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Seven killers were executed in October 2001. They had
murdered at least 10 people.
Two killers were given a stay in October 2001.
They have murdered at least 2 people.
One
killer were
given a commuted sentence in October 2001. He has murdered at least 1
person.
| Date of scheduled execution |
State |
Victim name |
Inmate name |
Status |
|
October 3, 2001 |
Missouri |
Mary Taylor, 56 |
Michael
Roberts |
executed |
| From Michael Roberts’
videotaped confession the jury learned that on February 16, 1994, Roberts and
his friends ran out of crack cocaine and money at the same time. He promised
his friends that he would remedy the situation, went to his house, obtained a
hammer and walked to the home of fifty-six-year old Mary Taylor, eight doors
away. Roberts claimed Mary as a friend and believed that her "stuff"
had value as a result of his familiarity with it. Roberts
rang Mary’s doorbell between 10:30 and
11:00 p.m. She let him in. They watched television together. Mary
took a phone call from her nephew. When the call ended, she and Roberts talked
until Mary said she wanted to go to sleep and asked Roberts to leave. The two
walked toward the front door. Roberts suddenly turned and pushed Mary over a
table and began hitting her in the head with the hammer as she lay defenseless
on the floor. Mary pleaded with Roberts to stop. After hitting her in the head
with the hammer more than fifteen times, he stopped the beating and went into
the kitchen where he knew she kept her purse. Finding the purse, Roberts began
rummaging through it until he heard Mary move in the front room. Roberts
returned to the living room and kicked Mary in the head and side, telling her
to stay still. Apparently not convinced that she would obey, he ripped the
telephone cord from the wall, wrapped it around her neck , and pulled it as
tight as he could. She continued to breath. He ran to the kitchen, grabbed a
steak knife and stabbed her repeatedly until the knife blade bent in the
process. He tossed the knife aside, retrieved a butcher knife from the kitchen
and began stabbing Mary again. When that weapon did not seem "like it was
penetrating her clothes," he went to the kitchen again, filled a large
soup pan with water, took it to Mary and held her face under the water.
Noticing that brain matter has oozed on to his hands, Roberts felt queasy, but
decided to continue. He repositioned his hand and forced her head in the
water. When her body started to twitch, he "freaked out," released
her head, took an answering machine and $200 and left, leaving the hammer and
his Cleveland Indians baseball cap behind. He returned to Mary’s
house twice -- the first time to steal more valuables and her car and the
second time to pretend to find her body and report the crime to the police. |
| Date of
scheduled execution |
State |
Victim name |
Inmate name |
Status |
|
October 5, 2001 |
North Carolina |
Glennie Clark |
Robert Bacon |
commuted |
| Robert Bacon was convicted and
sentenced to death for the February 1, 1987 murder of Glennie Clark, the
estranged husband of Bacon's lover, Bonnie Sue Clark. Bonnie Sue and
Glennie Clark were married in 1982 and had two children. Because Glennie
became an alcoholic and physically abusive, Bonnie Sue moved out of the
house in 1986 and took up residence with Bacon, who was a coworker, and
another friend. Despite their separation, Glennie continued to harass
Bonnie Sue by telephone, and "`the worse things got' between her
and her husband, the closer she drew emotionally and romantically to
Bacon." Bonnie Sue confided in Bacon about her difficulties with
Glennie and "at some point . . . told [Bacon] that she wished her
husband was dead and did he know of anyone who would kill him."
Bacon "finally agreed to kill him," and Bonnie Sue and Bacon
planned the murder for January 31, 1987. Bonnie Sue was the beneficiary
of Glennie's life insurance policies totaling $130,000, and Bacon
reportedly told acquaintances that he expected to receive a large
inheritance. Under the plan, Bonnie Sue was to accompany Glennie to a
movie theater, where Bacon would kill him, but Bacon "`chickened
out' when it came time to execute the plan." The following night,
February 1, 1987, again pursuant to plan, Bonnie Sue and Bacon drove to
Glennie's house to pick him up. Glennie reacted angrily when he saw
Bacon in the back seat of Bonnie Sue's car, and a heated discussion
ensued about Bonnie Sue's relationship with Bacon. At some point,
Glennie called Bacon a "nigger," prompting Bacon to grab a
knife that he had earlier placed on the floor of the car and fatally
stab Glennie 16 times. Bonnie Sue then drove to a movie theater parking
lot, where Bacon's car was parked. Bacon and Bonnie Sue decided to fake
a robbery to cover up the murder, and pursuant to this ploy, Bacon
knocked Bonnie Sue unconscious and went home in his car. Shortly after
11:00 p.m. on the same day, the police found Bonnie Sue slumped over the
steering wheel of her car next to Glennie's dead body. Bonnie Sue told
Jacksonville Police Officer J. J. Phillips that she and Glennie had been
sitting in the car when the car doors were suddenly opened and she heard
her husband exclaim, "Oh God, don't," before she was knocked
unconscious. Bonnie Sue repeated this story to members of the rescue
squad and to Sergeant Donna Waters who transported her to a hospital.
