”
Mr. Lott was nearly a model law-
yer and defendant during the trial.
He never spoke out of turn, he was
respectful of the judge and most
court officials, and the guards said
he never gave them trouble.
“He followed all the rules,”
Judge Wilson said. “We were more
concerned about who might come
in from the outside and try some-
thing rather than what Mr. Lott
might do anyway.”
Despite Mr. Lott’s rather calm
demeanor during the trial, there
was one tense moment in the court-
room. Mr. Lott was granted permis-
sion to inspect, while he cross-exa-
mined one witness, the Glock 9mm
he used in the shooting spree. After
holding the weapon, which had
been rendered inoperable for the
trial, for about a minute, some in
the courtroom uttered a noticeable
sigh of relief when he simply
handed it back to the bailiff.
Because he received the death
penalty, Mr. Lott’s case will auto-
matically be appealed to-the Texas
Court of Criminal Appeals. It’s at
this point that his inexperience in
George Douglas Lott
courtroom procedures will proba-
bly hurt him most.
Legal appeals are based on objec-
tions raised during the course of
the trial. Mr. Lott objected only
twice during the trial, and both of
those objections came during the
punishment phase. One of those, in
which he objected to the testimony
of a psychologist who talked to him
after his arrest, became.a moot is-
sue when prosecutors decided not
to use the witness.
Mr. Lott never raised objections
about the court’s charge to the jury
on guilt or innocence and punish-
ment, an almost standard action
taken by the defense in capital mur-
der trials.
“Things will go pretty quick
from here,” Mr. Levy said. ‘““You’ve
got to raise the issues (objections)
when they happen. You can’t wait.”
Lott loses
ruling on
support
Court slaying suspect
told to pay son $5,000 -
By Selwyn Crawford
Fort Worth Ruresu of The Dallas Morning News
FORT WORTH — A state district
judge ‘Tuesday ordered George
Douglas Lott to pay more than
$5,000 in back child support and in-
terest for his S-year-old son.
However, Judge Bill Burdock de-
nied requests by Mr. Lott's ex-wife,
Margo Livesay, to increase the
monthly $1,000 child-support ‘pay-.
ments and to receive an advance,
lump sum payment of all future sup-
port.
Mr. Lott, 48, is accused of the fa-
tal July 1 shootings of two lawyers
in a Tarrant County courtroom. His
capital murder trial is set for Janu-
ary. If convicted, he could be sen-
tenced to death.
Mr. Lott said during a television
interview with WFAA-TV (Channel
8) that he fatally shot Tarrant
County Assistant District Attorney
Chris Marshall and Dallas lawyer
John Edwards. He said he was upset ‘-
about the handling of his divorce
case and allegations by Ms. Livesay
that he sexually abused their son,
Ms. Livesay, who lives in Ilinols,
had requested that Mr. Lott be held
in contempt of court for failing to
pay his cuurt-ordercd support pay-
ments since his July arrest.
She also. took the unusual step of
asking for all future support pay:
ments on the grounds that Mr. Lott
would not be able to make the pay-
ments if he is convicted and ulti-
mately executed.
Evidence in the case showed
that Mr. lott has assets of about
$400,000 jn a money market account.
Several munths ago, another state
district judge froze those ‘assets —
except for child-support payments
— pending the outcome of an unre-
lated civil case against Mr. Lott.
Despite those funds, Judge Bur-
dock ruled that Mr. Lott's “change
of circumstances. was not. sulfi-
cient” to Warrant an inercase in the
monthly support payments.
He also ruled that the request for
future support payments was “pre-
mature” because it assumed that
Mr. Lott would be found guilty in
his criminal proceedings.
The judge did, however, award
Ms. Livesny slightly more than
$15,000 to cover medical and psy-
chological treatment for herself
and her son, attorney's fees and
George Lott
other costs.
Mr. Lott, who js acting as his own
attorney, was not allowed to speak
to the news media after the brief
hearing. :
Ms. Livesay déf not attend the
proceedings. Her attorney, Brian
Webb of Dallas, said that he was sat-
isfied with Judge Burdock’s ruling.
“What the court said is we may
be premature in asking for future
support payments, and I don’t disa-
gree with that," Mr. Webb said. “We
can't assume that Mr, Lott will be
executed or that he will be in jail
forever — at least as a legal matter
we can't assume that.”
Mr. Webb said that if Mr. Lott
fails to resume making the support
payments, he will ack the judge to
force Mr, Lott todo so,
Alaa.
DAWAS
MORNING MEWS
WED, (28°92,
“morning: “There’s always a disad-
Lott to represent hinnselt ix in court
By Dan Malone
Fort Worth Bureau of The Dallas Morning News °
FORT WORTH — The strange
and often violent one-man war of
George Douglas Lott with the Texas
judicial system took ‘another unex-
pected turn Thursday when he ob-
tained permission to represent him-
self on a capital murder charge.
“It’s a personal choice,” Mr. Lott
said during a hearing Thursday
vantage of representing yourself.
There are trade-offs with every-
thing.” .
State District Judge Sharen Wil-
son summoned Mr. Lott from the
Tarrant County Jail early Thursday
for the hearing after learning that
he wanted to represent himself. She
repeatedly questioned Mr. Lott
about the consequences of self-rep-
resentation in a murder trial that
could result in the death penalty.
Mr. Lott, a 1981 graduate of the
University of Texas at Austin law
school, said he understood the risks
involved. He was charged Thursday
with capital murder, assault on
court personnel and a weapons
charge.
The man accused of killing two
and wounding three others during
a shooting spree at the 2nd Court of
Appeals testified that he was finan-
cially able to hire an attorney but
wanted to represent himself in-
stead. He is the heir of an inheri-
tance once valued at $500,000.
Andrew Davis, a spokesman for
the State Bar of Texas, said Mr. Lott
had a constitutional right to act as
his own lawyer.
“Anyone, whether an attorney or
not an attorney, has a right to repre-
: Self-representation in capital. .
murder cases is not unusual,
E but seldom. successfu For”
| SELF-REPRESENTATION —
Al 985 i in Huntsville.”
2 Biecited ey, injection i in March
‘(fepresentation has also oe
ed to appeals, ‘both s successful
2 ee the death
arson ki ller. William
sent himself even though he may
not be qualified,” he said.
But two high-profile defense law-
yers in the area who have repre-
sented clients in capital murder
cases questioned the wisdom of Mr.
Lott’s decision.
“He who represents himself has
a fool for a lawyer and a jackass for
an attorney,” Dallas lawyer Peter
Lesser said. “To represent yourself
in a capital murder case is ludi-
crous.’
Fort Worth lawyer Jack Strick-
land expressed similar sentiments.
“It’s kind of like the guy who
kills his parents then tries to ask
for mercy because he’s an orphan,”
he said.
The two lawyers predicted that
the case would present logistics
problems for Mr. Lott.
“The degree of work required in
The neo Morning News
a capital murder case is massive,”
.Mr. Lesser said, noting that Mr. Lott
would need access to documents,
witnesses, law books and other ma-
terial. “He can’t go walking around
the courthouse.”
During Thursday morning's
sparsely attended hearing, Mr. Lott
testified that he had practiced law
for “five or six” years, primarily in
Austin, after graduating from law
school. He said he handled a few di-
vorce and misdemeanor cases and
“wrote a few wills” before allowing
_ his law license to lapse in 1988.
“I am not as totally convinced of
my incompetence as you are, but I
realize if I miss an objection and
waive it, it’s too bad,” he told Judge
Wilson. “Therefore I could get con-
victed on the basis of evidence
that’s incompetent — yes.”
Staff writer Jerrold J. Ladd con-
tributed to this report.
‘LOTT, George
STALEYK Steven K.
———
Court upholds two Tarrant ‘County death sentences
=" . —— A ea AN Ra TOES eae
w:FORT WORTH — Death row inmate George Lott's capital murder |
_... conviction for a-1992 shooting rampage (na Fort Worth courtroom was -
~ upheld Wednesday by the Texas Court of Gacnunal Appeals ip Austin. The
court: also upheld the conviction of Steven Kenneth
sentenced to die for the October 1989 murder of a Steak and Ale |
restaurant manager In Tarrant County, Mr. Lott was sentenced for the —
July 1, 1992, killings of lawyers Chris Marshall, 41, and John Edwards, 33,
in the state appeals court In Fort Worth. __ ,
—_. — oe 0 ee
Staley, who was .
“
A eee
MORNING NEWS, Dallas, Texas, April 28, 1994
ee
George Lott ... is to be exe
cuted Tuesday for a July 1992
courtroom rampage in Fort
Worth that killed two men.
Lott set to die Tuesday
for courthouse deaths
By Selwyn Crawford
Fort Worth Bureau of The Dallas Morning News
FORT WORTH — George Douglas Lott
is scheduled to die by injection early
Tuesday morning, slightly more than 1%
years after he was convicted of capital
murder in a shooting rampage at the Tar-
rant County Courthouse.
Barring an unexpected stay, the execu-
tion of Mr. Lott will be the quickest of a
Texas inmate since the death penalty was
reinstated in 1976 and one of the fastest
nationwide.
Two lawyers died and three others
were wounded in the shootings in July
1992. Mr. Lott, 47, was convicted Feb. 12,
1993, in Amarillo and sentenced the fol-
lowing day.
The Arlington man has refused to ap-
peal his death sentence. The Austin-based
Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Associa-
tion, however, asked the Texas Court of
Criminal Appeals on Thursday to review
whether Mr. Lott, a University of Texas
law school graduate, was competent to
represenf-himself.
According to the petition, the group
contends that Mr. Lott does not under-
Stand the death penalty.
With no decision yet from the court on
Please see LOTT on Page 32A.
/) ToRNIA )
RL des
1 /1é
32 A The Dallas Morning Res
Friday, September 16, 1994 H
Loit execution set Tuesday in courthouse slayings
Continued from Page 27A.
the petition, state prison
officiais said they are proceeding as
scheduled for the execution.
- “We've had no paperwork or any-
thing to tell us that it was not going
to happen,” said Charies Brown, a
spokesman for the Texas Depart-
ment of Corrections. “We're prepar-
ing for it to happen Tuesday.” ~
To date, Richard Andrade of Nue-
ces County spent the shortest time
on Texas’ death row. He was there
34 months, from conviction until
his execution Dec. 18, 1986,
Utah's Gary Gilmore, who was
executed in 1977, three months af-
ter his conviction, is the shortest
nationwide, © Os
| Richard Dieter, executive direc-
tor of the Death Penalty Informa
tion Center in Washington, said
that from 1976 until the end of 1992,
the average time between corvic-
tion and execution was about 7% :
years,
Mr. Dieter said that in cases like
that of Mr. Lott, who has refused to
appeal his conviction, the execu-
tion takes place faster. .
“The only thing that keeps a.per-
son from being executed the mo-~
ment the sentence is handed down
is the appeals,” Mr. Dieter said.
About 10 a.m. July 1, 1992, a neat.
ly dressed Mr. Lott walked into the
fourth-floor courtroom of the 2nd
Court of Appeals in Fort Worth. Af-
ter sitting for a few minutes, he .
pulled a 9mm semiautomatic weap-
on from his briefcase and began
firing. ©
A bullet instantly killed Chris
Marshall, 41, a Tarrant County assis-
tant district attorney observing a
case there. Wounded were 2nd
Court of Appeals judges John Hill
and Clyde Ashworth, along with a
Tarrant County assistant district at-
torney, Steve Conder.
John Edwards, a 33-year-old Dal-
las attorney who was preparing to
~argue a case later, attempted to flee
the courtroom for help. The gun-
man reloaded and then chased the
helpless Mr. Edwards into a stair-
well, killing him in a hail of bullets.
The gunman then calmly walked
out of the courthouse. ;
Saying he had sinned and done a
“horrible, horrible thing,” Mr. Lott
surrendered at the Dallas studios of
WFAA-TV (Channel 8). ‘
Those who were associated with
Mr. Lott, including his father, Doug-
las Lott, said that he was bitter at
the judicial system because it had .
ruled against him in a divorce and
custody suit. He saw the court Sys-
tem as being stacked against him,
something he hinted at when he _
spoke to Channel 8 anchor Tracy
Rowlett the day of the killings.
“You have to do a very, very
horrible thing to catch people's at-
tention,” Mr. Lott said then. “No
body has control over the judicial
system. There are checks and bal-
ances for everybody but the judicial
system.”
Mr. Lott's animosity toward that
system spilled over into his capital
murder case. He Steadfastly refused |
to allow a practicing attorney to
represent him or evez help with his
case, despite repeated attempts by
State District Judge Sharen Wilson
to appoint one for hi:n.
At court appearances both be
fore and during his trial, Mr. Lott
often made sarcastic remarks to the
judge and prosecutors.
Unlike almost every other death
penalty inmate, he has refused any
attempts to appeal his case or get
any Stays of execution.
“The time thing doesn’t really
concern me,” Mr. Conder, who was
slightly wounded in the attack, said
Thursday. “The judge has bent over
backwards to give him the opportu-
nity to file anything he needs to
file.
“To me, J think it's very justified,
but it’s a kind of sad ending to ev-
erything.”
Most of the other major partici-
pants in the case. have either re-
fused to comment about Mr. Lott's
situation or had little to say. Some
say the crime was based on Mr.
Lott's attempts to draw attention to
himself, and they do not wish —
even as his execution date ap-
proaches — to be a part of that.
Judge Wilson declined to discuss
the case because she said Mr. Lott,
47, still has time for an appeal. Mar-
tha Edwards and Betty Marshall,
the widows of the slain lawyers,
also wouldn't talk.
Judge Hill, who was wounded in
the shoulder, paused for several
seconds before offering a brief com-
ment, and even that did not directly
concern Mr. Lott.
“I miss Chris Marshall, and I
have sympathy for his family and
that of John Edwards,” Judge Hill
said. “But it’s had no real effect on
me. It's just something that hap
pened, and it's in the past.”
Alan Levy, the lead prosecutor in
Mr. Lott's trial, said that he hasn't
given the execution much thought
because it was “a clear-cut case.”
“I assume he will be executed
eventually, and I've always thought
that,” Mr. Levy said. “I think these
sentences ought to be carried out.”
Even though Mr. Marshall was a
well-known and respected col-
league of his, Mr. Levy said that Mr.
Lott's death would bring no more
Sense of satisfaction to the Tarrant
County district attorney’s office
than that of any other convicted
killer. . :
“The whole set of circumstances
was not satisfying to us,” Mr. Levy
said. “The only thing that could
have been satisfying is if it hadn't
happened at all.”
Le tr (Tex)
é
A6 The Arizona Republic |
r
Phoenix AZ
Thursday, July 2, 1992
Court gunman
kills 2 lawyers,
wounds 2 judges |
The Associated Press
FORT WORTH — A man upset
about his divorce four years ago
opened fire in a courtroom Wednes-
day, killing two attorneys and seri-
ously wounding two appellate judges, —
authorities said.
The gunman then fled the Tarrant
County Courthouse, and a_ huge
manhunt ensued. A man identifying
himself as George Lott, 45, turned
himself in later at Dallas television
station WFAA and was arrested.
He said anger about a divorce case
four years ago drove him to his
courthouse rampage.
“It is a horrible, horrible thing I
did today. I sinned. I am certainly
wrong,” Lott said on tape.
He said the shooting was the only
way he could draw attention to his
son.
“So you have to do a horrible,
horrible thing to catch people’s
attention,” he said.
At the TV station, Lott showed
workers a handgun hidden under his
shirt and said it was the weapon used
in the shootings.
It was the latest in a series of
violent incidents in courthouses
around the country this year and the
second fatal shooting in the Tarrant
County building in three years. It
prompted calls for stepped-up security
at courthouses.
Killed were Chris Marshall, 41,
assistant county attorney; and John
Edwards, 32, a Dallas attorney.
Judges John Hill, 45, and Clyde
Ashworth, 69, were hospitalized in
serious condition.
An assistant prosecutor, Steve Con-
dor, suffered a gunshot abrasion to his
right shoulder. He was treated at a
hospital and released.
A third judge, David Farris, dived
under the bench and escaped injury,
said Brent Keis, a county judge.
The shooting erupted about 10 a.m.
and was heard throughout the court-
house. Employees and visitors imme-
diately began scattering and seeking
shelter, witnesses said.
The gunman “was simply seated in
the gallery. He stood up without any
word and began shooting,” police
spokesman Ralph Swearingin said.
Keis said he talked to Dan
Hollyfield, an attorney arguing a case
when the shooting began, who said
the gunman first shot prosecutor
Marshall, “then went up to the bench
and then started shooting.”
There was no apparent connection
between the shooting and the case
being argued, Keis said.
had custody cave tects! , a
FORT WORTH — Attorney George Lott lst ‘custody of of
is son in a bitter divorce case more than two years ago, and
@has since lived quietly in an apartment
papers and documents from the case.”
e
ygZunman who committed a shooting rampage W
s{farrant re courtroom. Two people were ki
filled with court
% But much remains a mystery about the man who surren-
$lered to a Dallas television station, saying he was the
yina
and three
eapons are prohibited. Bail was set at $1,325, 000.
|
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Lawyer gets death sentence for
*\ AMARILLO (AP) — A lawyer was
Sentenced to death Saturday for kill-
ing two attorneys during a rampage -
atid he Rehr courtroom last
;: er that left three other
“wounded. ae peopl
(: A Potter County jury took about an
jhour Saturday to sentence George
‘Lott, 45, to death by lethal injection.
‘He was convicted of capital murder
-\ Son Friday.
ir ; ’
+: Lott stepped back slightly when
;btate District Judge Sharen Wilson
ae ‘read the verdict. He made no com-
“.°.).. Ment -but asked.that.-the jurors be--.
“polled individually.
nesses, ‘including five people who
testified Friday about Lott’s charac-
: ter. On Saturday, they described Lott
- as a belligerent and fight-provoking
_ lan.
“Tam 2,000 percent sure that Mr.
“. + Lott is a danger,” said Fort Worth
‘: Judge Maryellen Hicks, who pre-
. sided over Lott’s child-custody battle
_ in January 1990,
Lott.could have been sentenced to
- life in prison for killing the lawyers
July 1 at the Tarrant County Court-
house. Three other men — including
two judges — were wounded when
the gunman began firing inside the
“Make your decision so that you
He noted the verdict on his yellow
note pad as Judge Wilson read it.
_ Lott, who confessed in a television
interview, saying he wanted to draw
attention to wrongs allegedly done to
him by the legal system during his
divorce and in a child-molesting °
charge brought against him by his
ex-wife, represented him i
rahe p self during
In a one-minute closing argument
Lott braced his arm on a Sodigmn
Stared at the jury panel, the i
and evenly tie rol thee
ot REE TH
Sunday, Feb. 14, 1993
2nd Court of Appeals.
Lott surrendered hours later at
WFAA-TV studios in Dallas. He was
taped admitting that he committed
the crime because he was angry at
the way the appeals court had han-
dled his divorce and child-custedy
case. —
Prosecutors, who are seeking the
death penalty, say the shooting was
Lott’s premeditated way of gaining
revenge.
He had pleaded innocent.
The trial started Tuesday with
graphic descriptions from people in-
side the courtroom when the shoot-
advised jurors of their
Houston Chronicle
can live easy with yourself and God,” 7
he said.
Prosecutor Alan Levy followed
Lott’s statement with “i impas-
sioned plea to give Lott “a date with
the executioner because he deserves
it. He’s earned it.”
Levy said Lott was a predator who
planned for months to ambush a
courtroom and kill people he didn’t
even know.
“Lott radiates hate like a stove :
radiates heat,” he said.
_. Lott. summoned. no :.witnesses.on.:. <i °
his own. behalf Saturday... OR ee
Prosecutors called seven wit-
“9D
mn?
kkk
=
+
;
ing broke out, Witnesses told the-
terror of hiding under benches and
hearing the methodical shots nearby.>
Judge Clyde Ashworth, who was”
hit by two bullets, was one of seven.
witnesses. who identified Lott as th
shooter. :
Prosecutor Chris Marshall, 41, was:
shot in the face and died in the,
courtroom. Attorney John Edwards,
33, was shot six times while fleeing
for help. He died in a stairwell.
Many of the victims’ relatives,
wore black Saturday. Edwards’.
widow, Martha, thanked jurors for,
their work on the case. ys
Bud Kennedy
, eens
= ass » Meee Phage?
> 4
fxecuuions
} @
are fioirible,
out make a pomt
“It’s a hormble thing that l have
done today.”
George Lott saiditall.
Ithas been 812 days sincea
rage-prone Arlington attorney
drew a9 mm pistol from his
briefcase and shot 1wo men dead
beneath the old Tarrant County
Courthouse dome.
Ifsociety carried out his death
sentence early this morming; It’s a
hormbie thing that we have done
today.
Butin the names ofJohn
Edwards and Chas Marshall, we
had to do it.
Working as hisownattomey,
Lott defended himselfto the death.
Andin record time.
Gov. Ann Richards has signed
off on 44 executions, about one per
month. But none rushed to the
prison gumey as quickly as Lott, a
son of nnvilege from Fort Worth’s
Tanglewood neighborhood.
Tr he way this looks, I think
some would call it mere of
a ‘state-assisted suicide,’ ” said
James W. Marquart of Huntsville,
co-author of anew book on Texas
capita! punishment.
“The wheels of justice move
very quickly when everybody
wants them to.”
The Texas Criminal Defense
Lawyers Association tned to
Mervene for Lott. But the
evidence would have been stacked
against any defense, beginning
with Lott’s motive (he was mad
over losing custody of hissonina
lower court) and continuing
through his TV confession.
Lott “showed alot of remorse,”
Marquart said.
For Wenh Star-Teiegi =e ' esd
Not appealing “is just his way of
atoning forit,” hesaid.
The speed of the case made one
Fort Worth victims’ rights
advocate happy — not only for the
victims’ families, but also for Lott.
“I’m never glad to sce someone
die, but it is good to see a case that
does not take 20 years,” Hazel
Korol said, from the regional office
of the National Victim Center.
“We must use the death penalty
with consideration — for the
yictims, for the taxpayers — and
for the person who sits on Death
Row.”
nother 28 inmates from
Tarrant County wali on
Death Row. Since the U.S.
Supreme Court gave back ihe
‘death penalty in 1977, county
juries have sent three mento die:
Charlie Brooks, Charies Milton
and Henry Porter.
‘But those cases are very
different,’ Marquart said. “This
one is extremely peculiar.”
Butno matter how peculiar
Lott’s case may be, itis no different
to the Edwardses and Marshails.
They lost husbands and fathers.
In Lott’s confession, he said:
“You have to doa very hormble,
hormible thing to catch people's
attention.”
Thatis why weenforce tne death
penalty.
Bud Kennedy’s column appears
Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturciays,
and in Star Time on Fridays. Phcne
(817) 390-7538, fax 390-7789, StarText
[ID 120087.
stay, Sentemder %), pao
aoe OU Ele
Cott (Tex)
THE NATIONAL LAW JOURNAL
Monday, October 3, 1994
TEXAS
Ex-Lawyer Executed
HUNTSVILLE—A former lawyer who refused to appeal
his death sentence was executed by injection early Sept.
20, only 18 months after he was convicted of killing two
prosecutors during a courthouse shooting rampage.
George Lott, who represented himself to the end,
spurned offers of assistance and did nothing to halt his
execution, the second in Texas in a week. It was the
speediest execution in Texas since it resumed capital
punishment in 1982. The average time between convic-
tion and execution in Texas is 8 1/2 years. Mr. Lott stood
up in a Tarrant County Courthouse courtroom in Fort
Worth on July 1, 1992, and fired a 9 mm handgun at
least 17 times. Two prosecutors were killed and three
people were wounded, including two judges.
NAME: George Douglas Lott D.R.# 999058
DOB: 06/07/47 RECEIVED: 03/18/93 AGE: 45 (WHEN REC'D)
COUNTY: Potter (COV from Tarrant) DATE OF OFFENSE: 07/01/92 an
AGE AT TIME F OFFENSE: 45 RACE: White HEIGHT: ~5'4" =
WEIGHT: 144 “====EYES: green “os: HATIR:_ brown. -
NATIVE COUNTY: Okmulgee STATE: "Oklahoma
PRIOR OCCUPATION: computer programmer _. EDUCATION LEVEL: 16 yrs./4yrs. college
PRIOR PRISON Tr None
oc 8 Me eh Myre, ate te Me on *. “2. . ee . Jae ee Pat oon ‘ a. 3 Bot ht eta, - . ot, . ovis
aa =, te Ss a 00K, ~~ tows eee ee te . mas wv oe : 4s su sae ° .
SUMMARY : Convicted in the “yamdom shooting of Teyeatnold. ‘Clyde Christopher ‘Macatall. a
assistant district attorney, inside the old Tarrant County Court House at 100 W.
Weatherford in Fort Worth. Lott entered a 4th floor court room carrying a 9mm automatic
handgun shortly before 10 a.m. and opened fire. Marshall died at the scene from multiple
gun shot wounds. Another man, John Edwards, was also killed, and Judge John Hill was
wounded. Lott fled from the court house to the studios of WFAA-TV in Dallas, where he
confessed to the crime. Police arrested him there while he was being interviewed by a
reporter.
CO-—DEFENDANTS: None
RACE OF VICTIM(S): White male
| (_o ++ (Tex \
|
Texas Executes Former Lawyer
Who Killed Two in Courtroom
HUNTSVILLE, Tex., Sept. 20 (AP)
— A former lawyer who refused to
appeal his death sentence was exe-
cuted by injection early today, 18
months after he was convicted of
killing two prosecutors in a court-
house shooting rampage.
The lawyer, George Lott, who rep-
resented himself to the end, spurned
offers of assistance and did nothing
to halt his execution, the second in
- Texas in a week.
Mr. Lott, 47, made no final state-
ment and was pronounced dead at
12:19 A.M.
_ It was the speediest execution in
Texas since the state resumed capi-
tal punishment in 1982. The average
time between conviction and execu-
tion in Texas is eight and a half
years.
The quickest execution since the
Supreme Court ruled in 1976 that
executions could resume was that of
Gary Gilmore, who was executed by
Utah in 1977, three months after his
conviction. Mr. Gilmore waived all
his appeals. .
Mr. Lott stood up in a Tarrant
County Courthouse courtroom in
Fort Worth on July 1, 1992, and fired
a 9-millimeter Handgun at ledst 17
times. Two prosecutors were killed
and three people, including two
judgés, were wounded.
Mr. Lott fled and surrendered lat-
er at a Dallas television station. He
told the station he wanted to draw
attention to wrongs the legal systern
had inflicted on him in his divorce
and in a child-molesting charge that
his ex-wife had brought against him.
Nie York Jt byes
Associated Press
George Lott
if21/ IF pose oa ®,
Clyde Ashworth, 71, oné of the
judges wounded in the attack, said:
‘I have no sense of satisfaction. It’s
a shame his life has been wasted as ©
well as the lives of those he killed
and those who have been affected by
those deaths.”’
State bar records show that Mr.
Lott became licensed to practice law
in Texas in 1981 but became inactive
in 1988. At the time of the shooting he
was not eligible to practice. Prison
records listed his last occupation as
computer programmer.
~
LUCY, Slave, black, hanged Galveston, Galveston Co., March 5, 1858.
“The Galveston News of Jan. 5, 1858, has the following: ‘On Sunday morning a cold-
blooded murder was committed at the Columbia House in this city, the victim being Mrs. William
Dougherty, a young womanh, 23-years-of-age, the wife of Joseph Dougherty, proprietor of the
hotel, and the murderer, her slave Lucy, a negress the age of 50. Thye servant was bought by Mr.
Dougherty 4 or 5 weeks ago, and since that time has repeatedly run off and secreted herself for
several days together, and while at work has been very impudent towards her master and mistress,
and showed a determination to act as rebellious as possible. A week before the murder she
suddenly disappeared, but was at last found under the house, and when ordered out by her master,
refused to come until he went in after her, when she darted out before him, and catching up a
billet of wood struck at him a severe blow, which he fortunately warded off.
“She attempted to fire the house, and very nearly succeeded in burning it down. It was
impossible to control her while she had the use of her limbs, and she was consequently put out
into the stocks every night during the week. On Sudnay morning, at 10 o’clock, she was at work
in the kitchen with two German girls, preparing dinner, when Mrs. Dougherty entered and sent
one of the girls (Ann Keiss) upstairs to make the beds and the other (Mary Keiss) into the dining
room to attend the baby. As the latter went out, Lucy, the black woman, told her to shut the door
which she did, leaving Mrs. Dougherty and the servant alone. In a few minutes Lucy opened the
door and called Mary back. Shge went, and found Mrs. Dougherty gone. A search was
instituted, and the body of Mrs. Dougherty was found in the cistern. It appears that as soon a
Lucy was left alone with her mistress an altercation arose, the woman seized a hatchet and struck
two or three terrible blows upon the head of Mrs. Dougherty, causing death. She then dragged
the body into the pump-room and thrust it into the cistern. Two cuts were found on the head of
the deceased - one over the left temple and the other on the skull just above the centre of the
forehead and either sufficient to cause death. On one side of the neck was a spsot having the
appearance of a hard pressure of the tumb or fingers, as though she had been choked. Lucy was
arrested and is in jail.”-7imes, New York, NY, 1/23/1858 (3/3).
on the 5th of March, 1838, the condemned woman was brought forth for execution. She paused
for a few moments at the foot of the gallows, expressed a perfect willingness to die, and said she
hoped to meet forgiveness in the other world. The noose was then adjusted and the trap sprung
by Sheriff Westerlage. This was the first and only woman hanged in this county.”-Daily News,
Galveston, TX, 9/9/1888 (5/3).
LUCY, Slave, black, hanged Galveston, Galveston Co., March 5, 1858.
“In 1857, at the intersection of Strand and 24th Streets, oppolsite the banking house of
Ball, Hutchings & Compoany, there stood a rambling wooden structure known as the Columbia
Hotel, which was destroyed by fire in December, 1869. It was kept by Mrs. Maria Dougherty,
who owned a negress named Lucy, purchased from Captain J. H. Sterrett, and not having a very
good character. Lucy, having been chastised for some trivial offense by her mistress, had on one
occasion set fire to the premises, but the act of incendiaries was discovered in time to prevent a
serious conflagration. When questioned as to the motive prompting her to set the house on fire,
she maintained a stolid silence and refused to answer. She was again punished for this offense,
and when set about her usual occupations, threatened to wreak vengeance on Mrs. Dougherty.
For a time everything went quite smoothly in the boarding house, and Lucy, although sullen and
uncommunicative, attended to her work and gave no cause for complaint. On Sunday, Jan. 3,
1858, Mrs. Dougherty disappeared shortly after dinner, and not being seen for several hours,
search was made for her, and on a large brick underground cistern in the yard being examined, the
body of the missing woman was found secreted in it. The corpse was taken from the water, and
on being examined it was discovered that the head had been crushede by blows of a heavy instru-
ment. The news of the murder spread quickly and created intense excitement. Search was made
for the negress whok was discovered secreted in an outhouse. She was confronted with the
corpse and asked if she had slain Mrs. Dougherty, replying: ‘Yes, and I would do it again.” She
then maintained an air of stolid indifference and refused to speak concerning the murder. The
murderer was immediately lodged in jail to await the action of the grand jury, then in session, and
on Monday following was indicted for murder.
“On the 8th of January, 1858, the prisoner was brought into court for the purpose of
having her case set for trial, and having no counsel, the judge (Hon. Peter W. Gray) appointed
Major R. H. Howard to defend her. On Friday, January 12, 1858, the courtroom was thronged
and the prisoner, who was about 40 years of age, was brought in by Sheriff Westerlage and seated
near her counsel. The district attorney thens read the indictment to which the defendant entered a
plea of ‘not guilty’ when the special venire was called and the following jurymen impaneled to try
the cause: Wright S. Andrews, Henry Kaufholtz, H. B. Martin, Ephriam McLean (Note: McLean
had also served on the jury which convicted Henry Forbes, the first man executed in
Galveston), Wm. Wright, W. B. Dunning, Henry Homburg, F. R. Cobb, William Sanderson, A. C.
Crawford, John H. Illes and T. C. Armstrong.
“The evidence was then heard, and after hearing the argument of counsel and receiving the
charge of the court, the jury retired, and after a brief absence returned a verdict of ‘guilty of
murder in the first degree,’ which was handed the judge by their foremanh, A. C. Crawford. The
jury was then discharged and the prisoner remanded to jail, where she remained until Thursday,m
Jan. 23, 1858, whe she was brought into court for sentence, and in reply to the question of the
court if she had anything to say why sentence should not be passed, replied that she had not.
Judge Gray then sentenced her as follows: ‘It is ordered by the court that the said Lucy be taken
hence and safely confined in the jail of this county, and that on Friday, the 5th day of March, she
be taken by the sheriff to the place of execution and hanged by the neck until she is dead.’ The
woman was then returned to the jail which was destined to never leave alive.
“As the time for her execution began to approach, she prepared for death, and received
religious consolation from Rev. Father L. C. M. Chambodut. On the evening previous to the day
of execution, a gallows was erected in the second story of the jail, and a few moments after noon
od
LUCY, Slave, black, hanged Galveston, Galveston Co., March 5, 1858.
A slave woman named Lucy was hanged at Galveston, Tex., on March 5, 1858, for the
murder of her owner, Mrs. Maria Dougherty, who operated the Columbia Hotel on January 3,
1858.-Fron Galveston Daily News, Galveston, TX, 9/9/1888.
GREE IE IERIE RASA IEICE ICIS IOR IEICE II AGI ICI AICI R IER ICA AEA EE A IC IEA A I EF
“The fourth (execution in Galveston, Texas) was that of a negress named Lucy, who
murdered Mrs. Maria Dougherty at the Columbia Hotel, opposite the banking house of Sealy,
Hutchings & Co. She was hanged within the old jail enclosure March 5, 1858. This was the first
and only execution of a woman in this county. John H. Westerlage was sheriff.”-Daily News,
Galveston, TX, 6/11/1899 (6/3).
SUE GERIFE GERAIS GE OCS OCC IR IRR IE CIS ISI IRA IAC IG I AIT I AAAI IE SFE
1068
tion of evidence obtained from the un-
warned psychiatric examination violated
the defendant’s fifth and sixth amendment
rights. Smith, 451 U.S. at 468-71, 101
S.Ct. at 1875-77. The Court noted, how-
ever, that “a different situation arises
where a defendant intends to introduce
psychiatric evidence at the penalty phase.”
Id. at 472, 101 S.Ct. at 1878.
[4] Williams’ case is easily distin-
guished from Smith because Williams’
counsel was given advance written notice
that the scope of the state’s psychiatric
examination would include a determination
of Williams’ future dangerousness. I Trial
Transcript at 13-15. Furthermore,
Williams’ case presents the “different situ-
ation” to which the Court referred in
Smith. At trial, it was Williams who first
introduced psychiatric evidence on the is-
sue of future dangerousness. On these
facts alone, it is obvious that Williams’
Smith claim is baseless.
Second, the factual basis of Williams’ .
argument is further flawed because the
record clearly reveals that the evidence
complained of is not subject to exclusion on
fifth and sixth amendment grounds. The
record shows that the defense made no
objection whatsoever, before trial or at tri-
al, to the state’s psychiatric evidence. In-
deed, the only objection Williams now rais-
5. The transcript shows that on direct examina-
tion of Dr. Brown, the prosecutor asked but one
question regarding future dangerousness: |
Q. I want to ask you finally, Doctor, whether
or not, based on your experience and training
that you've had in the area of psychology, can
you state ... what is one of the best indica-
tors of a person’s future behavior? -
A. Probably the best single predictor[ ] to the
future behavior that is available at this time is
past behavior.
On cross-examination, the defense counsel
asked Dr. Brown specifically for his opinion on
Williams’ future dangerousness in the context of
the second special issue question that was to be
presented to the jury. Based on the conclusion
in his written psychiatric report indicating that
Williams did not possess antisocial or violent
tendencies, Dr. Brown testified that his conclu-
sion was consistent with a “no” answer to the
second special issue question.
On redirect examination, the prosecutor asked
Dr. Brown to evaluate the future dangerousness
809 FEDERAL REPORTER, 2d SERIES
es, or has ever raised, relates solely to the
state’s psychiatric testimony regarding fu-
ture dangerousness. However, none of the
testimony on future dangerousness given
by the state’s psychologist, Dr. Jerome ©
Brown, was obtained from or based upon
his interview with Williams. Instead, Dr.
Brown’s scant testimony regarding future
dangerousness reflected only his personal
opinion based on his years of professional
experience.> Thus, because no statement
made to Dr. Brown by Williams was the
subject, directly or indirectly, of his testi-
mony, we hold that there is no factual basis
on which to predicate a fifth or sixth
amendment objection.
Finally, we note that even if we were to
assume. that a factual predicate exists in
the record upon which Williams could base
a fifth or sixth amendment claim, Vardas
v. Estelle, 715 F.2d 206 (5th Cir.1983),
makes it clear that Williams waived his
right to object to the state’s use of psychi-
atric evidence on the issue of future dan-
gerousness. Vardas stands for the propo-
sition that when a defendant introduces
psychiatric evidence on a critical issue, he
waives his fifth and sixth amendment ob-
jections to the state’s psychiatric testimo-
ny, provided that the state’s evidence is
used solely in rebuttal and properly limited
to the issue raised by the defense. Jd. at
209-10. Here, Williams not only put into
of a hypothetical murderer who committed a
crime based on Williams’ case, adding the oc-
currence of four additional rapes. The trial
judge interrupted the questioning to assure that
Dr. Brown was speaking hypothetically. The
transcript shows the question and answer that
emerged were:
Q. (By Mr. Moen) In this hypothetical that
were talking about, Doctor, could you or
would you be able to state ... whether there
would be a probability that this hypothetical
man would commit criminal acts of violence
that would constitute a continuing threat to
society? :
Dr. Brown: I'm afraid I can’t answer that
specific question with regard to the probabili-
ty of one individual committing another act; I
cannot say. I can only say there is a potential
that he’s more likely than the average individ-
ual who does not have a similar record to do
so.
XI Trial Transcript at 2098-2109.
UNITED STATES v. RAMIREZ-RIZO
1069
Cite as 809 F.2d 1069 (Sth Cir. 1987)
issue the question of future dangerousness
through the testimony of his psychiatrist,
but he also initiated questioning on his own
future dangerousness in the cross-examina- ©
tion of the state’s psychologist. Having
first been raised by the defense, it was
perfectly proper for the state to explore
this issue on the redirect examination of its
psychologist.
Vv
In conclusion, we hold that the jury was
properly selected in accord with the With-
erspoon standard, that Williams has failed
to allege a sufficient claim of ineffective
assistance of counsel, and that Williams’
fifth and sixth amendment rights were not
violated by the state’s use of psychiatric
evidence during the trial’s punishment
phase. The district court’s denial of
Williams’ petition for writ of habeas corpus
is therefore
AFFIRMED.
KEY NUMBER SYSTEM
4nms
UNITED STATES of America,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
V.
Raul RAMIREZ-RIZO,
Defendant-Appellant.
No. 86-1502.
United States Court of Appeals,
Fifth Circuit.
Jan. 28, 1987.
Defendant was convicted of aiding and
abetting illegal transportation of aliens by
the United States District Court, Western
District of Texas, Edward C. Prado, J. De-
fendant appealed. The Court of Appeals,
Clark, Chief Judge, held that: (1) identifica-
tion was clearly at issue, and (2) it was not
abuse of discretion to refuse requested in-
struction on eyewitness identification.
Affirmed.
1. Criminal Law €772(1)
Reasonable jury might have relied on
aliens’ identification of defendant as their
guide in reaching its verdict; therefore,
aliens’ identification of defendant was
clearly at issue in defendant’s prosecution
for aiding and abetting illegal transporta-
tion of aliens, and thus issue of identifica-
tion had to be presented to jury.
2. Criminal Law €772(1), 822(1)
Refusal of instruction on eyewitness
testimony is to be analyzed in the context
of the trial as a whole, including argu-
ments; key consideration is whether failure
to give requested instruction prevented
jury from considering defendant’s theory
of defense.
3. Criminal Law ¢829(1)
Identification issue was adequately
presented by the proof, cross-examination,
argument, and charge to jury in defend-
ant’s prosecution for aiding and abetting
illegal transportation of aliens, and thus it
was not abuse of discretion to refuse to
give requested instruction on eyewitness
identification, even though giving request-
ed instruction may have been better prac-
tice; trial court instructed jury on judging
credibility of witnesses, on caution required
for accomplice testimony, on elements of
the offense, and on necessity of proof be-
yond reasonable doubt.
R. Clark Adams, Federal Public Defend-
er, San Antonio, Tex., for defendant-appel-
lant.
Sidney Powell, Asst. U.S. Atty., Helen M.
Eversberg, U.S. Atty., San Antonio, Tex.,
for plaintiff-appellee.
Appeal from the United States District
Court for the Western District of Texas.
Before CLARK, Chief Judge,
GOLDBERG, and GEE, Circuit Judges.
ee
Ns Frees Hf) /2-7- Le
DeLUNA v. LYNAUGH 157
Cite as 873 F.2d 757 (5th Cir. 1989)
records on those two business holidays.
We accordingly modify the fine imposed by
eliminating those two days, thereby reduc-
ing the fine to $20,000. As so modified, we
affirm the judgment finding Darwin in con-
tempt of court and affirm the fine in the
- modified amount of $20,000.
Carton DeLUNA, De ee
ie
v.
James A. LYNAUGH, Director, Texas
Department of Corrections,
Respondent-—Appellee.
No. 88-2613.
United States Court of Appeals,
Fifth Circuit.
April 26, 1989.
Defendant convicted of capital murder
of gasoline station attendant during course
of committing robbery petitioned for writ
of habeas corpus. The United States Dis-
trict Court for the Southern District of
Texas at Corpus Christi, Hayden W. Head,
Jr., J., denied petition. On consolidated
appeal from denial of petition and from
denial of motion for relief from judgment,
the Court of Appeals, Jerre S. Williams,
Circuit Judge, held that: (1) petitioner’s
trial counsel was not ineffective for strate-
gic decision to make strong statement as
plea for life sentence rather than putting
defendant’s family and friends on the stand
at punishment phase to offer mitigating
testimony; (2) petitioner was not entitled to
oral hearing on habeas claims; and (3) peti-
tioner lacked standing to raise issue of
whether state of Texas had constitutional
obligation to appoint counsel in habeas
cases.
Affirmed.
1. Criminal Law ¢641.13(7)
Trial counsel in capital murder prose-
cution was not ineffective for strategic de-
cision to make strong statement as plea for
life sentence rather than calling defen-
dant’s family members and friends at pun-
ishment phase of trial to offer mitigating
testimony emphasizing defendant’s youth,
intelligence level, and substance abuse;
jury might have reacted unfavorably to
their testimony when it had full knowledge
of brutal crime and defendant’s prior felo-
nious record. U.S.C.A. Const.Amends. 6,
14.
2. Habeas Corpus ¢-746
‘Habeas petitioner was not entitled to
oral hearing before court with respect to
his claims related to adequacy of represen-
tation by counsel at punishment stage of
trial; attorneys’ activities were clearly be-
fore court and petitioner did not raise the
fact issue as to what occurred or propose
putting on any evidence to establish that
attorneys’ effectiveness did not reach re-
quired norms. 28 U.S.C.A. § 2254; U.S.C.
A. Const.Amends. 6, 14.
3. Constitutional Law ¢=42.1(3)
Habeas petitioner who received repre-
sentation by appointed counsel through tri-
al and direct appeal to Texas Court of
Criminal Appeals and who had volunteer
counsel in state and federal habeas pro-
ceedings lacked standing to raise issue of
whether state of Texas was constitutionally
obligated to supply counsel in habeas case.
28 US.C.A. § 2254.
Richard Anderson, Dallas, Tex., for peti-
tioner-appellant.
Wm. C. Zapalac, Asst. Atty. Gen., Jim
Mattox, Atty. Gen., Austin, Tex., for re-
spondent-appellee.
Appeal from the United States District
Court for the Southern District of Texas
(CA-C-86-234).
Before POLITZ, WILLIAMS and
JONES, Circuit Judges.
1070
CLARK, Chief Judge:
Raul Ramirez-Rizo challenges the district
court’s refusal to give his requested in-
struction on eyewitness identification. We .
affirm.
i.
Ramirez-Rizo was indicted on three
counts of aiding and abetting the illegal
transportation of aliens in violation of 8
U.S.C. § 1324(a)(2) and 18 U.S.C. § 2. One
count was dismissed because the alien was
not available to testify. At trial, Juan
Jaime Ramirez-Santana, Ramirez-Rizo’s
cousin, testified pursuant to a plea agree-
ment with the government. The aliens,
Martin Olvera-Tovar and Daniel Olvera-To-
var, also testified at trial.
Ramirez-Santana testified that he and
Ramirez-Rizo arranged with Ramirez-
Rizo’s brother to pick up a group of illegal
aliens and transport them in Ramirez-San-
tana’s car. Ramirez-Santana and Ramirez-
Rizo arrived at the pick-up point, and after
a short wait, the aliens showed up with
Ramirez-Rizo’s brother. As the aliens
started getting into the car, an immigration
agent arrived on the scene. The aliens
seattered. Ramirez-Santana was arrested
after a chase; an alien was found in the
trunk of his car.
The two aliens testified that they had no
legal right to be in the United States.
They had been guided across the river and
then waited to be picked up ina car. They
paid $500 to be smuggled into the United
1. The requested instruction reads as follows:
In any criminal case the Government must
prove not only the essential elements of the
offense or offenses charged, as hereafter de-
fined, but must also prove, of course, the
identity of the Defendant as the perpetrator of
the alleged offense or offenses.
In evaluating the identification testimony of
a witness you should consider all of the
factors already mentioned concerning your
assessment of the credibility of any witness in
general, and should also consider, in particu-
lar, whether the witness had an adequate op-
portunity to observe the person in question at
the time or times about which the witness
testified. You may consider, in that regard,
such matters are the length of time the wit-
ness had to observe the person in question,
ez
809 FEDERAL REPORTER, 2d SERIES
States. On cross-examination, both aliens
identified Ramirez-Rizo as their guide, al-
though both admitted that they made the
crossing at night and only saw their guide
for a short time. They also stated that
they did not see the guide while he was
watching for the car, and that they waited |
for about two hours before the car arrived.
