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Post by Charlene on Aug 19, 2014 20:26:13 GMT -6
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Post by Charlene on Aug 19, 2014 14:33:24 GMT -6
A force to be reckoned with, but cancer was too much for him to beat.
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Post by Charlene on Mar 6, 2014 23:48:40 GMT -6
His departure was kind of like someone quitting their job when they realize they are about to be fired....
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Post by Charlene on Mar 5, 2014 16:11:14 GMT -6
You don't understand his response, obviously. He said he won't sign it because he lives in California and his opinion does not matter to the state of Texas. And secondly, he did not say he doesn't support the death penalty. He said he doesn't think that a hate crime is more deserving of the death penalty than any other murder, a position he has long held and eloquently supported for the many years he has been a member of this forum. It's not logical for someone who is a brand new member to come in and tell him what this site is for, and to complain about his very valid response to your request.
Charlene
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Post by Charlene on May 14, 2013 10:31:15 GMT -6
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Post by Charlene on Apr 15, 2013 23:01:02 GMT -6
Call to Action - PAROLE PROTEST - Please share:
Barbara Diann Allen was murdered in Napa, CA on 09/19/1994 by her ex-husband, Jerre Wayne Allen, CDC #K05360. Barbara was in the process of making plans to move to southern California to begin a wonderful new life closer to her family and grandchildren. Stalked by Jerre Allen for more than a year, including using their 2 children to report her whereabouts (manipulating them with alcohol and drugs) before her death. Evidence of premeditation was very evident in this case. Jerre made strange explanations to his children at dinner on the night of the murder about how he would be "away" for 3-4 years. He had also threatened friends of Barbara's. Barbara tried to make a call when she was attacked by Jerre, pushed and thrown to the floor and with one of his hand guns, (he had two guns) pushed the barrel into her chest. She kicked, screaming, and then he pulled the trigger, exploding her heart and lungs. Visualize Barbara lying on her back, in terror, his knee holding her down before he murdered her! It was a very bloody crime scene where a neighbor at the condominium witnessed Jerre Allen leaving in Barbara's car. He fled to a Catholic church where he held two priests hostage for hours and admitted to killing Barbara to his ex-sister in-law and other persons during several phone calls. Jerre Allen was convicted of 1st degree murder on 04/04/1995 in Napa Valley, California (Case#CR24681). Granting Jerre Allen parole contradicts the interests of public safety. He has been described as a sociopath and very narcissistic. He represents grave danger to others. Releasing him would diminish the memory of Barbara Diann Allen, dismiss the severity and impact of his crimes on family members and friends, his victims and endanger more innocent persons. His own children and grandchildren are in fear of their lives if he is released. We understand that the state is under pressure to release offenders due to costs. However, Jerre Allen is a violent offender and unemployable. No responsible employer will expose customers or other employees to persons like Jerre. How do you escalate from 1st degree murder?! Releasing Jerre from prison would result in moving him from one form of public assistance to another while endangering anyone unlucky enough to cross his path. Relatives of his victim are in fear for their lives. It is our hope that you agree he should never be released and that the parole board will decide not to grant this murderer parole. Please send a letter as soon as possible to: Valley State Prison P.O. Box # 99 Chowchilla, CA 93610-0099 Attention: Classification and Parole Representative / Lifer Desk *Make sure to reference “Jerre Wayne Allen, CDC #K05360” (in your letter/not on the envelope) *Make sure sign your letter - Do not use company letterhead. *Letters need to be mailed 30 days prior to the hearing which is on May 17th, 2013. Please forward this email/parole protest request to friends and family!
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Post by Charlene on Feb 20, 2013 12:40:38 GMT -6
What value they think this "project" has, we can't imagine. How about asking the victims' families about their lives and thoughts on various issues?
This inmate was supposed to be executed today, but he has acted crazy enough for long enough to win a stay. His letter, which he was somehow not too crazy to understand the request, properly address and send his response to, is published here.
gawker.com/5985431/letters-from-death-row-britt-ripkowski-texas-inmate-999325
As part of an ongoing project, we've written letters to U.S. death row inmates who are scheduled for execution this year. We asked them about their lives and about their thoughts on various issues. Today, we received a reply from Britt Ripkowski, who is awaiting execution in Texas for multiple murders.
In December of 1997, Ripkowski, then 26, killed Monica Frome, a woman he had dated, in Salt Lake City, Utah. He kidnapped Frome's two year-old daughter and drove to Houston. On Christmas day, he suffocated the child to death, and later buried her in a shallow grave outside of Houston. After spending more than 15 years on death row, Ripkowski was scheduled for execution on February 20. But a Texas court put his execution on hold last month, ruling that he is incompetent due to bipolar disorder, which his attorney says he has suffered from since the age of 16. For now, Ripkowski will remain on death row, until (and if) his mental condition changes.
In his reply to us, which covered the front and back of a single sheet of paper, Ripkowski did not answer any of our questions. We sent copies of letter to his attorney, Anthony Haughton, who told us that Ripkowski "is presently incompetent, and his letters are indecipherable." We present his letter only as an example of the mental state of one inmate on Texas's death row.
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Post by Charlene on Feb 9, 2013 10:10:29 GMT -6
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Post by Charlene on Oct 18, 2012 15:12:10 GMT -6
Unfortunately, Haynes received a stay from the US Supreme Court.
