Using These Materials
- RESTRICTIONS:
-
Access to this collection is restricted because it is unprocessed. Portions of the collection may contain recent administrative records and/or personally identifiable information. Please contact an archivist for more information.
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Summary
- Abstract:
- This collection contains materials from David Lee Powell's cell on Death Row in Texas at the time of his execution on June 15, 2010.
- Extent:
- 8.5 cubic ft.
- Language:
- English .
- Preferred citation:
Preferred citation for this material is as follows:
Identification of specific item, series, box, folder, David Lee Powell Papers, 1978-2010. M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University at Albany, State University of New York (hereafter referred to as the Powell Papers).
Background
- Scope and Content:
This collection contains materials from David Lee Powell's cell on Death Row. This includes journals/draft correspondence/notes written by Powell on legal pads, correspondence, newspaper clippings, court records and legal documents, a chess set with pieces hand carved by Powell, and administrative records related to an incarcerated individual's experience on Death Row such as inmate requests to an official, media release forms, and property requests.
- Biographical / Historical:
Born in Campbell, a rural part of Texas in 1951, David Lee Powell was his high school valedictorian and enrolled in the honors program at the University of Texas at Austin at 16. Dropping out of college at 18, he became addicted to drugs and had a daily methamphetamine habit.
On May 18, 1978 in Austin, Texas, Powell was a passenger in a car pulled over by Officer Ralph Ablanedo for not displaying a rear license plate. There were drugs in the car along with weapons. Officer Ablanedo was subsequently shot multiple times with an AK-47 from the vehicle. A live grenade was also thrown from the vehicle. Although he was wearing a bullet proof vest, it did not protect against an assault weapon. Officer Ablanedo was shot four times and died from his wounds.
Powell was convicted of Officer Ablanedo's murder in October 1978. His then-girlfriend and the vehicle's driver, Sheila Meinert, served four years after testifying against Powell.
In 1989, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Powell's conviction and death sentence. Powell was retried in 1991 and again sentenced to death. In 1994, this sentence was overturned by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. In 1999, a new sentencing hearing was held and Powell was again sentenced to death. On June 11, 2010, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles voted against clemency, then Texas Governor Rick Perry declined to stop the execution, and last minute appeals to the courts were not successful.
David Lee Powell was executed on June 15, 2010 by the state of Texas. He had been on Death Row for more than half of his life.
- Acquisition information:
- All items in this collection were donated by the Texas After Violence Project, arranged by Mark MenjÃvar in 2023.
- Processing information:
The collection is unprocessed.
- Arrangement:
The collection is currently unprocessed and is not yet arranged. Individual items may be difficult to find.
- Physical location:
- The materials are located onsite in the department.
Subjects
Contents
Access
Using These Materials
- ACCESS:
- The archives are open to the public and anyone is welcome to visit and view the collections.
- RESTRICTIONS:
-
Access to this collection is restricted because it is unprocessed. Portions of the collection may contain recent administrative records and/or personally identifiable information. Please contact an archivist for more information.
- TERMS OF ACCESS:
-
This page may contain links to digital objects. Access to these images and the technical capacity to download them does not imply permission for re-use. Digital objects may be used freely for personal reference use, referred to, or linked to from other web sites.
Researchers do not have permission to publish or disseminate material from these collections without permission from an archivist and/or the copyright holder.
The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming to the laws of copyright. Some materials in these collections may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) and/or by the copyright or neighboring-rights laws of other nations. More information about U.S. Copyright is provided by the Copyright Office. Additionally, re-use may be restricted by terms of University Libraries gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks.
The Department of Special Collections and Archives is eager to hear from any copyright owners who are not properly identified so that appropriate information may be provided in the future.
- PREFERRED CITATION:
-
Preferred citation for this material is as follows:
Identification of specific item, series, box, folder, David Lee Powell Papers, 1978-2010. M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University at Albany, State University of New York (hereafter referred to as the Powell Papers).