In his closing argument, defense counsel
argued that Ramirez-Santana was not a
credible witness because he testified pursu-
ant to a plea agreement, that the identifica-
tion of Ramirez-Rizo by the aliens was
unreliable, and that the testimony of the
aliens conflicted with the testimony of Ra-
mirez-Santana. The district court instruct-
ed the jury on the dangers of accomplice
testimony and gave a general credibility
charge. It refused to give an instruction
on eyewitness identification requested by
Ramirez-Rizo.!_ The jury found Ramirez-
Rizo guilty on both counts and he appeals.
We affirm.
II.
Ramirez-Rizo’s sole contention on appeal
is that the district court erred in failing to
give his requested instruction on identifica-
tion testimony. The government responds
that the district court properly refused to
give the instruction because identification
was not an issue in the case. The govern-
ment reasons that the aliens’ testimony
was not necessary to convict Ramirez-Rizo
because he was tried only for aiding and
abetting. It also maintains that the aliens’
the prevailing conditions at that time in terms
of visibility or distance and the like, and
whether the witness had known or observed
the person at earlier times.
You may also consider the circumstances
surrounding the identification itself including,
for example, the manner in which the Defend-
ant was presented to the witness for identifi-
cation, and the length of time that elapsed
between the incident in question and the next
opportunity the witness had to observe the
Defendant.
If, after examining all of the testimony and
evidence in the case, you have a reasonable
doubt as to the identity of the Defendant as
the perpetrator of the offense charged, you
must find the Defendant not guilty.
Denton, Texas
Record Chronicle
Huntsville ( AP) — Disappointed
death row inmates Say executions
allowed to consider any mitigating
Frecimstances. in’ sentencing
for the 1975 abduction: -:
however, used the Pending
case to obtain Stays of
execution. |.
Convicted killer Fletcher Mann,
who faces lethal injection early
Saturday, Was a likely candidate
‘to di because his. appeals are
ii; it’s going to happen, it’s -
Boing to happen,
‘of the Possibility of his eath.,
But one inmate whose execution
tefittommeys * for” Frankia con.”
tended jurors improperly were not
the Texas: Department~ of- Cor. .
“” Tections Ellis I Unit, .#"
Mann, 27, Said, iss
d
innamon, a death’ row inmate,
Said, Pointing to the Tow’s wings at
mi Mi. Pres of
Many inmates believed ‘the
nklin
“T feel like an idiot’ having put
my hopes in the court,” inmate
Jim Vanderbilt: said. “This is
dis ;
“T’m afraid they’ll try to get as
many as they can before the next
ue Comes up,’ added James
Beathard, another death row
_ Tesident,
Continued from Page 31A.
He told investigators and reporters
he was “high on acid and stuff”
when he and accomplice Martin
Verbrugge went on a spree of rape,
robbery, murder and assault.
On the night of Sept. 11, 1980,
according to court testimony, Mr.
Mann and Mr. Verbrugge broke in-
to an apartment in the 8600 block of
Park Lane shared by Christopher
Lee Bates and Robert Matzig, both
23. The roommates were home
watching football on television
with a friend, Barbara Hoppe, 22.
The two men were bound and
gagged with strips of bedsheet, ac-
cording to testimony. Ms. Hoppe
was dragged into a bedroom, where
she was raped repeatedly, stabbed
and choked to death.
Mr. Mann and Mr. Verbrugge
then forced the men to drive them
to grocery stores to cash checks.
About 1 a.m., the roommates were
taken to a vacant field in west Oak
Cliff, where Mr. Bates was shot in
the head and killed.
Mr. Matzig, shot and left for
dead, crawled to a bluff and attract-
ed the attention of workers at the
nearby U.S. Postal Service Bulk
Mailing Center along Interstate 30.
Nine months later, police re-
ceived a tip linking Mr. Mann and
Mr. Verbrugge to the murders. Mr.
Mann was in a Kentucky jail, await-
ing trial on unrelated rape and rob-
bery charges.
A few days afterward, Mr. Mann
told investigators and a Dallas
Morning News reporter about his
part in the crimes.
“I felt bad about the girl but it
doesn’t bother me anymore,” Mr,
Mann said in the 1981 interview.
“It’s done and you can’t undo it.”
In a statement to detectives, Mr.
Mann said he and Mr. Verbrugge
had returned to the field later that
night, in time to see the ambulances
leaving with Mr. Bates and Mr. Mat-
zig.
After hearing witnesses describe
Mr. Mann as a “savage beast” who
admired Charles Manson, a Dallas
County jury in 1982 took less than
two hours to convict him of Mr.
Bates’ murder and even less time to
sentence him to death.
He subsequently pleaded guilty
to the murder of Ms. Hoppe and the
attempted murder of Mr. Matzig'and
received two consecutive life sen-
tences for those crimes.
Mr. Verbrugge pleaded guilty to
attempted capital murder and is
serving a life term.
Mr. Mann declined recent re
quests for interviews. In an earlier
conversation with The Associated
Press he seemed resigned to hi:
death.
“If it’s going to happen, it’s going
to happen,” he said. ‘What can | do?
They’ve got you chained down. It
can’t hurt. I go to church every
Sunday.”
He spent Wednesday afternoon
visiting with family members be-
fore eating his last meal: two ham-
burger steaks, sliced onions, toast.
fries, fruit cocktail and a Coke.
Mr. Matzig, who recovered from
his wounds, told the wire service
this week: “It’s been so long ago. |
don’t like to make a public com-
ment because of the respect I have
for the victims that were killed. |
feel their loss was much greater
than mine.”
U.S. District Judge Jerry Buch-
meyer ordered repeated delays of
Mr. Mann’s execution in the late
1980s, citing the arguments then be-
fore the U.S. Supreme Court regara-
ing mitigating evidence in death-
penalty cases. Mr. Mann’s lawyers
suggested past drug abuse and mis-
treatment as a child had contribut-
ed to his violent behavior.
The Supreme Court eventually
ruled, in a different case, that the
Texas death-penalty statute was
constitutional in its provisions on
mitigating factors.
On Tuesday, the high court
turned down Mr. Mann’s latest ar-
gument: that his 13 years on Death
Row constituted cruel and unusual
punishment, in violation of the
Constitution.
His lawyers asked the governor
for a delay, so Mr. Mann’s family
could attend the high-school gradu-
ation of a relative in Kentucky and
also be with Mr. Mann in his last
hours. The governor said no.
Mr. Mann’s execution was the
ninth this year in Texas, and the
94th since the state resumed carry-
ing out the death penalty in 1982.
That total is by far the highest in
the nation.
Thursday, June 23, 1988 Houston Chronicle Section 1, Page 13...
Supreme Court ruling
stuns death row inmates -
By KATHY FAIR
Houston Chronicle
HUNTSVILLE — Death row in-
mates reacted Wednesday with
stunned disbelief to a U.S. Supreme
Court ruling upholding the constitu-
tionality of the =
Texas death
‘penalty law — a
ruling that for
many shattered
last hopes, -
“lm - dead
now,” said Cal-
vin Williams af-
ter he got word
of the court’s de-
cision. “Ain’t no
doubt about it.
That .was my. Mann
last hope.” oH
“It' was not just my hope but -
" everyone else’s down here,” said:
Fletcher T. Mann, who was sched-
uled to die Saturday + the first
Texas killer to be executed following
the court’s decision — but was
granted a temporary stay Wednes- .
day.
In a 6-3 vote announced Wednes-
day, the’ court upheld the death
sentence of Donald Gene Franklin,
32, convicted in the 1975 abduction,
rape and slaying of a San Antonio
nurse, Margaret “Peggy” Moran.
Williams, 28, came ‘within two
hours of being executed last Febru:
ary for the June 1980 rape-strangula-.
tion of Emily Fields Anderson, 28, a
Houston travel agent. In issuing Wil-
liams’ last-minute stay, the court
cited the Franklin matter.
Mann was scheduled to be exe-..
cuted for the Sept. 11, 1980, shooting
death of Christopher Lee Bates of
Dallas County. But late Wednesday ~~.
afternoon, U.S. District Judge Jerry |;
‘Buchmeyer of Dallas granted him a
. 30-day stay while his new attorneys
amend his appeal -
Williams said he was angered by .”
the auerenae Court decision in the
Franklin case. ,
- “I could see it if the death penalty '-
. worked,” he said, “Hey, fine, kill. us
all. ‘But the death penalty doesn’t
{.. work. If it does, why are people still “
| committing crimes? Killing all of us: “™
- ain’t going to solve anything.” .
Jim Vanderbilt, 35, convicted in
the 1975 slating of an Amarillo teen- °
ager, said the decision was a bitter
disappointment, although the Frank-
lin case has no bearing on his appeal. *
Raymond Car] Kinnamon, 46, con-
victed of the 1984 robbery-slaying of -'s.
a Houston bar patron,’ said inmates
will just have to “forget about it and
move on.”
“There may be a black cloud hang-
ing over there,” he said, pointing out
- the window to the death row wingsat °
the Texas Department of Correc-
tions Ellis I Unit.
Convicted killer James Beathard,
31, sentenced to death in connection
with the 1984 slaying of a Trinity
County woman and her son, pre-
dicted executions would resume ata .°
rapid pace.
a d
rex
“They will try to get as many of us_.~
as they can before the next issue
comes up,” he said.
i
O 9 - + Aen
Inmate is
executed for
‘80 slayings
Final appeals are rejected
for ‘Park Lane’ murderer
By Bruce Tomaso
Staj} Writer of The Dallas Morning News
HUNTSVILLE, Texas — Fletcher
Thomas Mann Jr., convicted 13
years ago of killing a North Dallas
man after breaking into his apart-
ment, was executed early Thursday.
Mr. Mann, 34, started receiving a
lethal injection at 12:13 am. He
coughed once, .
his chest heaved
and he was pro-
nounced dead
seven minutes
later.
His last state-
ment was: ‘I’d
like to say hi to
my family and ss
that I love them Fletcher Thomas
and to my attor- Mann Jr.
neys who did their best. And to my
brothers on death row who died
and are still there, ‘Y’all hang in
there.’ That’s it.”
As the lethal dose was adminis-
tered, his mother and two sisters,
who witnessed it, sobbed.
“God bless you, Tommy,” said
one woman. Another said, “I love
you, little brother.”
Just before the execution, a
pouring rain began. In the death
chamber as witnesses waited silent-
ly for Mr. Mann to be pronounced
dead, loud thunder claps could be
heard. .
The U.S. Supreme Court had re-
fused his latest appeal Tuesday, and
Gov. George W. Bush refused late
Wednesday to grant a 30-day re-
prieve.
Mr. Mann was put to death for
his role in what became known in
Dallas as the “Park Lane murders.”
Please see KILLER on Page 33A.
MANN, Fletcher, white, LI TX3P (Dallas) June 1, 1995
NEWS
THURS,
6 -1-9.5—
to go to :
>k news-
verified
aboutin
tors. the
rbrugge,
estigator
iment in
ned that
in Gar-
dallas, in
i from the
shootings
ilesman.
1e suspect
d them to
d the one
wo apart-
1e investi-
of police
illers. But
identifica-
‘ge, police
otographs
ble to pick
nce told an
been iden-
> in check-
.ad worked
loyers and
1s quickly
ise running
an named
formerly of
o suspects
food estab-
vestigators
roto line-up
picture of
rviving vic-
.e photo of
ns and other
gether, ar-
ital murder
pects. Police
rad left Dal-
: Verbrugge
‘ntly as the
, seen at a
lis teenage,
ere told.
) men were
er warrants,
er pertinent
to the Na-
Center at
Dallas offi-
almost im-
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Fletcher Thomas Mann, Jr. already
- was in custody. He was being held in the
Bullitt County, Kentucky jail on a
series of charges involving rape and rob-
bery, Dallas police learned. According
to Bullitt County Sheriffs Detective
Robbie Popplewell, Mann and another
suspect had been arrested there on
March 11, 1981, in the robbery of three
women and the rape of one of them ina
beauty parlor in the Louisville, Ky.
suburb of Hillview.
Advised of this development, Capt.
Lappin lost no time. He instructed In-
vestigator Gholston to fly to Louisville
that night. The detective captain had
Gholston’s luggage packed and sent it
to him at Louisville the next day.
Mann voluntarily gave a statement to
Detective Gholston, implicating him-
self and Verbrugge in the rape and slay-
ings. Police said the two suspects took
$76.10 from the three victims.
In an interview with a Dallas News
reporter, Mann stated, “It was real
dumb. We were high on acid and stuff
like that.
“T felt bad about the girl, but it doesn’t
bother me anymore,” he told the repor-
ter. “It’s done and you can’t undo it.”
Mann said that both he and the other
suspect raped the young woman. He re-
lated that when he again entered the
bedroom and saw his. partner choking
the girl, “I wanted to get it over with. I
went into kitchen, got a butcher knife
and handed it to him, and he stuck it
straight through her heart.”
About a week after Dallas police went
to Kentucky to question Mann, Martin
David Verbrugge surrendered to police
in Jacksonville, Florida.
Later, both men were indicted by a
Dallas County grand jury on two counts
of capital murder and one count of at-
tempted capital murder. They were re-
turned to Dallas County to stand trial.
Mann went to trial in state district
court at Dallas in mid-January, 1982,
and it took about three weeks to seat a
jury. The state sought to convict Mann
primarily through the testimony of the
surviving victim, Matzig, and the
statement the suspect gave to Inves-
tigator Gholston in Kentucky.
In a composed voice, the soft-spoken
Matzig told of the terrifying events on
the night of the rape and slayings, from
the time the two gunmen entered the
apartment until he and his roommate
were shot in the field near the postal
facility.
Matzig told thejury, “Mann went into
the kitchen and took out a long butcher
knife with about an eight-inch blade,
and I saw him carry it into the bedroom.
A couple of minutes later I heard Bar-
bara pleading with them, “No, no, don’t
do that.’ ”
Later, when he glanced into the bed-
room and saw Miss Hoppe covered with
a blanket, Matzig related, he assumed
she was alive. “I couldn’t even fathom
the thought they had killed her, even
though I suspected it from the knife.”
Matzig testified that he thought he
and Bates would be killed in the apart-
ment along with Miss Hoppe. He said he
promised the two men that ifthey would
untie him and Bates, he would go get a
check cashed for $2,000.
After the two men were taken to the
field, Bates was shot execution style. “I
saw him lying facedown with his hands
up behind his head.”
Matzig said he broke and ran up a hill
toward a wooded area, adding, “T sensed
they were chasing me, so I moved into
the brush and fell. And when I was get-
ting up, it (the bullet) hit me. I felt a
severe shock and ringing in my ears.”
In his statement that was read to the
jury by the prosecuting attorney, Mann
said he was in the room when Ver-
brugge stabbed Miss Hoppe, after both
men had raped her.
Mann said that while he was tying up
Bates and Matzig, Miss Hoppe “was on
the couch praying. I told him (Ver-
61
niteninemii
brugge) to get it done as quick as possi-
ble.
“T can still hear the sound it made
when the knife went in. And then he
was getting ready to stick her again,
and then I stopped him and told him she
was going to die, and I put my ear
against her heart.”
In his statement Mann said Bates
and Matzig begged not to be shot, “But
(Verbrugge) raised up and said to me,
‘You know what we have to do,’ and I
said, ‘Yeah,’ and then they (the victims)
realized it too, and said, ‘Don’t do any-
thing. We won’t tell.’ ”
Mann said that Verbrugge told him to
kill Bates and Matzig.
“We went to the woods and told them
to lay down on the ground,” Mann said
in the statement. “I couldn’t shoot them
face up anyway.”
Telling how he shot Bates, Mann said,
“I squeezed the trigger and he went
:.
‘um.
According to the statement, Mann
said he and Verbrugge smoked
marijuana afterwards. When they
later drove by Bates’ apartment, “the
police was everywhere. I said they
wasn’t both dead because how did they
(the police) find out so soon?
“J went back (to Verbrugge’s) and told
him we should never see each other
again.”
The state closed its case after only one
day of testimony. The defense didn’t call
any witnesses. |
During his summation to the jury,
one of the prosecutors described Mann’s.
attitude while Miss Hoppe was. being
killed:
_ As she’s kicking and fighting, this
fellow here, being the nice guy that he
is, decides to help her out. He goes to the
_ kitchen and gets a butcher knife and
62
says, ‘Here, use this.’
“To that man,” the prosecutor’s voice
boomed, “the sound of the knife going in
is like the theme song of Dr. Zhivago
might be to you. A pleasant, lovely
sound,”
The jury of seven men and five women
deliberated 90 minutes before return-
ing its verdict finding Mann guilty of
capital murder in the death of Bates.
After the guilty verdict, the state
began presenting witnesses concerning
Mann’s character—seeking to show the
defendant should receive the death
penalty because he was a “continuing
threat to society.”
The prosecution introduced tes-
timony about crimes by Mann in Dallas
and Kentucky, pulled before and after
the apartment slayings, including ar-
sons, assaults, robberies and rapes. One
witness called by the state, an inmate of
aa aennamrnesenilitci et
the Dallas County jail, said that Mann
had bragged to him about the murders
“and said he had a stack of newspapers
about the murders halfway up his wall.
“He told me his idol was Charles
Manson” the witness testified. “He told
me if I snitched on anybody Id die, and
that he had people in the penitentiary
who could do that.”
In final arguments asking for the
death penalty, the prosecution called
Mann “a savage beast” and a “joy-
killer” and a “Manson follower.”
The jury deliberated less than two
hours on February 5, 1982, and re-
turned a verdict making the death pen-
alty mandatory. ‘
The other defendant, Verbrugge, is
awaiting trial at this writing, and must
be presumed innocent of all charges un-
less proven otherwise in a later trial.
e
SENATOR’S NIECE
‘second robber. It took weeks of sifting
through records, but eventually the de-
tectives narrowed the choices down to
two.
Professor Shane quickly eliminated
one suspect, an-:uncle of Thomas’, in a
line-up. The second one, Anthony
Quinn McAdoo, a 19-year-old relation
to Mary Williams, rung a bell.
“I want to see him in a line-up before
making any decision, but he looks like
the guy,” the professor said.
Police went to the youth’s home and
told his parents that their son was
wanted for robbery and that it would be
best if he turned himself in. Police kept
up the heat by questioning McAdoo’s
friends and by keeping an eye on places
he was known to frequent.
Certain they had the right man, Eng-
quist again questioned Mary Wil-
liams, this time telling her they knew
about McAdoo.
“It was him,” she confessed. Recalling
the night of the murder Mary said she
had just turned off the TV when she
heard screaming and hollering outside
her apartment. She said she first sus-
pected one of the neighborhood kids was
getting raped, but going outside her
apartment to investigate she found
McAdoo and Thomas standing by the
door. “Both were breathing hard like
they had just been jogging or running,”
she explained.
Thomas said he had been hurt bad
after looking at the blood dripping down
his arm, and she offered to drive him to
the hospital. Running inside to get her
coat Mary said she heard McAdoo and
Thomas arguing. .
“Tony said he didn’t want to go the
hospital,” she said. “And Freddy said
that he was chicken. What kind of
buddy are you? We're in this together.’
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 35
Then McAdoo said, ‘All right.’ ”
During the drive to the hospital
McAdoo said from the backseat, “The
nigger must think I’m crazy. He shot the
person and wants me to take the gun
and shoot the damn thing up in the air.”
“Freddy just kept saying, ‘Shut your
mouth,’ ” Mary recalled. “I don’t think
he was high on drugs, but he was acting
like a scared kid.”
Mary said she accompanied Thomas
into the emergency room, leaving
McAdoo in the car. When she sent one of
her kids back for a cigarette McAdoo
was gone.
McAdoo managed to stay on the run
until December 31st when he voluntar-
ily gave himself up to police. “My step-
dad told me I might get hurt on the
street,” he told Det. Engquist. “He said
it would be best for me to'turn myself
in.”
After making a statement, McAdoo
was booked into county jail on robbery
and murder charges. Engquist, with the
final piece of the murder puzzle in place,
went home to celebrate the New Year.
In August 1981 the Los Angeles Dis-
trict Attorney’s Office offered McAdoo a
deal: in return for his testimony against
Thomas he would be allowed to plead
guilty to first-degree murder and re-
ceive a sentence of 25 years to life.
It wasn’t much of a deal as plea bar- |
gains go, but it was all McAdoo was
going to get. His defense attorney, who
had tried without success to persuade »
prosecutors to let his client plead to
something less than first degree mur- -
der, said the case was “politically a hot
potato. The whole Santa Monica com-
munity was up in arms over the shoot-
ing. If this crime had taken place in
South Central Los Angeles I would have
gotten a better deal.”
SA
Sees
RR A
Deputy Di
Barshop de
McAdoo’s tes
trial and inst:
alty phase, i
conviction.
The tria!
1981 in the
Judge Laure:
ven days th:
jury heard «
Mary Willia
tives and e>
timony linki:
Defense Att:
acterized son
given by sta’
and out fabri
leading” and
too much crex
because he !
wine with Sa
and his abili:
recollect the «
doubt.”
Deputy D
countered by
bad luck—
caught. “If h:
the same gu:
he would ha
and the cha
would be sli:
On Decem!
chambers to |
but 11 hours :
fore they ret
Thomas was
Sarai Ribicof!
sor Shane. H
mitting murc
using a gun,
could receive
death or life
Half a doze
ing the pena!
most import
former part
Quinn McAd:
In a subd
McAdoo testi!
met Thomas
12, 1980 on
District of ‘
about makin
said. “He sh:
was in case th
On Thoma
over to Wash
some people
Waiting neé
spotted a cou
cut across t
back to the s
McAdoo sa
over his wall:
ing with the v
scratched an:
ing to fight b:
was hollerin;
fighting whe:
got nervous
bf [95 poy RIT Mew!
THE NEW YORK TIMES NATI
| fae |
Texas Killer
Is Executed
By Injection
HUNTSVILLE, Tex., June i (AP)
— Fletcher Thomas Mann, who
killed two people and wounded one in
Dallas in 1980, was put to death by
lethal injection today.
{| Mr. Mann expressed love for his
family and gratitude to his lawyers
before he was executed just after
midnight.
“1 would like to tell my family I |
love them,” he said. ‘My attorneys | —
did their best. All my brothers on
death row, those who died and those
who are still there, hang in there.”’. |
His mother and two sisters sobbed
quietly a few feet away.
Mr. Mann, 34, was convicted of the
shooting death of Christopher Lee
Bates, 22, at a Dallas apartment in
September 1980. He told the police
that he also raped, stabbed and |
strangled Barbara Hoppe, 22, and
shot and wounded Robert Matzig.
The police said Mr. Mann and an | |
accomplice, Martin Verbrugge,
were looking for money and cocaine
when they broke into the apartment | |
where the three victims were watch-
ing a football game. Mr. Verbrugge
was convicted of attempted murder
and given a life sentence.
At Mr. Mann's trial, a witness who
was jailed with Mr. Mann said he | |
had bragged about the killings and | —
expressed admiration for Charles | |
Manson. Defense lawyers called no
witnesses. The jury took one hour to
convict Mr. Mann and two hours to
sentence him to death.
The Supreme Court rejected argu-
ments that Mr. Mann’s 13 years on
death row amounted to cruel and
unusual punishment. Gov. George W.
Bush refused to delay the execution |
for 30 days so Mr. Mann’s family | |
could attend the high school gradua-
tion on Wednesday of a relative in
Kentucky. :
Although Mr. Mann refused recent
requests for interviews, he earlier
expressed little anxiety about his
execution.
“If it’s going to happen, it’s going
to happen,” he said. ‘‘What can I do?
They've got you chained down. -It
can’t hurt. I go to church every Sun-
day.” P
MANNING, William, white, hanged Greenville, Hunt Co., July 7, 1905.
“Hanged for wife murder.
Will Manning put to death at Greenville, Tex., yesterday.
“Greenville, Tex., July 7.-Will Manning, white, was hanged here today for poisoning his
wife December 31. Manning’s wife died suddenly and he was soon thereafter sentenced to serve
a life term for assaulting her sister.”-State, Columbia, SC, 7/8/1905 (1/2).
Manning, a young farmer at Celeste, was having an affair with an under-aged girl whom
he had hired to help with the chores during the pregnancy of his wife. Mrs. Manning died after
the child was born and the doctor signed a certificate giving complications of child birth as the
cause. Rumors began circulating when the girl stayed on as his housekeeper and Manning was
taken into custody on a charge of forgery preferred by his father-in-law for which he was indicted.
When he admitted his relationship with the girl, he was also indicted for seduction.
Mrs. Manning’s body was exhumed and a great quantity of strychnine was found in her
stomach. Manning was also charged with her murder and he pleaded not guilty. At his trial,
his attorneys maintained that the woman had died from the complications of a difficult pregnancy,
but the prosecution presented a forensics expert who made a demonstration with three live frogs
before the jury that sealed Manning’s fate.
He injected the first frog with pure water, the second with a combination of water and
strychnine and the third with the contents of Mrs. Manning’s stomach. When the second and
third frogs died in convulsions while the first remained live and well, the jury was convinced and
Manning was convicted.-Dynamic Detective, October, 1937, page 8.
Texas Executes 2, Tying Record
£ HUNTSVILLE, Tex., June 5 (AP)
—1. Texas on Wednesday put to death
two inmates, a man who shot a con-
venience store clerk and a gang lead-
er wh ordered the killing of a teen-
age girl who had been raped, tying its
1935 record for executions in a single
year.
"The state has at least 11 more
executions scheduled for this month.
“on Wednesday night, Dorsey John-
son- Bey, 30, became the 19th convict-
ad killer to be: executed by injection
i}, the state this year. A little more
than an hour later, Davis Losada, 32,
became the 20th.
hMr. Johnson-Bey was convicted of:
killing Jack Huddleston, 53, a clerk,
on:,March 23, 1986. Mr. Huddleston
was shot once in the head after being
told to lie down on the floor as about
$160 and two cartons of cigarettes
were taken.
‘Mr. Johnson-Bey and an accom-
plice were arrested a few weeks lat-
er after pulling a similar robbery.
"Mr. Losada was convicted with
three others in the killing of Olga
Perales, 15, in the Rio Grande Valley
of southern Texas. _ |
The four youths had been drinking | |
beer and smoking cocaine-laced ma- |
rijuana when they picked up the girl
at a party and took her oe
around town.
The girl was repeatedly raped,
beaten about the head with a pipe
and then stabbed on Dec. 23, 1984.
Jesus Romero was executed in
1992 for the crime. Another accom-
plice is serving a life prison term,
while another was released under
supervision.
Mr. Losada, in an interview short-
ly after arriving on death row, la-
mented that he had band ordered the
girl’s murder.
“The only thing I regret is not
taking part in the murder itself,” he -
said. |
The executions were the third and
fourth in Texas this week. They
made the first double execution in
the state since January 1995 and only
the second multiple execution in the
nation since capital punishment was
resumed with lethal injections in
1982,
sq mereerence mentees etn eae
Bas
Texas puts killers to death in double execution.
Associated Press
HUNTSVILLE, Texas — A man
convicted of killing a conve-
nience store clerk and a gang lead-.
'er condemned for the rape and
murder of a teenage girl were put
to death by injection Wednesday
in Texas’ first double execution in
2%2 years.
Dorsey Johnson-Bey, 30, was
pronounced dead at 6:18 p.m., min-
utes after a lethal dose of drugs
was released into his arms.
He was followed in the death
chamber by Davis Losada, 32,
whom a doctor pronounced dead
at 7:30 p.m.
Mr. Losada’s death brought to
20 the number of executions in
Texas already this year, equaling a
single-year record set in 1935
when the electric chair was the
Sstate’s method of capital punish-
ment.
The third and fourth execu-
tions in Texas this week also
marked the second multiple exe-
cution since capital punishment
was resumed with injections in
1982.
Mr. Johnson-Bey spoke softly in
a brief final statement, saying, “I'd
like to tell my family I love them
and always be strong and keep
their heads up and keep faith in
Jesus.” ae
Mr. Losada expressed his inno-
cence in a brief statement from
the death chamber gurney.
“If it matters to anybody, I
didn’t kill Olga,” he said of his
victim.
Then he turned toward five rel-
atives watching nearby and re-
ferred to them by name, express-
ing love and thanks and urging
them to “trust in God.”
Both men were 19 at the time of
their crimes. Mr. Johnson-Bey was
condemned for the March 23, 1986,
fatal shooting of Jack Huddleston,
53, a clerk at convenience store in
Snyder, about 85 miles southeast
of Lubbock in West Texas. His ac-
complice is serving a 60-year pris-
on term. Rn
Mr. Losada was convicted in
the death of Olga Perales, 15, who
was raped, beaten and stabbed
near San Benito two days before
Christmas in 1984. One of Mr. Losa-
da’s three companions was execut-
ed in 1992, another is serving a life
prison term and the third, who
went to police because he feared
he would be killed, received a 20-
year term for sexual assault and
was released in July under manda-
tory supervision.
1, (POC Ge yx
MERATIIG (VES
ithe TA
[S L447
\
NAME: LOSADA, DAVIS DATE OF EXEC.: 1997/06/04 NUMBER: 391
S: YofE: 97 DR #: TX-000798 METHOD: INJECTION TIME: 1930
SOC. CLASS: ECO. CLASS: EXECUTION SET : 97/06/04—-EXE NO.;
RACE: H SEX: M TO-DR: 12.0 T-C: 12.5 AGE AT EXEC.: 32 DOB: 65/04/28
STATE: TX CO: CAMERON CITY: SAN BENITO/SAN FELIPE
HOR: BOOK/MOVIE:
H: L: 3 C: 3 E: 2 SPECIAL LIST:
DATE OF CRIME: 1984/12/23 AGE AT CRIME: 19 CATEGORY: LEO:
DATE OF SENT.: 1985/06/20 WEAPON: STABBED & BEATEN
CRIME: MURDER-RAPE NO. KILLED: 1 TOTAL KILLED:
VICT. CODE: HF15
CMTS#1: OLGA LYDIA PERALES (15), gang raped, stabbed chest «& stomach,
beaten w/ pipe [20-30 wounds ]
~-she had been picked up at a party to be taken home; friend of a
friend ~-He was a member of “El Cliqua" gang
£=84/12/24
KNOWN PREVIOUS CONVICTIONS: "several prior" BURGLARY
ACCOMPLICE: ROMERO (EXE-174); CARDENAS (L); LEYVA (2>FIRST ENTER:
CMTS#2:
ACCOMPLICE:
JESUS ROMERO JR (19) [EXE - 1992/05/20]
JOSE F. CARDENAS [ ] [L]
RAFAEL LEYVA JR [ ] [20yrs]
[ON PAROLE 1997/06/04]
PRESS INTERVIEW SHORTLY AFTER ARRIVING @ TX S.P. 1985;
~he admitted/bragged about ordering her to be killed “regretted not
doing it myself.” “The only thing I regret is not taking part in the
murder itself,"
LAST WORDS: Thanked his sister & urged his family to trust in God. "If it
matters to anyone, I did not kill Olga." {see above}
LAST MEAL: declined
HUMOR-STRANGE:
SOURCE: TX DOC IQ LEVEL:
CMTS#3:; -~PROTESTORS: 17-30 depending on news service (originally about 30
reporters but most left after the execution of Johnson {same evening}
NAME: ROMERO, JESUS JR. DATE OF EXEC.: 1992/05/20 NUMBER: 174
S: YofE: 92 DR #: TX-000801 METHOD: INJECTION TIME: 0140
soc. CLASS: ECO. CLASS: EXECUTION SET : 92/05/20-EXE NO.: 4
RACE? ‘H SEX: M TO-DR: 06.8 T-C: 07.4 AGE AT Bie 22 27 DOB: 65/02/03
STATE: TX CO: CAMERON CITY: SAN BENITO
HOR: BOOK/MOVIE:
H: 1.3.3 CteesRt 2 SPECIAL LIST:
DATE OF CRIME: 1984/12/23 AGE AT CRIME: 19 CATEGORY: LEO:
DATE OF SENT.: 1985/07/24 WEAPON: BEATEN & STABBED
CRIME: MURDER-RAPE NO. KILLED: 1 TOTAL KILLED: 1
VICT. CODE: HF15
CMTS#1: OLGA PERALES (15), gang raped, stabbed chest & stomach, beaten w/ pipe
—-she had been picked up at a party to be taken home
--He was a member of "El Cliqua" gang
--beer & drugs
KNOWN PREVIOUS CONVICTIONS: AGR. SEXUAL ASSAULT (10YRS) (ON PAROLE FOR THREE WKS)
(SERVED 3 MONTHS)
ACCOMPLICE: LOSADA (EXE391); CARDENAS (L); LEYVA(20Y)FIRST ENTER: 1992/05/20
CMTS#2:
—~-ACCOMPLICE
--DAVIS LOSADA (DEATH)
--JOSE F. CARDENAS (LIFE)
--RAFAEL LEYVA JR (20YRS) (TEST. ) (RAPE ONLY)
LAST WORDS: --NO LAST STATEMENT
LAST MEAL: T-bone steak, baked potato, salad, vanilla milk shake, chocolate ice
cream
HUMOR-STRANGE:
SOURCE: TX DOC IQ LEVEL:
CMTS#3; --During his trial he sat and giggled as witnesses described how he beat
and raped her
SUPPOSEDLY HIS ATTORNEY PRESENTED ONLY A 29 WORD DEFENSE AT SENT. HEARING
“You are an extremely intelliigent jury. You've got the man’s life in
your hands. You can take it or not. That’s all I have to say."
:
ye
a
ber
wee.
¥
whee
ROMERO vy. STATE Tex. 521
Cite as 716 S.W.2d 519 (Tex.Cr.App. 1986)
and reported the instant offense. Texas
Ranger Bruce Casteel, District Attorney
Alvarado and an attorney for Leyva, Hora-
cio Berrera (who continued to represent
Leyva) were summoned. Leyva made a
statement at that time about the offense in
which he admitted his presence at the of-
fense but denied any other involvement.
At trial Leyva testified in behalf of the
State. The testimony of Leyva at trial
reflected the following. A party, which
was attended by the deceased, was held at
Ray Amaya’s house in San Benito on the
night in question. Cardenas, Losada and
appellant approached Leyva in downtown
San Benito in Cardenas’ car and invited him
to go to a party with them. Prior to arrival
at Amaya’s house they went “cruising” for
about an hour during which time all of
them were drinking beer and smoking mar-
ihuana. Upon arrival at Amaya’s house it
was discovered that the party had broken
up and only Amaya and the deceased were
present. The deceased came out and
“started going to the car slowly ... all ofa
sudden Jesse Romero [appellant] pushed
the girl [the deceased] inside the car.”
Cardenas was in the driver’s seat and ap-
pellant pushed the deceased into the pas-
senger side of the front seat. Losada and
Leyva got in the back seat. “Jesse [appel-
lant] was holding the girl’s head down ...
He was holding it with the right hand on
her head pushing to her knees ... he was
telling her just to keep quiet.” The testi-
mony of Leyva reflects that they drove to a
place beside the lake called La Piedra.
During that time appellant was holding the
deceased’s head down and telling her to be
quiet. The deceased was asking to “leave
her alone” and “take her home.” Davis
Losada first had sex with the deceased.
Davis put “a knife to her neck ... and she
got on ‘four’ giving Davis a blow job ...
the girl was saying to take her home and
just to leave her alone and Davis was tell-
ing her to shut up and if she didn’t shut up
something was going to happen to her, and
the girl was kind of like weeping ...”
Appellant “unzipped his pants and got
inside the car while the girl was on ‘four,’
and still gave Davis the blow job, he [appel-
lant] got in through the back and started
having sex with her.” After appellant fin-
ished, Leyva “started having sex with her
in the back.” The deceased was subse-
quently ordered out of the car by Losada
and forced to get on the “back windshield”
where Losada “started having sex with her
again.”” The deceased continued to ask to
be taken home and Cardenas removed a
pipe from the car that “looked like a base-
ball bat.” A discussion ensued as _ to
whether the deceased would tell anyone
and the deceased insisted that she would
keep quiet and say nothing. Leyva testi-
fied that he told the others that she would
keep quiet and they keep telling him
“That’s no good. She’s going to say some-
thing and we are going to get in trouble.”
Cardenas handed Leyva the pipe and Leyva
hit the girl on the forehead with the pipe.
The deceased did not fall down and appel-
lant grabbed the pipe out of Leyva’s hand
and “Started hitting the girl ... He was
hitting her hard with both hands on the
pipe.” The deceased fell to the ground
after appellant hit her the second time and
after she fell to the ground appellant hit
her “three or four or five times at the
most.” The girl stopped making noise af-
ter appellant “finished hitting her.” Some-
one else hit her “three or four more times.”
Leyva then observed Cardenas hitting the
girl ‘with both hands on the pipe.” Jesse
[appellant] was giggling while he was hit-
ting the girl.” Losada told Leyva to “grab
the girl and drag her inside the bushes.”
Leyva responded that he was not going to
grab the girl. Losada and appellant “both
came at me with knives.” Appellant then
observed the girl move and Losada said
“Just to make sure she’s dead, I’ll stab
her.” Losada again told Leyva to drag the
girl into the bushes and after dragging her
“halfway,” Davis told appellant “to give
me a hand” and “my and Jesse [appellant]
dragged the girl way back in the bushes.”
Appellant with a knife in his hand told
Leyva “Stab her or I’ll stab you.” Leyva
stabbed the girl “from the waist to her
chest” and gave the knife back to appel-
lant. Leyva and his three companions re-
SS A iain VF Eck tn dt pete ama ai
a sone
jun at,
Judge Clinton states the following:
‘(SJhould the evidence raise a question
whether the offense actually committed
was perpetrated in furtherance of the ob-
ject felony, or was one which should have
been anticipated by the accused, a timely
requested affirmative instruction on the
theory of independent impulse ought to be
submitted to the jury.” I disagree.
Why, as a matter of law, should the
accused ever be entitled to a negating type
instruction, such as on the theory of inde-
pendent act or impulse of another, if the
trial judge has properly charged the jury
on what it must find before it can return a
verdict of guilty, and has also instructed
the jury that if it has a reasonable doubt
thereof it should acquit the accused? I
would answer the question in the negative.
Therefore, I concur only in the result
that the majority opinion reaches, that the
court of appeals erred in holding that the
trial judge erred in refusing the appellant’s
requested instruction on the theory of inde-
pendent impulse.
O © KEY NUMBER SYSTEM
4yims
' Jesus ROMERO, Jr., aka Jesse
Romero, Jr., Appellant,
v.
The STATE of Texas, Appellee.
No. 69509.
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas,
En Banc.
Sept. 17, 1986.
Defendant was convicted in the 197th
Judicial Court, Cameron County, Darrell B.
Hester, J., of capital murder. Defendant
appealed. The Court of Criminal Appeals,
Tom G. Davis, J., held that: (1) accomplice
witness’ testimony did not have to be inde-
pendently corroborated concerning defend-
CKxecudtced Sfrof 92 lL osad4y hingho
“Pex “—2—"_ ROMERO v. srafe t
Cite as 716 S.W.2d 519 (Tex.Cr.App. 1986)
ant’s involvement in commission of offense
as to that element which elevated the mur-
der to capital murder; (2) accomplice wit-
ness testimony was sufficiently corrobo-
rated by defendant’s statement; and (3)
evidence was sufficient to sustain convic-
tion.
Affirmed.
Clinton, J., concurred in the result.
1. Criminal Law @511.1(4)
Testimony of accomplice witness did
not require corroboration concerning in-
volvement in commission of offense as to
that element which elevated the murder to
capital murder, as well as the alleged mur-
der. Vernon’s Ann.Texas C.C.P. art. 38.14.
2. Criminal Law 511.5
Proof that accused was at or near
scene of crime at or about time of its
commission, when coupled with other suspi-
cious circumstances, may tend to connect
accused to crimes so as to furnish suffi-
cient corroboration to support conviction.
3. Criminal Law 511.2
To support conviction based upon ac-
complice witness’ testimony, there must be
corroborating evidence, other than testimo-
ny of accomplice witness, which tends to
connect defendant with the offense.
4. Criminal Law ¢=511.2
To support conviction based upon ac-
complice witness’ testimony, it is not neces-
sary that evidence corroborating accom-
plice witness testimony directly link ac-
cused to crime or be sufficient in itself to
establish guilt; it is sufficient if combined
cumulative weight of incriminating evi-
dence furnished by nonaccomplice witness-
es tends to connect accused with commis-
sion of offense.
5. Criminal Law 511.7
Defendant’s statement tended to con-
nect him with crime and was sufficient to
corroborate accomplice witness’ testimony.
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6. Criminal Law ¢=511.7
Evidence, which consisted of accom-
plice witness’ testimony and defendant's
statement, was sufficient to sustain convic-
tion for capital murder. V.T.C.A., Penal
Code § 19.08(a)(2).
Jon R. Wood, Brownsville, for appellant.
Benjamin Euresti, Jr., Dist. Atty. and
Mervyn M. Mosbacker, Jr., Asst. Dist.
Atty., Brownsville, Robert Huttash, State’s
Atty., Austin, for the State.
Before the court en banc.
OPINION
TOM G. DAVIS, Judge.
Appeal is taken from a conviction for
capital murder. V.T.C.A. Penal Code, Sec.
19.03(a)(2). After finding appellant guilty,
the jury returned affirmative findings to
the special issues under Art. 37.071, V.A.C.
C.P. Punishment was assessed at death.
The indictment charges in pertinent part
that appellant on or about the 23rd day of
December, 1984, did unlawfully:
“|. intentionally and knowingly cause
the death of O P , the de-
ceased, by striking her on the head and
face with a blunt object, the nature of
which is unknown to the grand jury, and
the said defendant was then and there in
the course of committing and attempting
to commit the offense of aggravated sex-
ual assault on O r. in violation
of the penal laws of this state, to wit:
Section 19.03(a)(2) of the Texas Penal
Code, ...”
[1] In a single ground of error appel-
lant contends “The accomplice witness tes-
timony is not independently corroborated
concerning the appellant’s involvement in
the commission of the offense as to that
element which elevates the murder to capi-
tal murder.”
Appellant urges that “no independent ev-
idence exists, either real or circumstantial
connecting him to the aggravating element
necessary to sustain a capital murder con-
716 SOUTH WESTERN REPORTER, 2d SERIES
viction if the accomplice testimony is dis-
regarded.” The cases cited by appellant,
Fortenberry v. State, 579 S.W.2d 482 (Tex.
Cr.App.1979) and County v. State, 668
S.W.2d 708 (Tex.Cr.App.1984) stand for the
proposition, as urged by appellant, that the
accomplice witness testimony has to be cor-
roborated as to the specific element which
makes the offense a capital crime. How-
ever, since appellant’s brief was prepared,
Fortenberry and its progeny have been
expressly overruled by this Court in Holla-
day v. State, 709 S.W.2d 194 (Tex.Cr.App.
1986). Holladay held that the testimony of
an accomplice witness in the prosecution
for capital murder did not require corrobo-
ration concerning the alleged robbery (the
offense which elevated murder to capital
murder) as well as the alleged murder.
Art. 38.14, V.A.C.C.P., provides:
“A conviction cannot be had upon the
testimony of an accomplice unless cor-
roborated by other evidence tending to
connect the defendant with the offense
committed; and the corroboration is not
sufficient if it merely shows the commis-
sion of the offense.”
A review of the court’s charge in the
instant cause reflects that it is in conformi-
ty with Art. 38.14, supra and sets forth all
the requirements for corroboration of an
accomplice witness’ testimony outlined in
Holladay.
Notwithstanding the demise of Forten-
berry we review the sufficiency of the evi-
dence to support the conviction. We make
such review due to the seriousness of the
offense for which appellant was convicted
and especially in light of the severity of the
punishment assessed.
Appellant, along with Jose Cardenas, Da-
vis Losada and Rafael Leyva were indicted
for the offense of capital murder of the
victim, a fifteen-year-old junior high stu-
dent in San Benito. Said offense was al-
leged to have occurred on December 13,
1984.
Codefendant Leyva, who was sixteen
years of age at the time, went to his juve-
nile probation officer on January 8, 1985
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+ 103: LEd 2d 334, 109 S Ct
1060. This: response is unpersuasive.
Mallett’s equal protection argument
- igs “dictated by precedent existing at
the time. the defendant’s conviction
became final.” Id., at ——, 103 L Ed
2d. 334, 109 S Ct 1060 (emphasis
omitted). The argument flows neces-
sarily from the language in Batson
stating that purposeful discrimina-
tion is impermissible in jury selec-
tion procedures. Batson v Kentucky,
supra, at’ 86-87, 90 L Ed 2d 69, 106 S
Ct 1712. More importantly, it is not
evident to me that Teague applies to
our review of state post-conviction
proceedings in which . the | state
courts have addressed the merits of
the petitioner’s claims. Certainly,
the issue is one that merits review
by this Court.
When it transferred this capital
murder trial to a county with no
inhabitants. of Mallett’s race, the
trial court violated Jerome Mallett’s
fundamental equal protection rights.
The transfer is particularly appall-
ing because the defense counsel em-
phasized to the trial court that the
venue should be one where members
of Mallett’s race resided, and be-
cause the judge could have selected
other counties in Missouri that satis-
fied this valid concern. Accordingly,
I dissent.
Justice Blackmun dissents.
a
o
No. 89-6390. Jesus Rometo; Peti-
- tioner v James A. Collins, ‘Direc-
|
MEMORANDUM CASES
i
writ of. ‘certiorari’ to the United
States Court of Appeals for the Fifth
Circuit denied. ais
Same case below, 884 F2d 871.
Justice Brennan and Justice Mar-
shall, dissenting.
Adhering to our. views that the
death penalty is in all circumstances
cruel: and unusual punishment pro-
hibited by the Eighth and Four-
teenth: Amendments, Gregg -v Geor-
gia, 428 US 153, 227, 231, 49 L Ed
2d 859, 96 S Ct 2909 (1976), we
would grant certiorari and vacate
the death sentence in this case.
No. 89-6605. In Re Federick E.
Godwin, Petitioner ;
_ February 26, 1990. The petition
for writ of habeas corpus is denied.
No. 89-6402. In Re James Evegela-
tos, Petitioner
February 26, 1990. The petition
for writ of mandamus is denied.
tor, Texas Department of Crimi-
nal Justice, Institutional Divi-
sion .