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Post by Charlene on Oct 15, 2012 22:05:06 GMT -6
There was mention of IVs being started at 9.35 or thereabouts. Is that just saline to make sure the lines are OK? I found the presser interesting in a morbid sort of way. I assume they do something similar in other states, and it's just that executions are rare in South Dakota that it was televised. Yes, right on all counts. They start a saline IV that will be used to deliver the lethal injection at the appropriate time. This is all done before the witnesses are brought to the execution chamber. The coverage is unusual because an execution is unusual for South Dakota. In Texas it barely makes the evening news. But one thing is the same - the focus is always on the killer and not on the victim.
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Post by Charlene on Oct 15, 2012 21:55:14 GMT -6
I just don't understand this fascination with the minute details of the execution....what he was wearing, how his chest looked, what words he spoke with emphasis, etc, etc. I bet none of these people asked those questions about RJ Johnson.
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Post by Charlene on Oct 15, 2012 21:42:52 GMT -6
It's over, family is gathering for the press conference.
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Post by Charlene on Oct 15, 2012 20:51:42 GMT -6
Family friends of Ron Johnson hold a flag bearing the fallen officer’s likeness outside the training center bearing his name. Lynette Johnson, R.J.’s widow, had the flags made shortly after Johnson’s death.
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Post by Charlene on Oct 15, 2012 20:49:39 GMT -6
A group of R.J. Johnson’s friends has gathered in support of R.J.’s family in front of the State Penitentiary. Jennifer Doese, a friend of the Johnson family, said it’s hard for her to describe how she’s feeling, but said it was important to them to be here in support of R.J. “I will just feel like justice has been served,” said Tonya Doese, Jennifer’s sister-in-law and friend of the Johnson family. The group of family friends arrived at the penitentiary at about 7 p.m. “He (Robert) gets the easy way out, said Cheryl Baumgart, another Johnson family friend. “R.J. didn’t get the easy way out.” sdexecutions.tumblr.com/
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Post by Charlene on Oct 15, 2012 8:09:07 GMT -6
We have seen plenty of pictures of the murderer, but here is the victim. RJ was a guard at the SD penitentiary for over 23 years. He was a father of two and grandfather of six. He died on his birthday, said his son, Jesse Johnson. "He loved to relax and play with his grandkids. He never had a bad thing to say about anybody." Jesse Johnson said his father, known to friends and family as R.J., had lived through a riot at the penitentiary in 1993 and knew the danger of his job but never dwelled on it. Lynette Johnson, Ronald Johnson's widow, said she has a hard time responding when one of her six grandchildren ask about their papa. Ironically, this is my home town and when I was a baby, my dad was a guard at the pen before becoming a police officer. In fact, I was told I took my first steps in the warden's house on the grounds of the penitentiary.
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Post by Charlene on Oct 2, 2012 11:58:18 GMT -6
I can't express enough thanks from myself and from Jenny's parents for your help in successfully protesting the possible parole of Vinnie Medellin, who was sentenced to 40 years for the aggravated sexual assault of Jennifer Ertman. This morning, Randy and Sandy received notification that parole was denied.
Randy called to tell me about it a short time ago, and also to tell me how very grateful they are for the assistance of so many people in so many locations around the world whom they will never meet or be able to thank personally. They really are blown away by the fact that so many people care about this case so many years later.
Randy said that when they met with the parole board member a few weeks ago, Randy asked him how many protests they had received and the board member said they weren't allowed to say. Randy asked if was a few, a normal amount or a lot.....he replied, "Tremendous."
That was you. Tremendous. Thank you, again.
10/2/2012
RE: Offender MEDELLIN, VENANCIO, State ID# 04766820, TDCJ# 00762683
On 10/1/2012, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied parole for this offender and set the next review for 9/1/2015. You will be notified when the case is placed in the review process, approximately four months prior to the next review date.
Occasionally, the Board receives additional information that may return a case to the review process earlier than the next review date. Should this occur, you will be notified that the case has been placed in special review.
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Post by Charlene on Oct 2, 2012 11:30:36 GMT -6
Yes, how can they "conceal" something that he clearly should have been aware of himself? And wouldn't it be his own lawyer's job to interview his co-defendant?
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Post by Charlene on Sept 30, 2012 20:32:49 GMT -6
Case history - I think the verdict would have been exactly the same no matter how much "evidence of sexual abuse" was admitted.
Terrance Williams was a local football star, the quarterback of the Germantown High School team that won the Philadelphia Public League championship in 1982. He was presented with the sportsman of the year award by the Philadelphia Board of Sports Officials, and he was recruited by at least eight different collegiate institutions. Nearly all of Williams’ coaches and teachers described him as mild-mannered, law-abiding, and honest. In 1983, Williams graduated from Germantown High and matriculated to Cheney State College in Philadelphia. In the estimation of one of his instructors, Williams was “highly respected and admired by his teachers and all of his classmates.” He was “not only the star of the school’s football team, but was also a classmate and student who showed respect for others and accepted his popularity with modesty.”
But apparently Terrance Williams had a sinister side. In the dead of night on Christmas Eve in 1982, a sixteen-year-old Williams broke into the Philadelphia residence of Don and Hilda Dorfman, aged sixty-nine and sixty-four, respectively. He entered Mrs. Dorfman’s bedroom, wakened her by pressing a .22 caliber Winchester rifle to her neck, and then pulled a bedsheet over her face. When Mrs. Dorfman attempted to remove the sheet, Williams ordered her to stop “or her f***ing head would be blown off.” Williams then fired the rifle three times into the wall to show the victims he was serious. Williams and an accomplice ransacked the home before making off with cash, jewelry, and the Dorfmans’ automobile.