She also told investigating officers that her two children were at home
with a babysitter and gave them her home address. Several hours later,
at 1:15 a.m. on February 2, 1987, Sergeant Dennis Dinota picked Bonnie
Sue up at the hospital and drove her to the Jacksonville police station
where she again repeated the story she had told Officer Phillips and
Sergeant Waters, and at approximately 2:00 a.m., she began writing out a
statement describing how she had been attacked in the movie theater
parking lot by two unknown individuals. In the meantime, Jacksonville
Deputy Chief Delma Collins went to the home shared by Bacon and Bonnie
Sue to check on Bonnie Sue's children. Officer Collins arrived at 1:20
a.m. and was met at the door by Bacon, who invited Collins and other
officers in the house and allowed them to "look around." After
the officers discovered bloody clothing and shoes, Bacon confessed that
he had killed Glennie Clark and directed the officers to other
incriminating evidence. Bacon recounted that he "had been in the
automobile with Bonnie Sue Clark and the victim, Glennie Leroy Clark;
the victim called him a `nigger' and pulled a knife on him; he grabbed
the knife from the victim and stabbed him; and, all of this took place
while Bonnie Sue Clark was in the vehicle." Bacon denied, however,
that Bonnie Sue was involved in the crime. Back at the police station,
Bonnie Sue completed writing out her statement for Sergeant Dinota at
2:45 a.m. After Deputy Chief Collins informed Sergeant Dinota of the
information he had learned about Bacon's involvement in the crime, the
officers confronted Bonnie Sue with the information and, at 3:05 a.m.,
informed her of her Miranda rights. Later, Bacon admitted that parts of
the story he had originally told to officers were false and admitted
that he and Bonnie Sue had planned the crime. Bacon was tried and
convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder and
sentenced to death. The state Supreme Court upheld Bacon's conviction on
appeal, but ordered a new sentencing hearing. The second jury also
sentenced Bacon to death. UPDATE: The U.S. Supreme Court rejected an
appeal Monday by condemned inmate Robert Bacon Jr. as his supporters met
outside the governor's office to urge clemency. Bacon, 41, is scheduled
to die at 2 a.m. Friday in Central Prison in Raleigh for the 1987
stabbing death of his lover's husband in Onslow County. The woman,
Bonnie Clark, was sentenced to life in prison for murder. He is the
inmate who unsuccessfully challenged the governor's clemency power in
May. Gov. Mike Easley, who held a clemency hearing for Bacon on May 15,
hasn't issued a decision. Bacon contended in federal court filings that
Easley was biased because he defended capital punishment while serving
as attorney general. The Supreme Court rejected the petition to stop the
execution without comment. Bacon still has appeals pending in U.S.