February 26, 1990. Petition for
x (Keomere
<-20-72
Hunts vi //-e TEexKea
487
execnte
U op Nine
AEWS
Jadoo { ai
George D., white, leth. inj., TX& (Tarrant) September 20, 1994
H Tuesday, July 19, 1994
Killer to be executed
Sept. 20, judge rules
By Selwyn Crawford
Fort Worth Bureau of The Dallas Morning News
: FORT WORTH — Convicted capital
. murderer George D. Lott will be put to
death Sept. 20, state District Judge
Sharen Wilson ruled Monday,
Judge Wilson sentenced Mr. Lott to
death last year after a Potter County
jury found him guilty of.the July 1,
1992, slayings of Tarrant County assis-
tant district attorney Chris Marshall
and Dallas lawyer John Edwards in-
side a Tarrant County courtroom.
During the shooting rampage, Mr.
Lott wounded another assistant dis-
. trict attorney and two 2nd Court of
_ Appeals justices. = ue
Mr. Lott, a 47-year-old University of
, Texas law school graduate, repre- -
, Sented himself at his 1993 capital mur-
der trial CC vali eny
'" His decision not to appeal his con-
| viction or sentence has surprise
. Some. aN
.. ‘Tm not aware of any other case.
where simply nothing was filed,” said
Steve Hall, a spokesman for the Texas
. Resource Center, an Austin-based le-
_ Man shot up FW courtroom in 1992
gal aid organization that helps some?’}:::
death row inmates with their appeals.
“Anytime you have an individual
who doesn't have an attorney or who
doesn't want to appeal, you look at a
number of things to determine if
that's a rational decision.”
Mr. Hall said his organization filed
a “friend-of-tthe court brief” with the
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ask-
ing that court to extend the time for
Mr. Lott to appeal. But, Mr. Hall
. Stressed: “We are not his lawyer.”
Before setting the sentencing date,
Judge Wilson ordered a psychiatric
‘examination to determine whether
Mr. Lott was aware of the consequenc-
es of acting as his own attorney.
~ During a brief hearing, two doctors
testified that Mr. Lott is mentally com-
petent and aware that his failure to
. appeal his conviction would speed his
execution. vt
Mr. Lott, as he promised during an
earlier hearing, refused to cooperate
with the doctors. They made their de
terminations based on observations of
_ him and a review of previous court
» see
George Lott ... did not ap-
peal his conviction or death
sentence.
records.
Alan Levy, the Tarrant County as-
sistant district attorney who prosecut-
ed Mr. Lott, said he agreed with the
medical assessments.
“There's all kinds of evidence to
show that he is competent,” Mr. Levy
said.
Nonetheless, he said he believes
that some individual or group may
attempt a final appeal before Sept 20.
“Tm sure that someone will file an
appeal,” Mr. Levy said. “They'll have to
try and prove that he's incompetent,
though, and they aren't going to be
able to do that.”
Ma
DALLAS MORNING VEW >
Lott’s request for new trial in FW killings is denied
@ AMARILLO — A state judge rejected a request Monday for a new trial:
by George Lott, a lawyer convicted of a July 1 shooting rampage at the.
Fort Worth courthouse. State District Judge Sharen Wilson denled Mr.
Lott’s motion, which was filed In Potter County, where the case was —
9 3 moved because of heavy news coverage In Tarrant County. Mr. Lott,
who represented himself, was convicted Feb. 12 of capital murder and
sentenced to death. Mr. Lott told Judge Wilson that he would represent
himself again in a new trial. Prosecutor Alan Levy called Mr. Lott's re-
quest. luclerous. Mr. Lott remains In the Potter County Jalil. His case will —
automatically be appealed to the state Court of Criminal Appeals.
’ jul
* ts :
"ites
‘Seven recall Tarrant
By Selwyn Crawford
; Fort Worth Bureau of The Dallas Morning News
' AMARILLO — With emotion
lin their voices and on their
' faces, seven people on Tuesday
recalled seeing George Douglas
Lott calmly and deliberately fire
| comme shots inside a Tarrant
County courtroom last July,
‘ thinking they were “all going to
, die.”
, . One witness, Dallas lawyer
; Chris Ewing, said the gunman
‘ showed such callousness while
shooting that she initially be-
lieved that he was a hired assas-
sin,
“It was just this steely gaze
Straight forward,” Ms.; Ewing
- said, “He wasn't shaking. His lips
weren't trembling. He was just
courtroom shootings
Lott was deliberate, callous, witness testifies
firing the gun.
“I thought he was a profes-
sional. I thought to.myself, ‘This
is a job. oo
Ms. Ewing, along with six
other witnesses, positively iden-
tified Mr, Lott as the man they
saw firing the weapon inside the
‘courtroom at the 2nd Court of
Appeals in Fort Worth. Two law.
Edwards, were killed. Three oth-
ers were wounded, |
The capital murder trial for
Mr. Lott, 45, a former lawyer who
is representing himself, was
moved to the Panhandle because
of’extensive pretrial media cov-
erage in the Dallas-Fort Worth
area. Prosecutors are seeking the
Please see WITNESSES on Page 37,
yers, Chris Marshal] and John -
Witnesses recall courtroom shootings
pee from Page 33A.
death penalty.
Tuesday was the first day of testi-
mony after one month of jury selec-
tion. In addition to the seven
eyewitnesses, three other people
‘testified that they saw Mr. Lott in-
'side the courtroom just before they
heard gunshots.
But aside from Ms. Ewing, whose
graphic, detailed description of the
icrime had one juror in tears, the
‘day's most dramatic testimony came
from retired Senior Judge Clyde
‘Ashworth. Judge Ashworth was
substituting for another appeals
icourt July 1 when the shooting oc-
curred,
' The judge, who walks with a
.cane from injuries he received, said
ithat when he heard the shots, he
‘ducked below the bench. As he and
his two colleagues lay there, he said
‘he could see “daylight from the bul-
let holes” as bullets ripped through
the judge's bench.
“During the shooting, I raised
my'head and look d out,” Judge
Yor iM UNE Meus, Bellas
Ashworth said. “That's when I saw’
‘Tuesday, but he failed to rattle
The judge said be ducked again: :
him shoot Chris Marshall.”
and, “I thought at the time that I
had lucked out, but about that time
I got shot rouge ‘the right but-
tock." :
He said that despite his injury,
he looked out into the courtroom |
again. This time, he said, the gun-:
man saw him.
“I just ducked back under the
bench ‘and waited for him to come
kill me," Judge Ashworth said,
trying to control his emotions. “He
came around the. side of the bench
and he looked down at me and |
looked up at him. He shot me as |
was looking at him.”
Prosecutor Mike Parrish asked .
Judge Ashworth whether the gun-.
man said anything before he pulled
the trigger,
_ “My best recollection,” Judge
Ashworth stated, “is he said, ‘You're
a dead man,’ or ,-‘I'm going to kill
gr Words to that effect.”
cross-examined al] 11
rs)
"witnesses called by prosecutors
them or force them to change their
accounts of the events. i
At times, he showed his lack of
courtroom acumen by allowing wit-
nesses to ramble with long, narra-
tive answers, or in one case, placing
in evidence an exhibit that prosecu-
tors had openly stated that they
; planned to offer. Also, he never ob-
jected to any questions asked by
prosecutors.
Mr. Lott did ask almost every wit-
ness whether they saw him in news
coverage of the incident after he
turned himself in at WFAA-TV
(Channel 8) about six hours after
: the shootings. All s1id that they did,
but Mr. Lott excu.ed chem without
further questioning.
The trial will continue Wednes-
day morning with additional prose-
cution witnesses, It is still not
known whether Mr. Lott plans to
call any witnesses — including him-
self — after the state finishes its
case,
TK Y/9//492.
7-12-94 T
Execution date delayed pending evaluation
_ FORT WORTH — George Lott, sentenced to death for a 1992 fatal
‘shooting spree at the Tarrant County Courthouse, will undergo psychiatric
« evaluation before an execution date is set. State District Court Judge
Sharen Wilson ordered the evaluation Monday because Mr. Lott, who is
representing himself, did not file papers appealing his conviction and
death sentence. Judge Wilson said she wanted to make sure Mr, Lott is
capable of continuing to represent himself before an execution date is set.
Mr. Lott was convicted in February 1993 forthe July 1, 1992, courthouse
shootout that left two lawyers dead and thrée others wounded. .
DALLAS “to
= —*
<NING NEWS
that Lott put a gun near the child’s head,
threatened to kill him and fired off a
round in the air, saying, “Your mommy
will be killed if you tell our little se-
crets.””
His ex-wife alleged that Lott had told
her during their marriage that “pain
turns him on.”
Peoria investigators.said the abuse
appeared to have been “ritualistic, and
perhaps satanic” in nature. The reported
emotional effect on the youngster had
been drastic.
“You just try to talk to this little boy, :
and you have to wonder how another
human being could ever do something
so horrible,” said an assistant district at-'
torney.
Throughout the legal proceedings. in’
Peoria, Lott had represented himself. .
The prosecutors termed him “arrogant.
and unbalanced.”’ In fact, Lott had been.
in hot contention with the Peoria inves-
tigators and the court right up to. that
morning when he attacked the Fort
Worth courtroom with a blizzard of bul-
lets, the investigation revealed.
On June 4th, Lott had written a letter
to Peoria prosecutors, accusing them of
withholding the addresses of witnesses
and of fabricating other information.
The letter ended with a threat to seek’
sanctions or legal discipline against the
chief prosecutor,
On Tuesday, and up to 8:50 a.m, on
Wednesday—the day of the Fort Worth
rampage—Lott had telephoned the
criminal circuit court in Peoria, de-'
manding an immediate hearing and rav-
ing against a clerk until she finally hung
up on him.
Fort Worth homicide detectives who
examined Lott’s five-inch-thick di-’
vorce-case folder on file in the Texas
court saw that the last entry had been
made on the Friday before the court-
room shootings. :
After being advised that the abuse
charges were pending against, Lott in
Peoria, and that the court there had pro-
hibited Lott any more contact with his
son, the Fort Worth judge granted a re-
quest by Lott’s former wife to keep her
Peoria address secret from Lott—an ex-
ception to usual divorce proceedings.
Lott’s place as the No. 1 suspect in
the courtroom shootings was clinched
by a witness located by the’ detectives.
This witness said that George Lott was
the man he saw walk out of the Tarrant’
County Courthouse minutes after the
mass shootings. The witness recalled
that Lott was wearing a blue jacket and
carrying a black bag.
While the Fort Worth detéctives
12 Front Page Detective
the station... ©
a:
Attorney John Edwai
him'down in a stairwell of the building.
ao |
pressed an all-out manhunt for the sus-
pect, a man walked into the. studios of
TV Station WFAA-TV (Channel 8) in
Dallas. Dallas’ is not. far from Fort
Worth. The two cities and their'suburbs.
make up the sprawling Metroplex area
and both cities share in'the huge Dallas-
Fort Worth International Airport located
midway between their boundaries.
The man asked the receptionist to
speak to one of the news anchormen of
“Ym the guy who shot the judges ‘in
Tarrant County,” the quiet-spoken visi-
tor said. e
; The startled receptionist managed to
keep her composure. -
“Will you please sign the register
book?” she asked, pushing forward the
visitor’s log;
“Sure, no problem,” the man replied.
It was 4:15 p.m. when‘he signed his -
name: G, Lott... > grees
The receptionist ‘ushered him into a -
first-floor office, then notified the news- ’
operations manager that a man who had
identified himself as ‘the Fort Worth
gunman was waiting. The manager
called Dallas police while a station em-
. ployee began a conversation with: Lott.
The first thing the news-assignment edi-
tor asked Lott was if he was armed.
“As.a matter of fact, yes, Iam,” Lott
said, turning around’and lifting the back ©
of his shirt. What appeared to'be an au-
tomatic could be seen tucked inside the
waistband of Lott’s pants. Another sta-
tion employee gingerly, removed the
. gun and frisked the apparently: compli-
ant Lott for other weapons while the as- -.
dwards’ attempt to sum-
* mon help ended when‘ the killer gunned
signment editor held Lott’s arm. The
employee found some ammunition in.
one of Lott’s socks. Lott also handed
over a small penknife.
One of the TV news anchormen start-
ed asking Lott some questions. Lott told
the newsman that he felt he had to do
something drastic to call attention to a
case that.involved Lott’s young son.
“You have'to do.a very, very horrible
thing to get people’s attention,” Lott de-
clared. “Maybe I’m wrong. But I’m sor-
ry—that’s the way I see the world.” He
added that there was ‘‘no system of
checks and balances for the judicial sys-
. tem.” So he had turned to bullets in-
stead. Ws,
As the TV newspeople talked with
Lott, it only took-a few minutes for a
dozen uniformed officers from the Dal-
las Police Department to descend on the
station’s downtown studios. They
quickly took Lott into custody without
his offering any resistance. With Lott in
handcuffs, a patrolman examined the
gun taken from him—a 9-millimeter
handgun. The officer found one bullet in
’. the chamber and 16 more in the ammu-
nition clip that had been removed from
one of Lott’s socks.
Before the police took him away
from the TV station, Lott gave a state-
ment that was videotaped. In the state-
ment, Lott admitted to the courthouse
shootings and spewed out harsh criti- _
cism of the legal system—particularly
the way Lott’s 1990 divorce case had
been handled, ending in the custody of
his 4-year-old son being granted to the
boy’s mother.
When the police located the suspect’s
vehicle where he said he had left it
. parked, they searched it and found 700
rounds.of ammunition, three loaded
magazines, and a hand-held police scan-
ner. Also recovered from the white
Plymouth Voyager minivan was a blue
jacket that could have been the blue
blazer worn by the gunman in the court-
room, said W.L. Walles, a Fort Worth
crime scene investigator.
’ A black satchel filled with loaded am-
munition magazines and boxes of ammo
was found between the'seats of the min-
_ivan. It was similar to the black bag the
witnesses had seen the gunman carry-
ing. Another item discovered in'the ve-
hicle was a list of names, addresses and
telephone numbers, including those of
judges. There were also hand-drawn
“maps with notes on the directions to
. Some locations.
- The investigators.wondered if'the
' suspect had compiled a “hit list.”
Meanwhile, the sleuths also found a
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gunman’s opening volley of bullets was
directed at the judges on the bench, the
detectives felt almost certain that the
judges had been his primary target.
As news of the courtroom rampage
was flashed on TV and radio and printed
in the afternoon newspapers, Fort Worth
residents were stunned by the wanton
Slayings and the wounding of the well-
respected lawyers and judges.
Chris Marshall was one of the most
respected appellate attorneys in the
State. He’d been in court that morning to
help an inexperienced assistant district
attorney argue a case. A tall, quiet man,
Marshall had built the appellate division
of the district attorney’s office into a
highly respected force of 14 lawyers.
John Edwards, who had celebrated .
his 33rd birthday only a month before
the fatal shooting, had an excellent rep-
utation as a lawyer and family man. He
and his wife were active in their church.
The young lawyer was the father of
3-year-old twins and a 1-year-old child,
The 48-year-old Judge Mason had
been on the appellate bench since being
appointed in 1983 and had been re-
elected in 1984 and 1990. He had served
as a municipal judge, county judge, and
district judge, before his appointment to
the appellate court. ees
Judge Bellows, who was 69, had Te-
tired from the bench in 1986, but his
dedication to the law and his sterling
reputation as a judge continued to bring
him to the courthouse. As senior judge
for the state judicial system, he filled in
for vacationing judges or helped to re-
duce court backlogs.
While the intensive manhunt for the
gunman continued throughout the city,
the sleuths under the direction of Fort
Worth Detective Danny LaRue, the lead
homicide investigator in the case, met
with court officials to search through
past court records for. a possible lead as
to why the deadly bullet barrage had
been fired at the three-judge panel.
With the help of court administrators
and clerks, the investigators began por-
ing over past rulings by the jurists of the
court, checking primarily for negative
rulings against anyone who'd had a case
before the appeals court—rulings that
might have ignited a desire for revenge.
To be sure, violence had not been a
total stranger to the ancient Tarrant
County Courthouse in the past.
In August 1989, in the same building,
a bail bondsman made a hostage of
his girlfriend, who was a justice of the.
peace clerk. He was upset because she
had accused him of abusing her chil-
- dren. He kept the authorities at bay in a
10 Front Page Detective
standoff that went:on for several hours.
The violent episode ended tragically
when the gunman shot and killed the
woman clerk, and then killed himself.
Just the year before, in June 1986, .
during a routine hearing in a courtroom,
a man shot and killed another man who:
.had been living with the gunman’s for-
mer wife. The shooter was in court for a
-hearing on a charge of having pointed a
gun at his former wife’s son. After kill-
ing the wife’s boyfriend, the gunman
tried to drag her from the courtroom at
gunpoint, but he was soon overpowered.
.. by officers. Later he was sentenced to
life in prison, after being convicted of |
murder.
In March 1991, a defendant on trial
for capital murder grabbed a loaded gun _
from the desk of the presiding judge
during’a conference of attorneys and the. -
defendant in the judge’s chambers and.
attempted to take the judge hostage.
However, the judge and a state prosecu-
tor were able to disarm the gunman.
without a shot being discharged.
After those last two violent out-
breaks, the criminal court judges called
for increased security for their courts. In
‘response, the county bought 32 walk-
through metal detectors from the state
prison system. But all the metal detec-
tors that could spot anyone carrying a
gun into the courtroom were still in a
courthouse storage room when the
shooting spree erupted in the appellate
court on July 1st..The maintenance su-
pervisor of the building later said that
the metal detectors were being held in
reserve, awaiting requests from any of
the judges who wanted them for their
courtroom. ie
One. judge did request one of the de-
tectors for her courtroom several hours
after the appellate court rampage. She
told reporters that the county officials
had said earlier that it cost too much
money to hire.personnel to operate the
detection devices—one of those “Catch
22” situations that seem to arise in'gov-
ernment, planning: paint
Security in the old courthouse build-
ing had decreased even more after the .
Tarrant County Criminal Justice Center
was built and the county, family, and
district courts moved into the new
courts building.. With the exodus of the
judges and their bailiffs, the old court-
house became even more vulnerable. -
Now, on the day when gunfire from
an unknown assailant had left two dead
and three. wounded, fear'was stalking
both of the court buildings. On the'pos-
sibility that they, too, might be.targets of
a deranged attacker, the other judges in
the county’s criminal justice system
were placed under heavy guard and es-
corted by bailiffs during the remainder
of the day.
But Police Chief Windham expressed
the vexing nature of the, problem. “We
have to face reality that those of us. in
public service are vulnerable,” he re-
marked. ‘‘To get to a point where we
lock ourselves behind closed doors in an
effort to dispense justice is inconceiv-
able.”
By early afternoon, the police had a
jist of three possible suspects. One man
’ was soon eliminated. But when the
‘sleuths examined the background of the
second subject whose name turned up in
a large court file, he became the primary
suspect.
He was identified as 45-year-old
George Douglas Lott, a former lawyer
himself. Lott was known to be espe-
cially bitter not only against the appel-
late court, but also against the district
court that originally handled his divorce
case in 1990. In addition, he was facing
criminal indictments of child sex abuse
in Peoria, Illinois, where his ex-wife
and their 4-year-old son now lived after
the woman was granted custody and
moved from Texas.:According to the of-
ficial charges, the victim of the alleged
_ abuse had been Lott’s own'small son.
Gunning down the judges and attor-
neys in Fort Worth certainly fit the char-
acter of Lott, at least as he was
described by Peoria authorities. They
ranked Lott “as one of the coldest and
meanest people”’ they had ever.encoun-
tered. ep
The ex-attorney had been scheduled
to go on trial on July 20th in Peoria on
the sex-abuse charges. The most recent
offenses had allegedly occurred during
‘alternate weekend visits, when Lott had
come from Texas to visit and had taken
the little boy to a motel there.
The Peoria prosecutors accused Lott
of “‘ritualistically’’ molesting the
youngster with guns, swords, and his
hands, The purported attacks dated back
almost four years during the couple’s
marriage. The ex-wife said she had been
unable to convince the authorities in
Texas that Lott had been doing such un-
believable things to her and her child.
Though the mother had custody of
_ their son, Lott had visitation rights. Af-
ter one such visit, the woman had pro-
- duced photographs she had taken of her
son. She alleged that the boy had been
sodomized with a gun and a knife,
among other abuses. Rope burns on the
boy’s small’ thighs were apparent in the
photos. The mother told investigators
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116 Fairfield Rc
Approved by the New J:
LOTT, George D
LO>® White, leth in faz “4 i,
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[ 4 _ ind i P (Tarrang) September 20,1994
H
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——_—_———_
Testimony to start #7
today in Lott trial
Court slayings case may take 2 weeks jam 4
By Selwyn Crawford
Fort Worth Bureau of The Dallas Morning News
AMARILLO — Seven men and
seven women will begin hearing
testimony Tuesday in the capital
murder trial of
man accused of last summer's fatal
shootings inside the Tarrant
County Courthouse.
The jury, which includes two al-"
ternates, will be sequestered in a
hotel throughout the trial, ‘which
could last up to two weeks
Mr. Lott, 45, is accused of killing
Assistant Tarrant County District ®
Attorney Chris Marshall and Dallas"
defense lawyer John Edwards dur-
ing a shooting spree July 1 that be-
gan inside a Tarrant County court-
room. Three other people, includ-
ing two appeals court judges, were
wounded.
About six hours after the 10 a.m.
shootings, Mr. Lott walked into the
offices of WFAA-TV (Channel 8) in
Dallas and confessed to the slayings
George Lott, the
‘not guilty. State District Judge
in a taped interview. He said that
the shootings were prompted by his
disgust with the way.
and child custody proceedings were
handled.
- Since then, Mr. Lott has pleaded
Sharen Wilson moved the trial to
_ Amarillo because of extensive news
‘media coverage
Worth area. ehi 7
Mr. Lott, a nonpracticing lawyer,
has chosen to represent himself,
in the Dallas-Fort
‘That decision, although, unusual, is :
not unprecedented. . yen
Judge Wilson and prosecutors
have proceeded cautiously during
the pretrial stages of the case to re-
duce the risk of a successful appeal
if Mr. Lott is found guilty.
Mr. Lott had little to say after
Monday’s proceedings.
“Jury selection is over now,” he
said, responding to 4 reporter's
questions.
He then turned his head and
his divorce
George Lott .
| is accused of
illing two people in a
hooting spree in the Tar-
ant County Courthouse.
efused to answer other questions. |
‘Tarrant County
Levy and Mike
prosecutors Alan |
Parrish refused to |
discuss the case Monday. They have
‘subpoenaed dozens of witnesses
jand probably
will introduce Mr.
{Lott's videotaped confession.
If convicted, Mr. Lott will be sen-
tenced to life in prison
injection. Prosecu
ously said that the
death sentence.
or death by
tors have previ-
y would seek the
A former lawyer on a vengeful Tatesibn, George Lo t handled his own defense, but
his ill-conceived effort to raise reasonable doubt in the jurors’ minds fizzled,
witness who recalled Lott being in the
courthouse two weeks before the shoot-
ing spree. The suspect had been inquir-
ing about when the appellate court
would hold its last day of hearings be-
fore going into summer recess.
Upon checking the serial numbers of
the 9mm gun turned over by Lott,-the
detectives learned that he had purchased
it from a retail store on May 2, 1992—
two months before the shootings. The
sleuths also located:a sporting-goods
store clerk who remembered selling
Lott about 600 rounds of ammunition
and showing Lott how the 9mm Glock:
worked. ©
In Lott’s apartment in Arlington,
Texas, the investigators found a shoot-
ing target and evidence that he had been
practicing at a shooting range. .
Lott was not exactly an amateur with
guns to begin with, the detectives knew |
from his thick divorce case dossier on -
file. He had used numerous weapons
while serving in the U.S. Army from
1968 to 1970 during the Vietnam War.
During training at Fort Sill; Oklahoma,
Lott qualified.as a sharpshooter with the
M-14 and M-16 rifles. He served as an
artilleryman from May 1969 to January,
1970. He had received the National De-
fense Service Medal, which is awarded
to U:S. veterans, and the Armed Forces
Expeditionary Medal for his foreign
service. He was discharged in Novem-
ber 1974.
The Lotts were married in August
1985. Outwardly, the couple seemed to
be happy newlyweds, but they separated
14: Front Page Detective
- within six months, In her‘petition for di- -
vorce, his wife alleged that Lott drove
recklessly and endangered her life,
threatened her with his fist anda hatch-
et, and. once caused her to have a mis-
carriage. She told a bizarre story of Lott
acting out his‘anger nude before mir-
rors, and of exacting “revenge” on cer-
tain-restaurant workers by putting sugar .
in their salt shakers. Another time, the
woman said, he tried: to. knock her out of
a rocking chair while she was nursing’
their one-month-old son.
As.a lawyer, Lott had worked on di-
vorces, wills, and misdemeanor cases.
For some unknown reason, he discon-
tinued his law practice in June 1988.
‘During the next 19 months, he applied
for more than 100 jobs, mainly, in the
computer industry. In was not clear how
he was.earning his money, but. he listed
his income as, about $24,000 annually.
During the 1990 divorce hearing, the
judge-refused. to let the jury ‘hear Lott’s
claims: about one witness being biased,
claims which the judge said were un-
founded.
The jury ruled against Lott. They
awarded custody of the son and.$1,000-
a-month child-support to the wife, Lott
was permitted restricted visitation
rights.
When Lott appealed the case, the
Second State Court of Appeals denied
Lott’s objections to the court verdict in.
January 1991, That denial was appar-
ently the reason for his savage court-
room assault on July sti:
On Auguat 25, 1992, Lott, who was
being held in jail with bond denied, was
indicted by a Fort Worth grand jury on
. four felony counts, including capital
“murder, deadly assault on a court partic-
ipant, and carrying a weapon in a pro-
hibited place. Because of the extensive
publicity, his murder trial for the slay-
ings of Chris Marshall and John Ed-
wards was moved on a venue change to
Amarillo.
Lott’s Amarillo trial Started on Febru-
ary 9, 1993. The state presented their
string of witnesses who testified about
the courtroom shootings, along with’ the
«” evidence amassed against Lott, includ-
ing his own videotaped confession.
Lott, representing himself id the trial,
cross-examined the state witnesses only ~
briefly. In his short, rambling defense,
Lott presented only three witnesses. But
in-his closing arguments, he urged the
jury, ‘Take another look at what hap-
pened.’” He: asked if there was not an-
other explanation for the evidence
‘ against him, attempting to raise doubts
as to whether he himself actually com-
mitted. the shooting. He referred to the
varying descriptions of the gunman by
witnesses, a situation which the state
said was not unusual for witnesses be-
cause of their emotional state at the
time.
Lott told the jury that he had been sit-
ting outside the appellate court, but he
left when the shootings occurred. He
said that after listening to news cover- _
age of the case during the day, he de-
cided he could get free TV time to
criticize what he considered the corrup-
tion of the legal system.
“How much does it cost to get five
minutes of air time?”’ he asked the jury.
Lott said that the witnesses who saw
him on TV automatically believed he
was the same man who they saw com-
‘ mit the lethal courtroom shooting-spree.
The jury deliberated only an hour on
February 12, 1993, before reaching a
verdict. They found George Lott guilty
of capital murder. The same jury man-
dated that he receive the death penalty
for. the. killings.
At this time, George Lott is awaiting
the. outcome of an automatic appeal to
the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
60o
EDITOR’S NOTE:
Robert Mason, Alfred Sanford, Carl
Bellows and Ralph Anderson are not the
real names of the persons so named in
the foregoing story. Fictitious names
. have been used because there is no rea-
son for public interest in the identities of
these persons.
How would you like tc
related to your abil&y
questions. Which citie
Pankau, a PI with mior
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These and other insi«:
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PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR
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Don't Bua Me: THE
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API. IN THE 50 STATES
MONEY-BACK GUAR,
Paladin Press « P.O. Bo
Videotapes are nonret
=
SCHEDULED EXECUTIONS
SEPTEMBER 16, 1994
COUNTY ©)
DATE NAME NUMBER DOB AGE REC'D
09/20/94 GEORGE LOTT #999058 06/07/47 (47)W 03/18/93 POTTER
09/27/94 HERMAN CLARK #715 07/26/46 (48)B 06/17/82 HARRIS
10/04/94 RICKY GREEN #984 12/27/60 (33)W 10/05/90 TARRANT
10/05/94 WALTER WILLIAMS _ #722 01/30/62 (32)B 09/03/82 BEXAR
10/07/94 BOBBY WILLS #795 01/28/67 (27)B 05/17/85 ORANGE
10/11/94 JESSEL TURNER #895 06/07/60 (34)B 01/12/88 HARRIS
OM2194 LEOPOLDO WARE. eee 03/13/ 68 26H 4 1/22/88... BEXAR, oe
10/14/94 PEDRO MUNIZ #575 09/25/56 (37H 10/07/27 "WILLIAMSON
10/18/94 CLIFTON RUSSELL JR. #658 08/05/61 (33)W 04/30/80 TAYLOR
10/18/94 DANNY THOMAS #710 08/30/55 (39)W 04/01/82 HARRIS
10/18/94 OLIVER CRUZ #954 05/18/67 (27)H 11/10/89 BEXAR
10/25/94 DELBERT TEAGUE JR. #849 11/11/62 (31)W 11/11/86 ~ TARRANT
10/26/94 MARIO MARQUEZ #776 08/08/58 (36)H 11/28/84 BEXAR *@
11/03/94 MONTY DELK #900 02/24/67 (27)W 05/11/88 ANDERSON
11/15/94 THOMAS MILLER-EL #834 04/16/51 (42)B 06/26/86 DALLAS
11/15/94 GERALD MITCHELL #838 12/27/67 (26)B 07/24/86 HARRIS
11/16/94 JOSE RIVERA #999102 «12/23/62 (31)H 06/02/94 CAMERON
11/22/94 WARREN BRIDGE #668 07/03/60 (34)W 10/01/80 GALVESTON
12/05/94 GEORGE CORDOVA #706 03/26/59 (35)H 03/04/82 BEXAR -
12/06/94 NORMAN GREEN #805 11/07/60 (33)B 09/27/85 BEXAR
01/17/95 CALVIN BURDINE #758 03/28/53 (41)W 02/03/84 HARRIS
02/23/95 GENARO CAMACHO #972 09/14/54 (39)H 05/09/90 DALLAS
DEATH ROW POPULATION: 393
(389 MEN & 4 “
12:09 a.m.
12:12 a.m.
12:14 a.m.
12:19 a.m.
Solution flowing in right arm.
va Lethal dose began.
Lethal dose completed.
Pronounced dead.
(€-22 Tuesday, September 20, 1994
SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER
~
a
it
°
7
\S
|
NATION DATELINES |
‘Courthouse killer
executed in Texas
HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS A former lawyer
who killed two prosecutors during a
courthouse shooting rampage was exe-
cuted by lethal injection early Tuesday,
18 months after being sent to death row.
George Lott, 47, who represented
himself at trial.and through the appeals
process, filed no documents to halt the
execution, the second in Texas within a
week, He made no final statement. _
On July 1, 1992, Lott stood-up in a
Tarrant County Courthouse courtroom
and opened fire with a 9mm handgun.
Two attorneys were killed and three
people weré wounded, including two
judges. He fled the building and surren-
dered later at a Dallas television station.
,,
EXECUTION: Texas early today executed ex-lawyer
George Lott, 47, for a 1992 Tarrant County Courthouse
shooting that killed two lawyers and wounded three other
people. He said he was angry at the court system’s handling
of a divorce and child-molesting charge brought by his ex-
wife. He opposed any appeal of his sentence, making his
execution the quickest from time of conviction to punish-
ment since Texas resumed capital punishment in 1982.
” “OFFICIALS :
EXECUTION WITNE S.S LIST
GEORGE LOTT #999058
September 20, 1994
Reneau Longoria, Assistant Attorney General, State of Texas ; ~
Drew Durham, Assistant Attorney General, State of Texas
Dale Myers, Sheriff, Walker County
James A. Collins, Executive Director,
Wayne Scott, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice-
Jerry Peterson, Deputy Director for Operations, TDCJ-—
Sharon Keilin, Central Region Director,
Kent Ramsey, Assistant Central Region Di
Jim Alexander, Captain, Texas Department of Criminal
» Tommy Collier, Internal Affairs,
Charles L. Brown,
David M. Nunnelee,
REPORTERS :
Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Institutional Division
TDCJ-Institutional Division
rector, TDCJ-Institutional Division
Justice Internal Affairs
Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Assistant Director for Public Information, TDCJ-ID
Public Information Officer, TDCJ-ID
Wayne Sorge, United Press International
Mike Graczyk, Associated Press
Jennifer Lightsey, The Huntsville Item -
Scott Gordon, KXAS-TV - Fort Worth
John Gonzalez, Fort Worth Star Telegram
PERSONAL WITNESSES:
Dr. Robert Lightner, Minister
Katheryn Cox, Minister
/dh
Institutional Division
po mceresinnaabthicimnt 6
ai einen ~ semana scutes i 5a alli apiiaeain.
+
oe
g
ner,
GEORGE LOTT #999058
September 19 — 20, 1994
September 19, 1994
12 midnight - 2:15 a.m. Sleeping on cell floor.
2:40 a.m. Given medication (insulin).
3:15 a.m. Served breakfast meal: eggs, grits, gravy
and biscuits.
3:30 a.m. — 4:00 a.m. Sitting on floor reading.
(hei Scams 5:00 a.m. Poe Sleeping euigeli flders :
6:00 a.m — 7:30 a.m. Lying on cell floor. -. ~
8:20 a.m. Began visit with mother, Nancy Lott, and
sister, Pam Lott.
10:30 a.m. Served afternoon. meal: chicken fried
steak, mashed potatoes, vegetables, hot
rolls w/butter, . and. cake. Continued
family visit.
12:30 p.m. Family members joined in visit by Robert
Lightner, a minister.
LAST MEAL REQUEST: Three pieces of french toast w/syrup; baked sweet potato
w/butter, two sausage patties, and one fried egg.
CLOTHING TO BE WORN: State-issued shirt, pants and shoes.
3:30 p.m. Visit ended.
4:05 p.m. Departed Ellis I enroute to Huntsville
Unit.
4:35 p.m. an ; Arrivéd at the Huntsville Unit.
MOOD APPEARS CALM.
September 20, 1994
12:01. a.m. Taken from holding cell.
12:03 a.m. Strapped to gurney.
12:06 a.m. Solution flowing in left arm.
master and mistress, and showed a determination to act as rebellious as possible, A week
before the mrder she suddnmly disappeared, but was at last, found under the house, and when
ordered out by her master, refused to come until he went in after her, when she darted out
before him, and catching up a billet of wood struck at him a severe blow, which he fortunately
warded off. She attempted to fire the house, and very nearly succeeded in burning it down,
It was impossible to mntrol her while she had the use of her limbs, and she was consequently
put out into the stocks every night diring the last week. On Sunday morning, at 10 o'clock,
she was at work in the kitchen with two German girls, preparing dinner, when Mrs, Dougherty
entered and sent one of: the girls: (Ann Keiss) upstairs to make. the beds and the other (Mary
Keiss) into thediming room to attend the baby, As the latter went, out, Lucy, the black woman,
told her to shut the door, which she did, leaving Mrs, Dougherty and the servant alone, Ina
few minutes Lucy opened the door and called Mary back, She went, and found Mrs, Dougherty
gone, A search was instituted, and the body of Mrs, Dougherty was found in the cistern, It
appears that as soon as Lucy wasleft alone with her mistress an altercation arose, the woman
seized a hatchet and struck two or threeterrible blows upon the head of Mrs, Dougherty,
causing death. She then dragged the body: into the pump-room and thrust it into the cistern,
Two cuts -were found on the head of the deceased = one over the left temple and the obher on
the skull just above the centre of the forehead and either sufficient to cause death, On
one side of the neck was a spot having the appearance of a hard pressure of the thumb or
fingers, as though she had been choked. Lucy was arrested and is in jail." TIMES, New
York, Ne Ye, 1/23/1858 (3/3.)
*
Al 500d lead —
The New Orleans Bee /-14-/858 /*4 Wispatel,
dated '/3/58 trom Galveston TX reports that the
Negro wench ‘Lucy’ 1s bejhg held toy Savage murder
of her MISTYESS. Slave of Joseph 4 Marva Dougher ty.
LUCY, Slave, hanged at Galveston, Texas, on March 5, 1858,
"In 1857, at the intersection of Strang and 2lith Streets, opposite the banking house of
Ball, Hutchings & Company, there stood a rambling woden structure known as the Columbia
Hotel, which, was destroyed by fire in December, 1869, It was kept by Mrs, Maria Dougherty,
who owned a negress named Lucy, purchased from Captain J, H, Sterrett, and not bearing a
| . very good character. Lucy, having been chastised for some trivial offense by her mistress,
had on one occasion set fire to the premises, but the act of XMK&NAXAXZAH incendiarism
was discovered in time to prevent a serious conflagration, When questioned as to
the motive prompting her to set the house on fire, she maintained a stolid xkxe silence and
refused to answer. She was again punsihed for this offense, and when set about her usual
occupations, threatened to wreak vengeance on Mrs, Dougherty. For a time everything
went quite smoothly in the boarding house, and Lucy, although sullen and uncommunicative,
attended to her work and gave no cause for complaint. On Sunday, Jan. 3, 1858, Mrs.
Dougherty disappeared shortly after dinner, and not being seen for several hours, search
was made for her, and on a large brick underground cistern in the yard being examined,
the body of the missing woman was found secreted in it, The corpse was taken from the
water, and on being examined it was discovered that the head had been crushed'by bloys |
of a heavy instrument. The news of the murder spread quickly and created intense excite-
ment, Search was made for thenegress who was discovered secreted in an outhouse. She
was confronted with the corpse and asked if she had slain Mrs, Dougherty, replying: 'Yes,
and I would do it again,' She then maintained an air of stolid indifference and refused
to speak concerning the murder, The murderer was immediately lodged in jail to await the
action of the grand jury, then in session, and on the Monday following was indicted for
murder e
"On the 8th of January, 1858, the prisoner was brought into court for the purpose of having
her case set for trial, and having no counsel, the judge (Hon, Peter W. Gray) appointed
Major R. H, Howard to defend her, On Friday, January 12, 1858, the courtroom was thronged,
and theprisoner, who was about 0 years of age, was brought in by Sheriff Westerlage and
XSxKihomese seated near her counsel, The distfict attorney then read the indictment to
which the defendant entered a plea of 'not guilty' when the special venire was called and
the following jurymen impaneled to try the cause: WrightS. Andrews, Henry Kaufholtz, H. B.
Martin, Ephriam McLean (-Note McLean had also served on the jury which convicted Henry
Forbes, the first man executed in Galveston), Wm, Wright, W. B. Dunning, Henry Homburg,
F, R. Cobb, William Sanderson, A. C. Crawford, John H,. Illies, and T. C. Armstrohg,
The evidence was then heard, and after hearing the argument of counsel and receiving the
charge of the court, the jury retired, and after a brief absence returned a verdict of
touilty of marder in the lst degree,y'which was hanged the judge by their foreman, A,. C,
Crawford. The jurywas then discharged and the prisoner remanded to jail, where she re-
mined until Thursday, Jan, 23, 1858, when she was brought into court for sentence, and in
reply to the question of the court if she had anything to say why sentence should not be
passed, replied that she had not, Judge Bray then sentenced her as follows: 'It is ordered
by the court that the said Lucy be taken hence and safely confined in the jail of this
county, and that on Friday, the 5th day of March, she be taken by the sheriff to the place
of execution and hanged by the neck until she is dead.' Thewoman was then returned to the
ajil which she was destined to never leave alive, As the time for her execution began to
approach she prepared for death, and received religious consolation from Rev. Father L, G.
M, Chambodut. On the evening previous to the day of execution, a gallows was erected in
the second story of the jail, and a few moments after noon on the 5th of March, 1858,
the EwKaKXKK condemned woman was brought forth for execution, She paused for a few moments
at the foot of the gallows, expressed a perfect willingness to die, and said she hoped to
meet forgiveness in the other world, The noose was then adjusted, and the trap
sprung by Sheriff Westerlage, This was the first and only woman hanged in this county."
DAILY NEWS, Galveston, Texas, September f, 1888 (5=3)¥
"The Galveston NEWS of Jan. 5, 1858, has the following: 'On Sunday morning a cold-blooded
murder was committed at the Columbia House in this city, the victim being Mrs, Willaam
Dougherty, a young woman, 23-years-ofsage, the wife of Jaseph Dougherty, proprietor of the
hotel, and the murderer, her slave lycy, a negress the age of 50, The servant was bought
by Mr. Dougherty lh, or 5 weeks ago, and since that time has repeatedly run off and seatta
herself for several days together, and while at work has been very impudent towards her
: a
- crime for which he served 15-years in Michigan.
MAY 16 °96 14:42 FR PUBLIC INFO SERV 4092942924 TO 882123877619 P.@2/86
Name: HENRY LEE LUCAS D.R.# 799
DOB: 08 / 23 / 36 . Received: 06 / 21 / 85 — Age: 43 49 (when rec'd)
. > !
County: Tom Green Date of Offense: 10 yf /79 |
Age at time of offense: 43 Race: White Height: 5'9" - :
Weight: 150 Eyes: Brown jal: train | :
Ge TET]
Native County: Montgomery | State: Virginia
e oul, \
Prior Occupation: Roofer | - “Education level:
Prior prison record:
No prior TOC, but records indicate Lucas served
time in a Virginia state penitentiary (1953-56)
for breaking and entering and burglary, a federal
institution in Michigan (1956-58) for transporting
a stolen automobile, and a Michigan state pen. in
1900 for 2nd degree murder. Lucas was transferred
to a state hospital in Ionia, Mich. in August 1961
He reportedly discharged from his 20-40 year sentence in [975-
Summary: Convicted in the October 1979 strangulation death of an unidentified white
female near Georgetown in Wi lason Lo. In a statement to police, Lucas said he pee
picked up the woman hitchhiking in Oklahoma. He sqid he and: the woman, who was believed an
to be in her 20's, stopped at a truck Stop to eat and then drove to a roadside park
or picnic area, where they engaged i . Lucas said he then’ strangled the woman with fe;
his hands and later dumped her body into a culvert along. IH-35. The woman's bady “resset say
only in a pair of orange socks, was never identified. She weighed approximately 125
pounds and had reddish brown hair.
Lucas attracted national attention by confessing to hundreds of murders around
the country. In Texas alone, he has been convicted of murder and given prison sentences
in Terry, Hale, Montgomer Kaufman, and Clay counties. Lucas later recanted
i s to have killed only: his mother in 1960, a
Contrary to Lucas’ confessions, a McLennan County grand jury probe and an Attorney
General's report indicated he could not have committed many of the crimes he claimed.
€xaS Rangers task force on Lucas and o er Jaw.entorcement agencies claime
to have cleared 266 unsolved killings based on'Lucas*! confessions.
Co-Defendants: None
« Tete Bt
Race of Victim(s): 1 white female =
ML TEXAS _¢
Woke — z aS he ENG
eke dea WILLIAMS v. LYNAUGH 1063
(V\tg (<O7 Cite as 809 F.2d 1063 (Sth Cir. 1987) :
[re wts V) (le. dite ’ Appendix A—Continued
CANNON No 7.191 Yes
GEARHEAART No 7.191 Yes
MORTON Yes 7.095 Yes
BARNES No 6.952 Yes
CARPENTER No 6.952 No
STEWART Yes 6.857 No secretary
THOMAS ? 6.500 No special education
BENNETT ? 6.455 . No ™~ © teachers a
MONTGOMERY Yes 6.409 No
WIEDMAN Yes 6.333 No Kibrari
TOWNSEND Yes 6.136 No ibrarian
CHUBB No 6.000 No
Source: D. Ex. 8; R.3, 167-73. ;
W
° § KEY NUMBER SYSTEM
T
1. Jury <108
a Anthony. Charles WILLIAMS, After initially equivocating in her an-
Petitioner-Appellant swers at voir dire, prospective juror ulti-
mately stated her irrevocable opposition to
death penalty, thereby justifying her exclu-
sion under Witherspoon.
Vv.
James A LYNAUGH, Interim Director,
Texas Department of Corrections,
Respondent-Appellee. 2. Jury 108
No. 86-2190. Prospective juror was capable of vot-
ing for life imprisonment as appropriate
‘ United States Court of Appeals, punishment, and was not unwilling to fol-
Fifth Circuit. low the law in determining whether defend-
Jan. 28, 1987. ant was guilty of capital murder, and there-
fore was not subject to exclusion under
.. Witherspoon.
Petitioner sought habeas relief follow-
ing state capital murder conviction. The
United States District Court for the South-
ern District of Texas, Carl O. Bue, Jr., J.,
denied relief, and petitioner appealed. The
‘Court of Appeals, E. Grady Jolly, Circuit
Judge, held that: (1) trial court did not err
in excluding one prospective juror and re-
fusing to exclude another under Wither- ; : :
offenses was not ineffective assistance of
spoon ; (2) petitioner. was not denied effec-
tive assistance of counsel with regard to counsel. -U.S.0.A. ‘Const.Amend. 6.
extraneous, unadjudicated = offenses 4, Criminal Law €=393(1), 641.12(1)
presented by state as proof of petitioner’s Testimony of state’s psychologist dur-
future dangerousness; and (3) petitioner’s — ing penalty stage of trial, based on pretrial
Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights were psychiatric examination conducted without
not violated when state’s psychologist testi: qvising defendant of right to remain silent
fied during penalty stage ae trial. and right to consult with counsel, did not
Affirmed. ’ : ‘ violate his Fifth and Sixth Amendment
3. Habeas Corpus ¢85.1(2)
State court’s finding. that defendant
had not informed counsel that he did not
commit extraneous offenses presented by
state. as proof of defendant’s future dan-
gerousness was presumptively correct in
habeas proceeding, thereby supporting con-
clusion that counsel’s failure to investigate
f
t
;
a
3
:
Sn REI Sl ss NE ine ss
In Refugio, Sheriff Hunt had little
difficulty in tracing his suspects. With the
aid of police there, he went to a small
rooming house where the pair was lodged.
Gladys Clark, a voluptuous blonde,
gazed sullenly at the officers wher she
answered the door. “What is it this
time ?” she asked sourly.
“Tt may be murder,” Sheriff Hunt said
evenly. “Unless you’ve got a good alibi.”
““What’s the matter ?” the girl snapped.
“Do you have to pick on us? You've had
me in that Sinton jail once and I’m not
going back.”
“We'll see about that,” Hunt said.
“You and Green were in Odem the night
Constable Chisholm was shot. You were
having a celebration. You weren’t cele-
brating that job done by any chance,
were you?”