It was not long before Williams was apprehended and criminally charged for robbing and terrorizing the Dorfmans. Although his age placed him under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, the Commonwealth moved to certify Williams as an adult. In an attempt to avoid certification, Williams produced no fewer than eight witnesses who attested to his stable home life, loving parents, and supportive extended family. Every character witness interviewed by the Commonwealth believed Williams to be innocent. Even his own attorney would testify years later, “I didn’t feel in my own mind of minds and heart of hearts that he was involved in the matter.” Such was the nature of Williams’ dual existence. In spite of the efforts to avoid it, Williams was certified to stand trial as an adult.
He was released pending trial, however, and in January of 1984, he embarked in earnest on a crime spree that would continue for the better part of six months. Williams’ next victim was a fifty-one-year-old man named Herbert Hamilton, an individual from whom Williams had been receiving money in exchange for sex. This relationship, like much else in Williams’ life, was kept hidden from most who knew him. Hamilton apparently threatened to publicize the secret, so Williams took action. On January 26, 1984, Williams called on Hamilton at his home. The two eventually retired to the bedroom and, as they proceeded toward the bed, Williams withdrew a concealed ten-inch butcher knife and attempted to stab Hamilton. Hamilton fought back, wrestled the knife from Williams, and stabbed Williams in the chest. Hamilton then dropped the knife and ran into the kitchen to telephone for assistance.
Meanwhile, Williams retrieved a nearby baseball bat, chased after Hamilton, and beat him with the bat until Hamilton was bloody and severely wounded. Williams then recovered the butcher knife and stabbed Hamilton approximately twenty times—twice in the head, ten times in the back, once in the neck, four times in the chest, and once each in the abdomen, arm, and thumb. Finally, Williams drove the butcher knife through the back of Hamilton’s neck until it protruded through the other side. He then doused Hamilton’s body with kerosene and unsuccessfully attempted to set fire to it. When police officers later entered the apartment, they found Hamilton’s kerosene-soaked body with the knife jammed through his neck; on the bathroom mirror, the phrase “I loved you” was scrawled in toothpaste. Williams was then seventeen.
The Hamilton murder remained unsolved at the time that Williams went to trial for the Dorfman robbery in February of 1984. Williams maintained his innocence of the robbery throughout trial. He and his counsel mustered at least nine character witnesses who testified that Williams was a peaceful, law-abiding, and honest young man. The jury was not persuaded. They returned a conviction for two counts of robbery as felonies of the first degree, one count of burglary, one count of simple assault, one count of unauthorized use of an automobile, and one count of conspiracy. Williams was nevertheless released pending sentencing.
Tragically, his crime spree continued. On June 11, 1984, Williams and a friend, Marc Draper, were gambling with several others on a street corner in the West Mount Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia. It was not long before both young men lost all of their money. While brainstorming potential means by which to recoup their losses, Williams said that he knew a man who lived nearby from whom they could extort cash.
Approximately one month before this date, Williams and Draper were arrested for the armed robbery of fifty-three-year-old Robert Hill, an acquaintance of the late Herbert Hamilton. The Commonwealth discontinued the prosecution for this offense after Williams was sentenced to death for the Norwood killing.
According to Williams, this individual—fifty-six-year-old Amos Norwood—was a closeted homosexual. With a plan that they would threaten to reveal Norwood’s secret to his wife, Draper and Williams set off for Norwood’s apartment. When they arrived at Norwood’s residence, Williams told Draper to wait outside. Williams emerged with $10 in cash approximately twenty minutes later. Williams and Draper were apparently satisfied with this amount because they returned to the street corner to resume gambling. A short time later, Norwood drove by the corner in his blue Chrysler LeBaron. When he spotted the vehicle, Williams said, “There goes my uncle,” flagged down the car, and entered via the passenger side door. Norwood then drove away.
The blue LeBaron returned to the intersection several minutes later, whereupon Williams exited the vehicle, approached Draper, and said quietly, “Play it off like you going home, like you want a ride home, and we gonna take some money.” Draper understood Williams to be proposing a robbery. The two then got inside Norwood’s automobile and Draper began to provide false directions to his “home.” In reality, Draper’s directions led Norwood to a secluded area adjacent to the Ivy Hill Cemetery. Once there, Draper reached over the backseat, grabbed Norwood from behind and ordered him “to be quiet and get out of the car.” Norwood stopped the vehicle and complied. Williams and Draper then led Norwood into the cemetery and ordered him to lie facedown near a tombstone.
A quick search of Norwood’s person revealed $20 hidden in his sock. At this point, Norwood began to plead for his life. The two assailants responded by removing Norwood’s clothing and tying him up; Norwood’s hands were bound behind his back with his shirt, his legs were bound together with his pants, and his socks were forcefully jammed into his mouth. Once Norwood was bound, Williams said to Draper, “Wait, I’m going to the car. We’re getting ready to do something.” And he walked off. Williams returned with a tire iron and a socket wrench, the latter of which he gave to Draper.
Draper, seemingly having second thoughts, urged Williams to leave. Williams replied, “I know what I’m doin, I know what I’m doin. Don’t worry about it, I know what I’m doin.” He then began battering Norwood’s head with the tire iron. When he noticed that Draper was frozen in place, Williams said, “Man, you with me? We got to do this together.” Draper then sprung into action himself, striking Norwood repeatedly with the socket wrench. This violent scene continued until Norwood lay motionless and dead. Draper later recalled that there was blood everywhere. On the day of his second murder, Williams was four months past his eighteenth birthday.