District Court in Raleigh and Onslow County Superior Court. "The
events of last week illustrate the preciousness of life," said
Bacon's attorney, Gretchen Engel of the Center for Death Penalty
Litigation in Durham, referring to terrorist attacks in New York and
Washington on Tuesday. "We as American people believe in equal
protection under the law. Robert Bacon didn't get equal protection under
the law." Death penalty opponent Chris Fitzsimon said the
appropriate sentence for Bacon is life in prison and that Easley can use
his clemency power to order that sentence. The appeal filed in Onslow
County last week contained a juror's statement that the all-white jury
talked about blacks dating white women. Bacon is black and his lover is
white. Bacon's lawyers asked the county court to delay the execution
because the Organization of American State's human rights commission
reviews the his case. "North Carolina is preparing to kill Robert
Bacon, not just because he participated in a murder but because he is
black," Fitzsimon said. "No one contends Robert Bacon should
not be severely punished." Former Onslow County juror Pamela Bloom
Smith said she thought Bacon got a death sentence because he was a black
man dating a white woman. Besides the appeals, a group of legislators
has asked Easley to delay any decision in Bacon's case for 30 days while
the governor deals with state safety issues raised by the terrorist
attacks. UPDATE: An execution scheduled this week in an Onslow
County murder will be delayed 2 weeks to be sure that the inmate has
full access to the courts, the governor said Tuesday. Robert Bacon Jr.,
41, was to be executed at 2 a.m. Friday in Central Prison for the 1987
stabbing death of his lover's husband. Correction Secretary Theodis Beck
rescheduled the execution for Oct. 5. Gov. Mike Easley said disruptions
caused by the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington were behind
the delay. A group of legislators had asked that the execution be
postponed 30 days. "The postponement is to ensure that the
defendant and his attorneys have full access to the courts," Easley
spokeswoman Cari Hepp said. The delay came a day after the U.S. Supreme
Court rejected Bacon's appeal. "Gov. Easley did the right thing;
indeed, in light of last week's tragedies, it would have been an affront
to our society to go forward with this execution as if nothing had
happened," defense lawyer Gretchen Engel said. "Robert Bacon
did not receive equal justice under the law. Especially now, it is vital
that we uphold the principles that make this country great." Just
after the Supreme Court rejected Bacon's appeal Monday, a group of his
supporters held a small rally outside Easley's office window. They urged
the governor to grant clemency and change the death sentence to life in
prison. Supporters said it was unfair that Bacon, a black man, got a
death sentence while his white accomplice, Bonnie Clark, got a life
sentence for murdering her husband. Bacon's execution was originally
scheduled for May, but it was delayed by the state Supreme Court while
it considered a defense challenge to the Easley's ability to fairly
consider clemency requests. The state high court later said Easley has
an absolute power to consider clemency, despite defense arguments that
he is biased because he had been attorney general and argued for
executions. Easley held a clemency hearing for Bacon on May 15, but
hasn't announced a decision. Bacon still has appeals pending in U.S.
District Court in Raleigh and Onslow County Superior Court. The appeal
in Onslow County includes a juror's statement that the all-white jury
talked about blacks dating white women. UPDATE: Gov. Mike Easley
commuted the death sentence of Robert Bacon Jr. on October 2, 2001. Gov.
Mike Easley, a former prosecutor whose ability to fairly hear clemency
petitions was challenged by a death row inmate, on Tuesday commuted the
man's death sentence to life in prison. Robert Bacon Jr. was to have
been executed by injection at 2 a.m. Friday for the 1987 stabbing death
of his lover's husband in Onslow County. His execution had originally
been scheduled for May, but was delayed when his lawyers challenged
Easley's power to consider a clemency petition, based on the governor's
past work as a prosecutor and state attorney general. It was delayed
again last month when Easley said the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks
hindered Bacon's access to courts. Bacon's lawyers claimed Easley was
biased because he had argued for the death penalty in his previous jobs.
The state Supreme Court, which had allowed Easley to hold a clemency
hearing in May, ultimately rejected the appeal. Easley had not announced
a decision on the clemency petition until now. "I am satisfied that
the prosecutors and judges acted fairly and professionally in this
case," he said in a statement Tuesday. "However, as governor,
my review of this matter in its totality causes me to conclude that the
appropriate sentence for the defendant is life without parole,"
Easley said. Prosecutors argued that Bacon's lover, Bonnie Clark,
plotted the killing of her husband, Marine Sgt. Glennie Clark, for a
share of a $130,000 life insurance policy. Clark received a life
sentence for the murder. |
| Date of scheduled execution |
State |
Victim name |
Inmate name |
Status |
|
October 8, 2001 |
Ohio |
Monte
B. Tewksbury, 40 |
John Byrd, Jr. |
stayed |
| On
April 17, 1983, John Byrd robbed, beat and stabbed Monte Tewksbury with a
six-inch hunting knife, severing his diaphragm, puncturing his liver and
causing him to bleed to death.