The girl’s face paled. “I—I didn’t
know Chisholm was shot,” she quavered.
“He was killed,” Hunt said. “Just be-
fore you were heard coming up the stairs
at the rooming house in Odem. Besides,
we found this handkerchief close to the
body. It would match that blue dress
you're wearing.”
Gladys Clark’s whole attitude changed.
Fear drew stark lines in her heavily
made up face.
“Sheriff,” she said, “Frank and I can
prove we didn’t do that. We left the room-
ing house and went to get a beer. The
proprietor of the beer tavern will tell you
that we talked to him until twelve-thirty
when he had to close up. We went Straight
to the rooming house and we spoke to
several of. the lodgers there. They can
all prove it.”
Hunt saw that the girl was talking
straight. She was too frightened to stall.
But the sheriff had no intention of let-
ting her get away until her story was
proved.
When Green was questioned his story
tallied with that of the girl. Nevertheless
Hunt took them both into custody and
drove back to Sinton.
But any hope that he might have had
that he had captured the constable’s
slayers soon vanished after he reached
Odem. The cleaning shop man took one
look at Green and shook his head. “That’s
not the man who brought in the blood-
stained pants,” he said.
The beer tavern operator vouched for
the couple’s story. He recalled hearing
the noise which sounded like backfiring
‘about the suspect.
just as the pair walked out of his estab-
lishment.
Hunt released his prisoners, then drove
dejectedly back to headquarters. “What
news from Corpus Christi?” he asked
wearily as Deputy Custer came in.
“Plenty,” Custer said. “Detective Ike
Eliff in Corpus says he doesn’t know
anyone there named Sugo. But there’s
a man there named Genero Lugo who’s
a tough hombre and a lady’s man. Lugo
is a vegetable picker and makes trips to
Odem hauling vegetables.”
“Lugo!” Hunt exclaimed. “Now we're
getting somewhere.” He stepped across
the office and picked up the blotter.
Hastily he turned the pages to a date
three weeks previous to the murder.
“Look here,” he said. “Genero Lugo
was arrested by Chisholm for drunken-
ness. He and another man were driving
out of Odem in a truck, drunk and mak-
ing a lot of noise. I remember that Dick
told me he had a time getting them into
the jail. Lugo cursed and refused to get
out of the constable’s car. He had to be
taken out forcibly.”
CUSTER face was tense. “Surely
that isn’t enough motive for murder.”
“You can’t tell what will spring the
trigger in a murderer’s mind,” Hunt said.
’ “Lugo was plenty mad over his arrest.
But both of the prisoners paid their fines
and were released. Lugo would fit that
description of the tall, dark man too.”
Hunt grabbed the phone and called
Corpus Christi. Detective Eliff was in
Sheriff William Sheeley’s office, talking
over the case. “Find Lugo,” Hunt said.
“We'll be there as soon as we can.”
Eliff hastily complied. With finger-
print expert Jack Hamilton and Detective
Dave Allen of the Corpus Christi police,
he started an immediate search. The
officers had no idea where Lugo might be
located and for an hour they cruised the
town. At last they pulled up in front of
a cafe on Waco street, where Eliff asked
“T don’t know Lugo,” the cafe pro-
prietor said.
The officers were leaving when Eliff
saw a figure approaching on the street.
He stopped short and pulled his com-
panions against the wall. “There he is
now,” he whispered.
The suspect was within a few feet of
the officers when he looked up. With a
sudden movement, he whirled and started
back the way he had come. But Eliff was
on the alert.
With a flying leap he collared the man.
He snapped the handcuffs on his startled
prisoner. “You’re wanted for question-
ing again, Lugo,” he said evenly. “And
this time the charge is murder.”
At the jail, Lugo was questioned re-
lentlessly. He answered only in mono-
syllables and denied all knowledge of the
constable’s murder. After some time,
Eliff abruptly changed tactics. “Who's
your girl these days, Genero?” he asked.
Lugo’s face broke into a pleased grin
and he mentioned a woman’s name with
evident pride.
“Where does she live?” Eliff asked.
Lugo hesitated. “You might as well
tell me,” Eliff warned. “I can find her,
you know.”
Lugo gave the woman’s address but as
the street was far out and the houses not
numbered, Eliff took him along to point
out the woman’s honie. Deputy Sheriffs
Bill Brown and Horace Butler accom-
panied the detective.
Lugo directed them to the house. Then
Butler and Brown guarded the prisoner
while Eliff went in alone.
A dark-eyed girl met the officer at the
door, eyeing him suspiciously. “I’ve come
after Genero Lugo’s gun,” Eliff told her.
She shrugged. “You'll have to find it.”
“Oh, no I won't,” Eliff snapped. “I’m
not going to search your house. Either
you produce the gun or I’ll take you in for
harboring a criminal.”
He had come to the address on a hunch.
Now he knew that hunch was correct.
Silently the girl walked into her bedroom,
lifted the mattress on the bed and brought
out a loaded .45 automatic.
Eliff knew a distinct thrill as he
fingered the weapon. It was an officers’
[Continued on page 67]
Capt. Hill Foreman of the Texas highway
patrol seized two-bandits during the mur-
der hunt. Chisholm’s killer heard sen-
tence pronounced upon him in the Sinton,
Tex., courthouse, pictured at left.
45
a
etnaaeatiieiactnese a]
had expected. Several persons had seen
the constable on his early night rounds
but at first no one remembered seeing any
one suspicious on the streets or hearing
unusual sounds. Then a man revealed
that he had heard sounds of a wild party
going on during the night of the murder.
“There was something going on
at that old rooming house down the
street,” he told the sheriff. “I heard a
woman screeching as if she was hysteri-
cal. Part of the time she was laughing
and I heard a man’s voice say, ‘Shut up.””’
“What time was that?” Hunt asked.
“Right after midnight. It sounded as
if the woman was just going into the
rooming house.”
Hunt lost no time in getting to the
rooming house. If his hunch was right,
he had struck the trail of his suspects.
The landlady eyed him coldly. “I’m
looking for Gladys Clark,” Hunt ex-
plained. “Is she here?”
“No, she ain’t. She left this morning.
And good riddance.”
44
“Who was with her?” Hunt snapped.
“A man named Green. And that’s all
I know. I run a respectable place here
and I don’t want anything to do with
them.”
She made a movement to slam the door
but the sheriff was quicker. He held the
door firmly while his stern gaze fixed
her. “I’m investigating a murder,” he
said. “If you know anything else you’d
better tell me or I’ll clean out this place
and take the lot of you to jail.”
“That’s different,” the woman relented.
“Gladys and this Green fellow have gone
to Refugio. I ran them out because they
were making too much noise.”
“Just what were they doing?” Hunt
pressed.
“They were drinking and cursing.
Made a terrible racket. Kept it up all
night.”
“Did Green have a gun?” the sheriff
continued.
“Sure. That kind of punk always has
a gun,” the woman snapped.
A surprise move took officers to this
sprawling shack, miles from the scene of
the crime, where they recovered the con-
stable’s stolen .45 automatic.
“What time did they get in here?”
Hunt wanted to know.
“They came in the afternoon. But they
must have gone out again because I
heard them coming up the stairs right
after midnight. That’s when they had
had so much and when all the noise
started.”
The sheriff raced back to headquarters.
He might be on a wild goose chase but
he was determined to find Gladys Clark.
There was every reason why she and
her lover might hold a grudge against
Constable Chisholm. Moreover, the
timing was perfect for the murder.
At his office, Hunt received surprising
news. Capt. Foreman was calling to say
that the bandits had been captured.
“Ranger Quincy Lowman and local
officers stopped them at Brownsville,’
Foreman reported. “They admitte
robbing the salesman but they’ve got an
iron clad alibi on the murder of Chisholm.
Were in another town at that time—and
they were carrying thirty-two caliber
pistols instead of thirty-eights.”
“That certainly winds up that angle,”
Hunt said. “I’m more than ever con-
vinced that this was a revenge slaying.”
Ho jumped into his car and had
just started his motor for a drive to
Refugio, when Custer raced up. “I’ve
struck a good clue, Sheriff,” the deputy
said. “If I’m not mistaken we’re on the
trail of the killer.” ;
“While making the rounds, I stopped
in at the cleaning and pressing shop in
Odem,” Custer explained, “A man came
in there the day after the murder and
left a pair of bloodstained trousers to be
cleaned.” '
Hunt’s voice was charged with tension
as he asked: ““Who was he?”
“The proprietor said he was a stranger.
He gave a name which the cleaning shop
man took down as ‘Sugo.’ That sounds
phony to me.”
- “Tt sure does,” Hunt said. “What
else?”
“That’s all, except the man said he
was going to Corpus Christi and would
pick up the trousers in a day or so. He
hasn’t called for them yet. They’ve
already been cleaned but I picked them
up and I’ve got the shop under sur-
veillance in case the customer comes
back.”
“Good work,” Hunt said. “Did you get
a description of the man?”
“Ves, He was tall and very dark. The
cleaner said he was young, somewhere in
his twenties. That could be Green. But
the cleaner said he was riding in a truck.
I never knew Green to use a truck.”
“Get in touch with Corpus Christi
police at once,” Hunt ordered. “And
send the trousers to the state laboratory.
Maybe they can still tell if there was
blood on the fabric. If your suspect is
Green, I may be able to pick him up in
Refugio.”
Trapping Texas’ Vengeance Killer
[Continued from page 45]
gun, holster worn, and his hunch told
him that he had recovered Constable
Chishoim’s stolen pistol.
Before questioning the prisoner again,
the officers made a search of his home. In
a jumper pocket, they found Chisholm’s
watch and in another part of the house-
they recovered the murdered officer’s
pocket knife. “J know that’s Dick’s knife,”
Custer said. “A cotten gin company in
Odem gave it to him.” There was no sign
of the .38 caliber death weapon.
Lugo listened to the evidence against
him and his sutlen resistance melted. Eliff
showed him the .45 automatic which had
been taken from the girl’s home. “Where
did you get this pistol, Lugo?” he asked.
“You already know,” the prisoner an-
“I told him that both of us had to die,”
Lugo continued. “But | got in the first
shot. I think it broke his arm and he didn’t
shoot back, so I fired again. Then I shot
him a third time, in the head because I
wanted to be sure that he was dead.”
Lugo then told how he took the con-
stable’s wallet, and picked up his pistol
from the ground. A few minutes later
he walked to the banks of the Nueces
river and threw the murder weapon into
the water. “I got eight dollars out of his
purse,” he ended, “then I threw the wal-
let in the water too. After that I came
back to Corpus Christi and hid out.”
The prisoner stuck to his story but offi-
cers believed that part of the confession
was false. They believed that Lugo shot
4
coincidences that so often baffle officers.
The 26-year-old slayer was taken back
to Sinton where murder charges were filed
against him. He was immediately identi-
fied by the owner of thé cleaning shop as
the man who had brought in bloodstained
trousers to be cleaned.
This evidence of his crime was clenched
when a report came back from the state
crime laboratory. The fabric of the
trousers showed traces of human blood.
Lugo directed officers to the spot on
the Nueces river where he had thrown
the murder weapon. A diver was brought
from Corpus Christi and for days the river
bottom was searched for the weapon but
it was never recovered.
Genero Lugo went on trial in the 36th
swered resignedly. “I got it off that cop
I killed in Odem.” Then he added, “I’ve
got to pay for it, I guess. I want to get
it off my chest.”
He reviewed what the officers already
his victim in the back without warning and
that the constable then went for his own
weapon only to have his gun arm broken
by the killer’s second shot. The officers
could never account for the witness’ state-
district court at Sinton before Judge W.
G. Gayle. District Attorney Alex Cox
had expert assistance in the prosecution
when D. S. Purl, an attorney from Corpus
Christi, acted as special prosecutor. For
knew—that he had been arrested by ment that he had heard seven shots, as days the tense drama unreeled before a
Chisholm some three weeks before the the slayer contended that only three shots crowded courtroom. Then on Feb, 13,
murder on a charge of drunkenness. were fired. They concluded that the wit- 1939, a jury found Lugo guilty and set his
“I stayed in Odem awhile,” he said. ness merely had made a mistake. punishment at d ath.
“Then on Monday, the fourteenth, I came The prisoner insisted that he was alone Lugo’s attorngys immediately appealed.
back to Corpus and got drunk. That at the time and that no woman accom- But the higher/ court affirmed the sen-
night I got my gun and put it inside my panied him to Odem. Sheriff Hunt ques- tence and on Apr. 23, 1939, Genero Lugo
shirt and went to Odem. I was mad at tioned the girl who had hid the killer’s gun paid for me in the state’s electric
Chisholm for arresting me and I’d made but her statements soon convinced offi- chair at HunfsVille.
t up my mind to get even. cers that she had no knowledge of the eo.
fe As the constable passed by on his crime. The sheriff concluded that finding ; ‘te protect the identities of persons innocently hi!
4 regular rounds, the killer slid from his of a woman's handkerchief at the murder Cladse Clark and! Peck gation, the in this ‘il
> hiding place and followed to the corner. scene was only another of the strange Story are not real but fictitions.—Ed.) idl
‘ ih
; ir
i i!
a ‘ | |
: G d O American-born Metropolitan Opera , ait
: ran pera star Natalie Bodanya reached the «ft 1
oo , top simply because she has that extra | if
q oS something that marks a standout. 4 |
i -meets good a i
) ee oe And, more than any other , i
i - taste ee drink, the same is true of ie i iff
4 - ee Pepsi-Cola. Those Pepsi-Cola 2 | |
—. 2 extras—finer flavor, better |
taste and bigger size, make it
welcome always. Treat your-
self today for a nickel. You’ll
agree, Pepsi-Cola tastes bet-
ter—first sip to last.
Purity...in the big big bottle
— that’s Pepsi-Cola
Bottled locally by Authorized Bottlers from coast to coast. *
es abet a ni:
is made only by Peps
Appeal is waste of money
Attorneys are wasting the taxpayers ,
money and the Supreme Courts time on,
Court blocks execution .. | appealing the death sentence of Robert
HUNTSVILLE — The U.S. \ saa
Supreme Court on Thursday © | Madden. He was convicted, so he sho
; be executed. sa
granted a slay of execution for He was convicted of murder in 1986
Death Row inmate Robert An- and should have been executed in 1986.
thony Madden, whose execution This would save taxpayer money and also *
was scheduled for early today. _- save roomin the prisons. —
Madden, 27, was convicted of
the September 1989 shooting | = a ee
and stabbing deaths.of- Herbert: : |
Megason, 56, and Megason’s 50n,
Gary, 22, in Leon County.
oo |
Bw Bryan - comLese sraT ou CTeR:,
DALLAS TIMES HERALD — EAGLE
FR\. |
R\ CTeER.: F flaiht as — suNDAY, MARCH 10, he
Nos. 184 axp 168 Maomawro Sruxer, GaLrpstox.
Tn A
ave
vin 4083
t esth
aAPust
p> as
tral
'dgaadna Xake
nigh ENTERED 47 gun Postorvice ax GatTuscow as Seoonp-ct
2 Rn tm evant pate ee
NATIONAL CAPITAL ‘TOPICS.
THE INTERSTATE commence
Texas Cattle Interests~House
«River and Harbor Bi!!—To Abolish
Ty 5 the'Free Zone,
,
ish the
northern frontier of
trges that in case the
hited States governme
» free territory on the American border,
| PERSONAL. i
Mrs. Robert Driscoll @d her daughter,
Ciorie, of Victoria, are Visiting the capital,
_ GENERAL WASHINGTON NEws.
| A NICE COMPLICATION,
Wasnurmerer,: January 1i.—Some time
ago the cnse of Mr. Kent, nominated to be
naval officer at Boston, was referred t) Mri
Frye, as.a sub-committee, to report whether
Deniel Hall, his predovesaor, had becn
legally suspended, Hall hay ing rece
official noti¢e of his suspensitn. Mr. Frye
finds that there must be a legal and ial
netice of suspension served an officer
who is to be removed: also, t
and legel notice was never gery ed wponiMr.
Hall, amd that his surrender of the office
under Protest was nota resignation or an
ether. The that he is stil! de inure naval
iver no
o Tt. The conclusion is thet the presi-
dent should be reqhested to withdraw ‘the
peveent nomination, and renominate Mfr,
cdnt in plece of haiti, removed and not
suspended. ‘The facts in this case arply to
a Humber of customs officers, |
| MATCHING TROUELE ;
The Republican senators met .
10.90 this morning but adj mrned to
past one. Their purpose was to compare
views with regard-to the right :
to information as tothe pri
for|making removals from
stated that many. of the
dressed to the heads of d
chairmen of the committee
| Swered up to this time, ind
balf.
“nts by
unah-
jto refuse ,to give this inform: tion. » No
{ formal proposition was wade and no action
hy
AF tar ergoneng anenelige eee
VESTON. TEXAS SATURDAY, JAN
ye BILL.
Sa ee isapie tea
emenccniasnie | ihe semmeniinronsmcatagnernngs
rivers and harbors to $41,000.00 ‘The sm
recommen Ps ation will in nh
hen pe § Loge rb pavence of the rq
ih on invalid pensions of the
te report ‘favorabl
genase the pension
month. ;
en RAT GUANO.
nde Cee the di - of
ego de reports to epartment
state the existence of large
bat guano, on the south
on
coset Cia y
the discretion
suls will in fu
their yap}
erpments “* séri,
that they may get
retary’s eye. }
4 MOVENENT AGAINST RaXDALL IN PESNSYL-
: VANIA.
A report bee been qnietly ciréulated
among the Pennsylvania Democratic dele-
cation bere that the call for the movting of
the state comuntttee the 20th instant is the
signal for an atteck on Randall. Ex-Sona.
tor Wallace, agcording to the Plans of the
opposition, is te be made chairman, and e
fight is to be opened that will throw some of
the old-time wars into the shade. So far as
can be seen here, the movement a. pears to
have. considerghle « ey ow allace*’s
old friends are with him, The administra.
tion has joined them for the fight, and the
entire dissatisfied element jn. the State,
whi¢h hax beey meade so by Randall's dis-
tribution of the oficesy, is naturally with
them, Mr. Wallace ts quite popular with
his party at hetee.and iZ the battle’ is ln-
augurated Jt Wil cause eonsiderable of ap
eacittement in the Democratic ranks of
Pennusylyasia. :
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS—FIEST SESSION,
| Ad: vie
cvunfidentie
ne farther
| POV sR. :
Wasnrnotox, Janpary 15,—Mr. Bland fn-
troduced a bill, repealing ao much vf the
act of June 9, i872, a# provides tor the om
chatge und redemption of subsidiary coin.
Referred
Mx. Dockery, of Missorri, from the com-
muttge on accounts, reported a joint resola-
tion, allowing discharged employes of the
Heitse one n yy ws A
ARY+ 16, 1 ion
t ot
const of the tsland
gov.
” in order
the sec-
| HANGMAN'S HUNGRY HALTER, |
en tee
4
Is ? *
ioe =
DIDN’S DISTURE HIM.
aia
prepared to Bare ‘made
¥ te
with God, and am gee do Sages ‘
Hé continued to talk uy >
santly unti} 10.50, when the sherid
cameé to '
BRAROH WI TO THe GaLLow
The cheriff at that hoar hande
aud. be walked forth from the jail
hawt ®© cooly iand
unusual iwas to
was erected in the courthouse
equare. about 160 feet from “the jai
“Upon reaching the cei ig the
Pleasantly shook hands with those n4
pad aver talking —— =o with ate
erent acquaintances he, with a firm, steady.
shep, walked P the 7.
STAIDS TO THR SCAPFOLD.
FROM TUE ScaPrOLD.
raffold he spoke twenty min-
heopgrnous crowd present,
oom : ye
confestion of his +and did not alinde
to his vietim, exhort al) nt to
think of bis tefrible example and abstain 4
from comunitt hig crimes. fie Geclared he
bad made his ghace with God, and was ¢in-
ing to go; tha§|he expected ‘death onty to
give him wings! with which |
To ek TD HEAVEN, 5
and a great ded] more of such talk. When
¢ finished speakin he sang a wild and tan-
intelligtole hytin of this own com position,
Rev. Joe Miller (oolored) then o red
prayer, during whick Madison frequently
roke in with © Amen, bless the Lord,” and
such other ejaculations, He aguin sung an-
other unintelligibie chant. When he'k
finished the sherif ?
| J/PLACED|NIM ON THE DRor. 4
Not a muscle eet not @ tremor pasded
over his countenance, ha they were pinign-
“EBTABLISHED T8Ud
seeiettl inden Tekdamaapnadanee = element anatis ste aan eesmnetny asm ee
negroes,
influence
visitors
wthipg from the Supreme ©
h Cae Was appealed, but that
sn. < f :
re
th
fer pts to burp the ja
on two oo-
M. Hodges,
railway, at _
stated as
his crime, and expressed h
very repentant for havi:
deck Al'the =
derér dropped
his neck, and x
a thé attend: ur Juinutes
x ata was an exhibition.of cool
nerve. He walked coolly from his and
ascended the scaffold without the slightest
ep my and without assistance. i
the first ha that ad bee:
in La Salle county, nae reral.
been hanged previous to this One, ,;
5 - y bs Ty e
=" ‘@ — : B ies
: y i nf
> em oifered $s +}
{ he 0 muds: ine T wit +e ? igs a bn frectien
Lit)
0 Inte . ' 40 the presider e une ony provid he ATER, Gad - ord aM vis anal
4 ney ' i st. “ 14s ‘ - i
Or mM ¢ mn ‘ m off] 2 han d dey ption o 3 5 b
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of ' nou 2 p fi f
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: pen o h OMAN ; Bunan 0 ba 3
7 : an ot d n 7 ita oe pd. yy tremer o ad
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7 ; t ‘ i x en 8 }
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am Lon Drese 7 Miomen r the Orin ( pie
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pimdon b hould he nform 0 1 it n TF mis q ' : eh? co nnRoctene ?
no u ' p e i . neo y in the su e CAN J at my ' ant Ba ted ue COM)
* Cay i C : z as ry Othe pn fs DOTS D n ath her 7 PY fi nw j 2,
pended o 0 ( 0 up sed 0) ne hy he nite hbompso J COON Dre Ute,
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| Senate to n nformation ‘ n : . 5 ees an that Nom T
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;
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a | thoug!) * § ‘ OV it at hich fered death
é c ident { ox) DOD} id
¢ | J - . irs tro ‘ ¢ ; mm old bitte Le * pat Ob <
nt +4 : *
; “0 Ove! nded the bill. bu r : Potiin «o named 4 Smith. o April is \
D \ + he m ; hieh ‘ he sp i" e an led b Seen it) . 0 98%
r / 9 io : on Nee O D te i _ ag Py hou On ‘ ef
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CT ‘ . en fs , t ‘ 0 api be Ae hres ‘ : 4 ait a7
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he . ; (et : f iti ' it ’ epe! W h Ayn ‘ Vie bee .
bh J : 9 Prec 7 2 y onld oo) by ind : igh tae
t ‘ ri rt d the Ayn mendn nt Ofered b dam oy ? bla ; + mn it) '
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0 iT ty rat! mto the ¢o : ri s buat H p 0 n li
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rn + U C VURG '
4 du . ind Piurni : r]
NR het ly Oy A th ’ } Hitat
0 f fh ? ote ; ; ; titute
tang wed ny .
0 ores ft ' pnw’ oft , 7? ry om © 0 ‘ DEL.IBT:} :? ’ i
te : : in fo: 8 on as ad . b] ;
S Ot paged, “ : * 0 - ‘ . ‘ ire :
0 ‘ Or A) . AOC C C Oi pre 0 aaah, . 2 p p 0 DRCEe nad fe On iis fee : u
30) ‘ ick By Tred ¢ D er of $0U Of HRepreser how anti e ornin:
3
; be ‘ ; Bite ri n affie BOD he On 2 ; e}y digo (
ot beet Orr ne 1 ‘ é ne C * boo On bronag h ae : mm coed hhh ; }
i : eh xi receed! ine elec h " frer sinc
~~
* pin! iB th ‘ ; fon 0 presen Hives iY n . ‘ bs “fo d ippnlicati
A ’ 5 ' ' ron hene anc x ‘itn ; j ' n te DO Commu hf
r) Mi * off] of p Gent pro temper 0 ine Se Pntenc fre A , bn mpriso; en :
aa¢ * 4 ete ' ¢ i) us 2 Ui id © AUTO GC pt she @ ti . -On '@) ini
m ‘. ' ,
; . : Lave: Le © ty ic Lae Pan atts bin 0 ; 6 don « ‘ '
ae . U b u
. lee th ' tb on th * O! ‘ ape ls q Stat, t J r
_ Hho should : Pt CAD ding off , He 9] ‘ iy Heo in
' ‘ . ‘ : d ub oted { oun ' or oi bilis d te: ; 3
| ! . ' 30 pay J ie 'aivided on the ne defendant by R. H 01 d ti:
: D U { Os *ie OngD no | 4 ; ' Y
' i q on H nh. © te Gd te OOM Ty h ot ia CCS ‘ bd UtiIon
4 a tt] Ou bi ’ : he b th nctio oO the committee 4 Hitt bh ry
1€ BPO oO Tepe bac oin olutio proposir 0) ower: ' minute time et : yt Pa
in sump ostitution hdment providing $ much wnent, not throne? ; ris ¢ the bo ou |
n PU inde CO ‘ i On ¢ 090 more &-presiden eVrnpath ith +h ry Oy b On CCON fake ’ * apa? Oo infurin'
ntion , 0 tic K ‘ Of Penns y : mov i ; ution ves Cured and re
ees s ‘ 0 ‘ £ oe ‘ ‘ &
“yf ‘ ; i been d oO Amend the instroctic: o th he me 5 9 ral ; iffect on bath : it one *
lac } i the he aI DOrted ate Ou devo pe 1% ; d colored Hizens o his comm dite on¢] é . ne trac! ‘ 0
OY Sagtag
1 r , | iC $ oldie ore mt cession on h ne ‘ nd neh) Pr MANY othe urned R ict hg’ the ireet
a’? ‘ : 0 House, presiden 0 m. Of th r 7 cmm t offenses illed cite ople nd anothe 0
heth ; pid} ; ’ 0 ; e Nie % be oO he ce iH no ee o © tak ‘ 4
; > * e 2 ‘ Malic nd ’ m 0 D e u n on bu o"C10eK nothing had been
cen th en +
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4
n unton cto ‘ b] ‘ ad : Spe ; he
Hevwit ; red t a ntlem § i n mo n 0 los ( On N ieee + tte Fhe
, 4 oy.
uid h P to] ; onf 1 ® mon he nen yp ped e@ ~%, nay GeorRe reer dj e Providenc 0 8 to Th » a
7 Comm 0 ai re 0 ‘ D Cane om De na Fy 4 h |
a ( 0 ne murder o " ohbnson HINGTOR +he ‘ be Pollo
i} t f * bs 4 ’ t
; ages have been made in the n
3 NOMA: ~Pssegd Tie * DULG e CAT na © Den ‘ ene Gu ap A ‘y OCUZOn 4 Py a
d down ortun b ' . y h ollo ng Repub « Ov: ifteen ous Deing » " Heo p Pa VCO it : ‘
; c He no hammer oted hn the mo n firm be i d to the Poke nad on he postoffic ‘at : on ani cit
no bn or ‘ e Unio A 0 rise ha D nd Continued ne mm Oty to
+ pen 4 4 0 Lit iJ etale tte eeeee >
he b 0 he somm pe @ nson, Bake nd Brown o ndian Ba Eat
‘ ‘ iin 0 b n Af
d the ys ¢ iro hetiac Butte, 0 Pcheon ¢ nee s VTDAaN S De Ciscontinged bh e871
4 A : :
hn on ‘ itnoOw On ' * GOT e iT i rie nd & * ORT ste & n ' ne * d abt. ‘. ate Site ‘ cree 2 OT
ution Mwhich come up for con mes an Anson oO y . confid oe he Q Ou 0 23
i
+ ne meetin Q D 0 nA MN om 0 h en hen g 0 nded y n 0a ~ * panere
‘9 ‘ ~ 9 + : * setert. ' Wr * dy
. . : : ) . ‘ “4 n (2) * D ‘ 00 nined Ison > : .
» ene 6 $ eS ~ U bs Hoe n] * he t oO Ctra O1n q
oe Ln hy on } . |
nb n Syme d Sel b n b dh neve % f h itt, Gorey i |
O-d) D mC] 0 im n A 64 dj : , ¢ ered an t re . drop : : nen Od ROR D0 Bro t 00 2, :
unt : Ton fo mp he Len diou a enti ond ne pon Db g Vtten. by tho r) r) "h r Bin jl Py (rei 89 rile
vd neds,
tas.
ae he es
ee
=F
far
i i A i i
"Doba Joe" MALONE, black, hanged at Dallas, Texas, 9-2-1898,
2,000 people gathered around jail bright and early in hopes of witnessing execution
of "Doba Joet Malone, the négro who, on July 28 was sentenced to death for assault
upon the person of aged Mrs, Fannie Stein, wife of a Dallas County farmer. Crowd
knew execution was ta be private, but exerted every effort to get inside or wait
outside and hear crash of death trap .as it fell, Malone up early and received many
callers, Was calm and self-possessed. Baptized in bathtub at 11:30, Revs. 7.,T.
Pardee, Y, B. Brooks, Sam Rainey and J, M, Tolbert, all black, assisting. Furnished
with clean clothing and leisurely proceeded to dress self in front of large number
of men,. When someone said that they would bet he wuld break down, Malone replied:
"T']l] take that bet." When dressed, sent Sheriff Cabell the following messages
"I am ready if you.are, Let's hurry up and get this thing through." Led from cell
at 12:15, wearing handcuffs and semsxkeumexkm elbows bound to sides. Led by Sheriff
Cabell and followed by Sheriffs Sterling P. Clark Qf Tarrant County and P, C.. Moore
of Wise County. G. E. Cornwall, Chief of Police of Dallas also in party, After
rope pkaced around neck, said:~"Unloosen the knet a little so I can talk to my
friends." After mope slackened, said: "I want to say to all my friends, you see
what way 1 am going, and 1 have left the history of my life out there so you can
read it for yourself. I want fou to take warning from me, Good-bye," Then turned
to Sheriff Cabell and said: "I am ready = go ahead." Pronounced dead at 12:30 and
body cut down at 12:37. Rope had cut slightly into skin on both sides of cheek,
but other than this there were no marks, Just before being baptized, Malone had
confessed to Rev. J. M, Tolbert, black, that he had assisted in murdering a deputy
sheriff and five persons at Terrepin Lake,
The man and his crime.
"Joseph Maline ("Doba Joe") was born at Harrisonville, Mo., 23 years ago and left
home at 1); according to his statement. Had lived in Dallas and Ellis counties for
a number of years and had frequently figured in the misdemeanor courts of both
counties, Was of more than average intelligence, could read and write, was a strong
and athletic man with the lineaments of his animal nature strongly stamped upon his
face and character.
"Mrs, Stein is the wife of a well-to-do, honest and industrious German Gitizen
(Frederick Stein) who has lived in Dallas County for more than 10 years and whose
frugality and integrity endeared him to neighbors, Mrs, Stein is 65-years-old,
white headed, She devoted herself to interests and duties of home and family mmx,
On July 15, 1898, about 9 o'clock, "Doba Joe" left Dallas going south in direction
of Stein homestead and is positively identified by a number of citizens who met him
between city and there; his identification was more perfect by reason of clothes
he wore, and everyone who had occasion to seehim on morning of the outrage
was committed remembered a peculiar looking pink shirt which he wore, and bhe
black pants with very large legs which he had on at time, Just before reaching
Stein homestead he stopped at grocerty store on roadside and bought two boxes of
sardines which he ate at the time. He then went on until he passed the Stein home
and about 150 yards south of this quiet and peaceful place he stopped and talked
to another negro, asking if he knew where he could obtain work, After talking
to theother negro for a few minutes, he left and went into the Stein farm, After
emerging from the cornfield he saw mMrs, Stein coming from the garden where she
had been during the morning, He hid himself in the high green corn at one side of
the path leading from the garden to the house and there waited for his sssuspecting
and helpless victim, When she reached a point opposite the place where he was
secreted, he rushed upon her, throttled her with his powerful hands, prevented
her from screaming or calling for assisstance, dragged her some hO steps into the
cornfield and there, within 200 yards of where Mr, Steinwas at work inithe field,
he raped her, After he accomplished his purpose and the poor victim was lying
helpless and unconscious, he beat her over the head with a heavy shoe, inflicting
terrible scajp wounds and then jumping upon her with all the powerful weight, he
undertook to crush her remaining spark of life from her body, and he left her, as
he believed, beyond the pate of this life so that her testimoney could not be used
against him, This occurred about 11 o'clock in the morning, Afterwards, he fhought
of his escape. Leaving cornfield, hepassed from one field to another and covered and
!
a
Martin David Verbrugge. Surviving vi¢
‘ . 7 m .
padily recognized him in a photo lineup.
: *iittie’ qT
At times Bates and Matzig could hear
her praying.
Later, Matzig saw one of the attack-
ers go into the kitchen and return car-
rying a butcher knife with an eight-inch
blade. A couple of minutes later he
heard Barbara plead, “No, no! Don’t do
that!” Then a scream and silence, and a
few minutes later the two men came out
of the bedroom.
One of the intruders still carried the
butcher knife. He placed it at Matzig’s
throat and threatened to kill him if he
and Bates didn’t cooperate.
The gunmen demanded money, and
Matzig offered to get them money if
they would untie him and Bates. After
untying the roommates, the gunmen
forced them out of the apartment and
into a 1979 yellow International Scout
20
of} ORO} | lobo? | te
owned by the company for which Matzig
worked. The time now was between
10:30 and 11 p.m.
Keeping a gun pointed at the heads of
Matzig and Bates, the gunmen ordered
them to drive to two separate all-night
convenience stores on the city’s north
side. Matzig went inside and cashed the
checks—one for $15 and the other for
$25—while Bates was held at gunpoint
in the Scout.
Matzig was afraid to try to get help for
fear of what would happen to his friend.
During the drive, Matzig also was
forced to write a $1,000 personal check,
which the captors didn’t try to cash im-
mediately but kept.
Next, the gunmen ordered Matzig,
who was at the wheel, to drive to a field
near the Bulk Mail Center in Oak Cliff.
It was a dark, desolate wooded area,
with no nearby houses or businesses.
Matzig was told to stop the van.
Both young men begged not to be
shot, but one of the gunmen told the
other, “You know what we have to do.”
The bandit’s partner answered, “Yeah.”
“Don’t do anything—we won’t tell,”
one of the captives pleaded. But the
pleas seemed to fall on deaf ears. The
armed pair ordered Matzig and Bates to
get out.
The gunmen already had alighted
from the vehicle, and Matzig thought he
saw his chance. He tried to gun the
motor to get away, but the engine
stalled.
Matzig and Bates were forced to walk
about 30 yards into the woods. There
they were told to lie down. Bates com-
plied and Matzig saw him lying
facedown with his hands up behind his
head. At this point Matzig broke and
ran.
He began running up a hill in the
wooded area, and he sensed the gunmen
were chasing him. He moved into the
thick brush and fell. As he was getting
up again, a bullet smashed into him. He
felt a severe shock and his ears were
ringing.
With blood pouring out of his mouth
and from the back of his neck, he was
able to climb over a barbed wire fence
and stagger in the direction of the Bulk
Mail Center. But reaching the edge of a
cliff from where he could see the mail
center building, he collapsed from
weakness.
But he refused to give up and started
clawing up rocks and throwing them at
the mail building to attract help. He
also was yelling, “I’ve been shot! Get me
some help!”
Two security guards in the mail
center heard the commotion and came
outside. After a brief search, they found
Matzig sprawled in the grass, saturated
with blood.
Dallas police were notified about 1:22
a.m. on Friday, September 12th. Among
the first officers on the scene was Police
Sergeant Michael W. Tidwell. After
talking briefly with the gravely
wounded Matzig, the sergeant called for
reinforcements to search for Bates.
Police cars and officers on foot scoured
the rugged area, while a police helicop-
ter with powerful searchlights circled
above.
It was Sgt. Tidwell, hiking through
the brush, who found Bates. He was
dead from a gunshot wound in the back
of the head. He appeared to have been
killed “execution style” while lying
facedown.
Having been told by the surviving
Matzig that the violent rampage had
started at the apartment on the city’s
north side, police quickly dispatched a
patrol car to that address. There the of-
(Continued on Page 58)
Ib
even if
clothes »
and your}
within 3
FAT BLUR
Y
oped Ww
AUITINGL
body ir
bulging
FIRST |
‘Thi
over-the
walstlin
alone. \
of runr
swimmt
cise with
combinat
weigt
ence
losse
TAK)
AND KE
a reason materialize.
In his drug-induced stupor, Williams
thought he saw Tanya trying to lift his
wallet. He became enraged and pro-
duced a knife. The woman tried to back
off, but he wouldn’t let her, he said.
He recalled plunging the knife into
her nude body. He pulled the blade out
of the woman’s flesh and plunged it in
again. He had no idea how many times
he had sliced her. He just kept cutting,
he said, until his rage subsided.
Williams recalled slitting her throat
and then dumping the blood-soaked
corpse at the side of the road. The
woman hadn’t lived long, he said.
Her screams turned to silence after
the first few stabbings, he said.
Williams blamed his violent reaction
to the apparent theft of the wallet and
being under the influence of drugs. He
said he never would have stabbed the
woman, let alone produce the knife, ifhe
hadn’t been under the influence.
“There’s nothing I can do to bring her
back, now,” the defendant observed.
But there was something the State of
Nevada could do, as had the State of
California, to keep Williams off the
street for good. Never again would he
have the chance to carve up a young
woman as he had Tanya Bridges in Las
Vegas and Sunshine in Santa Monica.
Williams entered his plea of guilty to
first-degree murder before District
Judge Paul Goldman. Even though the
sentence was pre-arranged, a pre-
sentence investigation and report
would still have to be made by the De-
partment of Probation and Parole.
That report contained a recommenda-
tion for the pre-arranged sentence.
And on February 11, 1982, Goldman
meted out that sentence. Williams was
brought into the courtroom in handcuffs
and a waist chain. He was under heavy
guard.
O’Neale made the appearance for the
State of Nevada.
Maddock sat in the spectator section
of Judge Goldman’s courtroom.
The sentencing hearing was brief. All
concerned knew the agreed-upon sen-
tence, so no lofty arguments were made.
The judge routinely meted out the sen-
tence, making it run consecutive to Wil-
liams’ California life term.
And he further ordered Williams be
returned to San Quentin to serve the
first life prison term. Should that sen-
tence ever be commuted so he can be-
come eligible for parole and should he
make parole in California, he would be
transported to the Nevada State Prison,
in Carson City to begin serving the
Tanya Bridges sentence.
“T think we have him tied up for a
while,” said O’Neale as he left the court-
room with Maddock.
“I hope so,” said the detective. “It took
us long enough to catch up with him.”
@
HOMICIDE OF OPPORTUNITY
ficers found Barbara Hoppe dead on the
bed in a bedroom, the body covered with
a blanket. She appeared to have been
stabbed twice in the upper chest and
bore other signs of physical abuse. The
body was clad only in a T-shirt and one
sock, and she had been tied up and
gagged. | .
Investigator Truly Holmes, mean-
while, sped to Parkland Memorial Hos-
pital where the critically-wounded
Matzig had been rushed by ambulance.
The detective conducted an interview
with Matzig before the gunshot victim
was wheeled into surgery. Matzig spent
the next seven hours in surgery as sur-
geons worked to repair the damage left
by the bullet that had entered Matzig’s
neck and exited from his mouth, knock-
ing out his upper teeth. :
An around-the-clock police guard was
placed at the room of the only survivor
of the terror rampage.
Matzig described the gunmen as
being in their early 20’s, both about
five-foot-seven, weighing around 148
pounds and having dark brown hair.
One assailant was said to have long
hair and a mustache; the other wore his
hair short, and it was curly.
Police broadcast an all points bulletin
for the two suspects, including a de-
58
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 20
scription of the 1979 International
Scout, yellow with an orange interior,
bearing Texas license number TZA120.
Undoubtedly the killers would ditch the
stolen vehicle as soon as possible, police
realized.
Crimes Against Persons Captain
Grant Lappin took charge of the probe,
quickly amassing as many officers as
were available into the neighborhood of
the apartment where the case had
started and the area where Matzig and
Bates had been taken to be shot.
Although the Dallas Police Depart-
ment has only 12 detectives assigned to
homicide, it takes a “team approach” in
all major cases and brings in reinforce-
ments from other squads.
Crime scene technicians began going
over the apartment inch-by-inch,
photographing the woman’s body and
the bedroom and processing the bed-
room, living room, kitchen, and outside
door—any surface the intruders might
have touched—for possible finger-
prints. Even though Matzig remem-
bered the assailants were wearing
gloves when they entered, it was possi-
ble they had taken them off during the
two hours spent in the apartment, in-
vestigators theorized.
Powerful spotlights were brought to
oe
the Bulk Mail Center area to search for
possible clues there.
As detectives quizzed friends and re-
latives of the three victims, it quickly
became apparent that there was no-
thing in their backgrounds that might
provide a motive for the killings.
Bates and Matzig, who had been
friends for about three years from their
fraternity days at Texas Christian Uni-
versity in Fort Worth, were described by
persons who knew them as all-
American young men. They were young
professionals moving up in the business
world, and living the happy life-style of
the singles circle.
They had lived in Dallas for only
three months. Bates, who was from
Tulsa, Oklahoma, had started work on
August 4 as a marketing trainee for an
insurance company. His supervisors de-
scribed his work as “excellent.”
Matzig, who was from Del Rio, Texas,
was employed by a computer systems
firm. Both Matzig and Bates had been
business majors at TCU, where Matzig
had graduated in 1979 and Bates one
year later.
Barbara Hoppe, who was an account-
ing clerk, had come to Dallas from Fort
Wayne, Indiana, where she had grown
up as a member ofa devout Lutheran
family. She had attended Perdue Uni-
versity, where as a freshman she met a
Notre Dame student whom she married
three years later.
The couple was living in Dallas when
they were diverced in May, 1980. Police
learned that the divorce had been an
amicable one.
Barbara had been dating Bates for
only a week; the two had gone on three
dates before the night of the slayings,
friends said.
As police continued their interviews,
they discovered nothing that would
even indicate Bates or Matzig had ever
been involved in any activity that might
breed such violence against them. As
one close friend told the investigators,
“They just weren’t the kind of guys to be
involved in anything that wasn’t really
top notch. They were really sharp guys.”
Barbara’s parents told reporters they
had been concerned about their daugh-
ter living alone in a large city. They had
special safety locks installed on’her car
and told Barbara’s friends to use only
. her initials when writing so as not to
advertise that she was a single woman.
Her parents thought she might move
back home to Indiana after the divorce,
but “she loved Dallas,” they said. The
five-foot-three, 100-pound divorcee had
said she wasn’t afraid for her safety.
From what they put together, the kil-
lings of Bates and Barbara Hoppe and
the attempted slaying of Matzig had
been “senseless” crimes, police said.
Referring to the killers, Homicide
Sgt. Gus Rose said, “I think they just
picked the apartment at random.” That
seem:
tigal
Thi
tion «
Matz
by ac
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the
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led |
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ere was no-
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illings.
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rs from their
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e] Rio, Texas,
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ites had been
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nd Bates one
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1an she meta
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Dallas when \
_ 1980. Police
jad been an
ng Bates for
gone on three
the slayings,
r interviews,
¢ that would
atzig had ever
ity that might
nst them. As
investigators,
d of guys to be
wasn’t really
sharp guys.”
eporters they
their daugh-
ity. They had
\led on‘her car
is to use only
so as not to
ingle woman.
might move
er the divorce,
hey said. The
i divorcee had
her safety.
ther, the kil-
ra Hoppe and
f Matzig had
police said.
Homicide
ink they just
indom.” That
seemed to be the consensus of the inves-
tigators working on the case.
This theory was bolstered by the loca-
tion of the apartment and the habits of
Matzig and Bates, as related to officers
by acquaintances of the roommates. The
first-floor apartment was at the end of
the complex, facing onto a well-traveled
street. The sliding glass front door of
the unit opened onto the street side.
When Matzig and Bates were home at
night, they would leave all the drapes
open and the lights on, one friend said.
Detectives noted that anyone driving by
could easily see into the apartment liv-
ing room. If the killers had checked out
the area for possible robbery’ victims,
the two men and young woman watch-
ing television in the lighted apartment
would have been sitting ducks.
The detectives didn’t think that the
killers were transients. Homicide Sgt.
Gus Rose pointed out, “The men seemed
to know their way around Dallas, so I
don’t think they’re transients. They
drove right to the open field where they
shot the two men like they knew it was
there.”
During the canvass of the neighbor-
hood of apartment complexes, inves-
tigators located one witness who recal-
led having seen two men loitering in
front of Miss Hoppe’s apartment on
Wednesday night, the evening before
the terror raid on the men’s apartment.
Had the men, detectives wondered, fol-
lowed the woman from her apartment?
But police found no abandoned vehicle
that might have been left behind by the
killers. In spite of the story about the
unknown pair seen near the woman’s
place the night before, investigators
still favored the theory that the apart-
ment where the duo struck had been a
chance selection.
After detective teams spent hours
wearing out shoe leather in their door-
to-door search for possible leads, Detec-
tive Rose said with a tinge of frustra-
tion, “We've interviewed everybody we
can find to interview in the area and
have not come up with anything new.”
“We're just real fortunate to have an
eyewitness alive,” the veteran sleuth
added.
The round-the-clock vigil over the
gravely-wounded Matzig was continued
by police and hospital security officers,
with detectives hopeful that when he
recovered sufficiently to talk at greater
length Matzig could throw more light on
the vicious gunmen.
Newspaper and television publicity
about the yellow International Scout in
which the killers were last seen brought
police their first major lead on Saturday
night, two days after the slaying. A
citizen who remembered the description
of the much-sought vehicle spotted the
Scout in the parking lot of an apartment
complex only a mile from the address
where the killers first struck.
After receiving the tip, police stakéd
out the site for more than three hours in
hopes that the suspects might return to
the vehicle. But when the watch proved
fruitless, police had the Scout towed to a'
police garage. There it was processed
thoroughly for fingerprints and other
possible evidence.
Crime scene technicians found a
number of fingerprints on the inside
and outside of the Scout, but the prints
were not expected to provide any im-
mediate help.