Williams and Draper soon parted ways. Draper reported to work, while Williams took Norwood’s automobile downtown to meet a friend, Ronald Rucker. Rucker noticed that Williams was “hyper” and asked him if everything was okay. Williams then disclosed that he had just “offed a guy” named Amos. Although Rucker initially did not believe his friend, he began to reconsider after observing blood stains on Williams’ shoes. Later that night, Williams told Rucker he was “going to get some gas from a gas station to go back to the scene of the crime.” Rucker surmised that Williams intended to burn Norwood’s body. That is precisely what Williams did.
Williams and Draper were eventually undone by their use of a credit card and telephone calling card—both in Norwood’s name—that they had taken from Norwood’s automobile. Philadelphia police traced use of the calling card back to Rucker; upon questioning, he implicated Williams and Draper. When his interview with law enforcement concluded, Rucker informed Williams that he had provided police with Williams’ last name. Panicked, Williams boarded a bus bound for San Francisco.
In the meantime, Draper was arrested and promptly confessed. He also told police about the Herbert Hamilton killing. With this information, officers proceeded to obtain a warrant for Williams’ arrest. Approximately halfway through his cross-country bus ride, Williams telephoned his girlfriend, Marlene Rogers. Rogers informed him about the outstanding arrest warrant, and urged her boyfriend to return to Philadelphia so that he could defend the charges against him. Her entreaty was apparently convincing, for Williams promptly boarded an airplane and returned east.
On July 23, 1984, he arranged to be arrested in the Philadelphia office of his attorney, Ronald White. Williams’ mother notified a reporter from the Daily News that her son would surrender to authorities in White’s office. Before his arrest, Williams told the newspaper, “I wanted to come back and clear my name.” The reporter snapped photographs as Williams was led out of White’s office in handcuffs.
Two days later, Williams was sentenced to twelve-and-a-half to twenty years’ imprisonment for his participation in the Dorfman robbery. In February 1985, he was tried and convicted of third degree murder for the Hamilton killing.
Finally, a jury trial for the Norwood murder commenced in January of 1986 in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. Draper testified for the Commonwealth and detailed the manner in which he and Williams guided Norwood to the Ivy Hill Cemetery, robbed and bound him, and then beat him to death. Williams later took the stand in his own defense and pinned the murder on Draper and another individual, Michael Hopkins. The jury rejected Williams’ testimony and returned a conviction for first degree murder, robbery, and conspiracy.
The trial’s penalty phase began immediately after the jury announced its verdict. The Commonwealth introduced evidence that Williams was recently convicted of armed robbery and third degree murder. Williams, in turn, presented three witnesses in mitigation. His mother, Patricia Kemp, described her son’s athletic success and testified that he was well-liked and respected by those who knew him. She also characterized Williams’ stepfather as a verbally abusive alcoholic who routinely berated her son and once pushed him down a flight of stairs. Ms. Kemp denied participating in any abuse herself. Marlene Rogers, Williams’ girlfriend and the mother of his thirteen-month-old child, said that Williams was a “very supportive father” and had never been violent towards her or anyone she knew. The defendant’s last mitigation witness added little, rambling that “we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God . . . . We all have committed murder. We all have stolen some things that we should not have done. We all have committed adultery. I don’t believe you should kill another person. Blood will be on your hands.”
After witness testimony was complete, Williams’ trial counsel, Nicholas Panarella, closed by emphasizing the defendant’s youth at the time of the murder and by urging the jury to find that age was a mitigating factor in the offense. He then asked that they consider any residual doubt remaining from the guilt phase and argued that a sentence of life imprisonment was sufficiently severe, for it would subject Williams to “all of the brutalities that are associated with prison life.” Panarella concluded by pleading for mercy. His plea was rejected.
The jury found two aggravating circumstances, namely (1) that the murder occurred during commission of a felony (robbery), and (2) that Williams had a significant history of felony convictions involving the use or threat of violence. The jury found that there were no mitigating circumstances present in the case. They returned a sentence of death.
UPDATE: Williams received a stay of execution from Philadelphia judge Teresa Sarmina who also granted a new penalty phase in the case, ruling that evidence of alleged sexual abuse was not heard by the jury and might have resulted in a different verdict. Accomplice Marc Draper recanted his trial testimony when made aware of Williams's execution date. He said he had told the prosecutor and detectives about the sexual relationship between Williams and Norwood but "they didn't want to hear it." Draper claims he was promised a chance for parole after 10 or 15 years in return for his testimony against Williams, but he received a life sentence in the crime. The prosecutor said the abuse allegations are hearsay that only came to light a few months ago, 28 years since the murder and represent a "last ditch effort to escape punishment."