Monte was “moonlighting” in a convenience store and John Byrd took
his wallet, credit cards and wedding ring, a little over $137 from the store,
ripped the phone out so Monte couldn’t call for help, and left him to die
while John went on to commit other robberies. Monte
was working alone as the night clerk at the King Kwik convenience store at
9870 Pippin Road in Hamilton County, Ohio. Monte was married and was the
father of three children. At
approximately 11:00 p.m., two robbers entered the store in masks; one of them
carried a bowie knife with a five-inch blade. The robbers removed all of
$133.97 from the cash register. In addition, they took Monte's Pulsar watch,
wedding ring, and his wallet which contained cash, credit cards, and an
automobile registration slip. Then, as Monte stood with his hands raised and
his back to the robbers, Byrd plunged his bowie knife to the hilt in Monte's
side, resulting in a puncture wound to the liver that caused massive internal
bleeding. The two robbers ripped the inside telephone out of the wall and
fled. At approximately 11:10 p.m., a man who was driving northbound on Pippin
Road observed two men run from the King Kwik and enter a large red van parked
at the corner of Pippin and Berthbrook and drive off. Although
severely injured, Monte managed to exit the store and get to the outside
telephone. He called his wife, Sharon Tewksbury, told her he had been robbed
and hurt, and that she should call the police and an ambulance. At that time a
customer arrived at the King Kwik. The customer found Monte standing outside
the building and leaning against the wall next to the telephone. Monte was
bleeding from his side. The customer helped Monte into the store, went back to
the telephone which was still off the hook, and spoke briefly to Sharon.
Conley also advised Sharon to call an ambulance, and he himself called the
police. Monte told the customer "I'm going to die," and that he had
been robbed and cut with a knife. Monte described the robbers as two white men
wearing stocking masks. Sharon arrived at the scene and held her dying husband
in her arms as he repeated his statements. Police and medical help then came,
and Monte was transported to a hospital. While en route, Monte made several
statements to the effect that he did not understand why he had been stabbed,
because he had been cooperative and had given the robbers everything they
requested. Monte also made a statement to the effect of "Thank God I
didn't see it coming," which supports the conclusion that his back was to
his assailants when he was stabbed. Almost immediately after he was taken to
the emergency room, Monte's heart stopped. Despite heroic efforts to save his
life, Monte died at 1:15 a.m., April 18, 1983, from exsanguination resulting
from his stab wound. That night, a short time after the King Kwik robbery, a
clerk at a nearby U-Totem store was standing at the cash register. A customer
was playing a video game near the front door when two robbers entered the
store wearing masks. The clerk realized what was occurring and fled to a room
in the rear of the store. One of the robbers chased after him with a knife.
The robber tried unsuccessfully to force open the door to the room. Meanwhile,
the other robber pushed the customer back when he attempted to leave; however,
he was able to dodge him and get out. The robbers were unable to open the cash
register, so they took it with them. A resident of an apartment located near
the U-Totem was disturbed by the noise from a loud muffler. He looked outside
and observed two people getting into a large red van parked in the U-Totem
lot. The van had a defective tail light. Shortly after 1:00 a.m. on April 18,
1983, two police officers from Forest Park in Hamilton County were seated in a
marked police cruiser eating their lunch. The officers were in a K-Mart
parking lot, which was located in an area containing principally commercial
establishments, some of which had recently been burglarized. The officers had
been advised approximately forty-five minutes earlier by their supervisor
about the incident at the King Kwik. As the officers watched, a red cargo van
drove by at a slow rate of speed. The van pulled into the K-Mart lot, and its
headlights were turned off. A few minutes later, the van's headlights came
back on, and the van left the lot. However, the van returned within five
minutes, again at low speed, from the direction opposite to that in which it
had gone moments before. The police officers became suspicious, followed the
van, and, upon inquiry of the police dispatcher, learned the identity of its
owner. The van pulled into a parking lot adjacent to a closed United Dairy
Farmers store. The officers pulled behind the van after summoning back-up
assistance. One of the passengers, later identified as John Eastle Brewer,
exited the van and approached the police car. Brewer identified himself as
"David Urey" and told the police he had no identification. Brewer
provided inconsistent stories about why he was in the area. One of the
officers asked Brewer to remain in the cruiser while he approached the van.
The van's driver, William Danny Woodall, and another passenger, Byrd provided
the officer with identification, which was called in to the dispatcher.