“The fingerprints won’t do us any
good until we have those of a suspect to
compare them to,” said Investigator
- Donald Cates of the department’s iden-
tification division. _ ‘eel
Although it was possible Dallas police
might have the fingerprints of the kil-
lers in their files, matching them with
the prints found on the van would be a
difficult task, investigators pointed out.
Working with only fragment and par-
tial prints lifted from surfaces possibly
touched by suspects, it is sometimes im-
possible to pin down classifications to
the point of making a match-up with file
prints. Nevertheless, any good partial
prints are usually run through local de-
partment files as well as those of the
Texas Department of Public Safety and
the FBI in Washington, D.C.
Police also were. aware that the kil-
lers had been wearing gloves when they
first broke into the apartment. It also
was possible that many of the prints
found on the van would be eliminated
when they were compared with those of
Matzig and others persons who were
known to have driven or been in the
Scout.
Meanwhile, the wounded Matzig had
improved to the extent that he no longer
was considered to be in critical condi-
tion. Investigators were able to quiz him
at length in his hospital room about the
terrible events that left his two friends
dead and him seriously wounded.
Matzig now was.able to give more de-
tailed descriptions of the two assailants
and to tell police about their man-
nerisms and way of talking. For exam-
ple, he recalled the men referred to each
other as “bro”—slang for the word
“brother.”
Police called in a noted portrait artist
who worked eight hours at Matzig’s
bedside, preparing composite sketches
from the descriptions the survivor gave.
When the sketches were finished,
Matzig told police that they almost per-
fectly matched his preception of the
men. The sketches were “so accurate,
it’s incredible,” Matzig told police.
The killer known as “Suspect No. 1”
was described as a white male, 20 to 22
years old, five-foot-nine to five-foot-ten
inches tall and weighing 145 to 160
pounds. He had curly brown hair, was
right-handed, wore dirty clothing and
had a strong body odor. He also had a
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59
hyperactive demeanor, police said. He
had a thin mustache.
The second suspect was described as a
white male, 20.to 22, about five-foot-six
to five-foot-eight inches tall, weighing
145 to 150 pounds and having straight,
shoulder-length, black hair. He also had
a thin mustache. Also wearing dirty clo-
thing and having a strong body odor, he
was said to have a quiet, passive de-
meanor.
Both men wore silk shirts that were
not tucked into their blue jeans, Matzig
told officers.
Dallas citizens, outraged by the slay-
ings, offered reward money exceeding
$20,000 for information leading to the
arrest and conviction of the killers. Al-
though reward offers result in a deluge
of tips, most of which prove worthless to
homicide investigators, police still saw
some real advantages in the reward
funds.
“Occasionally, these things do some
good,” said one police investigator.
“There are some people who would turn
in their grandmother for a reward—and
these guys aren’t anybody’s grandmas.”
Detective Rose believed it was possi-
ble 'that one of the killers could have
talked to someone, and that the reward
might persuade the confidant to come
forward.
“Sometimes if you have only one kil-
ler, he will keep it all to himself,” Rose
mused. “But with two, the odds are in
favor of one of them talking to someone
else about it.” Ths homicide inves-
tigator’s words would prove prophetic in
the weeks ahead.
In the meantime, the day-to-day
routine police work was weeding out
some possible suspects. Detectives care-
fully screened a crew of magazine
salesmen from New York who had been
working in the area at the time of the
apartment raid and slayings.
“It took quite a while for us to check
them out, but we did clear them all,”
Detective Rose said.
Investigators also looked into the re-
ports of a similar residential robbery
that took place about the first of the
month and only a few miles from the
apartment where the gun-wielding in-
truders struck. In the earlier case, an
elderly couple had been bound by gun-
men who ransacked their home for val-
uables, making off with jewelry and
cash. The two bandits had left the
couple unharmed.
The couple hadn’t gotten a good look
at the pair, but the incomplete descrip-
tions they gave matched those given by
Matzig in some respects. But after
checking the case, police felt it was not
connected to the homicide case. Detec-
tives continued to run out scores of tips,
but nothing worked out.
The terror raid on the North Dallas
apartment that took the lives of two
young persons and almost claimed a
60
third left all residents of the city witha
feeling of fright they hadn’t experienced
before. Suddenly and unexpectedly, vio-
lent and sadistic intruders had burst
into an apartment in the apparently
safe neighborhood—far removed from
street violence not so uncommon in
more seedier sections.
Planned, random killing by someone
who simply wants to inflict pain and
degradation left the ordinary citizen
with a brassy taste in his mouth.
“It’s what scares every citizen to
death,” said Detective Rose. “You don’t
have the slightest idea it could happen
to you, and then—bang.”
The homicide sleuth explained: “We
think this thing was planned. But they
just picked an apartment at random. A
stranger-to-stranger case is the hardest
kind to solve, especially one where the
suspect plans what to do to avoid getting
caught. I think these two men at first
wanted to commit robbery, but when
they saw the girl, their motives trans-
ferred. So they went in and assaulted
the young woman and molested her and
decided to kill her and the men.”
Police were not lacking tips to follow
up in the case. In a two-hour period
right after the composite sketches were
flashed on TV screens, police were
swamped with 318 phone calls from per-
sons who thought the sketches looked
like someone they knew. By the next
afternoon the number of calls had to-
taled 800.
Over the next nine months, Dallas
homicide investigators, directed by
Captain Lappin, ran down thousands of
leads but came up with no suspects. De-
tective Holmes was assigned as the case
officer who was in charge of coordina-
ting the massive probe, in which
thousands of incident reports and sup-
plements were filed. Also devoting full
time to the probe were Homicide Inves-
tigators Jim M. Gholston and J.W..
King.
In the spring of 1981, Holmes was
transferred to the intelligence division
of the department. He left homicide
somewhat reluctantly, with the
fives Cee case still hanging
ire,
On Tuesday, June 16, 1981, Dallas
police received a tip that held a promise
of blowing the murder investigation
wide open. A resident of Houston,
Texas came to the Dallas Police De-
partment with a troubled story.
Several months back, a relative of the
tipster then living in Houston had men-
tioned he had “done something very bad
in .Dallas.” The man who made that
statement also talked to acquaintances,
mentioning the robbery and killing of
some people in Dallas.
.The relative of the man who had
talked about the Dallas violence didn’t
know whether to believe him or not. But
he had come to Dallas on a business trip.
ay
He had taken this opportunity to go to
the public library and check back news-
paper files. In doing this, he had verified
the case the relative had talked about in
Houston.
The tipster gave investigators the
name of the man: David Verbrugge,
who was about 20 years old.
Captain Lappin called Investigator
Truly Holmes back for assignment in
Lappin’s division. Police learned that
the suspect had been arrested in Gar-
land, a city on the outskirts of Dallas, in
1979, on a misdemeanor charge. A
photo of Verbrugge was obtained.
Investigator Holmes took the photo to
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where Matzig
had moved after being released from the
hospital. The survivor of the shootings
was working there as a salesman.
Holmes mixed the picture of the suspect
with several others and showed them to
Matzig. He immediately picked the one
of Verbrugge as one of the two apart-
ment terrorists.
Matzig, over the period of the investi-
gation, had viewed scores of police
photos in the search for the killers. But
there was no hesitancy in his identifica-
tion of the suspect, Verbrugge, police
said.
“No matter how many photographs
you show me, I’ll always be able to pick
those guys out,” Matzig had once told an
investigator.
With one suspect having been iden-
tified, detectives lost no time in check-
ing places where Verbrugge had worked
and lived. From former employers and
acquaintances, the sleuths quickly
learned that the suspect’s close running
mate was:a 21-year-old man named
Fletcher Thomas Mann, Jr., formerly o
Louisville, Kentucky. :
Detectives learned the two suspects
had worked together in fast-food estab-
lishments in Dallas. The investigators
obtained a photo of Mann,
Again Matzig viewed a photo line-up
of suspects, in which the picture of
Mann was included. The surviving vic-
tim quickly identified the photo of
Mann as the other gunman.
Based on the identifications and other
information lawmen put together, ar-
rest warrants charging capital murder
were issued for the two suspects. Police
believed that both suspects had left Dal-
las, but officers learned that Verbrugge
had been in the city as recently as the
week before. He had been seen at a
truck stop, accompanied by his teenage,
pregnant wife, detectives were told.
A bulletin stating the two men were
wanted on the capital murder warrants,
their descriptions and other pertinent
information, was relayed to the Na-
tional Crime Information Center at
Washington, D.C.
To the amazement of the Dallas offi- .
cers, they scored a hit almost im-
mediately.
Seana: erat
SP RETES
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Fletcher
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March 11, |
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———
62
Toying with human lives like a mad
puppeteer, a fiendish killer
stamped the derelicts of a great
city with his hideous markl
"Gandy dancers" danced to the
music of death while police, lack-
ing evidence that a crime had
been committed, sought desper-
ately for a key to the weird mys-
tery.
Don't miss this amazing story of
Crying Hank, Twenty Pound
Dog and the strange death net
cast about them by a pitiless
murderer. You will find it in
the October issue of
DARING DETECTIVE
ALSO
POISON CUP OF CALI-
FORNIA’S LOVE BORGIA
PENNSYLVANIA’S COUN-
TERFEIT SOLDIER AND
THE SLAIN PROFESSOR
CASE OF THE
SQUANDERING COOLIE
. +... and many other
fascinating features
‘NOW ON SALE
Texas’ Strange Case of the Telltale Frogs
[Continued from page 11}
“Elam said that Mrs. Manning suffered
from convulsions,” Stinson mused. “And
the mother told me that the girl had cried
out because the medicine was bitter. I
think that’s enough to excite any law
officer’s curiosity.”
“It didn’t arouse the doctor’s curiosity,”
Morgan pointed out.
“T realize that. But from what I under-
stand, the woman might have suffered
from normal convulsions. You must re-
member that the doctor had every reason
to believe it was natural death. Every
doctor loses cases that he thinks are
under perfect control.”
“Suppose that Mrs. Manning was
poisoned,” Morgan argued. “What
about a motive? There was utterly no
reason for anyone to murder the girl.”
Manning Arrested
HE attorney shook his head. What
was there, after all, that would moti-
vate a crime so horrible that it could only
be the act of an unreasoning creature
lashed to desperation? To all appearances
the Mannings were a normal, happy young
farm couple. Certainly the respectable
figure of the dark-haired, slender farmer
could not be twisted into a criminal
shape.
“When you pick up young Manning on
the forgery charge, we’ll question him
carefully,” District Attorney Stinson -
suggested. “Have you found him yet?”
“His father-in-law said that he went
to Sherman the other day. He plans to
return to Celeste on tomorrow’s train.”
When the puffing locomotive pulled up
at the Celeste railroad station on the
afternoon of March 28, Chief Deputy
Sheriff Charles A. Duff was waiting. He
had received complete instructions from
Morgan and Stinson and was aware of the
results of the district attorney’s investi-
gation.
With him were the local Celeste con-
stable and his deputy. When the man they
sought stepped down from one of the
Se ggiae, the little group closed in around
im. :
“Manning, you'll have to come to
Greenville with me,” Deputy Duff said
quietly. “I have a warrant for you.”
The young farmer made no protest.
He went with Duff to the latter’s horse
and buggy, and climbed into the vehicle
without demurring.
During the ride to the county seat Will
Manning was silent. Duff’s face was in-
scrutable as he sat holding the reins and
from time to time leaning forward to
touch the flanks of the horse with the tip
of the whip.
It was Manning who broke the silence.
Then he said something that puzzled
Duff.
“How did you find out? Did the girl
tell you?”
Without waiting for an answer, the
farmer began to talk. He spoke steadily
for half an hour, and while the deputy
listened with growing amazement to the
rambling recital he saw a lurid, illum-
inating light shed on the case.
Will Manning for months had been the
lover of a young girl!
He told Duff of the fierce, illicit de-
sire that had lashed him on without rest
until he won the girl’s love. The quiet
daily life of the young farmer at his
winter-bound Celeste home had con-
cealed a scarlet drama of passion.
Here was the motive that could drive
a husband and father to murder.
Duff, arriving at Greenville, placed his
prisoner in the Hunt county jail and
hurried to inform Sheriff Morgan and
District Attorney Stinson of the surpris-
ing development.
The startled officers questioned the girl
herself and found corroboration.
Mary Halstead, now tearful and re-
pentant, had fallen under the spell of the
pale, handsome man and had trusted him
completely. The officers wrote another
charge against Manning, naming him for
the seduction of the girl.
Now the last grim phase of the in-
vestigations opened. Into the cem-
etery where Mrs. Manning lay buried
came a silent, purposeful group of men.
With Morgan, Duff and Stinson were the
justice of the peace, the county health
officer and workmen who carried shovels.
The body was exhumed and portions of
the dead woman’s viscera were placed by
the health officer in tightly sealed con-
tainers.
District Attorney Stinson gave the con-
tainers to Dr. Landon C. Moore who
since then has become one of Texas’ out-
Standing expert analytical witnesses. At
that time he was chief chemist for a cot-
tonseed oil refining company in Green-
ville. Moore’s report on his analysis told
Stinson the end of the hunt had been
reached. The third and final charge was
sworn against Will Manning—a charge
of murder.
The doctor had found in Mrs. Man-
ning’s stomach more than a fatal dose of
strychnine!
Manning went to trial for his life be-
fore District Judge R. L. Porter on the
morning of April 24, 1905. The Greenville
o ig,
Dr. Landon C. Moore made legal
history when he conducted his
chemical experiment on three frogs
to convict an arch poisoner.
Accept No Susstitutes! Atways Insist on THE ApvERTISED BRAND!
courtroom °
find seats st
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Stinson f
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The cou
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she had be
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Against
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heard Dr.
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back to |
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test this :
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Defens
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tests ma
are made
ant and
“Then
jury,” sa
Thus «
to make
criminal
alleged :
courtroo’
The
Morgan
purchase
and sect
vector?” he asked.
e showed the strain
n-haired man with
tures.
n he nodded.
© you can mix her
iarmless household
is see that she has
°F
r climbed into his
Dawn was break-
‘e the fields stretch-
furrows and brittle
‘ against his horse’s
town,
he had been called
‘ollowing morning.
had come too late.
had evidently suf-
‘nt attack and died
yur.
1 I know about it.”
uid. “The girl was
al days later. The
who can tell you
red after I left are
ther, Manning and
who was driving
vn the road when
girl died. Might
<to him. He lives
this way.”
‘How about the
ed girl?” Stinson
ed. “I don't believe
1 mentioned her.”
efore District
idge R. L. Porter
as ‘brought the
ie that’ made
iminal trial his-
ry when an al-
ged poison was
sted on living
organisms.
he old Hunt
sunty courthouse,
nce destroyed to
iake way for a
iodern structure.
‘as the scene of
.e famous trial of
the frogs.
DYNAMIC
“Mary Halstead? She was out in the kitchen while I was
there. She’s a pretty youngster who was hired to help the
Mannings and Mrs. Manning’s mother. They tell me that
Will is interested in her these days.”
“Any truth in it?” asked the district attorney.
“Maybe. Manning’s a handsome lad and he’s been pretty
lonely since his wife died.”
As they passed the farm of Dick Elam, District Attorney
Stinson asked the doctor to stop for a moment. He found the
farmer in a nearby cotton field and after introducing himself
asked about the morning when Elam had been at the Manning
home.
“Guess the doctor told you that they sent me for help,” Elam
said. “I hurried into town, but when I got back Mrs. Manning
was dead.”
“In your opinion, what was the matter with Mrs. Manning?”
This rare photo-
graph of Charles
A. Duff, who as
chief deputy
played a lead-
ing role in solv-
ing the Celeste
mystery, was
taken when he
was a captain
in the Spanish-
American war.
It was in the
Celeste depot :
that the artful
killer reached
the end of his
deadly trail.
DETECTIVE
“] thought she was poisoned,” said Dick Elam flatly. ‘‘Lots
of people around here have the same idea.”
He explained that the rigid appearance of the girl’s body led
him to believe that her death was not normal.
Poison! That evil.word had lurked in Stinson’s mind. It
gave sharp and definite form to the vague cloud of mistrust and
surmise that hung darkly over the case.
He thanked Elam for‘his description of what he had seen
and rejoined the doctor. The physician made his call and as
they jogged back to Celeste Stinson puzzled over the case. He
fully realized how little he had to go on. So far, everything
but Dick Elam’s statement had pointed to the fact that Mrs.
Manning had died a normal death. Yet the vague suspicions
and questions that had been raised during the afternoon aroused
his interest. He decided to visit the mother of the dead girl
at the earliest opportunity and obtain her version of the story.
On the following day he went to her home and suggested
gently that she tell him what had taken place. Willingly the
mother told how, after the ‘doctor left, she had remained by
her daughter’s side, During the morning she had gone to the
kitchen to help Mary Halstead with breakfast.
Manning had resumed the vigil in the bedroom of his wife.
Presently he came into the kitchen and told his mother-in-law
that the girl seemed to be suffering again.
“He said that he was going to fix her some of the medicine,
like the doctor said,” the elderly woman told Stinson. “I asked
him to sit down and rest while I mixed the medicine but he
wouldn't let me. He took some water from the bucket and went
into the living room. After a while he came back, stirring the
water in a glass.
- “He took it to my daughter and I heard her cry, ‘I can't drink
that, Will.’ So I went in to help him and raised her head while
Will made her take the rest of the medicine.
“Tt didn’t seem to help her though. For the next half hour
she kept getting worse. Her face was twitching. and she was
so pale that I decided to send for the doctor. But he was too
late to help her.” .
Back in Greenville, District Attorney Stinson told Sheriff
Morgan what he had learned. Both officers realized that it
was a difficult case to handle. It was possible that the strange
circumstance pointed to nothing more than an unusual maternity
death. ,
[Continued on page 62]
gs
farmer at his
me had con-
vassion.
at could drive
nurder.
ille, placed his
unty jail and
Morgan and
of the surpris-
tioned the girl
ration.
-arful and re-
he spell of the
id trusted him
vrote another
iming him for
se of the in-
o the cem-
ig lay buried
sroup of men.
nson were the
county health
irried shovels.
id portions of
vere placed by
y sealed con-
gave the con-
Moore who
of Texas’ out-
witnesses. At
uist for a cot-
ny in Green-
analysis told
int had been
il charge was
ng—a charge
n Mrs. Man-
. fatal dose of
wv his life be-
-orter on the
‘he Greenville
=
aade legal
lucted his
three frogs
risoner.
¢
courtroom was filled. People unable to
find seats stood against the walls in rows
around three sides of the room and per-
spiration beaded the foreheads of the two
hundred men summoned as a special
venire to provide a jury for the case.
Stinson prosecuted. Handling the de-
fense was the late H. D. Wood, an able
Hunt county lawyer.
The courthouse grew more crowded
as the trial proceeded through its five
days. Those who could not press into the
courtroom milled about in the corridors
or stood in groups on the lawn outside the
building. .
The calmest person in the whole affair
was the defendant, Will Manning. He
pleaded not guilty in a firm, unhesitating
voice and then watched the trial progress
with interest but no visible show of
emotion.
The contention of the defense was that
Mrs. Manning’s death had been an after-
math of childbirth, It was argued that
she had been the victim of an embolism,
a loosened blood-clot that had been car-
ried along the blood stream and had
reached the brain, there to prove im-
mediately fatal. In support of the theory,
three physicians testified that this would
be their diagnosis from a description of
the dying woman’s last moments and her
undisputed physical condition.
Against this theory, District Attorney
Stinson threw the evidence of the state’s
prosecution.
The jury heard the story of that ter-
rible winter morning in the Manning
home when the defendant mixed the
potion for his wife, heard the story of
his illicit passion for the girl he saw daily,
heard Dr. Landon Moore tell of his
examination of the viscera and of finding
the lethal poison there.
Fate Hinges On Science
N MOORE’S findings the whole case
hinged and everyone knew it. The
chemist was kept on the witness stand
eight hours. Under cross-examination, he
described again his laboratory tests of the
specimens given him by the district at-
torney. Wood, the defense counsel, lashed
out at the procedure.
He was particularly insistent on draw-
ing from the witness the admission that
only chemical tests had been given. The
poison had not been tested on any living
creature. He hammered away at that
point until the district attorney grew
restive. When the witness was turned
back to him again the prosecutor leaned
forward.
“Doctor, you have testified you were
completely satisfied with the findings of
the chemical tests. But could you give
physiological tests as well? Could you
test this substance on a living creature?”
“I could,” said the chemist placidly.
' Defense Attorney Wood sprang to his
eet. .
“Your Honor! We object to any further
tests made by this witness unless they
are made in the presence of this defend-
ant and the jury!”
“Then we'll make it in front of the
jury,” said Stinson instantly.
Thus came the demonstration that was
to make this case a classic in Texas’
criminal trial history, the test of the
alleged poison made before a crowded
Three frogs, gray-green and squirming,
were brought to him. .
The jurors leaned forward. There was
a craning of necks and a restless stirring
over the room as Dr. Moore grasped
one of the wriggling reptiles, deftly in-
serted a hypodermic needle and shot the
plunger home.
All three frogs were used in the ex-
periment. Into one the chemist in-
jected a solution of pure strychnine made
from the poison the sheriff had bought.
Into the second he shot pure water to
demonstrate conclusively that no poison
substance was in the hypodermic syringe
itself. Into.the third he injected a solution
of the poison taken from Mrs. Manning’s
body.
He placed the three frogs under glass
jars on the wooden railing before the
jury box.
Test Proves Guilt
UTSIDE, sunshine bathed the grass
and trees with the gold of a Texas
spring. Inside was shadow and utter si-
lence. Men and women sat motionless,
watching the three glass jars where the
frogs squatted and blinked, green sides
rising and falling slowly with the move-
ment of their respiration.
For the first time in the trial, Manning’s
face went chalky white.
One of the frogs suddenly jerked up-
ward.
“Ah iid
The sibilant gasp of some watcher in
the ‘courtroom was startling. in the
strained quiet. Before the eyes of the
jury, two of the frogs were dying
horribly.
The middle animal, injected with
water, had not moved, The others were
writhing in convulsions and floundering
against the glass. They stiffened rapidly.
At last the twitchings ceased. They were
both dead of the same ugly convulsions.
It was the state’s case.
The fate of Will Manning went to the
jury on April 29 and the jury deliberated
five hours. Then Judge Porter read aloud
the slip of paper that found Manning
guilty as charged and fixed his punish-
ment at death.
Manning was placed in his cell again
while his attorney prepared a motion for
a new trial. It was refused. Wood then
visited Manning to discuss the appeal
from the sentence and found to his
amazement that his client refused to ap-
peal. The man appeared to be in a cold
fury- against the whole business.
“They ought to give me a new trial,”
he cried stubbornly. “I am innocent. I
won’t appeal it.”
“If you don’t appeal, you'll hang!” said
the lawyer.
“All right, I'll hang then!” retorted
Manning.
On May 6, he was brought into court
again where he stood before the high
bench and heard Judge Porter read his
sentence.
“__ therefore it is the sentence of this
court that you be remanded to the cus-
tody of the sheriff of Hunt county, and
by him safely kept, and on July 7, be-
tween the hours of 2 and 4 o'clock, you
shall be hanged by the neck...” ‘
The law had ended the career of one of
the cruellest killers in the history of
J. &. SMITH, Pres.
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courtroom on living organisms. Texas crime.
The chemist directed that Sheriff NAME, ccccccccccccccccccssevccscveses AGE....++
Morgan be sent toa nearby drug store to (To avoid unnecessary embarrassment, the 700) 0) (9). | ne oo
purchase a vial of powdered strychnine name, Mary Halstead, used in this story, is city : STATE
and secure a bottle of distilled water. not real, but fictitions.—The Editor.) aoamae anes anes on sss cpeem pinitioenialicheiean m
WHEN ANSWERING ADVERTISEMENTS, PLEASE MENTION OctosER DyNAMIC DETECTIVE 63
~~
HUNTSVILLE, Texas, (Reuter) - The unrelenting pace of executions continued in Texas Wednesday when two more convicted murderers
were killed by injection just more than an hour apart at the state prison.
Dorsie Johnson-Bey, 30, and Davis Losada, 32, became the 19th and 20th men executed in Texas in 1997, tying the state's record for an
entire year set in 1935 when the electric chair was still m use.
The double execution, only the second time in the state's modem history that two men have been put to death on the same day, brought
to four the number of executions performed this week at the prison.
Texas has now killed 127 men since reinstating the death penalty in 1982 -- far more than any other state -- but the pace has accelerated
this year because of new laws that have sped up the appeals process in capital punishment cases.
Johnson-Bey was convicted and sentenced to death for the March 1986 robbery and murder of convenience store clerk Jack Huddleston
in the town of Snyder in west Texas. He and a partner got $160 and two cartons of cigarettes in the crime.
“I would like to tell my fa ly that I love them and always be strong and keep their head up and keep faith in Jesus. And that's it,”
Johnson-Bey said in his last words.
He died six minutes after a combination of chemicals was injected into his outstretched arm while he lay on the cross-shaped gumey
used for executions.
Prison spokesman Larry Fitzgerald said Johnson-Bey spent his final day visiting with family and ate a last meal of fried chicken, french
fnes and chocolate cake.
Just more than an hour after Johnson-Bey's execution, Losada took his place in the death chamber.
He received the death sentence for his part in the December 1984 rape and murder of 15-year-old Olga Perales near San Felipe in south
Texas. He and three other men stabbed and beat the girl to death after raping her repeatedly.
In his final words, Losada proclaimed his innocence. ‘If it matters to anyone, I did not kill Olga," he said.
Addressing family members Present at the execution, he said: "Brian, thank you for caring. Dede, you've been a good sister to all of us.
Chico, trust in God. I will always love you, man, I will always love you. Okay, warden."
Losada also died sixminutes after receiving the injection. He had declined a last meal.
A handful of anti-death penalty protesters were outside the prison.
Thirteen more executions are scheduled for the rest of the year in Texas, including sixmore in June. The state has about 450 prisoners on
death row.
21:54 06-04-97
Thureday June 5, 19987 America Online: Galba33 Page: 1
«
.
5 Houston Chronicle
6/4/1997 .
State executes 2 killers, ties 62-year-old —
record SATE KN
By ALLAN TURNER
Copyright 1997 Houston Chronicle
HUNTSVILLE -- As death penalty foes chanted and television
cameramen jostled for position on the lawn across from the
prison death house, Texas on Wednesday killed two killers --
the third and fourth in a single week -- and matched its
62-year-old record for executions in a single year.
First to die was Dorsie Johnson-Bey, 30, a one-time janitor in
the West Texas community of Colorado City, who was
sentenced in the March 1986 murder of Jack Huddleston, a
convenience store clerk in Snyder. as
Huddleston, 53, was shot in the head with a .25-caliber pistol
after he was forced to lie in the cooler of his Allsup's
convenience store after being robbed of $161 and cigarettes.
His wife and one of his three children witnessed Johnson-Bey's _
death but declined to talk with reporters. We graben ho
The second execution -- that of former Cameron County cook »
Davis Losada, 32 -- occurred just over an hour later. Losada
was sentenced to die for the gang-related rape-murder of
15-year-old Olga Perales two days before Christmas in 1984.
He was the 20th person executed in Texas this year.
Shortly after his arrival at Huntsville's death row, Losada
admitted that he had ordered the teen's death and regretted only
that he had not killed her himself: One of Losada's accomplices
was executed in May 1992, another is serving life i prison for
murder, and a third, convicted of sexual assault, has been
released on mandatory supervision.
Authorities said the teen was raped repeatedly, stabbed in the
chest and abdomen and beat over the head about 30 times with
a lead pipe.
The deaths by injection came just one day after the execution of
Kenneth Bemard Harris, 34, who was convicted im the 1986
rape-murder of Houston legal secretary Lisa Stonestreet and
two days after the execution of Patrick Rogers, 33, who was
convicted of fatally shooting a Paris policeman.
The executions marked the 126th and 127th since the Texas
death penalty was revived in 1982. They also broke the state's
annual record of 19 executions in the modern era, and tied its
overall 1935 record for executions in a single year. Texas used
the electric chair back then; it has been replaced by lethal
injection.
At least seven more men are scheduled to die this month in
Texas, which by far leads the nation in executions.
The rapidity with which Texas has executed death row inmates
has drawn national attention, and by the time witnesses were
escorted from the prison administration building to the death
"house at 6 p.m., nearly 30 reporters had arrived at the scene.
Camera tripods sprouted from the yard like miniature oil
derricks.
About 100 feet away, at the edge of the Walls Unit property, 17
protesters, many of them members of the Houston-based Texas
Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, chanted and waved
anti-death penalty banners.
‘Executions routinely draw 12-20 protesters, said Jimmy Dunne,
a director of the loosely organized, 175-member group. Earlier
-. sin the day, Dunne said his organization hoped for a
larger-than-usual turnout to protest the dual, record-tymg
executions,
‘"T'm glad that many came out," Dunne said. "The Catholic
Church opposes the death penalty, but they're not out rounding
up people."
At the height of the protest, about 30 death penalty opponents
were present, he said.
Among them was Frances Wike of Houston, who said she has
attended eight or nine executions.
"There is so little I can do," she said. "I just have to let people
know that there are a few out here who don't approve of
state-sanctioned murder. I'm not here because of those two
(condemned) men but because of the state's method.
"Murder is murder is murder."
Dunne, 63, a former middle school mathematics teacher and
one-time executive director of People Opposed to Paddling
Students, said a secondary protest sponsored by his
organization was taking place in Austin.
Subj: Texas Executes Two Killers
Date: 97-06-04 22:40:34 EDT
From: AOL News
BCC: Galba33
_c The Associated Press
By MICHAEL GRACZYK
Associated Press Writer
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) - Texas tied a 1935 record for executions
in a year on Wednesday by putting two murderers to death, a man who
shot a convenience store clerk and a gang leader who ordered the
beating of a teen-age gir.
Dorsey Johnson-Bey, 30, became the 19th convicted killer to be
executed this year. A little more than an hour later, Davis Losada,
32, became the 20th.
Losada chatted with a chaplain before the execution and said,
“This is nothing incredibly special. God is with me. Everything's
cool."
In his final statement, Johnson-Bey said: “'I'd like to tell my
family | love them and always be strong and keep their heads up and
keep faith in Jesus."
The state has four more executions scheduled this week, and at
least 11 slated this month.
Johnson-Bey was convicted of killing Jack Huddleston, 53, a
clerk, on March 23, 1986. Huddleston was shot once in the head
after being told to lie down on the floor as about $160 and two
cartons of cigarettes were taken.
Johnson-Bey and an accomplice were arrested a few weeks later
after pulling a similar robbery.
Losada was conwcted with three others in the killing of Olga
Perales, 15, in the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas.
The four youths had been drinking beer and smoking cocaine-laced
marijuana when they picked up the girl at a party and took her
dnving around town.
The girl repeatedly was raped, beaten about the head with a pipe
and then stabbed two days before Christmas in 1984.
Jesus Romero was executed in 1992 for the crime. Another
accomplice is serving a life prison term, while another was
released under supervsion.
Losada, in an intemew shortly after arriving on death row,
lamented that he had only ordered the girl's murder.
~The only thing | regret is not taking part in the murder
itself," he said.
Electrocution was the state's method of capital punishment in
1935.
AP-NY -06-04-97 2231EDT
Copyright 1997 The Associated Press. The information
contained in the AP news report may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or otherwse distributed without
prior written authority of The Associated Press.
To edit your profile, go to keyword NewsProfiles.
For all of today's news, go to keyword News.
Thursday June 5, 1997 America Online: Galba33
Page: 1
Two Texas executions scheduled
HUNTSVILLE, Texas, June 4 (UPI) _ Texas prison officials are planning to execute two death row inmates later
today, which would put the state's total executions for the year at 20 and tie a 1935 record.
At least seven other executions are scheduled for later this month. The 1935 record was set when the electric chair
was used.
Texas resumed capital punishment in December 1982 with lethal injection and is the nation's most active capital
punishment state. The record for executions in one year by lethal injection is 19, and it was set in 1995.
If both executions are carried out, the 126th and 127th convicted killers would be put to death by the state since
1982. .
Dorsey Lee Johnson has asked the Supreme Court for a stay. He was convicted for the March 23, 1986, shooting
death and robbery of Jack Huddleston, a clerk at a Snyder convenience store in West Texas.
The 30-year-old Johnson was charged with Huddleston's slaying a month later after he was arrested for the robbery
and attempted murder ofa store clerk in the neighboring town of Colorado City.
Officials say 32-year-old Davis Losada is slated to die for the rape, stabbing and beating death of a 15-year-old San
Benito girl in December 1984 in South Texas.
Losada and co-defendant Jesus Romero Jr. were both convicted of capital murder in the slaying of Olga Lidia
Perales.
Romero was executed in May 1992. A third co-defendant was given a life sentence and a fourth co-defendant was
sentenced to 20 years in prison for sexual assault.
Texas carries out first of two executions Wednesday June 4
HUNTSVILLE, Texas, June 4 (UPI) _ Texas prison officials have put to death the state's 1 9th condemned prisoner
of the year, carrying out the first of two executions scheduled tonight.
Dorsey Lee Johnson was pronounced dead at 6:18 p.m. CDT as witnesses from both Johnson's family and the family
of his victim looked on.
Johnson's death equaled the annual high-water mark for executions in Texas since 1982. In 1995, 19 inmates were
put to death by injection.
Johnson was condemned for the March 23, 1986, shooting death and robbery of Jack Huddleston, a clerk at a
convenience store in the small west Texas town of Snyder.
Texas prison officials are readying the state's death chamber for 32- year-old Davis Losada, who was condemned for
the 1984 rape and murder of 15-year-old Olga Lidia Perales in the south Texas town of San Benito.
If Losada becomes the 20th prisoner executed in Huntsville this year, it would equal a 67-year-old record for most
executions in the state in a year. Texas was still using the electric chair in 1935 when that record was set.
Johnson is the 126th inmate put to death in Texas since executions were resumed in 1982.
The 32-year-old Losada and co-defendant Jesus Romero Jr. were each condemned for the rape, stabbing and beating
death of a Perales. Romero was executed in May 1992. A third co-defendant is serving a life sentence and a fourth is
serving a 20-year term for sexual assault.
= Mies Executed i in Tatas“ ad
HUNTSVILLE; Tex., May-20 (AP) - —
Ai ‘man’ convicted ‘of rapirig ‘and mure »
dering a 15-year-old girl in-an‘assault
by, four ‘gang members: was executed
by’ lethal: injection’ early: today: at the
state prison here.” i
“The man, Jésus’ Rbidenbs sa 27 year: <S
old migrant worker, ‘was. ‘the 4 4otit per: ad
‘son executed in Texas's since 1976: That —
total is higher than in any other’state: |
The victim, .Olga Perales.» was
stabbed twice, in the’ chest’ and” the | , 2S tt ee 7
abdomen, beaten’ on, the head with a ! _ Executioner awaits.
pipe and raped. repented ge esises Pe fF T ki ll
a NE se exas rape-killer
THE NEW YORK TIMES NATIONAL : THURSDAY, wan 21, 1992 |_ HUNTSVILLE, Tesis — A con
‘demned inmate who giggled during
ee ‘his murder trial faced an execution
Se aa eee ae : ! “early today ‘for*the 1984 rape and 1
a. a | -murder of a 15-year-old girl.
| The Texas Court -of Criminal
| : Appeals ‘on. Tuesday refused to block
‘the execution of Jesus Romero, 27.
‘Romero’s, attorneys appealed to the
‘DS. ‘District, Court in Brownsville
-and asked Gov. -Ann Richards to aig
‘the executions; | |
Olga.: Perales. was “siabbate ‘in ‘the
‘chest: and: stomach, ‘beaten about the
‘head. with.a pipe.and raped. Tepeatedly
oid rbefore her death, police said.
- Romero, - a _ migrant | worker, “was
rseen giggling’ as. witnesses. recounted
| ithe murder at his 1985 trial.
f i % Baie eins a — <= _ tine
_>_——~ ~~ mh ee
STALL ELELERSEALSTELHRAE NTS TALS
COUST PY
“A4 —_. The Arizona Republic - Wednesday, May 20, 1992. .
— peenix AZ
“HUNTSVILLE. — A man who ‘giggled’ during his trial.
was executed by injection early today: for raping and mur-
dering a 15-year-old girl. Seta |
Jesus Romero, 27, went to his death after the U.S.
Supreme rejected a late-hour appeal. — aa ee ee
Romero became the 49th person executed in Texas since
| the Supreme Court in 1976 let states resume capital punish-
¢
ment. The total is by far the nation’s highest.
A-t0'*% Wednesday, May 20,1992
(2 Oakland Tribune
-1S3M_ 3HL 4O ADIOA FHI.
apuoahy osursgy urs
Appeal Rejected
ii
— Texan Executed
Huntsville, Texas — A man who
giggled during his trial was execut- -
ed by injection early today for rap-
ing and murdering a 15-year-old
girl.
Jesus Romero, 27, went to his
death after the U.S. Supreme re-
jected a late-hour appeal.
He had no final statement.
Romero became the 49th per-
son executed in Texas since the Su- -
preme Court in 1976 let states re-
sume capital punishment. The
total is by far the nation’s highest.
Romero’s attorneys had argued
that he had psychological prob-
lems and that his lawyer at his trial
was incompetent. Earlier yester-
day, a federal judge granted him a
reprieve, but a federal appeals
court quickly lifted it.
= “WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 1992
: | Pp DG
NAT
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) —
A condemned inmate who gig-
gled during his murder trial
faced an early execution today
for the 1984 rape and murder of a:
15-year-old girl.
The Texas Court of Criminal
Appeals on Tuesday refused to
“Texas killer set to be executed today
appealed to the U.S. District
Court in Brownsville and asked’
Gov. Ann Richards to halt the ©
execution. 5 Se
As of Tuesday, Texas execut-
ed 48 people since the 1976 U.S.
Supreme Court ruling that al-.
lowed states to resume capital ..
the most for a ‘State. .
block the execution uf Jesus punishment. The total is by far |
Romero, 27. Romero’s attorneys si ¢
a i
Pr
Rapist-killer executed
HUNTSVILLE, Texas — A
visibly nervous 27-year-old was
put to death by injection Wed-
nesday for raping and killing a
teen-age girl nearly eight years’
ago. ;
His attorneys had argued Je-
sus Romero had psychological
problems and that his trial law-
yer was incompetent. The U.S.
Supreme Court, in a 6-3 ruling
early Wednesday, refused to halt.
the execution.
ION The Fresno Bee @ Thursday, May 21,1992 A114 :
(OR), :
|
AS Wednesday, May 20, 1992 Ohe Bakersfield Californian
Peas toc cake cee
Sp
SCHEDULED TO DIE TONIGHT: A prison guard. helps Roger Keith
Coleman hook up a microphone for an interview on Tuesday.
oy
Last minute
appeals for
Virginia man
RICHMOND, Va. —
Roger Keith Coleman
pursued last-minute
federal court appeals
Tuesday, a day before his
scheduled execution fora
1981 rape and murder he
_says he didn’t commit.
Coleman’s lawyers asked
the full 4th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals to
rehear the case. A three-
judge panel of the court
rejected the request
Monday and denied a
second stay request
Tuesday. Also Monday,
Gov. L. Douglas Wilder
denied clemency.
Defense lawyers planned
toturn tothe U.S.
Supreme Court if
necessary. Former coal
miner Coleman, 33, is
scheduled to die in the
electric chair late today
«,, forthe rdpe and murder .
of his sister-in-law,
Wanda McCoy, at her
home in the
southwestern Virginia
town of Grundy. Last
week U.S. District Judge
Glen M. Williams said
new evidence only
strengthened the
prosecution’s case.
Wilder and Williams
cited DNA tests the
defense sought on appeal
that showed Coleman
was among 0.2 percent of
the population that could
have killed McCoy.
Associated Press’
Press focuses on Virginia; execution set in Texas
J ARRATT, Va. — Media requests to interview .
condemned inmate Roger Keith Coleman kept
the phones backed up Tuesday at the prison
_ where he is scheduled to be executed. An '
extraordinary last-minute plea
of innocence has made Coleman
a familiar sight on talk shows,
news programs, in magazines
and newspapers. Coleman has
been interviewed from the
; for several national television
Hulslander
King Live” and NBC’s “Today”
show. On Tuesday, he spoke with talk show host
Phil Donahue on the syndicated “Donahue”
show. Coleman’s mother, Mary Hulslander, wept
during the taping of the show Tuesday: More
than 5,700 people who shared doubts about
Coleman’s guilt wrote Virginia Gov. Douglas
Wilder asking him to delay the execution, and
protests and fasting are planned nationwide
today. But Wilder was unmoved, declaring that a
review of the evidence left him with no doubt
that justice was done. Coleman and his lawyer,
Kathleen Behan, hit the airwaves Tuesday with
what they termed a new development that
bolstered Coleman’s alibi explaining his
whereabouts the night of March 10, 1981, when
his sister-in-law Wanda McCoy was raped and
murdered in rural Grundy. They produced an
affidavit from a man who said a key prosecution
witness, Sandra Stiltner, had expressed doubts
about when she saw Coleman the night of the
crime. At trial, she said Coleman had visited her
at 10:20, the same time Coleman said he was
elsewhere. In Texas: Meanwhile, outside of the
Greensville Correctional Center : glare of publicity, a Texas condemned inmate
” faced execution early today for the 1984 rape and
,
shows, including CNN’s ‘Larry ~ murder ofa 15-year-old girl. A federal judge
granted Jesus Romero, 27, a reprieve Tuesday
afternoon but the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals in New Orleans quickly overruled him.
Romero’s attorneys were expected to appeal to
the U.S. Supreme Court, which generally refuses
to block executions. Romero’s attorneys contend
he had psychological problems and that his
defense attorney at trial was incompetent. Gov.
Ann Richards was asked to halt the execution.
Earlier Tuesday,.a state appeals court refused to
block it. As of Tuesday, Texas executed 48 people
since 1976, when the Supreme Court let states to
resume capital punishment. The total is by far the
most for a state.
‘Wednesday, May 20, 1992
—— (nv)
2A—Reno Gazette
a
876 884 FEDERAL REPORTER, 2d SERIES
es, responding to hypothetical questions.
Jon Wood, Romero’s lawyer at trial and on
appeal, testified, explaining his trial plan.
The trial judge found that Wood was li-
censed in 1974; that his experience includ-
ed three years as a Cameron County prose-
cutor and the trial of hundreds of criminal
cases including many capital cases. The
court found that while Wood had not filed
discovery motions the prosecutor had
opened his entire file to Wood, except the
statements of its witnesses and the report
of its chief investigator; that Wood other-
wise had obtained the statements of wit-
nesses as well as the case report by virtue
of a Juvenile Certification hearing of Rafa-
el Leyva, Jr. The state trial judge found
that Wood had seen the case tried three
times having sat throughout the trials of
Davis, Losada, and Cardenas. He found
that Wood had requested and obtained the
appointment of a psychiatrist whose report
ruled out any insanity defense. After re-
jecting each of the asserted deficiencies in
Wood’s work, the trial court concluded that
none, in any event, met the test of preju-
dice set out in Strickland v, Washington,
466 U.S. 668, 689, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 2065, 80
L.Ed.2d 674 (1984).
IV
The federal district court rested its grant
of relief upon the failure of Wood to offer
more extensive argument. The court was
persuaded that “the decision to not present
a more extensive argument at punishment
‘precluded the jury from considering any
mitigating factors and waived [Romero’s]
constitutional rights guaranteed by Lock-
ett....”" It concluded that, according to
the record, Wood could have argued that
Romero was a teenager; that Romero was
intoxicated at the time of the offense; and
that his family background might have
made his acts “understandable” if not “Jus-
tifiable.”” The court observed that the deci-
sion “not to present any argument at the
sentencing phase” was so “patently unrea-
sonable” as to constitute a deficiency under
Strickland. Finally, it concluded that
there was “a reasonable probability that
absent this deficiency, the jury would have
“.
Sentenced Romero to life imprisonment :
rather than death.” The district court then .
ordered that the death sentence be “com- ’
muted to life imprisonment.”
The district court summarily rejected |
Romero’s first thirteen allegations of inef.
fective assistance with the observation that"
they failed to meet either the “deficiency’
or “prejudice” prongs of Strickland. We
turn first to the basis for the grant of *
relief and then to the thirteen rejected —
specifications of ineffective assistance of °
counsel.
V
Our “judicial scrutiny of counsel’s per- —
formance must be highly deferential.”
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668,
689, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 2065, 80 L.Ed.2d 674
(1984). We are to make every’ effort to
eliminate “the distorting effect of hind-
sight.” Jd. Finally, we are to “indulge a
strong presumption that counsel’s conduct
falls within the wide range of reasonable
professional assistance.” Jd.
A
(1] It is not clear whether the district
court’s finding of ineffective assistance of
counsel faulted only the lawyer’s decision
to argue as he did in sentencing or whether
the court was also critical of the decision to
not offer evidence at the sentencing phase.
As we read its ruling, the perceived fault
was in not presenting mitigating factors
that were available, a failure curable by
argument. This reading is supported by
the district court’s observation that “If de-
fense counsel had merely decided not to
offer evidence at the sentencing phase, the
Standards set forth in [Bell v. Lynaugh,
828 F.2d 1085 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 484
US. 933, 108 S.Ct. 310, 98 L.Ed.2d 268
(1987) ] would lead the court to defer to
defense counsel’s judgment defense
counsel not only failed to put on evidence
but also failed to make any substantial
final statement at the sentencing phase of
the trial.” As we have stated, the federal
district court observed that “the record re-
veals that defense counsel had sufficient
grounds to argue several mitigating
sree
878 884 FEDERAL REPORTER, 2d SERIES
and objected that proffers were duplicative
and cumulative. Nothing suggests that an
objection footed on prejudice would have
been fruitful. To the contrary, at least
some of the photographs were highly rele-
vant evidence of the nature and severity of
injury inflicted. We cannot fault Wood’s
decision.
Wood elected to leave the trial in Camer-
on County, persuaded that Romero’s
chances with a jury were not improved by a
change of venue. We are pointed to noth-
ing to fault this judgment call.