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Post by Charlene on Aug 14, 2012 11:03:23 GMT -6
Michael Edward Hooper met Cynthia Jarman in early 1992, and they dated through the summer of 1993. Their relationship was physically violent, and Hooper threatened to kill Cindy on several occasions. Cindy had called the police during their fights on more than one occasion. At one point, each had a victim's protective order against the other. In July 1993, Cindy began dating Hooper's friend, Bill Stremlow. Hooper bought a Smith & Wesson 9mm pistol on July 15, 1993. During a traffic stop the next day the Oklahoma City Police Department [OCPD] confiscated the gun. The OCPD returned the gun on October 23, 1993, but kept the ammunition. Hooper went target shooting with friends in fields northwest of Oklahoma City the day he bought the gun and after it was returned. He took the gun when he worked out-of-state in late October and November and refused a co-worker's offer to buy it. A day or two before the murders, Hooper showed a 9mm pistol to a neighbor. In November, three weeks before the murders, Cindy and her children began living with Stremlow. He told Cindy that Hooper was not welcome in their home. Before moving in with Stremlow, Cindy told a friend that Hooper had previously threatened to kill her if she ever lived with another man. On December 6, 1993, Cindy confided in a friend that she wanted to be with Hooper one last time and then stop seeing him. On the morning of December 7, 1993, Cindy and her children dropped Stremlow off at work and Cindy borrowed his truck for the rest of the day. Cindy picked up her daughter, Tonya, at school at 3:30 that afternoon. At that time, Tonya's teacher saw Tonya get into Stremlow's truck next to a white man who was not Stremlow. Cindy failed to pick up Stremlow from work that evening as planned, and Stremlow never saw Cindy again. Cindy had Stremlow's only house key and he had to borrow his landlord's key to get in his house that night. Later that night, Stremlow's truck was found burning in a field in northwest Oklahoma City. The truck's windows were broken out. An accelerant had been used to set the truck on fire. Stremlow recovered the vehicle the next day. When Stremlow returned to his house, although there were no signs of forced entry, a dresser drawer was disturbed, a Jim Beam whiskey bottle was on the dresser, and ten dollars in cash was missing. Hooper's fingerprints were later found on the Jim Beam bottle, and other evidence showed Hooper and Cindy drank that brand of whiskey. Cindy and her children were reported missing on December 9. Police attempted to interview Hooper; he failed to come to the station and denied seeing Cindy for the past six months. Hooper appeared nervous and had a fresh scratch on his arm. Also on December 9, an area rancher noticed damage to his gate leading to a northwest Oklahoma City field. Inside the field he found broken glass, tire tracks, a bloody sock and a pool of blood. After hearing the missing persons report, the rancher contacted police. The next day police searched the field and found broken glass, tire tracks, a footprint, shell casings, a child's bloody sock, a pool of blood near a tree with a freshly broken branch, a blue fiber near the tree, and a shallow grave site covered by limbs, leaves and debris. The grave appeared to be soaked with gasoline. Tonya, Timmy and Cindy were buried atop one another. Each victim had been shot twice in the head or face. There was a hole in the hood of Tonya's blue and purple jacket, and the white fiber lining protruded. A 9mm bullet pinned a white fiber to a branch on the grave. The branch appeared to have been broken from the tree near the pool of blood. The fibers were consistent with the white fibers in Tonya's jacket. Although investigators never recovered the bullets, the wounds were consistent with nine millimeter ammunition. Police arrested Hooper and searched his parents' home. The police recovered a nine millimeter weapon Hooper had purchased several months prior to the murders. Police also recovered two shovels with soil consistent with soil from the grave site, two gas cans, and broken glass consistent with glass found in Tonya's coat and near the gate at the field. Police found a 9 mm bullet in Hooper's pocket. Police officers also seized Hooper's tennis shoes. The shoes made prints similar to those found at the murder scene, and DNA tests revealed the presence of blood consistent with Cindy's blood on the shoes. At trial, a ballistics expert testified that shell casings from the crime scene matched casings fired from Hooper's weapon. Hooper's former wife testified that Hooper was familiar with the field where the bodies were found, and that he previously had visited the field with her on several occasions. Based on this evidence, the jury convicted Hooper of three counts of first degree murder. During the capital sentencing proceeding, the jury found two aggravating factors existed with respect to all three victims: (1) Hooper had created a great risk of death to more than one person, and (2) Hooper was a continuing threat to society. Additionally, the jury found a third aggravating factor existed with respect to Tonya Jarman: Hooper had committed the murder to avoid arrest or prosecution for the murder of Cynthia Jarman. After considering Hooper's mitigating evidence, the jury imposed the death sentence for each count. UPDATE: It’s been almost 19 years since Barbie Jarman’s grandchildren were shot to death along with their 23-year-old mother, but she still has vivid memories of the children whom she described as so very, very precious. "The fact that they were murdered doesn’t lessen what they were to you,” Jarman said. “They still are very, very close to my heart. That doesn’t ever change.” For family members of the victims, Hooper’s execution will culminate a long journey that began with the trauma of learning about their violent deaths. “It’s not going to change what happened. But justice will be served,” said Diane Roggy, Cynthia Jarman’s mother and grandmother to her children. “The loss is still there. The pain never goes away,” said Cynthia’s sister, Renee Weber. “It will never be over, in my mind, until they close my casket,” Roggy said. Cynthia Jarman, a cosmetologist, “was just a beautiful person, full of life,” Weber said. “She was a very good mom. Timmy was a very bubbly little kid. He was just very playful,” she added. “Tonya was very smart.” The children’s uncle, Jeramy Jarman, said they “were amazing kids. These were my first experiences as an uncle. I was extremely proud. We had a lot of fun.” Jeramy Jarman said that after almost 19 years, he is ready for the case to come to an end. “This man is just an animal as far as I’m concerned." Read more here: muskogeephoenix.com/statenews/x775522503/Execution-set-Tuesday-for-death-row-inmate
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Post by Charlene on Aug 5, 2012 18:27:30 GMT -6
Wow, you haven't seen him since you were 5, spend a few hours with him and can pronounce him innocent, despite what all those jurors, judges and appeals courts say.... The blind faith of some people is amazing to me.