Although there were no current warrants for either Byrd or Woodall, the
dispatcher reported that both had prior felony convictions. The officer shined
a flashlight inside the van and saw coins on the floor. There were stocking
masks and a knife located in a tray on the dashboard. A Shell credit card in
Sharon's name was lying on the floor under the passenger seat. There was also
what appeared to be fresh blood on the interior side of the driver's seat. A
drawer from a cash register was in the back of the van. |
| Date of scheduled execution |
State |
Victim name |
Inmate name |
Status |
| October 12, 2001 |
Utah |
Mark Schoenfeld |
Elroy Tillman |
stayed |
| Tillman was convicted of killing his
former girlfriend's new boyfriend, Mark Schoenfeld, in Schoenfeld's apartment
on the night of May 25, 1982. As Schoenfeld slept, Tillman struck him on the
head several times with the blunt end of an ax. Tillman then set fire to
Schoenfeld's bed. The primary cause of death was carbon monoxide poisoning
caused by the burning mattress, but the evidence indicated that the blows to
the head would have independently caused Schoenfeld's death. Carla Sagers,
Tillman's girlfriend at the time of the murder, was with Tillman in
Schoenfeld's apartment that night. She received immunity in exchange for her
testimony against Tillman. Tillman was convicted of first degree murder and
sentenced to death. |
| Date of scheduled execution |
State |
Victim name |
Inmate name |
Status |
| October 12, 2001 |
North Carolina |
Dorothy Mae Smith |
David
Ward |
executed |
| David Ward was
sentenced to death April 14, 1992 in Pitt County Superior Court for the April
3, 1991 murder of Dorothy Mae Smith during a robbery. Dorothy
and her husband, Seymour Smith, owned a convenience store. On 3 April 1991 the
victim and her brother closed the store around 10:30 p.m. Dorothy filled a
money box with $4,000 in cash and an undetermined number of checks. She
collected her personal belongings--including fruit, crackers, a comb, and a
magazine--which she placed in a white plastic bag. She also picked up her
husband's .38 caliber pistol. She got in her pickup truck and headed toward
her house a short distance down the road from the store; her brother followed
her home. At the house Smith turned into the driveway and went to the back of
her house; her brother stopped in the road and watched until he saw her brake
lights turn on. At about 10:30 p.m. the Smith's next-door neighbor heard
sounds that at first he thought were exploding firecrackers, but he
immediately realized they were gunshots--five shots fired in rapid succession.
He went outside to investigate and saw only Dorothy's pickup parked at the
back door of her house. He saw no one, and becoming concerned, he and a friend
went to the Smith house, where they discovered Dorothy's body lying on the
ground near the back door. There was blood coming from the back of her head,
and she did not respond when they called her name. They phoned 911 for
assistance. Police arrived and found no vital signs in Dorothy. The deputies
observed Dorothy's body, fully clothed, lying close to the back door of the
house, with her feet nearest the house, her head away from the house, and a
set of keys and prescription glasses on the ground near her hand. They found
an apple, some fruit, crackers, a comb, a deed, and four spent shell casings
strewn in the driveway. Later, they found a .32 caliber bullet and a .22
caliber bullet at the base of an air conditioning unit, also near the house.
The medical examiner testified that Dorothy had been shot five times with
small caliber firearms. She found gunshot wounds on the left side of the back
of the head and neck area, on the left arm near the shoulder, on the left side
of the chest, on the left side of her body near the back and just below the
waist, and on the left arm. All the gunshots had been fired from a distance
exceeding three to four feet from Dorothy. The wound to Smith's head would
have been immediately incapacitating and the wounds to the chest and shoulder
fatal if left untreated. The bruise on the right side of Smith's forehead, as
well as the bruise to her right elbow, led Dr. Gilliland to conclude that
Smith was immediately incapacitated by the gunshot wound to the head and died
very quickly. Further, the angle of the other wounds, in conjunction with the
bruises, led her to conclude that the head wound occurred after the others.