{4] Romero next contends that the dis-
trict court erred in rejecting his assertion
that Wood was ineffective in his handling
of jury selection; that he failed to chal-
lenge for cause five veniremen when he
might have done so, and was “inattentive
to the requirements of Witherspoon v. IIli-
nots, 391 U.S. 510, 88 S.Ct. 1770, 20
L.Ed.2d 776 (1968).” The Witherspoon al-
legation is no more than a conclusion. We
are pointed to nothing in the record to
support it. The selection of the jury was
explored in the evidentiary hearing before
the state trial judge on Romero’s habeas
petition. At that hearing Wood, while un-
able to recall all the reasons for his actions
taken some two years earlier, explained his
reasons in general terms, pointing out that
he had a personal history of the veniremen.
The state trial judge found that Wood “pre-
pared extensively for his voir dire examina-
tion of the jury and was knowledgeable of
the panel by the time of voir dire.” The
record supports this finding. A
*.
4
Romero points to Cynthia Ann Noyola, an
Hispanic female, who had initially stated that
she would not consider the minimum punish-
ment of five years for murder. But she
explained, in response to questions by the
state, that she could do so for a mercy
killing. She had read or heard that one
codefendant had been give a death sen-
tence and another was sentenced to life. It
is by no means plain that this information
was harmful to Romero’s cause.
Andres Flores explained that she could
not consider the minimum penalty for mur-
der but she gave other favorable responses
such as a willingness to consider intoxi-
cation and distrust of accomplice testimo-
ny.
Romero argues that Wood should have
urged the exclusion for cause of Ramon
Munoz because he had formed an opinion
of Romero’s guilt. However, Mujioz’s tes-
timony was that he had doubts that Rome. ~
ro was as innocent as anyone in the court-
room, which was the question asked. He
stated that he would not call it an opinion;
that he had talked about the case with
co-workers who expressed the view that
Romero was very young. 4
Finally, Romero points to Jane Bristow
and Lucia Garcia. Bristow stated that
where a defendant did not consider the life
of the victim the death penalty would be a
more humane punishment than life impris-
onment. But she also was skeptical of
accomplice testimony and Wood’s line of
defense was to discredit Rafaek Leyva’s
testimony and convince the jury of Rome-
ro’s lesser role in the crime. Garcia had
expressed shock that such a crime occurred
in her hometown of San Benito, but she
had formed no opinion regarding Romero’s
guilt and believed in the presumption of
innocence.
[5] We are persuaded that none of
these decisions by trial counsel fall outside
the range of acceptable judgment. The
selection of a jury is inevitably a call upon
experience and intuition. The trial lawyer
must draw upon his own insights and em-
pathetic abilities. Written records give us
only shadows for measuring the quality of
such efforts. Indeed, we recognize this oe
cold fact of life by our standard for review- ss,
ing the rulings of judges presiding over
jury selection. The Supreme Court in
Wainwright v. Witt, 469 US. 412, 105 «
S.Ct. 844, 83 L.Ed.2d 841 (1985), pulled 2% :
back from earlier language in Witherspoon — ‘,,
suggesting a de novo review of such deci-
sions, requiring that federal habeas courts
review by a clearly erroneous standard.
The point is not that we review claims of
ineffectiveness by a similar standard but
rather that the standard by which we re
view decisions by trial judges accepts the
reality that the selection process is more an.
art than a science, and more about people
than about rules. While our review of the .
ultimate decision regarding effectiveness’ ..
of counsel is essentially de novo, our will-
ingness to second guess them must be ‘in’
ROMERO v. LYNAUGH 877
Cite as 884 F.2d 871 (Sth Cir. 1989)
factors ...” including youth, intoxication
and family background. In short, the dis-
trict court quarreled with Wood’s decision
to handle the sentencing phase as he did.
We are persuaded that the district court
failed to give Wood, an experienced trial
lawyer, the latitude necessary to try a diffi-
cult case. Wood’s task was formidable.
His client had confessed to participating in
a brutal rape and killing of a fifteen year
old girl. Leyva, a sixteen year old partici-
pant, testified for the state and the physi-
cal facts corroborated his testimony. With-
in weeks of the charged crime Wood’s
client had assaulted two other females.
The client did nothing to help his own
cause. Indeed, at trial the lawyer found
his client laughing in the presence of the
jury at the grisly details of the slaying.
There is no question that Wood engaged
in substantial preparation for trial. He ob-
tained access to the prosecutor’s file, even
the report of the state’s investigator, and
observed each of the three trials of
Romero’s confederates. He knew the jury.
He knew the community. As for the
events of trial, there is nothing to suggest
that any mitigating facts were not before
the jury. Romero’s youth was obvious.
Romero’s sister, while testifying at the
guilt phase, told the jury of the family size
and of the handicapped sister. Unfortu-
nately for Romero, not all the product of
inquiry into Romero’s home life was neces-
Sarily mitigating. Police officers testified
at the sentencing hearing that the family
was violent and the brothers were fighting
with the father. Jurors might view this
evidence as explanatory of Romero’s vio-
lence or the jury might see it as further
evidence of unchecked aggression. There
was also evidence that Romero and the
others were drinking at the time of the
offense. At the same time, any suggestion
that Romero was so intoxicated that the
jury was likely to give it substantia] weight
in considering his moral culpability is belied
by the reeord. In sum, while Romero’s
lawyer did not present evidence at the sen-
tencing phase of trial, the fact is that the
evidence of possible mitigating factors was
before the jury. It follows that the rele-
vant inquiry is whether Wood’s dramatic
ploy in the Sentencing hearing fell off the
constitutional range.
Given his difficult situation, we are not
prepared to fault Wood’s effort to high-
light the heavy responsibility of the jury by
not burdening them with the obvious and
avoiding the risk of losing them by arguing
the absurd. To do so comes close to insist-
ing on a pro forma argument in every case.
Had the jury returned a life sentence the
strategy might well have been seen as a
brilliant move. That it did not does not
mean that it was outside the range of rea-
sonable professional assistance.
B
{2] We turn to Romero’s argument that
the district court erred in not finding that
Wood was ineffective in thirteen additional
respects. First, Romero argues that Wood
filed a notice of intent to raise an insanity
defense but did not do so. This ignores the
fact that the notice accompanied a request
for examination by a psychiatrist, which
was granted. The filed report of examina-
tion found Romero was competent to stand
trial; that he suffered no mental disease or
defect which would impair his ability to
distinguish right from wrong; and that
while he was intoxicated at the time of the
offense, he was able to realize the conse-
quences of his conduct.
Romero next complains of the district
court’s rejection of his contention that
Wood was ineffective in not moving to sup-
press the results of the search of Romero’s
house or to suppress Romero’s confession.
There is nothing in the record to suggest a
basis for such motions and Romero sug-
gests none. There was no error.
[3] Romero next argues that Wood
failed to file a discovery motion, to object
to photographs, or to request a change of
venue. We have otherwise described the
actual discovery obtained by Wood. It ex-
ceeds the discovery obtainable by formal
motion. There was no error. The photo-
graphs were admitted in the trial of Davis
Losada, attended by Wood, and he had
inspected them. Wood elected to focus his
efforts on reducing the number of photo-
graphs of the deceased put before the jury
83
> har
i
‘
:
i
5
MATTER OF WATSON
Cite as 884 F.2d 879 (Sth Cir. 1989)
formed by the reality of their task and the
limits of the recording of their work before
us.
(6] Romero points to seven instances in
which Wood is said to have failed to block
the receipt of evidence. In each instance,
the evidence was either clearly admissible
or duplicative of evidence properly re-
ceived. It is unnecessary to review them
seriatim. We agree with the trial court
that there has been no showing of preju-
dice under Strickland even were we per
suaded, and we are not, that Wood erred in
the manner asserted.
In sum we are persuaded that Jesus
Romero was represented by competent
counsel and received a fair trial. We af-
firm the district court’s decision rejecting
claims of the petition for habeas corpus.
We vacate the stay of execution, reverse
the decision granting relief, and remand
the case to the district court with instruc
tion to dismiss the petition for writ of habe-
as corpus.
Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and
remanded.
oO EKEY NUMBER SYSTEM
Hume
In the Matter of Russell B.
WATSON, Jr., Debtor.
John J. OXLEY, Individually and for
Dallas Fireplace Distributors Corpora-
tion, and C. Thomas Wesner, Jr., Appel-
lants,
Vv.
Russell B. WATSON, Jr., First City Na-
tional Bank of Tyler, Henry M. Bell,
Jr., Peter M. Boyd, and Glenn C. Col-
lins, Appellees.
No. 89-2306
Summary Calendar.
United States Court of Appeals,
Fifth Circuit.
Oct. 5, 1989.
Adversary bankruptcy proceeding was
brought to determine dischargeability of
879
debt. The United States District Court for
the Eastern District of Texas, Robert M.
Parker, J., affirmed bankruptcy court’s im-
position of sanctions on party, and appeal
was taken. The Court of Appeals, Jerry E.
Smith, Circuit Judge, held that bankruptcy
court order imposing sanctions was inter-
locutory, and thus not appealable to Court
of Appeals.
Appeal dismissed.
Bankruptcy ¢—3768
Bankruptcy court order imposing sanc-
tions on party in proceeding to determine
dischargeability of debt was interlocutory,
and thus not appealable to Court of Ap-
peals. 28 U.S.C.A. § 158(d).
C. Thomas Wesner, Jr., Wesner, Coke,
Boyd & Clymer, Dallas, Tex., for appel-
lants.
Jerry Ed Bain, Bain, Files, Allen, Cald-
well & Worthen, P.C., Tyler, Tex., for R.
Watson,
Judith Birk Baumgartner, Vinson & El-
kins, Dallas, Tex., for First City Nat. Bank,
Henry Bell and: Peter Boyd.
X
Appeal from the United States District
Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
Before HIGGINBOTHAM, DAVIS,
and SMITH, Circuit Judges:
JERRY E. SMITH, Circuit Judge:
In this adversary bankruptcy proceeding
to determine dischargeability of a debt, the
appellant, John Oxley, attempts to appeal
from the district court’s affirmance of the
bankruptcy court’s imposition of sanctions
on Oxley. Concluding that we have no
jurisdiction, we dismiss the appeal.
Although no party here questions our
jurisdiction on appeal, it is well-established
that jurisdiction cannot be conferred by
agreement and that, where necessary, we
i
ho ~~
LOTT, George Douglas, white, LI TX®
o~ "if ome oe
Century-old Tarrant c
ounty Co
FORT WORTH, TEXAS
JULY 1, 1992
THE SECOND State Court of Appeals
on the fourth floor of the old Tarrant
County Courthouse in Fort Worth,
urthouse was the scen
bone. In fact, no bailiff was assigned to
the appellate court in the century-old
-. granite building, because there had nev- |
Texas, was its usual placid self on that.
summer morning of Wednesday, July 1,
1992. It was the last day the court would
be in session before adjourning for sum-
mer recess.
At the elevated bench, three justices.
Sat, hearing a routine appeal case; The
attorney presenting his legal points
stood at a lectern before the panel of .
judges who rule on decisions that have
been reached previously in district
courts and have then been appealed to
the higher court to be either affirmed or
reversed.
There are no histrionics in the staid:
appellate court, no fiery debates that
might require a bailiff’s intervention, as
occasionally happens in the lower crim-
inal district and family courts, where
emotions are sometimes bared to the
6 Front Page Detective
court hearing has an’almost regal atmo-
er been a need: for one. An appellate-
sphere, as compared to the vulgar dra-
matics that sometimes punctuate the
lower district courts, where cases are °
first tried.on. their merits.
That summer morning in. the. Fort.
Worth appellate court,'with the'distant ,
sound of traffic audible from outside, .
Senior Justice Robert Mason was seated
in the middle chair, with Justice Alfred
Sanford on his right and Justice Carl
Bellows on his left. A dozen or so attor-
neys were seated in the old-fashioned —
péws of the courtroom gallery, waiting
for their cases to be called on the appeal
Pocket é fig) Shs :
Shortly before 10:00 a.m., a short
man in a dark suit, white shirt, and red
tie entered the gallery. He was carrying
a brown briefcase and a black bag with
shoulder strap, and he sat down-in ‘the ~
second row from the back on the right
side. None of the other persons present
gave him more than a glance, if that. He
Dd teays Drs a g
e of a wild shooting spree to rival any o
(Potter) September 20, 1994,
& we
* wee ¥. . f
utlaw rampage of the Old West.
6
looked like any other attorney there on
court business. For a few minutes, he
thumbed through a yellow legal pad, °
then abruptly stood up,
With both arms extended, he pointed
‘a gun at the judges and the thunder of
repeated gunshots reverberated in the
small courtroom, turning the peaceful
scene into sheer bedlam.
“Oh, my God! I’ve been shot!” one
of the judges on the bench exclaimed.
The acrid smell of gunpowder was
‘suddenly. Overpowering. Witnesses
‘ looked on in stunned horror as orange
flame belched from the gun that was be-
ing fired again and again.
As one attorney, a 28-year-old wom-
an, dived beneath the bench where she
had been sitting, she got-a glimpse of
the gunman’s face. It was icy calm, his
eyes glaring straight ahead, betraying no
nervousness or emotion, as he kept pull-
» ing the trigger of the automatic. Because
of the gunman’s composed demeanor
and expression, the thought raced
through the attorney’s mind, as’ she
would recall later, that this was a
- professional “hit job.” But neither she
nor any of the o
floor had time
the reasons for
The attorney
luckily not hi
Standing in i!
dropped to the
and crawled int
tried frantically
phone he foun:
get it to work.
Inside the c
Chris Marshall
section for the
Attorney’s Offic
He had been siti
tween the gun
bench. Several :
per part of Mar:
pumping from |!
glasses were sti
The opening {
Justice Sanfor
chair.and sous
bench. His two c
tunate. Justice }
the floor behin
wound in his sh
escaped the first
hind the woode
daylight through
bullets ripping t!
For an instar
Fear and horror gripped Forth Worth on that hot
day in July when a historic Texas courthouse
was turned into a slaughterhouse by a depraved
gunman hell-bent on wreaking his twisted brand
of Ba with a i deadly hail of hot lead...
to summon some help,
As would be learned later, attorney
Edwards did not make good his escape.
The gunman either pursued or acciden-
tally ran into the lawyer on a flight of |
stairs between the second and third
floors. He pumped six .slugs,into the
back of the fleeing attorney, the shots
literally ripping his body apart. When he -
was later found, Edwards was sprawled
face up on the stairwell landing...
Subsequently, it also was discovered |
that Ralph Anderson, an assistant dis- —
trict attorney, had been grazed by one
shot. But he was not wounded seriously
and was later released after treatment at :
the hospital.
__ As for the two wounded justices, they
were rushed by ambulance to the hospi- —
tal, where Bellows was listed in serious —
condition after undergoing surgery. Ma- °
son. was described as being in fair con-
dition.
When Tarrant County sheriff’s depu-
ties, Fort Worth police officers, and
paramedics rushed to the old courthouse
building, they beheld a scene of utter
chaos. Some of the county employees in
the offices on the other floors had taken ~
refuge behind locked doors and under’
desks when they’d heard the outbreak of
shooting.
The officers looked for witnesses who
might have seen the gunman leave the
courthouse. One such witness turned out
to be an attorney who said he had left
the appellate courtroom just before he .
heard the shooting break out. He'said he
saw a man in a blue blazer; carrying
what appeared to be a gym bag, come
along the first-floor hallway and walk
out the east doors.
“He was very, very calm and walked
very, very slow,” the witness’ recalled,
Another witness said she’d hearda
voice begging for help, followed by sev-
eral shots. She had apparently heard
John Edwards shouting for help, and the
shots that killed him.
“I heard somebody yell, ‘Help!
Help!’ And then boom! boom! boom!”
she recalled.
Justice Sanford told the officers that
8 Front Page Detective
he had been leaning back in his chair at
the end.of the bench, listening’to a de-
_ fensé attorney. presenting his arguments,
when the gunfire. exploded in the court- —
‘room. His view of the gunman had been
blocked temporarily by the higher
bench of the presiding judge in the mid-
‘dle, But he sat straight up in his chair
and saw the:gunman.
“T saw this guy with a gun in both
hands, firing. J dropped to the floor out
of view. There were people running and
gunshots. Whatever gun he had was an
automatic, and it sounded like it kept fir-
ing until he emptied the clip. I probably
heard’ ten shots—eight to twelve, let’s
say.”
When the crime scene investigators
“searched the courtroom, they recovered
17 expended shells. Other shells were
found in the stairwell where Edwards
was gunned down.
‘Tronically, ifthe killer had turned
west on Weatherford Street when he ex-
ited the courthouse, he would have en-
countered Sheriff Jim Minter. At the
time; the sheriff was strolling down the
street on his way to a meeting that con-
cerned, of all things, security in the
courthouse. .
Within a short time, however, it was
Chris Marshall, chie Tarrant
County D.A.’s appellate section, was”
first victim to be cut down by gunfire. .
determined that the, gunman apparently
had crossed Weatherford and continued
onward, two blocks southeast to another
building. There, a security guard later
found a dark-blue suit that was believed
to belong to the killer. It was surmised
that he had changed clothing to avoid
' detection as he continued his flight.
As police and sheriff’s units swarmed
to the courthouse area, the search was
directed toward the nearby Trinity River
bottoms. The Trinity River runs along
the northside of the courthouse only a -
short distance away. Police helicopters
hovered over the stream, with spotters
scanning its banks. These efforts were
handicapped by trees and thick under-
‘growth that grows on the steep bluffs
leading down to the river.
A description of the killer was broad-
cast to all law. enforcement units in the
area, with the usual warning that the fu-
gitive was armed and should be consid-
ered extremely dangerous.
During the massive search, police
picked up one man who generally
matched the description of the gunman,
but they quickly eliminated him as a
suspect.
Shortly after. noon, the helicopters
and teams of officers were withdrawn
- from the area surrounding the court-
. house. Fort Worth Police Chief Thomas
Windham told reporters, ‘“That’s about
as far'as we can go with the immediate
area,”
Instead, the investigators now con-
centrated their probe on who might have
‘had a motive to attack the appeal-court
jurists. As Chief Windham explained,
he) | would say that the target was the
court,”’ referring to the panel of judges.
Why attorney Edwards had been shot
to death on the stairs was up for conjec-
ture. It was speculated that the killer
might have shot Edwards when their
paths crossed while on the stairway, and
the killer would have shot down anyone
he came: across as he fled.
As far as was known, the gunman
probably didn’t even know. Edwards,
who’d been in the court to argue another
case. From witness accounts that the
you e
But it
thing
Belsa
where
cours
part-t
Earn
hour.
of. W
Courthouse shootin
[2%-30-7%
gs trial moved
Defendant Lott opposes change of venue from FW to Amarillo
By Selwyn Crawford
Fort Worth Bureau of The Dallas Morning News
FORT WORTH — As expected,
state District Judge Sharen Wilson
transferred the capital murder trial
of George Lott to Amarillo on Tues-
day.
Jury selection is to begin Jan. 11.
Mr. Lott, 45, is charged in the slay-
ings July 1 of a Tarrant County pro-
secutor and a Dallas defense lawyer
in the Tarrant County Courthouse.
Another lawyer and two judges
were wounded in the attack. Mr.
Lott, an unlicensed lawyer from
Arlington, later confessed at a Dal-
las television station to the shoot-
ings. ,
Mr. Lott attributed the shootings
to his disillusionment with the
court system over’ the handling of
his divorce case and allegations
that he had sexually assaulted his
son. :
Prosecutors did not object to the
change of venue, which was initi-
ated by Judge Wilson. Lead prosecu-
tor Alan Levy had said in a previous
interview that “it doesn’t matter
where it’s tried, we'll be ready.”
But Mr. Lott, who is acting as his
own attorney, opposes the switch.
Although he did not present any
formal evidence to support his ob-
jection, he did make a brief argu-
ment against the move.
“I don’t see any evidence that I
can’t get a fair trial in Tarrant
County,” Mr. Lott said. “There’s
been no evidence whatsoever of
that.
“Until today, I thought things
had died down enough to where
there wasn’t any interest.”
A bevy of television cameras
recorded Tuesday’s hearing from
an enclosed glass foyer of the court-
room. During several previous
hearings for Mr. Lott, there was lit-
tle news media coverage.
Mr. Lott also used his courtroom
statement, which was not made un-
der oath, to take a verbal swipe at
Judge Wilson.
“I don’t see any reason why
you're doing this, but I understand
that it is necessary for your politi-
cal career to deliver my head,” he
said tersely. “There really isn’t any-
thing I can do about this, so I guess
I'll have to let you go ahead and do
what you're going to do.”
Judge Wilson has not publicly
stated why she wanted the trial
moved from Tarrant County to
Amarillo, her hometown,
But in a Dec. 17 court order, she
had written that the “severity and
notoriety of the crime charged and
the attendant persistent and perva-
sive publicity cause this Court to be-
lieve that a fair trial for both the
State and the Defendant cannot be
had in Tarrant County, Texas.”
Texas law allows judges to
change venues at their discretion if
they believe a fair trial cannot be
held in the jurisdiction where the
crime occurred.
If Mr. Lott is convicted, he could
WED. (2-30-92, —*
Bor: DALLAS MoRNING- NEWS
Su
capital murder in the slay-
ings of two people in a Fort |
Worth courtroom.
use the venue change as grounds |
for appeal. An appeal might be diffi- |
cult to sustain, however, because he |
did not present evidence indicating |
why he opposed the change, said
one lawyer who observed Tuesday’s
hearing.
THURS,
1@~3/~F2
—>
George Lott . . .is accused of |
in mother’s slaying
By Eleska Aubespin
Metro North Bureau of The Dailas Morning News
McKINNEY — Krissi Lynn Caldwell, 17, convicted in No-
vember of plotting to kill her parents, was indicted Tuesday on
a charge of capital murder in the death of her mother.
Her boyfriend, Robert Anthony Gonzales, 16, also of Frisco,
was re-indicted Tuesday on a solicitation of capital murder
charge after his lawyer filed a motion to set aside the charges
in the original motion. Mr. Gonzales is also charged with capi-
tal murder in the shooting death of Rosalynn Caldwell on
March 6.
Prosecutors contend that Miss Caldwell, who is white,
wanted her parents killed because they opposed her relation-
ship with Mr. Gonzales, who is Hispanic.
Assistant District Attorney Bill Schultz said prosecutors de-
cided to seek re-indictment of Mr. Gonzales because they
thought that a judge would grant a motion to quash the solici-
tation charge.
“The thrust of the defense’s motion is that we didn’t specify
what type of capital murder was solicited by Mr. Gonzales,” Mr.
Schultz said.
Therefore, Mr. Schuitz said, prosecutors changed the indict-
ment to say that Mr. Gonzales was soliciting the death of two
people, Rosalyn and Vernon Caldwell, Krissi Caldwell’s par-
ents.
Mr. Gonzales is scheduled for a jury trial on the solicitation
charge Jan. 18, but his attorney, David Haynes, filed a separate
motion Wednesday to have the trial moved.
Mr. Haynes said he does not think that Mr. Gonzales could
get a fair trial in Collin County because of publicity related to
the case. A ruling is expected by Jan. 15 on the request, Mr.
Haynes said.
Mrs. Caldwell was killed and her husband, Vernon, was
wounded as they slept in their bed in the family’s home out-
side of Frisco. Police found no evidence of a forced entry, and |
the 9mm pistol that police believe was used in the shootings
has not been located.
Mr. Caldwell testified at his daughter's trial in November
that a 9mm pistol he kept in the drawer of a bedside night
table has been missing since the incident.
Mr. Gonzales was arrested April 3 after police talked to
three of his friends who said he had asked them to help kill his
girlfriend’s parents.
Miss Caldwell was arrested July 6 while attending summer
school in McKinney and charged with solicitation of capital
murder. She was certified to stand trial as‘an adult.
|
=
je of the Old West.
her attorney there on
or a few minutes, he
a yellow legal pad, :
d up.
extended, he pointed
‘s and the thunder of
» reverberated in the
turning the peaceful
edlam.
I’ve been shot!”’ one
ve bench exclaimed.
| of gunpowder was
\wering. Witnesses
ned horror as orange
1 the gun that was be-
1 again.
, a 28-year-old wom-
the bench where she
she got.a glimpse of
. It was icy calm, his
it ahead, betraying no
otion, as he kept pull-
1€ automatic. Because
composed demeanor
the thought raced
ney’s mind, as she
er, that this was a
ob.” But neither she
2 2 lillian il Pan St nape alate Ny Ae
floor had time to dwell extensively on
the reasons for what was happening.
The attorney at the lectern, who was
luckily not hit even though he was
standing in the direct line of fire,
dropped to the floor at the first gunshot
and crawled into an adjacent office. He
tried frantically to call outside‘onatele-.
phone he found there, but he: couldn’ t
get it to work,
Inside’ the courtroom, 41- -year-old
Chris Marshall, chief of the appellate
section for the Tarrant County District :
Attorney’s Office, slumped to the floor.
He had been sitting in the line of fire be-
tween the gunman and the judges’
bench. Several slugs had struck the up-
per part of Marshall’s body. Blood was
pumping from his mouth and ears. His
glasses were still on his face.
The opening fusillade of shots missed
Justice Sanford, who slid out of his
chair and sought cover behind the
bench. His two colleagues were less for-
tunate. Justice Mason fell wounded to
the floor behind the bench, a bullet
wound in his shoulder. Justice Bellows
escaped the first shots.as he ducked be-
hind the wdoden bench. He could see
daylight through the holes made by the
bullets ripping through the wood.
For an instant, Bellows raised his
nor any of the others who dropped to the.
The murder weapon, a 9mm Glock auto-
matic, was' taken from the suspect
when he was arrested at a TV station.
head above the bench to look. He saw
the gunman shoot down attorney Mar-
shall. Bellows lowered his head again
and thought he had escaped the flurry of
gunfire, when’ he suddenly felt a slug
sear into his tight hip, which imme-
diately went numb.
Despite the i injury, Bellows looked
out again. This time, his eyes met the
gunman’s eyes, which'locked on the
judge even as he ducked down again. As
the judge lay there, the gunman came
- around the side of the Ronee and glared
at him.
“You're a dead man!”’ the gunman
barked as he raised the automatic and
fired a shot into Bellows’ shoulder.
Suddenly, the shocked attorneys and
justices heard the click, click, click, indi-
cating that the gun was empty. But their
hopes sank as they saw the cold-cyed
gunman calmly pull another ammuni-
tion clip from his pocket and reload.
‘Then he started shooting again—three
or four shots from the new magazine of
** ammunition.
The young woman lawyer on the
floor saw attorney John Edwards, a fel-
- low member of her Dallas law firm with
whom she had arrived at the court only
minutes earlier, jump up and run, leap-
ing over the tops of benches as he made
‘his dash toward the courtroom door. Ed-
“wards ran out into the hallway, yelling
for help.
The gunman fired several shots from
the new clip and strode out of the court-
room. Two or three minutes later, anoth-
er volley of gunshots was heard from
beyond the courtroom doors, The young
woman attorney hoped that a security
guard from elsewhere in the building
had encountered and shot the gunman.
But even while this hope flashed
through her mind, she ran with Justice
Sanford into an adjoining office. There,
the jurist was able to place a phone call
Front Page Detective 7
t
if
t
$
}
t
last summer after going to :
ae a | ltuste~Wronccly 2-/4-#3
_ News briefs
| Prison bill completed
|. AUSTIN — The Senate Monday
' completed legislative action on a
|. $250.million plan to relieve crewding
' in county jails and, state leaders
| hope, help the state avoid Stiff fed-
eral court fines.
The emergency bill, which Gov.
Ann Richards js expected to sign,
. would finance the construction of
i 10,000 jail beds to be operated by the
; State and help the state continue
. cig: Making payments to counties for the -
costs of housing state prisoners. .
Some 4,000 of the new beds will be-
_ at the former Chase Naval Air Sta-
tion at Beeville. 4
State officials hope the bill wil]
help convince a federal court in
Houston to give the State more time
to reduce the population of the Har-
'. Tis County jails. Under a court order
ed last fall, the state faces fines
of $50 per day for every Harris
County inmate exceeding a 9,800 cap
after April 1.
Harris County jails now house
about 12,000 prisoners.
Prison officials hope to open the
first of the new jails next fall.
Half of the $250 million appropria-
tion will come from previously au-
thorized prison bond funds. The.-re-
mainder will be Spent from state
Savings.
: wn
od * -
i
Au, Arvo Livi
aad
on or death by injection.
Seven witnesses testified Tues-
Lott surrendered to authorities :
WFAA-TV in Dallas and telling ;
an anchor he was the gunman.
day that Lott was the man they ©
sayy stand in the 2nd Court of -.
-Appeals and begin firing July 1.
Aa 4
2413-4 > }
> Vil
Lott delivered a. quiet and un-
The trial’s sentencing phase
ing” t that
emotional closing’ argumen
centered on what he called the
“power of suggestion. He
showed no reaction, no emotion
began late Friday and was ex-
to the decision.
pected to resume this morning.
llousta Dost
AMARILLO — George Lott
was found guilty of capital mur-
der Friday in last summer’s
shooting rampage at a Fort
Worth courtroom that left two
lawyers dead and three people
ed.
the jury took just under an
a
ae
U
TS
.
!
|
i
By KATHY WALT
Houston Chronicle G ~{ q ° gf
Every day for the past two years,
Clyde Ashworth has lived with the
nightmare of George Lott flashing
through his mind like some bizarre
instant replay.
It happens every morning as the
71-year-old appeals court judge
Straps the brace on his lower right
leg, adjusts the corset that stabi-
lizes his chest, or walks in a court-
room. “I see Mr. Lott standing in
the middle of the courtroom firing
a pistol at the benct,” Ashworth
Said. “I see him bending over me
and pointing a pistol zt me and
telling me he's going to kill me.” -
Ashworth was one of the lucky
ones on July 1, 1992, when Lott
opened fire in the Tarrant County
Courthouse, killing. two -county
prosecutors. -
Lott, 47, is.scheduled to die to-
night for his crim
If the sentence is carried out,
Lott’s will be the shortest stay on
death row of any condemned killer
in recent history. He arrived on
death row on March 18, 1993.
Killed in the melee were Chris
Marshall, 41, Who had been chief of
the Tarrant County district attor-
ney’s appellate division. and 33-
year-old John Edwards. another
prosecutor. Ashworth and another
judge on the 2nd Court of Appeals,
John Hill, were injured, as was 28-
year-old Steve Conder, a prosecu-
tor who tried to escape from the
courtroom. ~
The fourth-floor courtroom was
packed the fnorning of July 1,
mostly with attorneys ; appealing .
cases to the. three-judge appeals
a lawyer and a father desperate to
clear himself of charges he sexu-
ally abused his son — slowly stood
up in the back row of spectator
Seats and began peppering the
courtroom with shots from his
9mm _ handgun.
Just an hour earlier, police
would later learn, he had bellowed
over the phone and threatened ‘a
Peoria, Ill., court clerk when she
told him there was nothing she
could do to halt his trial, set for the.
following week, on charges that he
sexually abused his 2-year-old son.
Lott, who voluntarily surren-
dered his license to practice law in
1988 and then insisted on Serving as
his own trial lawyer, was con-
victed of capital murder and sen-
tenced to die by an Amarillo jury.
The trial had been moved there
-e
nt County case
io trials prosecutors said Lott °
was deranged and plotted for more |
than a month to seek revenge ona —
court that he blamed for granting
custody of his young son to his ex-
wife, Margo Livesay of Peoria. The
- 2nd Court of Appeals had handled
appeals on Lott's divorce and child .
custody cases.
murder trial, said Houston la
David Cunningham of the Texas
Criminal Defense Lawyers Associ-
Lott's: ‘erratic behavior. - his
ation, should have been sign
mental incompe- —
enough of Lott’s
tency...» i,
ae
| TCDLA has filed’a motion with
the ‘Texas Court of Criminal: Ap-
peals, suggesting the execution be ~
postponed . and .another com
pes -
tency hearing scheduled..But Cun-
yer -
Lott
Contin:od from Page 9A,
court will pay any heed to the re-
quest. ,
- Al trial, Cunningham said, Lott
insistec in dressing in his prisoner
garb and, on one occasion, railed
against prosecutors, accusing them
of masiurbating on his clothing.
“Lo't’s idea of evening the score by
Shooting judges and and lawyers...
is a lawyer's worst nightmare,” Cun-
ningham added. “It was our
(TCDLA’s) concern, because of the
nightmarish aspect of this, that we
|
need to make sure he (Lott) ig not left
out in the cold on ‘the question of
competency.” ,
Tarrant County prosecutor Ed-
ward “Chip” Wilkinson,. who is han-
dling the Lott case, said the question
|, Of whether Lott -lives beyond this
- week is in Lott’s own hands. .
“I think it all depends on what
George Lott does,” ‘Wilkinson said.
“If he files a writ of habeas corpus,
‘then he’ll probably get a stay.”
Wilkinson said hg couldn't say
whether the state would oppose a
Stay of execution because it depends
on what issues Lott. might try tos
raise. . 3
Meanwhile, Ashworth said he
thinks of the shooting every day.
me
panel. Then, about 10 a.m., Lott —
Courthouse rampage’s scars slow to heal _
_Killer’s execution set tonight in 92 Tarra
t i “ne:
George Lott killed two Tar
ett ‘ ningham: holds little hopé that the
because of pretrial. publicity ‘in a cgat Me” ae. te
Fort Worth. ' oySee LOTT on Page 12A. County prosecutors in 19°
The brace he straps to his leg and who come before. him, “I always way,” Lott said at the time.)
the corset around his mid-section are have a question in my mind as to ‘Betty Marshall, the widow 6f
to compensate for the nerve and
muscle damage from the two bullets
he took, one. in the buttocks that
severed his sciatic nerve, and ‘the
other in his lower back that lodged in
his chest. :
“It's a very unfortunate situation
all the way around,” Ashworth said
of Lott's pending execution. “We all
hate to see someone lose his or her
life, but (the penal code) must be
observed.”
The incident, he said, has made
him much more aware “of the uncer-
tainties of life.”
Every time he looks out into a .
courtroom at the parade of people
omeme ee o* —
their purpose in being there.”
Lott’s p » Apparently was to
seek revenge on the court for its
custody decision. ;
The well-dressed gunman fled
from the courtroom and out of the -
historic pink: granite courthouse in ;
downtown Fort Worth, only to sur- |
render about six hours later atja :.
Dallas television station. . ‘
There, he claimed he had “sinned.” »
tryin bring attention to a court
system he thought had wronged him .
by giving his:ex-wife custody of their -
son. . Q es cs a ge vet ty
“I was shooting at the court, essen-
mn but other . people .got in the
<v
e eer foe E,
owrtrtme coon
Marshall and a candidate’ fo:
Texas Court of Criminal Ap;
declined comment, as did’ Hil!
other judge wounded. “I’m kir
keeping my thoughts private.
said. Wilkinson said the Edv
family did not want to talk abou
case either. 2 Fa
But’ David Chapman, “a -fo
Tarrant County prosecutor whc
“Citris Marshall had been his
friend and closest colleague,’ sa
has always believed that Lott's :
page in the courthouse was? L
“way of committing suicidé’én:
way of avoiding child abus@'c
oe
Yep t de leer ars Ted af 9%)
i we S eet pesky Op cedts-
- (7
ae
=
3 o Pee wh Bes seen:
"0 - . codes aici
2
as. ee en eee mee —
aoe a .
Ln
De ne nap ae
‘J ury Ginds Lott guilty i m n Tarrant. County courtroom shootings |
~ ASSOCIATED PRESS
AMARILLO — George Lott
was found guilty of capital mur-
der Friday in last summer’s
shooting rampage at a Fort
Worth courtroom that left two
lawyers dead and three people
wounded.
The jury took just under an
Wy leuste Post
“a nail ond —_ So, . ea a
essSl > wm w COM .
J ERSS xh wep ROLSES eae a
t=) bese ft = bas | va | .
MANE moat AISHKsIOs po SS,
“Oa =e Ssesoeo ee z 23 an]
—Resnwnue. 855 Qo, Os: —
aszo6o S59 rae ~ = =: © “ CH
258F°2Sq,5588<*% Ferzesn So —
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S@e2ervs ape. of. mew. 8 )
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e335 SSES poeee. E leg 7 Ss
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S353 ==8.~. gi 2 sf Ss |e er P
hour to reach its verdict after
Lott delivered a: quiet and un-
emotional closing’ argument that
centered on what he called the
“power of suggestion.’’ He
showed no reaction, no emotion
to the decision. ©
The trial’s sentencing phase
began late Friday and was ex-
pected to resumé this morning.
Lott, 45, faces either life in pris-
on or death by injection.
Lott surrendered to authorities
last summer after going to
WFAA-TV in Dallas and telling
an anchor he was the gunman.
Seven witnesses testified Tues-
day that Lott was the man they
saw stand in the 2nd Court of -.
-Appeals and begin firing July 1.
2413-4 S } |
pM eNO OO Om
ogre ae
‘Lo xt
4:15 acm.
(Tex 5
“ LOGT, George D., white, leth. inj., TaSP (farrant) September 20, 1994
September 19, 1994
12 midnight - 2:15 a.m.
2:40 a.m.
3:15 a.m.
-3:30 a.m.
6:00 a.m.
8:20 a.m.
10:30 a.m.
12:30 p.m.
LAST MEAL REQUEST:
CLOTHING TO BE WORN:
3:30 p.m.
4:05 p.m.
4:35 p.m.
OO ee
- 4:00 a.m.
= Sob Sia
saad 7:30 am.
MOOD APPEARS CALM.
GEORGE LOTT #999058
September 19 — 20, 1994
Sleeping on cell floor.
Given medication (insulin).
Served breakfast meal: eggs, grits, gravy
and biscuits.
Sitting on floor reading.
Siéeping da eet Age
Lying on cell floor.
Began visit with mother, Nancy Lott, and
sister, Pam Lott.
Served afternoon meal: chicken fried
steak, mashed potatoes, vegetables, hot
rolls w/butter, and cake. Continued
family visit.
Family members joined in visit by Robert
Lightner, a minister.
Three pieces of french toast w/syrup; baked sweet potato
w/butter, two sausage patties, and one fried egg.
State-—issued shirt, pants and shoes.
Visit ended.
Departed Ellis I enroute to_ Huntsville
Unit.
uN
~
Arrived at the Huntsville Unit.
24
inspecting the premisis he directed his steps to an old frame
building on the adjoining lot, now occupied in
part by the Tenth ward school building. ‘This house was built
on pillars. Stooping down Mr. Barrow saw an axe with helve
attached, lying on the ground under the floor. He crawled under and
obtained it. Upon inspection the blade was found covered with
clotted blood and human hair. The discovery furnished a clew.
The next thing was to find the owner of the axe. This was
soon done.
On the day of the killing an elderly and well known
colored man, employed at the Avenue hotel, whose business it was
to chop wood and deliver it to the roomers of the building,
missed his axe. This man was uncle Jim Dieterich, an old="
timer, well respected by white and colored. A colored man staying
about the hotel nemed Lount, who was the slave and a sort of
body-servant of a Mr. Lount, who had boarded at the hotel
for some time too}. the axe. On the day of the murder the colored
man Lount came up to where Dieterich was cutting wood and the
latter asked him to chop a stick while he took a wheel borrow
load to the foot of the stairway and deliver it to the second
story. When Dieterich returned to the wood house, at the alley,
Lount and the axe were missing.
On the same evening a colored woman, employed as cook
for Dr. Rentfro and then residing with nis family at the
Dewey homestead, corner of second and Neches streets, saw Lount
pass the place, with an axe on his shoulder, going in the
direction of the German gardener's abode. Another witness
saw the man with the axe near Waller creek, still
a temporary gallows erected by the sheriff. Before his
execution Lount confessed that he was guilty. It appeared
that he had occasion to go to the garderner after vegetables,
and, as the latter got out his sack to make charge, the
Negro saw the money. The temptation to rob and murder over-
came him and, raising and striking viciously with his axe, he
committed the. foulg and atrocious deed. The jury further
found in their verdict that the defendant was the property
of William R. Lount, that the owner did not attempt to avade
of defeat the execution of the law, and that the defendant was of
the value of one thousand dollars. This was done in order to
enable the owner to obtain partail compensation from the state for
the loss of his slave. Such was the law at the time, the
statute requiring thé state to reimburse owners of executed
slaves one half of their ascertained value.
~~
a
a exertion was made to fill ‘the
July 26, Gov. Lubbock called for ‘fourteen
\ / N.
‘ % / *
additional regiments. They were to be sent to camps of ee.
f é \ " rd
tion. November 29, Gen. Magruder made a call for ten thousand’,
yf we if , \
more. v ‘ f
a \ ‘
% At the close of Gov. Lubbock's administration in \
a ’ J
1863, the Adjutant General reported ninety thousand Texians in
‘
\
the Confederate service, besides minute companies ‘not then liable
ranks of the army. On
™
to duty at the front. This showed that there wire more Texas
\
%
. \
troops in the army than votes cast at any general election.ever
\
\
\
25
pursuing the same course. Other witnesses swore that on the
night of the murder they saw Lount making purchases and in
possession of money, something unusual with hin.
During the trial of the case in the district
court the colored woman at Dr. Rentfro's took sick and was un-
able to attend court. It being necessary to procure her
testimony to complete the chain of evidence, Capt. fom Sneed,
district attorney, who was conducting the prosecution, submitted
a motion (which, on proper showing, was granted) that the
court and officers proceed in a body to Dr. Rentfro's residence and
take the testimony of the witness. After a little preparation,
Judge A. W. Terrell, Capt. Sneed, the defendant and his
counsel (Maj. C. S. West), the clerk (Frank Brown), the |
sheriff (Thomas C. Collins), and the jury of twelve men, all went
to the residence and entered the servant's rocm, where the sick woman
lay on her bed. She was not in a condition to sit up, but gave
her testimony lying down. She was closely questioned on
direct and cross examination, and all the facts of which she
was co nizant brought out. She testified in a plain, sincere
manner , and completed the chain of circumstantial evidence, which
was 60 conclusive that the jury, after returning to the court
room and listening to argument of counsel and receiving the
judges charge, brought in a verdict finging the defendant quilty
and assessing his punishment at death. He was hanged, July 25, near
the Sand bank about half a mile west of Shoal creek, upon
[Lu ears \
Monpay, JuNnE 22,1998 pk
The Washington Post
AN INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER
The Lucas Case
NYONE WHO DOUBTS that death
penalty cases acquire, over time, a mech-
anistic logic that can eclipse the sup-
posed goals of the criminal justice system need
look no farther than the case of Henry Lee
Lucas. Mr. Lucas is facing execution on June 30
for the 1979 murder in Texas of a still unidenti-
fied woman known only for the orange socks
she was wearing when her body was found. His
conviction was based almost entirely on his
confession, which he had retracted by the time
the case went to trial in 1984. The trouble is
that Mr. Lucas also confessed to more than 225
unsolved murders and once asserted that he had
killed in excess of 600 people (including Jimmy
Hoffa). Most of these confessions, including the
Orange Socks killing, are now discredited.
The state of Texas has admitted this. As early
as 1986, then-Attorney General Jim Mattox—in
a report on Mr. Lucas’s hoax—determined that
“except for Lucas’s original three confessions to
the murders of his mother [and two others],
there is a notable lack of physical evidence
linking Lucas to the crimes to which he
confessed.” Mr. Mattox later testified that “no
rational juror could have found Henry Lucas
guilty based on the standard of beyond a
reasonable doubt.” The state’s current attorney
general, Dan Morales, also has doubts. As a
spokesman told the Houston Chronicle in May:
“We became convinced that it was highly
unlikely that he did that one ... that he could
have been in Texas on that day.”
One might expect that the state’s chief law
enforcement official, having concluded that a
capital conviction had been reached in error,
would seek a reversal of that conviction. But,
quite the contrary, the state is litigating the
matter in federal court to ensure that Texas can
carry out its sentence. Officials argue that they
are obliged to defend a verdict and sentence
obtained through constitutional processes.
More surprising still, the state has been
winning so far. In January the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the 5th Circuit held that because
most of Mr. Lucas’s evidence was presented at
his trial, it is not mew evidence for the purposes
of habeas corpus review. Mr. Lucas’s right to a
fair trial was respected, the court reasoned, and
it is not settled law that a compelling claim of
innocence is alone grounds for federal interven-
tion. In other words, the fact that he didn’t do it
is not enough to get him off. Mr. Lucas has
asked the Supreme Court to review the case.
His ultimate fate, however, might well rest in —
the hands of the Texas state parole board and —
Gov. George W. Bush, who has said he wants |
the case reviewed thoroughly.
Mr. Lucas has multiple murder convictions to
his name. He will spend the rest of his life in
prison. The Orange Socks case, however, is the
only murder for which he received a death
sentence. For supporters of the death penalty, it
might be tempting to see a crude justice in his
being executed for the wrong crime, having _
escaped with prison time for his real offenses.
But this cannot be the way a reasonable
criminal justice system operates. The right of a
state to carry out a sentence for a conviction it
knows to be wrong must be an empty principle.
BAR ttarerm~---
— i
oo oe cone Watt R
coo nse Oil
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SS eee
It was a short time later that morning of Feb, 14, 1938, when
Sheriff Frank Hunt answered the insistently ringing telephone.
Hunt was in his office at the jail in Sinton, Tex., seat of San
Patricio county. Crime had been on the increase lately. Sheriff
Hunt and his chief deputy, King Custer, frequently worked late.
Hunt conversed in sharp tones and slammed down the re-
ceiver. In another second he was reaching for his gunbelt. He
swung to Deputy Custer. “We've got to go to Odem,” the sheriff
said. “Somebody’s been shot and they think it’s Dick Chisholm.”
As the lights of the sheriff’s powerful car bored through the
night, Hunt’s mind raced ahead, wondering who could have
killed the popular officer.
R. S. (Dick) Chisholm, who. had served as night watchman
and constable in the village of Odem for years, was a well-liked
man. The 46-year-old officer was a member of the Veterans of
Foreign Wars and was well known throughout southwest
Texas for his friendliness and his adherence to duty. :
At Odem the officers found half a dozen men standing in
shocked silence around the body. Sheriff Hunt, with Custer at
his heels, pushed through the crowd and knelt beside the victim.
Gently he turned the man’s blood-smeared face to the light.
In the phestzcray between two buildings, arrow below, this cruel-eyed
killer lurked. But he made one mistake in trying to cover his trail.
ag
“It’s Dick all right,” he said hoarsely.
“He’s been riddled with bullets.”
. Even at first glance the experienced
sheriff could tell that a maddened killer
had pumped lead into the body of his vic-
tim with savage determination. Chis-
_holm’s shoulder was broken. A small hole
through the center of his shirt, in the
back, told another grim story. The bul-
let through his temple had been carefully
aimed and the flesh was badly powder-
burned.