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Post by Charlene on Aug 4, 2012 21:53:35 GMT -6
Case history from site: On November 4, 1992, Officer Robert Roberts and other police officers entered Marvin Lee Wilson's Beaumont, Texas apartment pursuant to a search warrant. Jerry Williams was a confidential informant whose information enabled Roberts to obtain the warrant. Williams entered and left the apartment minutes before the police went in. Wilson, 34 years old at the time, Vincent "Gun" Webb, and a juvenile female were present in the apartment. Over 24 grams of cocaine were found, and Wilson and Webb were arrested for possession of a controlled substance. Wilson was subsequently released on bond, but Webb remained in jail. Sometime after the incident, Wilson told Terry Lewis that someone had “snitched” on Wilson, that the “snitch” was never going to have the chance to “to have someone else busted,” and that Wilson “was going to get him.” On November 9, 1992, several observers saw an incident take place in the parking lot in front of Mike's Grocery. Two women were together in the parking lot. Another woman and her daughter were inside the store. A man was outside the store, but came in at some point to relay information to one of the women. The doors to Mike's Grocery were made of clear glass, and one of the women stood by the door and watched the events outside. While the witnesses watched the events unfold, another called the police. These witnesses testified consistently although some witnesses noticed details not noticed by others. In the parking lot, Wilson stood over Williams and beat him. Wilson asked Williams, “What do you want to be a snitch for? Do you know what we do to a snitch? Do you want to die right here?” In response, Williams begged for his life. Andrew Lewis, Terry's husband, was pumping gasoline in his car at the time. Williams ran away from Wilson and across the street to a field. Wilson pursued Williams and caught him. Andrew drove the car to the field. While Williams struggled against them, Wilson and Andrew forced Williams into the car. At some point during this incident, either in front of Mike's Grocery, across the street, or at both places, Andrew participated in hitting Williams and Wilson asked Andrew: “Where's the gun?” Wilson told Andrew to get the gun and said that he (Wilson) wanted to kill Williams. They drove toward a Mobil refinery. Two of the witnesses drove back to their apartments, which were close by, and when they arrived, they heard what sounded like gunshots from the direction of the Mobil plant. Sometime after the incident, Wilson told his wife, in the presence of Terry Lewis and her husband, “Baby, you remember the n*****r I told you I was going to get? I did it. I don't know if he dead or what, but I left him there to die.” When Terry looked back at her husband, Wilson stated, “Don't be mad at Andrew because Andrew did not do it. I did it.” On November 10, 1992, a bus driver noticed Williams' dead body on the side of a road. The autopsy report concluded that Williams died from close range gunshot wounds to the head and neck. Having known Wilson for 16 years, Zeno identified Wilson. Some of the witnesses recognized Jerry Williams but did not know Wilson or Andrew. One witness subsequently identified Andrew in a photo line-up. At that time, the witness told law enforcement authorities that the man he identified in the photo was the “helper,” rather than the primary actor. The other man, who the witness described as having a “gerry curl,” made the threats and conducted most of the beating of Williams. Under defense cross-examination at trial, the witness testified that the man in the photo (i.e. Andrew Lewis) was the man with the gerry curl and hence, the primary actor. But, upon redirect examination, the witness testified that his earlier testimony was in error, and that the man in the photo was not the one with the gerry curl. This contradiction led to questioning that explored an incident involving the witness, defense counsel, and Wilson. At one time, defense counsel and Wilson interviewed this witness together, while the man was in jail for an unrelated offense. No representatives of the district attorney's office were present. Wilson asked the witness for his father's name, and Wilson asked if the man had a new baby. These questions made the witness feel scared and intimidated, and he wondered how Wilson could have known about his new baby. Wilson had been convicted of committing two aggravated robberies in 1981. He receive a sentence of 8 years and was released on mandatory supervision less than 3 years later. In one of those aggravated robberies, he pointed a shotgun at the clerk of a convenience store. He was also convicted of robbery in 1987. For that crime he was sentenced to 20 years in prison and was paroled just over 3 years later, on January 31, 1991.
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Post by Charlene on Jul 20, 2012 22:50:40 GMT -6
I wonder about Bryan a lot, hope he is okay.
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Post by Charlene on Feb 21, 2012 11:49:53 GMT -6
I think that they will probably give more weight to a letter or email from a Texas resident, however I think it is impactful for the Board to see that people from all over the world still care about justice for these girls, even after all these years.
I am sure they get plenty of contact from Europeans asking for mercy for murderers via the campaigns on the pen pal sites. It will be good for them to see that there are plenty of people on the other side as well.
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Post by Charlene on Feb 20, 2012 23:38:54 GMT -6
The link currently appears to be broken Hi, it is working for me....let me know if you keep having problems!
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Post by Charlene on Feb 20, 2012 18:35:27 GMT -6
Hi John. Click on that link and there is a template for a letter that you can send or email.
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Post by Charlene on Feb 19, 2012 22:05:00 GMT -6
We need your help to protest the parole of Venancio Medellin, who was 14 at the time he participated in the gang-rape of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena prior to their murders. This is the case that got me involved in this issue. He was sentenced to 40 years for aggravated sexual assault and has been up for parole several times now. Less than 20 years is not enough for this crime. This is the case that got me involved in this issue. www.prodeathpenalty.com/protest_medellin.htm
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Post by Charlene on Jan 23, 2012 12:49:05 GMT -6
And rightfully so - in this case, justice is a mockery.