David Junior Ward was soon arrested on unrelated charges and gave the
following account: Ward stated that he came to Greenville and got up with
Wesley Harris. Ward said Harris said he had a job to do that night and said
they were going to rob Seymour Smith's wife when she closed the store. He
stated that they went by the store and she was there so they rode around until
it got dark. Ward said about 10:00 p.m. that they parked Harris's blue Saab
car on the road that runs off between the store and the Smith house. "We
ran across the road and got in the bushes next to the driveway. I had a rifle
and Wesley had a pistol. The rifle was a .22 caliber and the pistol was a .32
caliber. When Mrs. Smith pulled in the driveway and pulled around back and got
out of the truck, we started shooting. Wesley ran and got the money box after
she fell and we ran across the road and got in the car and left. We put the
money in the ditch near Empire Brushes. We got a money box and a white plastic
bag. I called a cab and went to my girlfriend's house near Belvoir. Before I
could get up with Wesley the next day, the cops got me." David said
Wesley kept both guns that were used. |
| Date of scheduled execution |
State |
Victim name |
Inmate name |
Status |
| October 18, 2001 |
Virginia |
Florence Marie Marks, 54
William Miller, 52
David Kaplan, 34 |
Christopher Beck |
executed |
| Christopher Beck received the death
penalty for the murders of his cousin, Florence Marie Marks, and her 2
housemates, William Miller and David Kaplan. Beck confessed to the police
after his arrest and stated that he planned to kill William Miller, his former
employer. On June 6, 1995 Beck broke into the house shared by the victims and
waited for them to return home. Florence returned home first and Beck shot her
twice in the head in
the basement of the house. Beck stated that he tried to make it look as if she
had also been raped, but a medical examiner asserted that she had actually
been raped, after she was shot. Later that afternoon, Beck shot William
several times in the head and placed his body in David's apartment. When David
returned home, Beck shot him seven times in the head and upper chest and stabbed him
in the head after he survived the gunshots to the head and lay dying on the
floor. Beck stole several guns, cash and two bicycles from the victims,
then left the house, waving to a next-door neighbor as he drove off in
William's car. Beck confessed to the murders but maintained he did not rape
Florence. He told police he mistook her for William and shot her when she
walked through the door, then staged the rape to make it look like she was
killed by a stranger. He was given three death sentences and four life terms,
plus 53 years in prison for the rampage. Choking back sobs and casting
hurt, angry eyes towards the defendant, the daughter of one of the three
murder victims confronted her mother's killer in a packed Arlington Circuit
courtroom. "Do you understand what you did? Do you feel sorry for what
you did?" asked Helen Macdonald, daughter of the slain Florence Marie
Marks. "Yes, I do," replied Beck. "I think his main goal
in life was to kill someone," MacDonald testified. "He's never going
to contribute anything but pain." MacDonald's mother, Florence Marks, was
the first person killed on June 6, 1995, when Beck broke into a rooming house,
police and prosecutors said. Beck intended to lie in wait for the homeowner,
William Miller, with whom he had argued, police said. But Florence, 54, came
home first. Florence was a distant cousin of Beck's, and had offered him a
place to stay off and on while Beck looked for a job. Beck admitted shooting
her in the basement, then raping her and finally stabbing her. Beck, of
Philadelphia, pled guilty to three counts of capital murder, robbery, burglary
and firearms offenses. Prosecutor Richard Trodden called the slayings
"vile and full of torture" and said Beck admitted that he
"loved killing." Trodden said after his arrest Beck made morbid
jokes about the murders. Florence, a mother of four and a grandmother, worked
for Arlington County as a bookkeeper. During the sentencing hearing, Beck sat
stone-faced and snatched only a few quick, awkward glances around the tearful
courtroom. He briefly closed his eyes when pictures of the victims' bodies
passed before him. According to Arlington Commonwealth's Attorney Richard E.
Trodden's opening statements: "Finally, and most chillingly, the
defendant admits `I love killing,'" Trodden said, referring to a note
police found in Beck's jail cell. Friends of the victims said William had
hired Beck as a "handyman" and invited him to different social
events. They say he wanted to help Beck. William was a statistician at the
U.S. Labor Department and David was an editor with Congressional Quarterly.
"Bill had an immense capacity to give to other people," his friend
Carol Stroebel said during the hearing. "Ours was a friendship that can
never be replaced. It's all over. He's been taken." Defense attorney
William McCue argued that Beck was abused as a child and should not get the
death penalty. "There is no doubt whether Chris will spend the rest of
his life in prison," McCue said. "There is a question if Chris will
die at a date designated by his
maker or arbitrarily designated by the state." After the sentencing
hearing a friend of William Miller attacked the defense attorney's comment.
"Bill, Dave or Flo would have loved to have God decide their fate,"
Kirk Daubenspeck said in an interview. He said Beck deserves the death penalty
for society's sake. "Do you want to see that guy at your doorstep?"
he asked. "It's not for revenge, it's for protection." Florence's
daughter said she saw little reason to spare Beck: "He's never going to
contribute anything to anybody but pain and suffering." As a youth, Beck
was charged and convicted of assaulting his teacher and making terroristic
threats, and reckless endangerment. Since his incarceration, he has hit and
tried to poison other inmates. While in jail, Beck put disinfectant in a
mouthwash bottle and gave it to another inmate, a deputy sheriff testified.