The sheriff’s voice was bitter when he
spoke. “This is a deliberate, cold-blooded
murder,” he said. “Dick was shot in the
back, then the second slug broke his arm,
so he couldn’t return the fire. When he
fell, I believe the killer leaned over him
and fired that last shot into his temple.”
“The murderer must have been hid-
den,” Custer observed. “Looks to me
like he ambushed Dick or he never would
have got the drop like that.”
Sheriff Hunt turned to the crowd of
men, They shuffled their feet in uneasy
silence. “Did any of you hear the shots
or know anything about this ?”
Only one man stepped forward. “I
heard the noise, Mr. Hunt,” he said. “It
ss woke ime up and I counted seven blasts.
There are plenty of trucks on this road,
though, and I thought it must be back-
fire. It was right after midnight.”
“Then Dick must have fired at his as-
sailant,” Hunt decided. “Did you in-
vestigate to see what the noise was?” he
+ © ee urged.
@ “No, sir, I didn’t think about it being
anything like this. But the sound came
from this direction.”
The man’s information added another
puzzling feature to the mystery. Chis-
holm had apparently been shot only three
times. If Hunt’s theory was correct, the
officer had been unable to fire back at his
assailant. Yet the witness was positive
that he had heard seven shots.
“Dick’s gun arm was broken,” Hunt
observed. “All of the shots must have
been fired by his assailant. The killer
might have been firing from a passing
automobile and kept pumping lead until
his victim fell. But that shot in the tem-
ple came from close range—mighty
f close.”
“Dick might have got in a few shots
before he was brought down,” Custer
theorized.
But that part of the mystery could not
be explained. Constable Chisholm’s gun
holster was empty. He was known to
carry a .45 automatic. A search of the
ground failed to reveal the missing
weapon. The murdered officer’s watch
and wallet were also missing. There was
nothing more at the scene to give the
sheriff a clue to the mysterious gun bat-
tle that had claimed the officer’s life.
Hunt could learn nothing more from
the crowd. He turned his attention to a
further examination of the scene while
Custer went for an ambulance.
A SOON as an inquest could be held
after the body was removed to un-
dertaking parlors, Hunt and Custer hur-
tiedly reviewed the case.
“It’s a deliberate murder of an officer
on duty,” Hunt said. “And we haven't a
clue. The killer is probably miles away
from here by now. We’d better get a
broadcast out to-have him stopped.”
“Do you think robbery was the mo-
tive?” Custer asked.
“On the face of things, it looks that
way,” Hunt admitted. “His watch, wallet
and gun are gone. But his pockets are
not turned inside out and his clothing
hasn’t been disturbed. The first thing a
robber will do—unless he’s scared away—
is to run his hands in a victim’s pocket
and take whatever he finds. But I don’t
believe that was the motive here. It was
just like a reflex action.”
“It looks like revenge to me,” Custer
said. “We know he was shot in the back.
And that last shot fired at close range
indicates that the killer wanted to make
sure of his job.”
“That’s right,” Hunt agreed. “But he
might have started to take a prisoner to
jail and been killed in an escape attempt.
That might account for the seven shots.
But I’ve got a hunch it’s more than that.
If he’d had trouble with a prisoner some-
body would have heard the commotion.”
Hunt went to a telephone and for 30
minutes was busy putting through calls.
He contacted sheriffs in each of the sur-
Ae |
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og
:
ore
4
4
rounding counties, then called Capt. Hill
Foreman of the state highway patrol. in
San Antonio.
When he had outlined the details of the
case, Foreman’s voice came back over
the wire charged with excitement.
“We've just had a report that two
bandits robbed a salesman from Okla-
homa, near Elmendorf, Texas. They took
thirty-five dollars, his spaté clothing and
automobile and one of them threatened
him with a pistol. I’m afraid Chisholm
met up with these bandits.”
“Maybe that’s the answer,” Hunt said.
“Have you any idea which way they’re
heading ?”
“Not much,” Foreman said, “but they
were last seen driving toward Victoria.”
Both bandits were young, Foreman
said, light complexioned, and were
dressed in khaki. He gave Hunt a de-
scription of the stolen automobile, then
turned back to the task of rounding up
state police for the chase.
The law was reaching out for the des-
peradoes in a dozen counties when day-
light came over the Texas costal plains.
Patrolmen barricaded highways within
a radius of 100 miles of Chisholm’s mur-
der. All roads that led out of Odem and
Sinton bristled with the guns of state
police.
From Alice, in the Rio Grande sec-
tion, Ranger Abb Riggs rushed to Odem,
bringing word that the bandits had torn
through the Magic valley, leaving a trail
of terror. Men had been robbed, filling
station proprietors had handed over cash
register contents as they looked into the
threatening muzzles of the bandit guns.
Foreman left his office in San Antonio
to take personal charge of the manhunt.
Ranger Riggs joined Sheriff Hunt to
work over local clues at the killing.
With daylight, Hunt renewed investi-
gation of the murder scene. Fora time it
seemed the bloodstained concrete held no
clues, then Riggs picked up two empty
In this cleaning establishment offi
found a clue which put Detective Ike Elif
of Corpus Christi, Tex., on the final trail.
STARTLING
q j
}
:
a Genaro, Mx, 26, elec. Tex. (San Patricio County) 4-23-1939
== 3 ——
——<—————————
saat I"
iG flleetiye y iprt /4ALx
HE truck driver sat hunched in his seat, staring down High-
way 44 through the raw February night. It was just past
midnight when the truck rumbled into the village of Odem,
Tex. The driver relaxed happily. He would soon be at home.
Then as his lights gleamed on the deserted street, the man sud-
denly jerked upright and peered at an unexpected sight. The truck
lights outlined the form of a man lying prone on the street ahead.
The driver slammed on his brakes. As the huge vehicle shud-
dered to a stop, he opened the door. For a second he stared, numb
with horror. A damp chill wind blew into the cab and he shiv-
ered, but it was not the cold that sent the eerie feeling creeping
up his spine.
Without getting out of the cab, the driver knew that the man
lying on the concrete was dead. A pool of blood was widening
around the body. In the glow of the headlights the trucker could
see a hole in the victim’s right temple.
He sat only a moment while fear gripped him. Then as his shocked
senses cleared he stepped out and looked closer. The astonished
man felt a stir of recognition. The man lying in the pool of blood
looked like Dick Chisholm, the constable. He had been shot.
8d 4 BO TE ee”
Diomnitanie
ee es
Constable R. S. (Dick) Chisholm, left, of Odem, Tex., handled lawbreakers
with an iron hand. He was a match for any man in fair fight. But one
night he fell with three bullet wounds, one in the back, in the street
marked with a cross, below, and fellow officers swore to trap the murderer.
Bp udEM PHARMA
“UME XCELLES Strict.
ESN a RN | | SS STAT IW.
oa
\
eT SSS piel ln
Sheriff Frank Hunt avenged the murder
of his fellow officer when he caused arrest
of the killer in front of this Corpus
Christi cafe and got a confession.
shells. “These are from a thirty-eight
automatic,” he said...
“Chisholm used a forty-five auto-
matic,” Hunt said. “Those shells must
be from the killer’s weapon.” :
Hunt then noticed what was appar-
ently a bullet hole in the concrete where
Chisholm’s head had lain. Stooping down,
he dug at the place with his pocket knife.
In a minute he had unearthed a small
lead bullet. As he looked at the lethal slug,
his eyes narrowed grimly.
“The last shot was fired through Dick’s
head as he lay helpless .in the street,” he
said.
“What’s your theory, Sheriff?” Riggs
asked.
“There’s a good chance that Dick had
a run-in with those bandits,” Hunt said.
“He might have caught them trying to
pull a job here in Odem. They wouldn’t
hesitate a second to shoot an officer. But
what I can’t understand is that shot in
' the. back and the fact that the murderer
deliberately walked over and fired a shot
into his head after he was down. That’s
not the action of a bandit on the lam.”
Riggs agreed. “Do you know of any-
one who might have a grudge against the
constable ?” he asked.
“No,” Hunt said, “but if something
DETECTIVE
e
Paes
doesn’t come of this bandit hunt mighty
sudden, I’m going to start concentrating
on that angle.”
The sheriff felt encouraged by the au-
topsy report. Two bullets were removed
from the victim’s body and turned over to
the officers. These might be valuable clues
later. Chisholm’s right shoulder blade
was broken, one bullet had gone entirely
through his head and another slug had
lodged in his back.
Hunt sent the bullets, with the shells
picked up at the murder scene to the state
crime laboratory for a ballistic test. The
next broadcast on the crime warned offi-
cers to search for a killer using a .38
pistol.
At the murder scene, Hunt and Custer
continued their search. Their next find
was an astounding one.
Deputy Custer picked up a woman’s
handkerchief, rolled up and partly cov-
ered by leaves, beside the highway. It
was about ten feet from the murder spot.
Hunt’s eyebrows came together in a
tight frown as he viewed the small, per-
fumed object. There was no sign of dew
on the fabric and it was not stained from
road dust.
“That handkerchief was dropped after
dew fell last night,” Hunt observed. “It
~ f
aia eee, AS TOES
+ \
a
STN
@
may be a coincidence but if it isn’t, then
we've got a new angle on the case.”
“A woman killer?” Custer asked.
“Not necessarily,” Hunt said, “but a
killer who runs with women. The woman
might have caused the shooting. A
woman holds a grudge a long time.”
“That means we’ve got to check the
records and see what woman Chisholm
has arrested who might have harbored a
thought of revenge,” Custer said.
“We won’t have to check,” Hunt said.
“You remember Gladys Clark, arrested
two weeks ago for intoxication and dis-
turbing the peace?”
“I sure do,” Custer snapped. “Only
she hadn’t been drinking. It was a fake.
She was trying to get thrown into jail so
she could plan a jailbreak for Frank
Green when he was held on a burglary
charge.”
“That’s right,” Hunt said. “Of course
Green got out when the grand jury didn’t
indict. But a woman who would try any-
thing like that is a dangerous character.
And Dick made that arrest.”
Hunt and Custer lost no time starting
a search for the pair of ex-prisoners.
Hunt broadcast a description of the
couple and waited hopefully for results.
Biles days of feverish activity passed
but there was no news. Meanwhile,
the bandit hunt was pressed. Indigna-
tion had gripped the state over the cold-
blooded murder.
Sheriff Hunt posted $100 reward for
arrest of the slayer. This amount was
speedily doubled, when Sheriff J. B.
Arnold of Beeville, acting for the state’s
sheriff association, posted $100 additional
reward. The governor spurred on the
search by offering $250 reward from the
state. Still there was no result of the
statewide manhunt and no new clues on
the murder.
Hunt went on determinedly with his
search for Gladys Clark. “There’s a good
chance that she’s mixed up in this,” he
reasoned. “That might account for Chis-
holm letting them get the drop on him.
Dick would take a chance on his own life
before he’d fire toward a woman.”
Hunt picked up a lead quicker than he
43
} _ 7 ee
DeLUNA v. LYNAUGH 759
Cite as 873 F.2d 757 (Sth Cir. 1989)
An attempt to emphasize any of these
three alleged claims might well have result-
ed in backfire, destroying any attempt to
try to convince the jury that a life sentence
was appropriate. There remains only the
issue, therefore, as to whether failure to
put family and friends on the stand estab-
lishes inadequate representation by coun-
sel.
In Strickland v. Washington 466 U.S.
668, 686, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 2064, 80 L.Ed.2d
674 (1984), the Supreme Court held that
“(t]he bench mark for judging any claim of
ineffectiveness must be whether counsel’s
conduct so undermined the proper function-
ing of the adversarial process that the trial
cannot be relied on as having produced a
just result.” The Supreme Court estab-
lished a two-prong test for determining the
effectiveness of counsel’s performance:
A convicted defendant’s claim that coun-
sel’s assistance was so defective as to
require reversal of a conviction or death
sentence has two components. First, the
defendant must show that counsel’s per-
formance was deficient. This requires
showing that counsel made errors so ser-
ious that counsel was not functioning as
the “counsel” guaranteed the defendant
by the Sixth Amendment. Second, the
defendant must show that the deficient
performance prejudiced the defense.
This requires showing that counsel’s er-
rors were so serious as to deprive the
defendant of a fair trial, a trial whose
result is reliable. Unless a defendant
makes both showings, it cannot be said
that the conviction or death sentence re-
sulted from a breakdown in the adver-
sarial process that renders the result
unreliable.
466 U.S. at 687, 104 S.Ct. at 2064.
In determining the deficiency of coun-
sel’s conduct, the relevant inquiry is wheth-
er counsel’s representation fell below an
objective standard of reasonableness as in-
formed by prevailing professional stan-
dards. 466 U.S. at 688, 104 S.Ct. at 2065.
This assessment of attorney performance
requires that conduct be evaluated from
counsel’s perspective at the time of occur-
rence. “Judicial scrutiny of counsel’s per-
formance must be highly deferential.” 466
US. at 689, 104 S.Ct. at 2065. Because of
the difficulties of such an evaluation, the
Supreme Court has directed us to “indulge
a strong presumption that counsel’s con-
duct falls within the wide range of reason-
able professional assistance; that is, the
defendant must overcome the presumption
that, under the circumstances, the chal-
lenged action ‘might be considered sound
trial strategy.’” Jd. (citations omitted);
see also Knighton v. Maggio, 740 F.2d
1344, 1350 (5th Cir.1984), cert. denied, 469
U.S. 924, 105 S.Ct. 306, 83 L.Ed.2d 241
(1984).
Then, second, as is stated in the exten-
sive quotation from Strickland above,
mere error by counsel, however, even if
professionally unreasonable, does not justi-
fy setting aside the judgment of a criminal
proceeding if the error had no adverse im-
pact on the defense. Thus, to assert suc-
cessfully a claim of ineffectiveness, the de-
fendant must also affirmatively prove prej-
udice.
The district court concluded that the deci-
sion of trial counsel simply to make a
strong statement as a plea for a life sen-
tence was an acceptable trial strategy. We
agree that this was a reasonable decision
of defense counsel because in a case such
as this witnesses claiming considerations of
dubious merit may well cause the jury to
react unfavorably when it has full knowl-
edge of the brutal crime and the criminal’s
prior felonious record. Under these cir-
cumstances, we cannot conclude that the
district court was in error in finding that
the attorneys representing appellant acted
at least at the level of reasonable profes-
sional standards. Placing such witnesses
on the stand opened the opportunity for
cross-examination which could have result-
ed in a further dramatization of the hei-
nous crime and the prior criminal record.
Since we have concluded that there is no
showing that appellant’s counsel at the
punishment stage of the trial fell below
accepted standards of competence and con-
duct, it is unnecessary to inquire into the
second objective issue as to whether any
prejudice was shown. We simply state
— . 4
=e
758 873 FEDERAL REPORTER, 2d SERIES
JERRE S. WILLIAMS, Circuit Judge:
Appellant, Carlos DeLuna, was convicted
of capital murder of a gasoline station
clerk during the course of committing a
robbery. In a separate punishment pro-
ceeding he was sentenced to death. He
was convicted in July 1983, and his convic-
tion and sentence were affirmed on direct
appeal in the state court. DeLuna v.
State, 711 S.W.2d 44 (Tx.Crim.App.1986).
Execution date was set for October 15,
1986. The Supreme Court of the United
States denied leave to file an out-of-time
petition for writ of certiorari on October 10,
1986. Appellant then filed an application
for writ of habeas corpus and a stay of
execution in the Texas trial and appellate
courts. The Court of Criminal Appeals de-
nied all requested relief October 13, 1986.
A petition for writ of habeas corpus, 28
U.S.C. § 2254, and a motion for stay of
execution were filed in the United States
District Court, and the district court grant-
ed a stay.
After various pleadings and delays at the
request of appellant’s counsel, the district
court issued an order denying habeas cor-
pus relief on June 13, 1988, and cancelling
the stay of execution. The district court
later denied a motion for relief from judg-
ment under Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b) on July 19,
1988. Appellant has appealed both from
the denial of the habeas corpus petition and
the denial of the motion for relief from
judgment.
The Attorney General of Texas informed
this Court that it would not ask that a new
execution date be set until after the ap-
peals were heard in this Court. The State
filed a motion for an expedited appeal; it
was denied. Briefing was completed
around the first of this year. The Court
has taken the time since then to give this
capital case thorough serious consideration.
The claims asserted on appeal all revolve
around the issue of the adequacy of repre-
sentation by counsel at the punishment
stage of the trial as it arises under the
Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments of the
United States Constitution. We make our
own enumeration of those issues to accom-
plish a clearer focus upon the precise
claims advanced on behalf of appellant:
1. Appointed counsel representing ap-
pellant at trial were inadequate in
’ presenting evidence in mitigation at the
punishment phase of the trial.
2. Appellant was constitutionally enti-
tled to an oral hearing before the court
on his petition for habeas corpus.
3. Effective assistance of counsel was
denied beeause the State of Texas has no
procedure for supplying counsel in habe-
as corpus cases involving the death pen-
alty.
Adequate representation by counsel.
[1] The core of this allegation is that
appellant’s counsel did not put on the wit-
ness stand relatives and friends who would
have “begged for his life’ and who would
have testified that he was kind and loving
to his family members. In addition, he
asserts that such mitigating testimony
should have included emphasis upon his
“youth”, his “low level of intelligence”, and
his “substance abuse”.
The decision not to claim his youth, intel-
ligence level, and substance abuse was the
kind of decision properly left to counsel.
His age was the full adult age of 21 at the
time he committed the offense. This age is
in the background of evidence showing that
at the age of 18 he had been convicted of
unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and
attempted rape, and sentenced to three
years in prison. The day after he was
released on parole he attempted to rape the
mother of a friend. For this offense his
. parole was revoked. He had been released
from penitentiary only six weeks before
the current offense was committed.
The allegation of a low level of intelli-
gence is not supported by any evidence of
any kind. The only evidence available as to
his intellectual level was a showing by the
State that he had been examined by a psy-
chiatrist and found competent, and that he
had successfully taken high school aca-
demic courses while he was in prison. The
claim of “substance abuse” is not sup-
ported by any proffered evidence.
a
760 873 FEDERAL REPORTER, 2d SERIES
that the district court in its memorandum
order also found no showing of prejudice.
The conclusion that trial counsel met ac-
ceptable professional standards also consti-
tutes a determination that the district court
was not in error in denying DeLuna’s mo-
tion for relief from the order pursuant to
Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b). That motion was filed
together with an amended petition for writ
of habeas corpus which undertook to name
the names of family members and friends
who would testify and to supply affidavits
from them as to appellant’s personal con-
duct with them. This claim was made, but
without details and affidavits, in the first
habeas corpus application which was before
the court. We find no abuse of discretion
in the failure to grant the Rule 60(b) mo-
tion and the proffer of the amended habeas
corpus petition which actually added no
new contention. The separate appeal from
this denial of the motion must result in
affirmance of the decision of the district
court.
Right to an Oral Hearing.
[2] A second issue raised by appellant
is the failure to grant an oral hearing with
respect to his habeas corpus petition. As
the discussion of the evidence set out above
reveals, there was nothing to hear. The
activities of the attorneys at the punish-
ment phase of the trial were clearly before
the court, and appellant did not raise a fact
issue as to what occurred. Appellant did
not propose putting on any evidence to
establish that the attorneys’ effectiveness
did not reach required norms. The appel-
lant stood on the factual record of what
happened, and the district court considered
it fully. Since no dispute as to the facts
was raised, appellant did not meet the re-
quired burden of undertaking to prove
facts which would entitle him to relief.
Willie v. Maggio, 737 F.2d 1872 (5th Cir.
1984).
The entire matter of the right to a hear-
ing, even in a capital case, was recently
presented in this Court’s opinion in Byrne
v. Butler, 845 F.2d 501, 512 (5th Cir.1988),
cert. denied, US. , 108 8.Ct. 2918,
101 L.Ed.2d 949 (1988). In that opinion we
concluded:
[I]f the record is clearly adequate to fair-
ly dispose of the claims of inadequate
representation, further inquiry is unnec-
essary, Baldwin v. Maggio, 704 F.2d
1325, 1339 (5th Cir.1983), cert. denied,
467 U.S. 1220, 104 S.Ct. 2669, 81 L.Ed.2d
374 (1984); see also Joseph v. Butler,
838 F.2d 786, 788 (5th Cir.1988).
Just as in the case before us, the Court
considered the record in Byrne v. Butler
and concluded “... that Byrne’s claims
may be resolved without recourse to an
evidentiary hearing.” Jd.
Constitutional Obligation to Supply
Counsel.
[3] Finally, appellant claims a violation
of the Constitution because the State of
Texas has not set up specific procedures
for the supplying of counsel once the direct
appeal of a conviction to the Court of Crim-
inal Appeals has been decided. This con-
tention was not made to the state courts
and thus there has been no exhaustion of
state remedies. In addition, this claim was
not presented to the district court and is
not properly before us for consideration.
Profitt v. Waldron, 831 F.2d 1245, 1250
(5th Cir.1987). We have held, however,
that where a question has not been earlier
raised and is a question solely of law we
may consider it because of the possibility
that it may ‘be resurrected in a new peti-
tion,....” Long v. McCotter, 792 F.2d
1338, 1345 (5th Cir.1986). We simply state,
therefore, that the law is clearly estab-
lished that there is no constitutional right
to appointed counsel in collateral proceed-
ings such as a habeas corpus petition.
Pennsylvania v. Finley, 481 U.S. 551, 107
S.Ct. 1990, 1998, 95 L.Ed.2d 539 (1987).
Appellant received representation by ap-
pointed counsel through his trial and his
direct appeal to the Texas Court of Crimi-
nal Appeals. He has had volunteer counsel
in his state and federal habeas corpus peti-
tions. Certainly no prejudice has been
shown in his case. He has no standing,
therefore, to raise the issue. His assertion
is no more than a general policy claim that
guaranteed legal assistance should be sup-
plied in habeas corpus proceedings. Such
is not the law.
SHEPPARD vy. STATE OF LA. BD. OF PAROLE 761
Cite as 873 F.2d 761 (5th Cir. 1989)
We deny both the appeal from the denial
of the petition for habeas corpus under 28
U.S.C. § 2254 and from the denial of the
motion for relief from judgment under Fed.
R.Civ.P. 60(b).
CONSOLIDATED APPEALS AF-
FIRMED.
W
° . KEY NUMBER SYSTEM
T
Robert C. SHEPPARD,
Petitioner—Appellant,
Vv.
STATE OF LOUISIANA BOARD OF
PAROLE, et al.,
Respondents—Appellees.
No. 88-3888
Summary Calendar.
United States Court of Appeals,
Fifth Circuit.
April 27, 1989.
State prisoner filed civil rights com-
plaint seeking declaration that Louisiana
statute authorizing payment of parole su-
pervision fees was applied to him in viola-
tion of the ex post facto clause of the
Constitution. The United States District
Court for the Middle District of Louisiana,
Frank J. Polozola, J., dismissed the case
without prejudice, and prisoner requested a
certificate of probable cause. The Court of
Appeals held that prisoner’s civil rights
complaint challenged validity of his current
confinement, and thus, allegations should
have been pursued in habeas corpus pro-
ceedings, with concomitant exhaustion of
state remedies.
Certificate granted; affirmed in part;
vacated and remanded in part.
Civil Rights ¢13.1
Prisoner’s civil rights complaint seek-
ing declaration that Louisiana statute au-
thorizing payment of parole supervision
fees was unconstitutional as applied chal-
lenged validity of his current confinement;
thus, allegations should have been pursued
in habeas corpus proceedings, with concom-
itant exhaustion of state remedies; al-
though prisoner did not seek release from
prison, determination that fees were im-
proper would necessarily undermine validi-
ty of his parole revocation proceeding.
LSA-R.S. 15:574.4, subd. H(15).
Robert C. Sheppard, Homer, La., for peti-
tioner-appellant.
Appeal from the United States District
Court for the Middle District of Louisiana.
Before RUBIN, GARWOOD, and
DAVIS, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Robert C. Sheppard’s notice of appeal
has been construed as a request for a cer-
tificate of probable cause. See Fed.R.App.
P. 22(b). We GRANT certification, affirm
in part, and vacate and remand in part.
According to the allegations in his plead-
ings, Sheppard was released on parole in
1982. At that time, he was ordered to pay
$43 per month in parole supervision fees.
He complied in part with this requirement,
paying a total of $1,386, before his parole
was revoked, in part for failure fully to
comply with the fee requirement.
Sheppard filed this suit as a civil rights
complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He
sought a declaration that the statute autho-
rizing payment of parole supervision fees
was applied to him in violation of the ex
post facto clause of the constitution. He
also sought monetary damages. The dis-
trict court dismissed the case without pre}j-
udice. It held that, to the extent Shep-
pard’s allegations challenged his present
confinement, they should be pursued in ha-
beas corpus proceedings, with the concomi-
tant exhaustion of state remedies. It fur-
ther held that Sheppard’s civil rights alle-
gations were premature and must await
adjudication of his habeas corpus claims.
THOMPSON v. LYNAUGH
1081
Cite as 821 F.2d 1080 (Sth Cir. 1987)
decision in Booth v. Maryland, — US.
—, 107 S.Ct. 2529, 95 L.Ed.2d ——, 41
Crim.L.Rptr. 3282 (1987). We grant a cer-
tificate of probable cause for consideration
of this issue but deny a stay of execution
because Thompson did not object to this
testimony at trial, the state habeas court
held this claim barred by procedural de-
fault, and Thompson’s counsel has not
made a showing of cause and prejudice.
I,
In March 1982, Thompson was convicted
for the second time for the murder of Mary
Kneupper, and was sentenced to death.
The facts of the crime are set forth in this
court’s denial of Thompson’s first applica-
tion for habeas corpus. See Thompson v.
Lynaugh, 821 F.2d 1054, 1055-1058 (5th
Cir.1987). In his present petition, Thomp-
son challenges the admission of testimony
given at the guilt phase of his second trial
by Mrs. Kneupper’s husband, Clifford Kne-
upper, and her grandson, Timothy Meyer
McCammon. Because Mr. Kneupper died
between Thompson’s first and second tri-
als, the state introduced the record of his
testimony from the original trial. McCam-
mon testified in person. At trial, Thomp-
son’s counsel made no objection to any of
the testimony now being challenged.
Both Mrs. Kneupper’s husband and
grandson testified principally about the cir-
cumstances of her death. Mr. Kneupper
testified that he worked with his wife at
the “Pioneer Stor & Lok,” a mini-storage
facility in San Antonio, Texas. The front
office of this business adjoined an apart-
ment, which served as the Kneuppers’ liv-
ing quarters. On the afternoon of the mur-
der, they were working in their office when
a customer called to request that his locker
be opened. Mr. Kneupper then walked to
the locker, which was in a distant part of
the storage yard. When he returned to the
office ten or fifteen minutes later, his wife
had been shot. Mr. Kneupper described
the layout of the office and their living
quarters, the location of his wife when he
returned, and his efforts to revive her. In
the course of this testimony, he expressed
affection for his wife, and stated that she
had two daughters and four grandchildren.
Timothy Meyer McCammon. testified
principally about the layout of his grand-
parents’ office. In the course of his testi-
mony, he explained that he had visited his
grandmother often at her office, and that
they were “very close.” He stated that he
had identified her body at the morgue, and
mentioned the number of her children and
grandchildren, as well as the thirty years
his grandparents had been married. He
said that his grandfather had taken the
shooting ‘‘very hard.”
II.
[1] Thompson claims that the introduc-
tion of this testimony at his trial created a
constitutionally unacceptable risk that the
jury imposed the death penalty in an arbi-
trary and capricious manner. He cites
Booth v. Maryland, — US. —, 107
S.Ct. 2529, 41 Crim.L.Rptr. 3282 (1987), in
which the Supreme Court recently held
that the Eighth Amendment prohibits a
capital sentencing jury from considering
victim-impact evidence. We find that
Thompson has made a “substantial show-
ing of the denial of [a] federal right,” Bare-
foot v. Estelle, 463 U.S. 880, 893, 103 S.Ct.
3383, 3394, 77 L.Ed.2d 1090 (1983) (quoting
Stewart v. Beto, 454 F.2d 268, 270 n. 2 (5th
Cir.1971), cert. denied, 406 U.S. 925, 92
S.Ct. 1796, 32 L.Ed.2d 126 (1972)), and
therefore grant a certificate of probable
cause.
III.
Thompson’s counsel did not raise any
objections at trial to the introduction of the
testimony of Mrs. Kneupper’s husband and
grandson. The state habeas court has
found that this omission constitutes a pro-
cedural default under Armstrong v. State,
718 S.W.2d 686 (Tex.Crim.App.1985), and
therefore that Thompson’s counsel has
waived any error on this issue. Ex parte
Thompson, —— 8.W.2d ——, Writ No. 15,
932-03 (Tex.Crim.App. July 2, 1987) (per
curiam). The state court’s denial of relief,
however, rests on this ground only in the
~ Wit [Lynags|
1080 821 FEDERAL REPORTER, 2d SERIES
d wee
John Russell THOMPSON,
Petitioner-Appellant,
Vv.
James A. LYNAUGH, Interim Director,
Texas Department of Corrections,
Respondent-Appellee.
No. 87-5554.
United States Court of Appeals,
Fifth Circuit.
July 7, 1987.
Petition was brought for writ of habe-
as corpus.
Court for the Western District of Texas,
Dorwin W. Suttle, J., dismissed petition and
appeal was taken. The Court of Appeals,
Alvin B. Rubin, Circuit Judge, held that
state court’s denial of habeas relief to ha-
beas corpus petitioner on merits and on
alternative ground of procedural default
barred federal habeas review in absence of
showing of cause and prejudice.
Affirmed and request for stay of exe-
cution denied.
1. Habeas Corpus <7
Habeas corpus petitioner’s claim that
introduction of victim-impact testimony at
his trial for capital murder created consti-
tutionally unacceptable risk that jury im-
posed death penalty in arbitrary and capri-
cious manner in violation of Eighth Amend-
ment established substantial showing of de-
nial of federal right so as to warrant grant-
ing certificate of probable cause for consid-
eration of issue in second federal habeas
petition. U.S.C.A. Const.Amend. 8.
2. Habeas Corpus ¢945.3(1.30)
Even when procedural default is sec-
ond ground asserted for state court’s deci-
sion denying habeas relief, review on mer-
its is barred in federal court; the differ-
ence between raising procedural default at
first or second of two alternative yet equal-
ly emphasized grounds of state court opin-
ion is too tenuous distinction on which to
base federal court’s power to reach merits
of habeas claim; declining to follow Dar-
The United States District ©
den v. Wainwright, 513 F.Supp. 947 (M.D.
Fla.). .
3. Habeas Corpus ¢=45.3(1.40)
. State court’s denial of habeas relief to
petitioner, who claimed that prosecution in-
duced victim-impact testimony at trial for
capital murder was introduced in violation
of his Eighth Amendment rights, on the
merits and on alternative ground of proce-
dural default, based on failure to object to
testimony at trial, barred federal habeas
review, in absence of showing of cause and
prejudice, and thus stay of execution would
be denied. U.S.C.A. Const.Amend. 8.
4, Habeas Corpus ¢45.3(1.50)
Supreme Court decision in Booth v.
Maryland that Eighth Amendment prohib-
ited capital sentencing jury from consider-
ing victim-impact evidence did not create
sufficiently novel issue to excuse habeas
corpus petitioner’s state court procedural
default which barred federal habeas re-
view. U.S.C.A. Const.Amend. 8.
5. Habeas Corpus ¢45.3(1.50)
Any claim of futility of objection to
admission of prosecution induced victim-im-
pact testimony at capital murder trial un-
der state law would not constitute good
cause to excuse state procedural default
which barred federal habeas review.
C.N. Rothe, Mark Stevens, San Antonio,
Tex., for petitioner-appellant.
Jim Mattox, Atty. Gen., Robert S. Walt,
Asst. Atty. Gen., Austin, Tex., for respon-
dent-appellee.
Appeal from the United States District
Court for the Western District of Texas.
Before RUBIN, JOHNSON, and
JOLLY, Circuit Judges.
ALVIN B. RUBIN, Circuit Judge:
In his second federal habeas petition,
John Russell Thompson alleges that the
prosecution introduced victim-impact testi-
mony at his trial for capital murder, in
violation of his Eighth Amendment rights:
as established by the recent Supreme Court
-“
COOK v. LYNAUGH |
se ”
1079
Cite as 821 F.2d 1072 (5th Cir. 1987)
Crim.App.1964) (“appellant ... was not en-
titled to an appointed counsel during the
proceedings to revoke his _probation.”).
With this knowledge in mind, a reasonably
competent attorney in 1982 would recog-
nize that the blank space left for the de-
fense attorney’s name on the trial memo
indicated a strong possibility that Cook was
not represented by counsel at the 1964
probation revocation hearing. A _ third
factor informing our decision is the facility
of the inquiry necessary to investigate
whether Cook had been represented in —
1964. All Cook’s 1982 counsel had to do to
determine the merit of such an objection
was to ask his client a simple question,
“were you represented?” On the facts of
this case we conclude that a reasonably
competent attorney would have investigat-
ed whether Cook was represented in 1964.
We therefore hold, as a matter of law, that
the performance of Cook’s 1982 counsel
was constitutionally deficient.
The state contends that our decision in
Marks controls the facts of the instant
appeal and commands a different result.
We find Marks to be clearly distinguish-
able. Unlike the instant case, in Marks no
objective indicia were present that indi-
cated that the earlier convictions were un-
counseled. Johnson v. Cabana, also cited
by the state, is equally inapposite. 805
F.2d 579 (5th Cir.1986). In Johnson, not
only were there no objective indicia indicat-
ing a need for investigation, the defendant
also misinformed his counsel and thereby
led him reasonably to believe that there
was no such need. See id. at 581. Be-
cause these cases are inapposite to the
peculiar facts sub judice, we persist in our
holding that Cook’s 1982 counsel rendered
deficient assistance. We now turn to the
question whether Cook has demonstrated
the “prejudice” required by both the Wash-
ington and the Sykes standards.
2.
[6] We find that Cook has unquestiona-
bly shown that he was prejudiced by his
1982 counsel’s failure to investigate wheth-
er the 1964 conviction was counseled. The
state district court found that Cook was
not represented by counsel at the 1964
parole revocation hearing, that he was indi-
gent at that time, and that he did not know
that he had a right to counsel at that
hearing and did not knowingly waive his
right to have counsel appointed to repre-
sent him. These findings establish that the
1964 conviction was void. See Mempa v.
Rhay, 389 U.S. 128, 88 S.Ct. 254, 19
L.Ed.2d 336 (1967). Thus, had Cook’s 1982
counsel objected to the use of the 1964
conviction to support the enhancement
count, the state would have had no basis
for enhancing Cook’s sentence, since Cook
had no other prior convictions. Cook’s
present sentence would have been reduced
by half. As Cook points out on appeal, had
his counsel not opened his mouth once dur-
ing the proceeding except to object to the
use of the 1964 conviction, his sentence
would nonetheless have been a sentence of
ten years instead of twenty. Cook has
satisfied the “prejudice” requirements of
both Washington and Sykes. Cf. Hill v.
Lockhart, 474 U.S. 52, ——, 106 8.Ct. 366,
371, 88 L.Ed.2d 203 (1985) (“where the al-
leged error of counsel is a failure to advise
the defendant of a potential affirmative
defense to the crime charged, the resolu-
tion of the ‘prejudice’ inquiry will depend
largely on whether the affirmative defense
likely would have succeeded at trial.’’).
In summary, Cook has demonstrated
that, because of the constitutionally inef-
fective assistance of his counsel, his nolo
contendere plea to the enhancement count
was not voluntarily and intelligently en-
tered, his failure to object to the validity of
the 1964 conviction is excused by cause,
and his counsel’s failure to investigate such
validity has resulted in prejudice. The dis-
trict court therefore erred in refusing to
reach the merits of Cook’s claims.
IV.
The judgment of the district court is
REVERSED and this case is REMANDED
to the district court for further proceedings
not inconsistent with this opinion.
W
° E key NUMBER SYSTEM
hi
762 873 FEDERAL REPORTER, 2d SERIES
In Murray v. Phelps, No. 88-3302 (5th
Cir. Feb. 3, 1989) 867 F.2d 1426 (table)
(unpublished), a copy of which we append
to this order, this Court remanded a civil
rights suit to the district court for a deter-
mination whether Louisiana’s parole super-
vision fees were applied to appellant Mur-
ray in violation of the ex post facto clause.
In that case, we noted that Murray’s.
present confinement was not due to a viola-
tion of that parole condition. Murray, slip
p. 2 n. 1. Sheppard’s case differs from
Murray’s in a critical way. Sheppard’s pa-
role was revoked, at least in part, for fail-
ure to pay the supervision fees. Although
Sheppard does not seek release from pris-
on, a determination that the fees were im-
proper would necessarily undermine the va-
lidity of his parole revocation proceeding.
In Serio v. Members of Louisiana State
Board of Pardons, 821 F.2d 1112, 1117-19
(5th Cir.1987), we reiterated that, where a
prisoner’s civil rights allegations impinge in
part on the validity of his current confine-
ment, he must initially seek relief through
habeas corpus proceedings. The district
court in this case correctly determined that
Sheppard’s allegations concerning the pa-
role supervision fees must first be pursued
under habeas corpus, with exhaustion of
state remedies. The district court also cor-
rectly noted that, under Serio, Sheppard’s
civil rights allegations were premature.
However, the district court did not make a
determination that dismissal without preju-
dice would not adversely affect those civil
rights claims. See id. at 1120-21. In view
of Louisiana’s one-year prescriptive period
for civil rights claims, see Freeze v. Grif-
fith, 849 F.2d 172, 175 (5th Cir.1988), the
current dismissal, even without prejudice,
might preclude a later civil rights action.
Accordingly, we affirm the dismissal
without prejudice of Sheppard’s habeas cor-
pus claims. We vacate and remand the
dismissal of his civil rights claims for a
determination whether they should be dis-
*Local Rule 47.5 provides: “The publication of
opinions that have no precedential value and
merely decide particular cases on the basis of
well-settled principles of law imposes needless
expense on the public and burdens on the legal
profession.” Pursuant to that Rule, the court
missed without prejudice or stayed pending
exhaustion of habeas corpus remedies.
CERTIFICATE OF PROBABLE CAUSE
GRANTED AFFIRMED IN PART, VA-
CATED AND REMANDED IN PART
APPENDIX I
In the United States Court of Appeals
for the Fifth Circuit
Robert H. Murray, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
C. Paul Phelps, Secretary, Department
of Corrections, et al.,
Defendants—Appellees.
No. 88-3302
Summary Calendar
February 3, 1989
Appeal from the United States District
Court for the Middle District of Louisiana
(CA-88-129-A)
Before POLITZ, KING and SMITH, Circuit
Judges.
PER CURIAM: ”*
I.
Plaintiff-Appellant Robert Murray
(‘“Murray’”’) filed this § 1983 action, pro se,
in the Federal District Court for the Middle
District of Louisiana. Murray alleged that
the imposition of ‘supervision fees” as a
condition of his parole, pursuant to Louisi-
ana Revised Statutes Annotated
§ 15:574.4(H)(15), violated the ex post facto
clause of the Constitution. Plaintiff con-
tends that application of that condition to
his parole was a retroactive change in the
punishment for his offense which was com-
mitted in 1976, five years before the impo-
sition of supervision fees as a condition of
parole was first authorized by Louisiana
State Legislature.!
has determined that this opinion should not be
published.
1. Plaintiffs complaint is properly captioned as
an action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 rather than as
a petition for habeas corpus because the revoca-
ee ee ee eer
1082
alternative. The court’s rationale, in its
entirety, was: .
In the instant cause, applicant main-
tains that portions of testimony from two
witnesses was admitted in violation of
_Booth v. Maryland, — U.S. —— [107
S.Ct. 2529] 41 Crim.L.Rptr. 3273 (1987).
We have reviewed the testimony in ques-
tion and find that it does not amount to a
victim impact statement within the prohi-
‘bition set forth in Booth v. Maryland,
supra. Moreover, error, if any, was
waived by applicant’s failure timely to
object at trial.
Id..(footnote omitted). We must therefore
decide whether the state, by denying
Thompson’s claim on the merits as well as
on the basis of procedural default, has
waived the bar of procedural default in
federal court.
In Cook v. Lynaugh, No. 85-1705, slip
op. at 11, 821 F.2d 1072, 1077 (5th Cir.
- 1987), this court held, “[W]hen a state
court bases its decision upon the alterna-
tive grounds of procedural default and a
rejection of the merits, a federal court
must, in the absence of good ‘cause’ and
‘prejudice,’ deny habeas relief because of
the procedural default.” Jd. The opinion
in Cook relies on Ratcliff v. Estelle, 597
F.2d 474, 475-76, 477-79 (5th Cir.), cert.
denied, 444 U.S. 868, 100 S.Ct. 143, 62
‘L.Ed.2d 93 (1979), an earlier decision in
which this court reached the same result.
See also Clark v. Blackburn, 632 F.2d 531,
~ 583 n. 1 (5th Cir. Unit A Dec. 1980). Both
cases, however, involve state court opinions
that relied first on procedural default and
only secondly on the merits. In our case
the state court reached the merits first,
and only later invoked procedural default.
{2] We conclude, nevertheless, that
even when procedural default is the second
ground stated for the state court’s decision,
review on the merits is barred in federal
court. The difference between raising pro-
cedural default as the first or the second of
two alternative yet equally emphasized
grounds of a state court opinion is simply
too tenuous a distinction on which to base a
federal court’s power to reach the merits of
821 FEDERAL REPORTER, 2d SERIES
a habeas claim. We therefore do not apply
the holding of Darden v. Wainwright, 513
F.Supp. 947, 951-52 (M.D.Fla.1981), affd,
699 F.2d 1081, 1034 & n. 4, aff'd, 708 F.2d
646 (11th Cir.1983) (en banc), rev’d on oth-
er grounds, 725 F.2d 1526 (11th Cir.1984)
- (en bane), rev'd on other grounds, 469 U.S.
1202, 105 S.Ct. 1158, 84 L.Ed.2d 311 (1985),
to our facts. In Darden, the Middle Dis-
trict of Florida held that, when a state
court clearly entertains and determines an
issue on the merits as the primary basis of
decision, and the procedural default ratio-
nale is a secondary basis of disposition, a
federal court must consider the claim on its
merits. Jd. at 952.
[3-5] Absent a showing of good cause,
we must also conclude that Thompson can-
not excuse his procedural default. See
Murray v. Carrier, — US. —, —,
106 S.Ct. 2639, 2650, 91 L.Ed.2d 397 (1986);
Smith v.. Murray, US, : , 106
S.Ct. 2661, 2665-66, 91 L.Ed.2d 434 (1986);
Engle v. Isaac, 456 U.S. 107, 129, 102 S.Ct.
1558, 1572-73, 71 L.Ed.2d 783 (1982). The
Supreme Court’s decision in Booth does not
create a sufficiently novel issue to excuse a
procedural default, for it merely reiterates
what the Supreme Court has previously
held: The Eighth Amendment requires that
sentencing in a capital murder case must
focus on the individualized character of the
defendant and the particular circumstances
of the crime. See Booth, — U.S. at —,
107 S.Ct. at ——, 41 Crim.L.Rptr. at 3283;
Zant v. Stephens, 462 U.S. 862, 878-79, 103
S.Ct. 2733, 2748-44, 77 L.Ed.2d 235 (1988);
Eddings v. Oklahoma, 455 U.S. 104, 112,
102 S.Ct. 869, 875, 71 L.Ed.2d 1 (1982).
Moreover, any claim of futility of objection
under state law would not constitute good
cause to excuse a procedural default. See
Engle v. Isaac, 456 U.S. at 180, 102 S.Ct. at
1573.
For the above reasons, the district
court’s judgment is affirmed and Thomp-
son’s request for a stay of execution is
denied.
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LAST WORDS
EXECUTION
ULL ING Lo
See 109 SW 145
MACKLIN, Willis, black, hanged at Livingston, Texas, on July 2, 1908.
"Livingston, Texas, July 2, = The negro Willis Macklin, was hanged here today for the
murder of Jack Darden, Dressed in a new suit of black, Macklin, escorted by the '
sheriff and his deputies, ascended the gallows and at 1:0 o'chock p.m, Sheriff Chap-
man sprung the trap. The fall of 6 feet broke Macklin's neck, and in 7 minutes the phy-
sicians pronounced him dead. The condemned man passed the night walking the floor of his
cell, He ate a hearty breakfast and dinner. The Methodist Minister, Rev. W. F. McDon~
ald, visited him during the morning and attempted to talk to him, but he did not at any
time manifest the least interest in religion, and refused even on the scaffold to have
the minister pray for him, On being asked if he killed T, S. Spurlock, he nodded his
head, but immediately denied the killing and reiterated the denial on the scaffold,
His words were few and only given in answer to questions, The execution, which was
public, was witnessed by 3,000 people,
"KILLING OF OLD MAN DARDEN,
"The crime for which Willis Macklin today paid the death penalty was one of a series of
the most heinous murders ever committed in Polk County, In March, 1907, there lived in
the northeastern part of the county an old well-to-do negro named Jack Darden, Darden
was an old time slavery darky, 80 years of age, and well liked by both black and white
citizens, He owned a large farm and on this farm besides himself lived Willis Macklin
and several negro families, On the night of March 29, 1907, while Darden sat at his
fireside shelling peanuts and talking to a neighbor, a shot was fired through a window,
killing him instantly, The evidence in the brial developed that immediately after the
shot was fired, Willis Macklin came to the window with a smoking gun in hand, and
looking in on Jack Darden's dead body, burned away, Passing on to the houses of Georgia
Rich and John Swearingen, negroes, he shot and seriously wounded each of them, Reach-
ing the house of his mother-in-law, Anna Darden, he shot her to death, He then sent word
to the terror-stricken community through his wife that he could be found at home next day.