On December 14, 1987, around 6:00 am, Edward Large and Mary Smith were found dead, inside a 1975 Cadillac parked on the side of US Hwy 70 near Boswell, Oklahoma. The car's ignition was on and the vehicle had apparently been left on until it ran out of gas. Edward was behind the steering wheel and was shot twice with a small-caliber handgun, once between the shoulder blades and once in the mouth. Mary was seated in the back seat and had been shot three times, in her forehead, cheek and jaw. The murders were apparently the culmination of a long-standing feud between the Large and St. Clair families. Fifteen years prior, Large had been charged but acquitted of shooting Michael St. Clair's brother David after an argument centering around children fighting at school. Mary Smith was apparently just an unintended victim, in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Michael St. Clair was immediately suspected in the Large/Smith murders. His uncles said St. Clair bragged about murdering Edward, saying "I finally killed old Large. The last shot, I shot him near the back where he shot my brother." He also said to his uncle that when he killed Mary Smith, she was looking at him from behind a blanket, like she was playing peep-eye with him. An aunt testified that she was with St. Clair when he committed the murders and that he had used a red flashing light to make Edward Large think he was being pulled over by law enforcement officers. She said he walked up to the car and shot Large as he tried to step out of the vehicle. He told his uncle that he pushed Edward's leg that was hanging out of the car back inside and said, "Ya'll have a good time." Michael had returned to his car, but went back to the Cadillac, leaned inside and shot Mary Smith as she was screaming in fear. He then got back in his Suburban and drove to Durant and dropped his aunt off at her home.
A few years later, St. Clair hired a man to murder his uncle, Ronnie Lee St. Clair. On May 12, 1990, St. Clair and Kelsey forced their way inside Ronnie's residence, armed with a rifle and handgun. They demanded that Ronnie give them $20,000 in cash that they had heard Ronnie had, allegedly to buy cocaine for resale. One or both of them beat Ronnie until he finally took the money out of its hiding place. He then was forced outside to a storage building where he had hidden an ounce of cocaine. The pair then forced Ronnie into his own car, and driven to a Lone Star Gas processing station near Silo, and ordered out of the car. Kelsey emptied the 10-round clip into Ronnie's body, missing only one shot. He was struck in the back, face and back of the head. Both of his wallets were stolen, one containing a large sum on cash. Witnesses saw Kelsey break up the ounce of cocaine into one gram parcels.
The next day, Michael St. Clair told his cousin Raymond, Ronnie's brother, that he knew who killed Ronnie and he said he was going to meet and kill him at 10 pm that night. St. Clair drove to Kelsey's mobile home and retrieved the cocaine and made an appointment to meet Kelsey at 10:00 pm at another Lone Star Gas processing station. Kelsey spent the day partying with friends, then showed up at his cousin's home that evening and asked for a pen and paper and wrote a note. He handed the note to his cousin and said he was meeting a guy at 10:15 pm and as he left, he told his cousin, "If I don't ever see you again, it's OK. It doesn't matter." Kelsey was waiting at the meeting place when St. Clair arrived. He allegedly pulled a gun on St. Clair when he learned he wouldn't be paid for the murder of Ronnie, but couldn't get the gun out of his pocket quickly enough. St. Clair opened fire with a .38 caliber pistol, then shot him behind the ear, to make sure he was dead. St. Clair called his uncle Raymond and said, "The chickens are out of the coop" a pre-arranged phrase. The next morning, Michael drove to Raymond's house and told him that Kelsey had tried to kill him. The note Kelsey had written just moments before being killed was delivered to the sheriff's office. Kelsey had been convicted of murdering a man in 1976 and he served only 11 years in prison. He was the suspect in two additional murders in Oregon and one in Oklahoma in 1957.
In September 1991, while he was awaiting final sentencing for the murders of his uncle and the hit man, St. Clair escaped from a jail in Durant, Oklahoma, accompanied by another inmate, Dennis Gene Reese. Reese was awaiting trial for strangling and beating a woman to death in Oklahoma. After escaping, St. Clair and Reese fled from the facility in a pickup truck stolen from a jail employee and, when that truck soon ran out of gas, stole another pickup truck, a handgun, and some ammunition from the nearby home of Vernon Stephens and fled Oklahoma for the suburbs of Dallas, Texas. St. Clair's then-wife, Bylynn and her brother met the men in Texas and brought them over $1000 in cash, clothing, soap, shampoo, disposable razors, binoculars, a camouflage jacket and a pair of handcuffs. When Reese was subsequently arrested several months later in Las Vegas, Nevada, he confessed to his involvement in an ensuing crime spree.
According to Reese, after hiding out in Dallas for a few days, the men boarded a Greyhound bus bound for the Pacific Northwest but disembarked in Denver, Colorado, where St. Clair kidnapped a man, Timothy Keeling, and took his vehicle, again, a pickup truck, and St. Clair and Reese began driving back towards Texas. Timothy Keeling was 22 and was a paramedic. St. Clair and Reese saw a for sale sign on his white, customized pickup truck and approached Tim as he was leaving a grocery store and asked if they could take it for a test drive. Reese drove, St. Clair sat on the passenger side and Tim sat between them. As they left the parking lot, St. Clair pointed a .357 magnum revolver at Tim and handcuffed him. They drove through the night and Tim was talking to his kidnappers, praying for them. He showed them a photo of his infant daughter, scared for his life. While driving through New Mexico, but approaching the Texas border, St. Clair used the pretext of needing to stop to urinate along the roadside to coax Tim into getting out of the truck. St. Clair used the stolen handgun to execute Keeling in the desert, shooting him twice. When St. Clair returned to the truck, he told Reese that killing people was like killing dogs, that after you kill the first one, the next one is easy. Reese said St. Clair was happy and smiling when he said this. As they were driving on after murdering Tim Keeling, St. Clair went through Tim's wallet. He removed the photograph of Tim's 18-month-old daughter and tore it up and threw it out of the window. He said the reason he murdered Tim Keeling before crossing the border into Texas was because Texas enforces its death penalty law.