"NEGROES LAID SIEGE,
"Without wakhing for officers to reach the scene, negroes of the community gathered in
force next morning and finding Macklin in his house, laid siege to it. Shooting began,
Macklin firing fromthe house with a shotgun loaded with molded slugs, Finally Robert
Johnson, one of the crowd, approached the house and opened the door, As he did so Mack=
lin shot the top of his head off, This stampeded the c rowd and Macklin escaped, carrying
his own and the dead man's guns. This series of crimes spread terror in the community,
many negroes leaving their homes, Diligent search failed to reveal Macklin's whereabouts,
but on Friday succeeding the murders Sheriff S, C, Chapman learned definitely that he was
hiding in the dense thickets near the scene, Then the man hunt began in earnest, Sheriff
Chapman and his deputies were joined by a large posse and also by ex-Sheriff John Sprad-
ley of Nacogdoches and Sheriff Watts of Angelina County.
"KILLING OF SPURLOCK.
"On Sunday, a week succeeding the first murders, T. S. Spurlock, a white man who lived a
few miles from the scene went out to look for cattle, A gun was heard to fire and
SpurlocK's mule returned with blood on the saddles. Monday morning his dead body was
found with tunshot wounds in the head, similar to those inflicted by Macklin on the ne-
groes killed, The killing of Spurlock renewed with increased vigor the détermination of
hunting the murderer d own, This was a difficult matter, owing to the fact that the coun-
try was covered with dense underbrush, The trail was followed intermittently for a day
or two with dogs, Finally on the eleventh day after the first crime was committed a
part of the searching posse came upon Macklin in a field, He immediately showed fight
by shooting at Mr, John Spradley, Several of the posse replied, one shot striking Mack-
lin in the shoulder and disabling him, He was found in possession of 2 shotguns, which
he was using for protection, having been severely wounded inthe leg when besieged in his
house more than a week before, There was some talk of meting out summary justice, but
Sheriff Chapman succeeded in landing Macklin safely in jail, He admitted the killing of
the negroes, but denied the murder of Spurlock, At the June, 1907, term of the District
Court he was indicted in three cases for murder, He was tried at the September term
of the court for the murder of Jack Darden, His case was ably defended by an attorney
from Houston, who was retained for the defense by his brothers, The plea of the defense
was insanity, After hearing the case, which lasted for two days, the jury promptly
returned a verdict of guilty, assessing the death penalty. A new trial was refused and
the case appealed to the Court of Criminal Appeals, and by that court affirmed in March
last. No further attempt has been made in his behalf, Macklin has never seemed to
manifest any interest in his condition, He seemed morose, sullen and uncormunicative,
He has been a troublesome prisoner, for some time preceding his execution it was nece-
ssary to keep him chained in a cell, He refused to discuss religion with ministers and
manifested no interest in his future,"' NEWS, Galveston, Texas, July 3, 1908 (2/1,)
MACKLIN, Willis, black, hanged Livingston, Polk Co,, Texas, July 2, 1908.
_ Transcription of 3x5 card:
Willis Macklin, black, was hanged at Livingston, Polk Co., Texas, on July 2, 1908,
for murders of Jack Darden, his 80-year-old black landlord, and his mother-in-law Anna
Darden. Also suspected of murder of T. S§. Spurlock, white. Though he admitted killing
blacks, he denied murder of Spurlock.
Affirmed on appeal: 109 Southwestern 145.
Page one of two.
MACKLIN, Willis, black, hanged Livingston, Polk Co., Texas, July 2, 1908.
“Livingston, Texas, July 2-The negro Willis Macklin, was hanged here today for the
murder of Jack Darden. Dressed in a new suit of black, Macklin, escorted by the sheriff and
his deputies, ascended the gallows and at 1:40 o’clock p.m. Sheriff Chapman sprung the
trap. The fall of 6 feet broke Macklin’s neck, and in 7 minutes the physicians pronounced him
dead. The condemned man spent the night walking the floor of his cell. He ate a hearty
breakfast and dinner. The Methodist minister, Rev. W. F. Mcdonald, visited him during the
morning and attempted to talk to him, but he did not at any time manifest the least interest in
religion, and refused even on the scaffold to have the minister pray for him. On being asked
if he killed T. S. Spurlock, he nodded his head, but immediately denied the killing and
reiterated the denial on the scaffold. His words were few and given in answer to questions.
The execution, which was public, was witnessed by 3,000 people.
“Killing of Old Man Darden.
“The crime for which Willis Macklin today paid the death penalty was one of a series of
the most heinous murders ever committed in Polk County, In March, 1907, there lived in the
northeastern part of the county an old well-to-do negro named Jack Darden. Darden was an old
slavery darky, 80-years-olf age, and well liked by both black and white citizens. He owned a large
farm and on this farm besides himself lived Willis Macklin and several negro families. On the
night of March 29, 1907, while Darden sat at his fireside shelling peanuts and talking to a
neighbor, a shot was fired through a window, killing him instantly. The evidence in the trial
developed that immediately after the shot was fired, Willis Macklin came to the window with a
smoking gun in hand, and looking in on Jack Darden’s dead body, turned away. Passing on to
the house of Georgia Rich and John Swearingen, negroes, he shot and wounded each of them.
Reaching the house of his mother-in-law, Anna Darden, he shot her to death. He then sent word
to the terror-stricken community through his wife that he could be found at home next day.
“Negroes Laid Seige.
“Without waiting for officers to reach the scene, negroes of the community gathered in
force next morning and finding Macklin at home, laid seige to it. Shooting began, Macklin firing
from the house with a shotgun loaded with molded slugs. Finally Robert Johnson, one of the
crowd, approached the house and opened the door. As he did so, Macklin shot the top of his
head off. This stampeded the crowd and Macklin escaped, carrying his own and the dead man’s
guns. This series of crimes spread terror in the community, many negroes leaving their homes.
Diligent search failed to reveal Macklin’s whereabouts, but on the Friday succeeding the murders,
Sheriff S. C. Chapman learned definitely that he was hiding in the dense thickets near the scene.
Then the manhunt began in earnest. Sheriff Chapman and his deputies were joined by a large —
posse and also by ex-Sheriff John Spradley of Nacogdoches and Sheriff Watts of Angelina
County.
“Killing of Spurlock.
“On Sunday, a week succeeding the first murders, T. S. Spurlock, a white man who lived
a few miles from the scene went out to look for cattle. A gun was heard to fire and Spurlock’s
mule returned with blood on the saddle. Monday morning his dead body was found with gunshot
wounds in the head, similar to those inflicted by Macklin on the negroes killed. The killing of
Spurlock reneweed with increased vigor the determination of hunting the murderer down. This
,
Page two of two.
was a difficult matter, owing to the fact that the country was covered with intense underbrush.
The trail was a followed intermittently for a day or two with the dogs. Finally on the eleventh day
after the first crime was committed a part of the searching posse came upon Macklin in a field.
He immediately showed fight by shooting at Mr. John Spradley. Several of the posse replied, one
shot striking Macklin in the shoulder and disabling him. He was found in possession of 2
shotguns, which he was using for protection, having been severely wounded in the leg when be-
seiged in his house more than a week before. There was some talk of meting out summary
justice, but Sheriff Chapman succeeded in landing Macklin safely in jail. He admitted the killing
of the negroes, but denied the murder of Spurlock. At the June, 1907, term of the District Court
he was indicted in three cases for murder. He was tried at the September term of the court for
the murder of Jack Darden. His case was ably defended by an attorney from Houston, whok was
retained for the defense by his brothers. The plea of the defense was insanity. After hearing the
case, which lasted for two days, the jury promptly returned a verdict of guilty, assessing the death
penalty. A new trial was refused and the case appealed to the Court of Criminal Appeals, and by
that court affirmed in March last. No further attempt has been made in his behalf. Macklin has
never seemed to manifest any interest in his condition. He seemned morose, sullen and
uncommunicative. He has been a troublesome prisoner, for some time prior to his execution it
was necessary to keep him chained in a cell. He refused to discuss religion with ministers and
manifested no interest in his future.”-News, Galveston, TX, 7/3/1908.
EEE TE i, tt ti(‘(«é‘ am _ 1/7) ua
“J , &f USP Llean) SB]
WN. Appz A; Robert; with SE, 4
‘Man executed for killing
father and son on hunting trip
Associated Press, 05/28/97
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) - A man was
executed by injection Wednesday for murdering
a father and son on a hunting trip almost a
dozen years ago.
In a rambling final statement, Robert Madden,
33, professed his innocence to members of the
Victims! family, who watched through a window
a few feet away. '
"I apologize for your loss and pain, but I didn't
kill those people," Madden said.
Jewel Megason, whose husband and son were
killed, said: ‘I have lived for this moment. I was
So afraid it wasn't going to take place.
"I hope he was so terrified when they strapped
him down. I loved every minute of it."
Madden had been out of prison only a few
months in 1985 following a drug conviction
. when he was arrested for the Sept. 15, 1985,
fatal shooting and slashings of Herbert
Megason, 56, and Megason's 22-year-old son,
Don.
The two had been hunting at a ranch halfway
between Houston and Dallas.
Madden was arrested in New Mexico after
signing his own name to the elder Megason's ~,,
gasoline credit card. Police found him with a
number of the victims’ items, two guns and a
bloodstained knife.
Madden was the eighth condemned killer to be
executed this month in Texas, extending the
State's record for executions in a month. With
16 executions this year, Texas is closing in on
the record of 19 executions set in 1995.
Scalia Tightens Policy 0
By LINDA GREENHOUSE
Special to The New York Times
WASHINGTON, Feb. 21 — Justice
Antonin Scalia, who recently as-
sumed administrative responsibility
for appeals to the Supreme Court
from Texas, said today that he ex-
pected death row inmates who cannot
find lawyers to comply nonetheless
with the Court’s deadlines for filing
appeals.
He said extensions of the deadlines
would no longer be automatic, as they
evidently had been under Justice
Byron R: White, who previously had
the administrative responsibilities _
for the courts of Texas, Louisiana and: -
Mississippi. Justice Scalia assumed
those responsibilities last fall.
Justice Scalia’s announcement
came in an order denying the request
of a death row inmate in Texas for an
extension of the 90-day filing dead-
line. In the same order, he reluctantly
gave an extra month to three other
Texas inmates. The three whose re-
quests he granted have not yet found
lawyers to handle their Supreme
Court appeals.
In giving them until March 26 to file
these appeals, Justice Scalia said, ‘I
shall not grant extensions in similar
circumstances again.”
Execution Set for Thursday
The fourth inmate, whose request
Justice Scalia denied, is represented
by the same lawyer who handled the
inmate’s trial and appeal in the Texas
courts. But the lawyer has never han-
dled a death penalty case in the Su-
preme Court before, and requested
more time. The inmate, Robert Mad-
den, is scheduled to be executed next
Thursday, two days after his Su-
preme Court petition is due.
“Extending the period in which to
file a petition for a writ of certiorari
to a point after an established execu-
tion date is either futile or will disrupt
the state’s orderly administration of
justice,” Justice Scalia said.
p-Bi
Extensionsof
Center in Austin, a legal office set up
with Federal and private funds to
represent death row inmates and to
'recruit volunteer attorneys for that
deadlines for * , jp
ee
filing will not be ©.
’
urpose. The center is seeking law-
yers for the three inmates who do not
yet have representation.
Robert McGlasson, a lawyer with
the center, said Justice Scalia’s
automatic. ; : a policy ‘‘substantially undermines our
5," *ability to recruit volunteers.” He said
one a
: ea ¥ ee
He said he found the lawyer’s a# ..
serted need/for more time “entirély”.
unremarkable,” and added, “All peti- .”’
tioners can honestly claim that they
would benefit-from additional ativice
and consultation.’” - 2 “.
The policy Justice Scalia an-
nounced today will apply to Texas,
Louisiana and Mississippi, whice
make up the Fifth Federal Judicial
Circuit. The new policy marks a
change from the practice of Justice
White, who had administrative repon-
sibility for the Fifth Circuit until last
fall. Chief Justice William H. Rehn-
quist then shifted several Justices’ . -
administrative responsibilities after
the retirement of Justice William J.
Brennan Jr., giving the Fifth Circuit
to Justice Scalia.
According to death penalty lawyers.
in Texas, Justice White automatically:
granted extensions when inmates did .
not have lawyers. ;
Nation’s Largest Death Row
With nearly 350 convicted murdet*-.
ers under sentence of death, Texas
has the largest death row in. the
United States and has carried out
more than one-fourth of the nation’s
executions since 1976, when the Su-
preme Court ruled that the death pen-
alty was not inherently in violation of
the Constitution. Mississippi ahd
Louisiana have smaller death rows,
with fewer than 50 inmates each.
The four requests for extensions on
which Justice Scalia acted today
were filed by the Texas Resouree
Jawyers who have represented the in-
mates at trial and on appeal in the
‘state courts often withdraw once the
state appeals are concluded because
Texas does not provide money for
lawyers to file Supreme Court ap-
', peals.
Mr. McGlasson said the records in
death penalty cases were often com-
plex, essentially requiring volunteer
attorneys to drop their other work to
prepare an appeal within the Su-
preme Court’s 90-day deadline.
Petitions Are Due Tuesday
The deadline, which applies to all
appeals, not just those in death pen-
alty cases, runs from the day a state
appeals court’s judgment becomes
final. In all the appeals at issue today,
that date was Nov. 28, meaning that
Supteme Court petitions are due negt
Tuesday.
“dy t - Under the Court’s rules, an individ-
ual Justice can extend the 90-day
deadline for up to 60 days ‘‘for good
“cause shown.”’
- In his order today, Justice Scalia
said, ‘I do not consider that the with-
drawal of appellate counsel automati-
cally constitutes ‘good cause,’ without
regard to its basis or predictability.”
He added, ‘‘There is even greater
need to reject such an automatic rule
in capital cases than there is else-
where, since no lawyer should be bur-
dened with the knowledge that if he
were only to withdraw from the case
his client’s appeal could be length-
NY Times. 2.-22-
n Death Penalty Appeals
The New York Times
Associate Justice Antonin Scalia
said extensions of deadlines for
death row appeals would no
longer be automatic.
ened and the execution of sentence, in
all likelihood, deferred.”
Justice Scalia said he was granting
the 30-day extensions in the three
cases today because he had not previ-
ously stated his policy and ‘‘because
it is possible that those views are
more restrictive of extensions than
what the Fifth Circuit bar has been
accustomed to.”’
Mr. McGlasson said the Texas Re-
source Center would file an appeal for
Mr. Madden, the inmate whose exten-
sion request was denied, by next
week’s deadline. ‘“‘We’re poing to
have to put something together,” Mr.
McGlasson said. q /
LPO GY”
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (Reuter) - A convicted murderer was executed by lethal injection in Texas on Wednesday after an eleventh-hour
appeal was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court, a prison spokesman said.
Robert Madden, 33, whose execution was a record eighth this month, was sentenced to die for the 1985 shooting and stabbing deaths of
a Texas man and his son during a robbery of their weekend retreat, prosecutors said.
“L apologize for your losses and your pain, but I didn't kill those people," Madden said to members of his victims' family before he was
injected with a dose of lethal chemicals and died in the death chamber of the Huntsville state prison.
Madden was convicted in the murders of Herbert Megason, 56, and his son Gary Megason, 22, whose bodies were found dumped in a
creek near their weekend home outside Marquez, about 125 miles northwest of Houston in September 1985, prosecutors said.
The men's feet had been bound, and Herbert Megason was shot with a .22 caliber pistol. His son was shot in the back with a shotgun
and his throat was slashed, and both men's bodies were dumped in a nearby creek, prosecutors said.
Madden was captured in New Mexico five days after the bodies were found. He was trying to use the Megason's credit card to buy
gasoline for the truck he had stolen fromthe men. Police found the murder weapons and bloodstained knife in the truck, prosecutors
said.
Madden had been on the Texas death row since February 1986 and his execution date had been stayed twice by appeals to state and
federal courts. His execution was delayed by half an hour while the Supreme Court considered and ultimately rejected his request for a
stay, a prison spokesman said.
Madden asked that his final meal be donated to a homeless person, a request that was denied by prison officials. ‘We just don't do
that," prison spokesman Larry Fitzgerald said.
Madden spent his final day on death row visiting with relatives, none of whom witnessed the execution, a prison spokesman said. The
execution was witnessed by the elder Megason's wife, daughter and a brother, along with five reporters and a contingent of prison
officials.
The execution was the 16th in Texas this year and the 123rd since executions resumed in Texas in 1982. Texas leads the nation in the
number of executions since the Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment.
Ten more executions are docketed for June, putting Texas on pace by mid-year to eclipse 1995's record 19 executions in a year, prison
officials said.
20:35 05-28-97
Wednesday May 28,1997 America Online: Galba33 Page: 1
NATION 2-22-94
A26 San Francisco Chronicle xxx x
Justice’s Policy on Death Row Appeals|g
New York Times
‘Washington
Justice Antonin Scalia, who re-
cently assumed administrative re- | \
sponsibility for appeals to the Su-
preme Court from Texas, Louisi-
ana and Mississippi, said yester-
day that he expects death row
inmates who cannot find lawyers :
to comply. nonetheless with. the.
court’s’ deadlines for filing ap-
peals.
' He said extensions of the dead-
‘lines will no longer be automatic, ||
jas they evidently had been under :
‘Justice Byron White, who previ-
ously had the administrative re-
‘sponsibilities for the courts in the:
three states. Scalia assumed those
responsibilities last fall.
‘. Sealia’s announcement came in.
‘an order denying the request ofa
death row inmate in Texas for an
extension of the 90-day filing dead-
line. In the same order, he reluc- |
tantly. gave an extra month to
three other Texas inmates. The:
three whose requests he granted
have not yet found lawyers to han-
die their Supreme Court appeals.
‘s In giving them until March 26
t6 file these appeals, Scalia said, “I
shall not grant extensions in simi-
lar circumstances again.”
= The fourth inmate, whose re-
quest Scalia denied, is represented
by the same lawyer who handled
the inmate’s trial and appeal in the
Texas courts. But the lawyer has
never handled a death penalty
case in the Supreme Court before
and requested more time.
iy”. &
ere
fe
Pia Ht 3
, .
*. The inmate, Robert Madden, is
stheduled to be executed Thurs-
day, two days after his Supreme
Court petition is due.
. “Extending the period in
which tofile a petition for a writ of
certiorari to.a point after an estab-
lished execution date is either fu-
tile or will disrupt the state’s or-
derly administration of justice,
Scalia said.
. The policy Scalia announced
yesterday will apply only to Texas,
Louisiana and Mississippi, which
make up the Fifth Federal Judicial
Circuit.
The four requests for exten-
sions on which Scalia acted yester-
day were tiled by the Texas Ke-
source Center in Austin, a legal
office set up with federal and pri-
vate funds to represent death row
inmates and to recruit volunteer
attorneys for that purpose.
Robert McGlasson, a lawyer
with the center, said Scalia’s policy
“substantially undermines our oh
ability to recruit volunteers.”
NAME: MADDEN, ROBERT A. DATE OF EXEC.: 1997/05/28 NUMBER: 387
S's YofE: 97 DR #: TX-000822 METHOD: INJECTION TIME: 1842
soc. CLASS: ECO. CLASS: EXECUTION SET : 97/05/28-EXE NO. 3
RACE: W SEX: M TO-DR: 11.3 T-C: 11.7 AGE AT EXEC.: 33 DOB: 63/09/27
STATE: TX CO; LEON CITY: MARQUEZ
HOR: KILLEEN, TX BOOK/MOVIE:;
H: L: 3 C: 3 E: 3 SPECIAL LIST:
DATE OF CRIME: 1985/09/15 AGE AT CRIME: 21 CATEGORY: LEO:
DATE OF SENT.: 1986/02/28 WEAPON: SHOT ~.22 & shotgun
CRIME: MURDER-ROBBERY NO. KILLED: 2 TOTAL KILLED:
VICT. CODE: WM56; WM22
CMTS#1: HERBERT ELBERT MEGASON (56), on a hunting trip, shot w/.22
DON GARY LYNN MEGASON (22) son, shot w/shotgun & throat slashed
-~bound, shot several times & throats cut
~-bodies found 85/09/20 under logs & brush 130+mi north of Houston on a
creek bed
KNOWN PREVIOUS CONVICTIONS: DRUG POS.; BURGLARY; DRUG TRAF. [ON PAROLE] [CHARGES
PENDING ADW, ASSLT ON LEO; WPNS VIO]
ACCOMPLICE: FIRST ENTER:
CMTS#2: ~~DRUG TREATMENT OUT PATIENT
~-delivery man for Killeen printing co.
--MADDEN’s family owned property near the MEGASON's property
--stole credit cards & pick-up [caught after using a cr. card -signed his
own name]
~-caught in NM with five guns and assortment of knives 85/09/25
-~-including the murder weapons [blood still on the knife]
LAST WORDS: "I apologize for your losses and your pain, but I didn’t kill those
people." “Hopefully, we will all learn something about ourselved and about
each other, and we will learn enough to stop the cycle of hate and vengence."
LAST MEAL: “no meal”
HUMOR-STRANGE: Asked that his last meal be donated to the homeless. {cannot be
legally done}
SOURCE: TX DOC; AP-UPI-REUTERS; TX AG DOC's IQ LEVEL: rs
CMTS#3: --WITNESSES: MADDEN: None -visited during the day
MEGASON: H.M.’s Widow, daughter, brother
~~ Jewell Megason’s statement: "I have lived for this
moment. I was so afraid it wasn’t going to take place. I hope he was so
terrified when they strapped him down. I loved every minute of it today. I’ve
-
ed
MANN, Fletcher Thomas, Jr., white, LI TXSP (Dallas) on June 1, 1995
Rape, double murder and attempted murder . . . Dallas
probers reconstructed the night of horror and labeled it
AHOMICIDE OF
OPPORTUNITY
by BILL G. COX
DALLAS, TEXAS
FEBRUARY 5, 1982
The three young people were relaxed
as they conversed occasionally in the
comfortable apartment living room in
Dallas, Texas. Pretty and petite Bar-
bara Kay Hoppe, 22, had dropped by the
apartment unit shared by Robert Lee
Matzig and Christopher Bates, both 23,
to watch the Los Angeles-Tampa Bay
football game on TV. Barbara, a win-
some, brown-haired divorcee who lived
in another unit of the fashionable
apartment complex on Dallas’ north
side, had been dating Bates about a
week.
The talk was casual and spasmodic as
the trio watched the physical violence
between the Rams and the Buccaneers
on this Thursday evening, September
11, 1980.
But suddenly violence of a different
type crashed through the door of the
apartment. It began with a knock at the
door at about 8:30 p.m., and Matzig told
the visitor to “come in.” Two men wear-
ing gloves and waving pistols burst
through the unlocked entry.
The intruders—both in their early
20s and not even masked—ordered the
two surprised men to lie facedown on
the floor, where one of the gunmen tied
them with phone cord and ripped pieces
of bed sheet. With Bates and Matzig tied
on the carpet, the bandits shoved the
terrorized young. woman into a bed-
room.
For the next two hours, while her
friends lay helpless and in mental an-
guish on the living room floor, Barbara
Hoppe suffered an unspeakable ordeal
of horror and sexual abuse. She was
molested and raped repeatedly after the
——
|
bs \
assailants had ripped off all of her clo- | Sketch of Fletcher Thomas Mann, Jr. By the time Dallas officers caught up with him
thing except a T-shirt and one seck } they found him already in custody in a Kentucky jail on rape and robbery charges.
. . GAN es, eS RY dl AG WEL MOY AD cst OR RET AS, A
They ignored her cries and pleas tostop. [5 Dy CRE RU? CORT COREY COM AC
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@ TEXAS EXECUTION: HUNTSVILLE, Texas
— A man described at his trial as a “joy killer” whose
idol was Charles Manson was executed by injection
early Thursday for a 1980 double murder.
Fletcher Thomas Mann, 34, was pronounced dead at
and to my attorneys who did their best and my brothers
on death row who died and who are still there, ‘Y’all
hang in there,” Mann Said in his final statement.
about the prospect of execution. “Tf it’s going to happen,
i's going to happen. What can I do? They've got you
chained down. It can’t hurt. J 80 to church every Sunday.” |
Kentucky Man Executed In Texas
AP 1 Jun 95 1:48 EDT v0303
Copyright 1995 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The information contained in this news report may not be published,
broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority
of the Associated Press.
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) -- A man described at his trial as a “joy
Killer" whose idol was Charles Manson was executed by injection early
Thursday for a 1980 double murder.
Fletcher Thomas Mann, 34, was pronounced dead at 12:20 a.m., seven
minutes after the lethal drugs began flowing into his veins. He coughed
once as his mother and two sisters sobbed a few feet away, then fell
Silent.
"I’d like to say ’Hi’ to my family and that I love them and to my
attorneys who did their best and my brothers on death row who died and
who are still there, ‘Y'all hang in there,"’ Mann said in his final
Statement.
Mann declined requests in recent weeks for interviews. But in
earlier conversations, he was ambivalent about the prospect of
execution. “If it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen. What can I
do? They’ve got you chained down. It can’t hurt. I go to church every
Sunday."
On Wednesday, Gov. George W. Bush refused a request from defense
attorneys for a 30-day delay so Mann's family would not have to choose
between visiting Mann before his execution or attending the high school
graduation of a relative in Kentucky.
Lawyers for the Kentucky man claimed his 13 years on death row
amounted to cruel and unusual punishment. The U.S. Supreme Court
rejected the arguments Tuesday.
Mann was convicted of the Sept. 11, 1980 shooting death of
Christopher Lee Bates, 22. Barbara Hoppe, also 22, was raped, stabbed
and strangled. Robert Matzig was shot and left for dead, but survived.
“I don‘t like to make a public comment because of the respect I
have for the victims that were killed," Matzig said this week. "I feel
their loss was much greater than mine."
Police said Mann and an accomplice, Martin Verbrugge, broke into an
apartment where the three were watching a football game. Mann later
told authorities he and Verbrugge selected the apartment because they
believed they could get money and cocaine there.
Verbrugge was convicted of attempted murder and received a life
sentence. .
At Mann’s trial, a witness who was jailed with Mann said he bragged
about the killings and expressed admiration for Manson, the California
cult murderer.
Defense attorneys called no witnesses. The jury took one hour to
convict Mann.
The execution was the ninth this year in Texas, which leads the
nation in executions. Mann was the 283rd person to be put to death
since the 1976 U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing states to resume
Capital punishment.
Kentucky Man Executed In Texas
AP 1 Jun 95 6:16 EDT V0366
Copyright 1995 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The information contained in this news repott may not be published,
broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority
of the Associated Press.
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) -- As thunder boomed and lightning crackled
outside the execution chamber early Thursday, a double murderer
expressed love for his family and gratitude to his attorneys.
“And to my brothers on death row who died and are still there, y’all
hang in there," said Fletcher Thomas Mann.
| Minutes later, he became the ninth inmate executed by injection in
Texas this year. His mother and two sisters sobbed quietly a few feet
away.
Mann, 34, was convicted of the September 1980 shooting death of
Christopher Lee Bates, 22, at a Dallas apartment. Barbara Hoppe, also
22, was raped, stabbed and strangled. Another man, Robert Matzig, was
shot and left for dead, but survived.
Police said Mann and an accomplice, Martin Verbrugge, broke into the
apartment where the three were watching a football game in search of
money and cocaine. Verbrugge was convicted of attempted murder and
received a life sentence.
At Mann’s trial, a witness who was jailed with the Kentucky native
said Mann bragged about the killings and expressed admiration for cult
murderer Charles Manson. Defense attorneys called no witnesses. The
jury took one hour to convict Mann and two to sentence him to death.
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected arguments that Mann’s 13 years on
death row amounted to cruel and unusual punishment. Gov. George W. Bush
refused to delay the execution for 30 days so Mann’s family could
attend the high school graduation Wednesday of a relative in Kentucky.
Texas leads the nation in executions. Mann was the 283rd person to
be put to death since the 1976 U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing
states to resume capital punishment.
Although he refused recent interview requests, Mann earlier
expressed little anxiety over his execution.
"If it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen," he said. "What can
I do? They’ve got you chained down. It can’t hurt. I go to church every
Sunday.”
ty
é
y
i
the young mother would be up and
around in a few days. __
But Mrs. Manning died so suddenly
that the doctor had not been recalled.
She was buried with a sympathetic
neighborhood in attendance.
Before. many weeks had passed
ugly rumors began sweeping the town.
Neighbors whispered that Will Man-
ning was carrying on’ an affair with a
girl who had been living in the Man-
ning home, a girl who had been with
Mrs. Manning while she lay on her
deathbed. :
Then out of a clear'blue sky, Will
Manning’s father-in-law swore out a
warrant charging him: with forgery.
Sheriff Morgan of Greenville issued
orders over the telegraph wires to ap-
prehend Manning. He was picked up
the same day.
“How did you know?” he demanded,
white-faced and tense.
“Know what?” queried a deputy.
“All we know is that you’re wanted
for forgery.” Manning was obviously
relieved. He was lodged in jail.
In jail his actions attracted the at-
tention of Sheriff Morgan, who, his
suspicions bolstered by growing sub-
stantiation of the report of Manning's
illicit love affair, came to the conclu-
sion that the husband had murdered
his wife in order to take up with his
paramour.
The sheriff questioned witnesses of
Mrs. Manning’s death, and made the
startling discovery that she had suf-
fered horrible convulsions just before
the end. To Morgan the whole thing
reeked of a poison plot,
“Manning confessed his amours
readily. ‘Yes, he had been enjoying
intimate relations with the young lady
in question. But had he murdered
his wife? Of course not! ‘
The late Mrs. Manning and her par-
ents. were held in high esteem. Before
long the whole countryside was
aroused.. Sheriff Morgan took im-
mediate steps. He had the body. of the
dead woman exhumed. Then he de-
parted for Dallas where he speedily
sought out Dr. Landon C. Moore,
newly returned to Dallas with a great
reputation in chemistry. The sheriff
brought with him the viscera of the
deceased.
Frogs Prove His Case
Dr. Moore heard the story with
mounting interest. Chemistry was his
great love, but he had never dreamed
of using it to trap criminals, A gradu-
ate of Harvard, he had taught on the
faculty there. One of his students had
been young Franklin Delano Roose-
velt, when the future president was
one of fair Harvard’s most popular
sons. Dr. Moore had studied in Lon-
don and was renowned for his re-
search,
“Tll take the case,” the chemist
finally said. Then and there he
launched his first campaign against
crime. ‘
He completed his analysis.of Mrs.
anning’s organs the next day, and
. Set down his findings. Sheriff Morgan
was right. The charts revealed that
strychnine was present in lethal quan-
tity in the woman’s intestines. Settled
beyond any scientific doubt was the
fact that the late Mrs, Manning had
come to her tragic end not as a result
of complications after childbirth, but
by murder.
Presently the bailiff returned with
the strychnine.
“The case will now continue,” in-
“Let the witness
! boned Judge Porter,
; Hoceed.” ;
H Nonchalantly Dr. Moore stepped
down from the stand. Science this
time was to represent something less
AUGUST, 1942
~ TT
vague than the state.
society, protecting it
men as Will Manning.
The chemist removed three hypo-
dermic syringes from his bag. He
laid them on the table. Next he
poured some of the powdered strych-
nine into a glass. He then added
water.
Beside this glass he placed a tum-
bler of water, poured from the pitcher
on the judge’s bench, Alongside of
these he lay the tube marked Ex-
hibit A.
Finally he brought out a square
box. Carefully he untied the string,
removed the cover. Out of the box
hopped three frogs. Dr. Moore re-
trieved his specimens. Then he turned
to the jury.
“I propose to show you by incon-
trovertible physiological evidence that
strychnine killed Mrs. Manning.” The
jury looked askance. The defense
counsel looked bored, :
Now Dr. Moore was ready. In-
serting one of the syringes into the
solution of powdered strychnine, he
filled the cylinder and injected the
solution into the leg of one of the
frogs. He placed the little animal on
the table. It made a great leap. Then
the frog turned over on its back. Its
muscles became constricted, Convul-
sions set in. After writhing in agony
for a few minutes, the frog lay still.
It was dead.
And Hanged He: Was
Dr. Moore removed another frog
from the box. This time he filled his
syringe with pure water. He shot the
stream of water into the second frog.
Then he released it, The frog gave a
cheerful croak and bounded off. In
fact, he made a leaping marathon of
it. A bailiff rounded up the athletic
hopper. :
Will Manning looked intently at the
chemist, as he filled his third. syringe
with the chemical he had retrieved
from the deceased woman's viscera.
He injected a dose into the leg of the
third frog.
There was a pathetic leap. Then.
the frog lay on its back, First there
was the awful constrictions, then the
convulsions. It was all over in a few
minutes. Ironically, the frog that had
escaped death at the hands of science
leaped from the bailiff’s hand. The
experiment was over.
The jurymen filed out of the little
courtroom in Greenville that after-
noon after witnessing the first case
in the Southwest, if not in the coun-
try, in which the science of chemistry
was injected into criminology in an
open court. Their faces were hard
and inscrutable. :
When they returned, the foreman
read the verdict, Guilty! Will Man-
ning was sentenced to be hanged.
And hanged he was.
It was aiding
against such
Since that epochal’ day in 1905, Dr. ,
Landon Moore has been fighting crime
on a scale so wide that his fame is
now far-flung. Today his laboratories
in Dallas’are the mecca ‘of all South-
western district attorneys who have
*a hunch that a murderer has been
using poison.
Dr. Moore’s data on
poison are interesting,
For instance, he has discovered that
women lean toward arsenic, which
indicates they are exceedingly canny
when they plot murder,
Arsenic as a murder instrument is
a better selection than strychnine, for
instance, because it is less open to
detection. If administered over a long
period, its effect is accumulative and
less likely to arouse suspicion. But
any chemist-criminologist, says Dr,
murder by
‘and_knees,
Moore, can detect the presence of
arsenic in the viscera.
Arsenic tends to’ preserve organic
matter with the result that if a ody
is exhumed and the organs brought
to the laboratory, the proverb that
dead men tell.no tales backfires upon
the criminal.
But if murdering women go in for
arsenic, they aren’t overly clever in
administering their liquid death. Once
there was a Texas Borgia who thought
she could beat the odds.
Having dispatched her husband with
arsenic she sat tight, confident that -
a buried man talks very little. Cir-,
cumstances suggested that she had
every reason to send her husband on
his premature way. Arrested, she
said, “Prove it.”
The lady in question knew the con-
tempt of farmer juries in her rural
district toward a laboratory. specialist
who waved little tubes in the air. So
she leaned back and waited for things
to happen. They did.
Dr. Moore did some quiet investi-
gating almost immediately. Prowling
around the home of the woman, out of
curiosity he looked into the garbage
can. A pile of fresh coffee grounds
intrigued him. He carried some of
them off to his laboratory. He applied
his tests. , :
Arsenic!. ‘
When the woman heard about it,
she confesséd and asked the judge
to sentence her without trial] by jury.
She took a long Stretch, fearing a
worse punishment at the hands of 12
peers,
But Criminologist Moore’s chem-
istry has other spheres besides detect-
ing poisons. Among other things, he
is a renowned serologist, in other
words a blood analyst,
Pries Secret From Bridge
. Once a shrewd’ criminal killed a
man and took his body into another
county. In time he was captured.
Now Texas law is very specific on
the point that a man must be tried
in the county in which the murder
was committed. Up until the very
last the state had not been able to
prove that the murder had been com-
mitted in the county in which the case
was being tried. z
It looked like the judge would have
to declare a mistrial, a fact which
would give the defendant a delay, as
well as a better chance to escape
justice by being tried in the adjacent
county, where the dead man was not
nown so well.
Dr. Moore was employed. .He went
over the route that the murderer must
have taken with his victim in order
to reach the spot where the body was
found. In due course he came to a
bridge. Getting down on his hands
he found what he was
looking for. On several of the planks
in the bridge there were dark brown
splotches: With his knife he pried
loose some of the wood and took it to
his laboratory.
The splotches on the wood, analysis
showed him, were unmistakably made
by human blood. The chemist proved
this to the jurymen and they brought
in their verdict. The murderer was
hanged. .
The single case which earned Dr,
Moore the greatest recognition of his
career was one in which his testimony
on two small threads sent a murderer
to his doom.
even to the United States Supreme
Court, but lost his battle against the
facts obtained by the chemist.
One rainy night in November, 1928,
Motorman Sam Cole was found shot
mortally inside his Dallas street car:
‘the right man, but
. clue
. the chain of
The defendant appealed |
He had not, however, been robt
Nearby, detectives found a car
which were an army shirt, a: map
Kelly Field, the army air corps’ gr
advanced training center, and so
38 caliber revolver cartridges, C
had been slain with a .38,
Telltale Threads
A trail of blood led from the trol!
to a house close by. Its occupant 1
called that a man had limped thx
and called a taxi, explaining he h
hurt his leg in a car crash: Throu
the hack driver, the detectives :
rested Dewey Hunt in his hotel roo
Hunt had been shot in the k
He admitted deserting from Ke)
Field and stealing his sergeant’s c:
But he insisted he had not killed Co
He had not even been on a stre
car in Dallas. The leg wound? }
had been shot ‘by hijackers, he sai
The authorities were sure they h:
their eviden,
against him was circumstantial and ;
fragmentary they despaired of a co:
viction. They summoned Dr. Moor
They. turned over to him the on
they had found in a microscop
examination of the street car aft:
the murder—two tiny blue thread
apparently wool. They also gave hin
among other things, a sweater Hur
had worn when arrested. There we
a-hole in one pocket, :
Before a skeptical jury the stat
reconstructed the crime. Hunt ha
parked the stolen car, boarded th
trolley and attempted to rob th
motorman. Cole resisted and was sho:
In the melee one bullet hit Hunt ib
the leg. :
In cross-examination of early wit
nesses the defense counsel hammere:
mercilessly at the circumstantial na.
ture of the evidence, trying to impres;
the jury that all accusations wer
merely conjectural, Then Dr. Moor
took the stand.
The tiny threads found in one bul-
let hole on the street car came from
Dewey Hunt’s sweater, he testified
He had examined the fabric of the
sweater and the threads for their pre-
cise wool-cotton content and found
them identical. And he had analyzed
the shreds of cloth for their dye con-
tent, and found them, too, exactly
the same. :
He snapped shut the missing link in
evidence against Dewey
Hunt. The slayer paid for the crime
with his life,
However, Dr. Moore’s career is not
tied up completely with murdér. Be-
tween homicides he probes the effects
of alcohol on the reflexes of the hu-
man system. He first announced the
conclusion that one bottle of 3.2 beer
causes a drop-off of 15 per cent effi-
ciency in brain-power, control of
muscles, and vision.
But it is crime fighting by chemistry
that Dr. Moore falls back on when
he is weary of probing what lies back
of plants and organic matter,
“Crime will continue to flourish as
long as it remains profitable,” he
maintains. “But thanks to science, .
crime is constantly made less profit-
able because criminals are appre-
hended earlier and brought to justice
by their own defective devices.”
Meanwhile, the work of Chemist-
Criminologist Landon C. Moore goes
on apace, work that has brought him
27 degrees and decorations for service
a humanity and outstanding scholar-
ship.
And reports show that death by
Poisoning has. taken a Pronounced
nose-dive, with all.the evidence for
the slump pointing at Dr, Moore's
laboratory.
41
x
The sheriff n
the drooping m
friend and a fe |
practice of wor!
jurisdiction.
"Yes, I belie
firstchild was |
“Her father
say he wants t
Within a few |
true. Rapid ste
been watching |
“Sheriff, Iw |
the perspiratio
“Got to hav
Visitor quizzic
charge?”
“My son-in-
forged my nan
After heart
he would act
A. B. EVANS
courthouse in Greenville, Texas, District At-
torney Sam Stinson watched the jostling market
crowd. Lined up along the covered sidewalk on the
far side of the square were rickety farmers’ wagons
from the surrounding country. Sleepy-eyed mules
nodded in the shafts of the great cotton carts while
their owners wandered through the hot streets, chat-
ting and shopping. On the lawn below the old red
stone courthouse a group of farmers were discussing
the current cotton quotations.
As he viewed this familiar scene the young district
attorney noticed a man walking rapidly toward the
courthouse. The manner in which he stamped across
the dusty square and the look on his white face indi-
cated that he was too angry to care about. the
merciless ‘heat.
Stinson watched curiously while he entered the
courthouse. Turning to Sheriff W. T. Morgan who
was seated at the desk behind him, he asked, ‘Morgan,
do you remember the death of Will Manning’s wife
over at Celeste?”
8
fi HROUGH the open window of the Hunt county
BANOO wai Pate ey +
LYM le = Der
Wet (7370 <
The sheriff nodded. A heavy-set man with kindly eyes and
the drooping mustache popular in 1905, Morgan was a good
iriend and a fearless law officer. The two men had made a
practice of working together on the cases that fell within their
jurisdiction.
“Yes, I believe I do,” the sheriff said.
fr@echild was born. Why do you ask ?”
“Her father just came in downstairs.
say he wants to talk to you.”
Within a few moments the district attorney's prediction came
true. Rapid steps sounded in the hall and the man Stinson had
been watching strode into the office.
“Sheriff, I want you to swear out a warrant,” he said, wiping
the perspiration from his face.
“Got to have a reason first,’ Morgan said, looking at his
visitor quizzically. “Against whom are you making. the
charge?”
“My son-in-law, Will Manning. I found out today that he
forged my name to a note.”
After hearing the man’s story, the sheriff assured him that
he would act on the charge. A complaint formally accusing
“She died when her
From his looks, I’d
A bomb bursting in the midst
of the Greenville
square co
more constern
testimony of
uld not have created
ation than did the
the three frogs.
Will Manning’s
frantic call for a
doctor arrived too
late. The killer's
work .was done.
It was Sheriff W. T. Morgan
who found a foul murder plot
masked by a seemingly
natural death.
Manning of forgery was written and a
warrant issued for his arrest.
. “T can’t understand why young Man-
ning did a thing like that,” the sheriff
said affer their visitor had left. “He al-
ways seemed to me like a decent fellow.”
“Tell me.” Stinson asked thoughtfully, “did you
ever think there was anything strange about the death
of Manning’s wife?”
“Of course not. I know what you mean, Sam, but
it's an idiotic rumor. People have been saying that
Manning is paying attention to the girl who was in
their house when his wife died. I’ll admit that it doesn’t
look right but it’s understandable. Manning is lonely
and the girl stood by him during a trying period.”
“Nevertheless,” said the district attorney, “I'd like
to ask a few questions. I’m going to start with the
doctor who attended Mrs. Manning when she
died,”
On the following day the district attorney went to
Celeste, a small town 18 miles from the county seat.
and located the physician. The doctor was about to
_ leave on a case near the Manning home and Stinson
suggested that they ride out together. While they
jogged through the pleasant countryside in the
doctor’s buggy, the attorney ques-
tioned him about the death of Mrs.
Manning.
“Nothing strange about i¢,” the
physician said. “When I left that
night she seemed to be in reasonably
good shape. But in maternity
cases there’s sometimes a relapse.
9
court house
I believe that’s what happened to Mrs. Manning.”
“Would you mind telling me the entire story of your call?”
asked the district attorney.
“Not at all. It was no different from any one of a hundred
similar calls.” .
As the doctor talked, a clear picture of the tragic scene
developed in the mind of District Attorney Stinson. It
was a story familiar to all medical men, but behind the doctor's
quiet words lay a stark drama of suffering and death. Stinson
could almost see the black clouds lowering over the little farm-
house on the fateful winter night when a desperate call had sent
the physician racing across the desolate countryside. ,
Confident Of Patient's Recovery
[? WAS after midnight on the night of December 29, 1904.
when the doctor first saw the yellow light in the window of
Will Manning’s home. Inside the house he found Manning
and the mother of the young wife waiting for him. A glance
at the patient told him that immediate attention was imperative.
When the child had been born and-cared for, the doctor
stood at the head of the old brass bed and looked down at his
patient. She was young and attractive. Her eyes were closed
and her breath came with quiet regularity. Vagrant locks of
hair that curled across her forehead cascaded over the pillow.
The kerosene lamp in the corner threw
shadows on the wall, shadows of the pale
farmer who stood at the foot of the bed and the
elderly woman beside him.
The doctor bent down and slowly snapped
shut the black satchel on the floor. His work
was done. A patient lifetime of fighting death
and bringing babies into the world in the farm
homes of Celeste had taught him to note quickly
and surely the signs that pointed to a healthy
recovery. He felt confident in this case.
Picking up his instrument: bag, he motioned
to the two and they followed him into the
kitchen.
“She's resting well and I think she’ll be much
better in the morning,” he said. He began to
struggle into his heavy overcoat, feeling its
warmth with satisfaction.
Manning rubbed his slender, restless hands
together.
“Is there, anything for us to do, doctor?” he asked.
The farmer’s voice was husky and his face showed the strain
he had been under. He was a slim, brown-haired man with
dark eyes and an attractive regularity of features.
The old doctor patted his shoulder. Then he nodded.
“Yes. If she complains in the morning you can mix her
some of this.” He handed the farmer a harmless household
medicine. “Otherwise, what you must do is see that she has
rest and quiet. I’ll be back here tomorrow.”
Bidding the pair goodnight, the doctor climbed into his
buggy and whipped up his shivering horse. Dawn was break-
ing and on either side of the road he could see the fields stretch-
ing away, brown expanses of frost-cracked furrows and brittle
cotton stubble. Wearily he slapped the reins against his horse’s
flank and let the animal follow the road to town.
Questions Neighbor
N CONCLUSION, the doctor-told how he had been called
back to the lonely farmhouse on the following morning.
When at last he reached it, he found that he had come too late.
His patient had evidently suf-
fered a violent attack and died
within an hour.
“That's all I know about it.”
the doctor said. ‘The girl was
buried several days later. The
only people who can tell you
what happened after I left are
the girl’s mother, Manning and
Dick Elam who was driving
down the road when
the girl died. Might
talk to him. He lives
out this way.”
“How about the
hired girl?” Stinson
asked. “I don’t believe
you mentioned her.”
Before District
Judge R. L. Porter
was ‘brought the
case that made
criminal trial his-
tory when an al-
leged poison was
tested on living
organisms.
The old Hunt
county courthouse,
since destroyed to
make way for a
modern structure,
was the scene of
the famous trial of
the frogs.
DYNAMIC
oy
——————————
“Mary H:
there. She’
Mannings «
Will is inter
“Any trut
Maybe.
lonely since
As they |
Stinson ask«
farmer in a
asked about
home.
“Guess th
said. “I hu:
was dead.”
“In your :
This rare ;
graph of CI
A. Dutt, w
chief de;
played a
ing role in
ing the C
mystery.
taken wh:
was a c§
in the Sp:
American
It was i
Celeste
that the
killer rec
the end «
deadly :
oes
DETECT]