The men then drove Keeling's pickup truck to Denton, Texas, Lafayette, Louisiana and Shreveport, Louisiana before ending up in New Orleans, Louisiana. They went to a nightclub called Mud Bugs. They then drove north though Arkansas and Tennessee before ending up in Hardin County, Kentucky. They spotted a red Ford Ranger pickup truck at a rest stop where St. Clair kidnapped another man, Frances C. Brady and handcuffed him. The men then set fire to Keeling's pickup truck in order to destroy any incriminating evidence. Again, Reese drove and St. Clair sat in the passenger side with their victim between them. Reese said Frank Brady, a distillery employee, talked nonstop and was "worried and scared." After driving for around an hour and a half, St. Clair marched Frank into the woods and used his handgun to execute Brady, again two shots in the head, in a secluded area of Bullitt County, Kentucky. Frank Brady was the father of three daughters and had four grandchildren at the time of his brutal murder. His fifth grandchild was born six weeks after he died. Frank's handcuffed body was found on October 8, 1991. Reese said St. Clair had lost his handcuff key so he had to leave Frank handcuffed after he shot him. Shortly thereafter, when Kentucky State Trooper Herbert Bennett initiated a traffic stop of Brady's vehicle, which St. Clair and Reese were then driving, St. Clair fired shots from his handgun that struck Trooper Bennett's cruiser; and during an ensuing flight, initially in Brady's pickup and subsequently on foot, Reese was able to split away from St. Clair and had no further contact with him prior to his arrest.
St. Clair was arrested in Dec 1991 hiding in an upstairs bedroom at the home of his brother Hansel, in Oklahoma. The case was profiled on America's Most Wanted and Unsolved Mysteries. In February 1992, a Bullitt County Grand Jury returned an indictment that charged that “on or about the 6th day of October, 1991, in Bullitt County, Kentucky, Dennis Reese and Michael St. Clair did commit capital murder by shooting Frances C. Brady with a pistol.” Reese entered into a plea agreement with the Commonwealth and agreed to testify against St. Clair. St. Clair pled not guilty and his case was tried before a jury in August and September 1998. At trial, St. Clair employed an alibi defense and contended that, although he had accompanied Reese to New Orleans for a few days after their initial flight to Dallas, the men had parted ways upon their return to Dallas, and soon thereafter he returned to Oklahoma where he hid out on the farm of a family friend until shortly before he was recaptured in December 1991. St. Clair denied accompanying Reese to Colorado or New Mexico and further denied that he had ever been in Kentucky. Accordingly, the primary issue for jury resolution at trial was whether St. Clair or someone else - specifically Reese and/or an unidentified accomplice - had murdered Brady.
The state's theory of the case was that St. Clair himself shot and killed Brady. In addition to Reese's testimony, the state proved its case through (1) Trooper Bennett's identification of St. Clair as the man who had fired two shots in his direction on the night of the murder; (2) another man's identification of St. Clair and Reese as being in possession of a vehicle similar to Brady's vehicle at a gas station/convenience store in the area; (3) testimony relating to telephone calls made to St. Clair's friends and relatives back in Oklahoma from a payphone located at this same gas station/convenience store; (4) testimony identifying items found in Kentucky, on the victim's person and in his pickup truck, as similar to or the same items that St. Clair's then-wife had given to St. Clair and Reese when she met them in Texas; (5) a jailhouse informant, Scott Kincaid , who testified that St. Clair had admitted his involvement in the crime; (6) ballistics evidence demonstrating that the same handgun could have fired the shots that killed both Keeling and Brady and damaged Trooper Bennett's cruiser and bullet composition evidence suggesting that bullets from the same box killed Keeling and Brady; and (7) testimony to the effect that St. Clair's fingerprints were found both on items recovered from inside the Brady vehicle and on the outside door of the same vehicle. Reese was sentenced to life with no parole eligibility for at least 25 years.
After St. Clair was sentenced to death, the court allowed a second sentencing trial after a 1998 law added Life Without Parole as a sentencing option in Kentucky. The second jury also returned a death sentence, as did a third, in October 2011. St. Clair mocks the justice system, calling himself the $5 million man. In an interview with a local newspaper, St. Clair said, "Since May 11, 1995, I've been housed in Kentucky at the taxpayers' expense, hee ha. Now, here it is 2010, April 12, and I AM NOT DEAD."
Frank Brady's daughter, Melanie Brady Drury, is outraged by the delays in this case. Frank's widow Merle said she is ready and willing to go to another trial and has not lost faith. Three years after Frank's murder, tragedy again struck this family when his daughter Melisa Maureen Brady Sloan disappeared in Orlando, Florida under very suspicious circumstances.
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debate?
Jan 21, 2012 10:18:09 GMT -6
Post by Charlene on Jan 21, 2012 10:18:09 GMT -6
What type of participants do you have from the anti-dp side? Are they activists, legal professionals, etc? If that is the case, it would not really be balanced to just have a "man off the street" type of participant on the pro side. Have you contacted Paul Staines? He is the author of Guido Fawkes blog order-order.com/ and seems to understand the issues quite well. He lives in Ireland but perhaps could participate or recommend someone. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Staineswww.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14402195
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Post by Charlene on Jan 21, 2012 10:11:48 GMT -6
If you live in the UK and support capital punishment, this petition is online to ask the Ministry of Justice to take steps to restore the death penalty for murderers of children and police officers. 100,000 signatures would require action. There are currently 26,000 signatures. The petition closes on April 2. Sign and forward to your friends. epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/138
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debate?
Jan 20, 2012 22:53:03 GMT -6
Post by Charlene on Jan 20, 2012 22:53:03 GMT -6
The UK is a big place; where in the UK are you planning the debate?
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