During the sentencing hearing, a court psychologist said Beck never said he
was sorry for the act or expressed other signs of remorse. Last year, Beck
said Miller made sexual advances towards him, triggering his wrath. But the
court psychologist said Beck later recanted that accusation, saying it wasn't
true. |
| Date of scheduled execution |
State |
Victim name |
Inmate name |
Status |
|
October 18, 2001 |
Oklahoma |
William Jeffrey Perry, 24 |
Alvie Hale Jr. |
executed |
| The Oklahoma Court of Criminal
Appeals scheduled an execution date for a man who kidnapped and
murdered a Tecumseh banker in 1983. Attorney General Drew Edmondson requested an execution date after Hale's final appeal was rejected
by the U.S. Supreme Court. Edmondson said Alvie
Hale Jr., 52, kidnapped William Jeffrey Perry, 24, from his home in Tecumseh
on October 10, 1983 and made a series of phone calls to Perry's parents in which he demanded
$350,000 in ransom. Perry's parents ran the Farmers' and Merchants' Bank of
Tecumseh. His bullet-ridden body was discovered less than two hours after Hale
was arrested in Oklahoma City, on land in Pottawatomie
County owned by Hale's father. He had been shot five times with a .38-caliber
revolver, which was found in the kitchen at the home of Hale's father. The
body was wrapped in the cover of a trampoline from Hale's home in Shawnee. A $350,000 ransom payment was recovered
from Hale's vehicle. More than 18 years later, Perry's family members were
preparing to remind the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board who William Jeffrey
Perry was. Hale's clemency hearing was scheduled for Aug. 13. Perry's mother,
Joan Perry, said she was choosing photographs and gathering letters about her
son from family and friends to present to the board. "I guess that's what
I was looking for, a little peace," Perry said concerning Hale's
execution. "I don't like that word closure because my son's death will be
with me always. "I'm a confused mother right now," she added. |
| Date of scheduled execution |
State |
Victim name |
Inmate name |
Status |
|
October 22, 2001 |
Texas |
Charles Marino
Hector Manguia |
Gerald
Mitchell |
executed |
| Gerald Mitchell was sentenced to
death for the 1985 murder of Charles Marino. Charles and his
brother-in-law met Mitchell in a Houston neighborhood park and Mitchell had
offered to sell the pair some marijuana, but instead pulled out a
sawed-off shotgun and forced them to drive to a vacant house. He robbed them
of cash and their car keys, then shot them both. Charles died from his
wounds but his brother-in-law survived being shot in the hip. Mitchell fled to
Corpus Christi where he was arrested a week later. Mitchell was also
convicted of the murder of Hector Manguia who was killed on the same day,
after refusing to give Mitchell a necklace he demanded. |
| Date of scheduled execution |
State |
Victim name |
Inmate name |
Status |
|
October 24, 2001 |
Missouri |
Donald Voepel, Jr., 17 |
Stephen
Johns |
executed |
| On the
evening of February 18, 1982, an Onyx Gas Station in the City of St. Louis was
robbed of approximately $248. A customer who stopped at the station shortly
before 8 p.m. discovered the body of the seventeen year old attendant, Donald
Voepel, lying face down in a storage room with bullet wounds in the back of
his head. The medical examiner who performed the autopsy testified that she
found three bullet holes - all within one inch of each other - behind the
victim’s right ear. One of the bullets has been fired from a distance of
less than six inches from the victim's head. The autopsy also revealed a
bruise on top of the victim's head. During the weeks proceeding the murder,
Johns had discussed his plan for robbing the Onyx station with Linda Klund and
David Smith, two acquaintances. Klund drove Johns and a second man, Robert
Shawn Wishon, to the station. She parked the car a short distance from the
station and waited while Johns and Wishon went in. When they returned, she
followed an escape route planned earlier by Johns. After disposing of the
money bag, Klund dropped off Wishon and then Johns. Johns gave her $50 and
asked her to take a bag containing the gun and bullets so he would not have it
in case he was picked up. Johns was arrested on February 19. He was convicted
of capital murder in the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis and the jury
imposed the death sentence. |
| Date of scheduled execution |
State |
Victim name |
Inmate name |
Status |
|
October 25, 2001 |
Georgia |
Paulette Riggs |
Terry Mincey |
executed |
| Robert Jones, Timothy Jenkins and
Terry Mincey met in the evening of April 12, 1982, and discussed
committing a robbery. Each was armed, Jones with a .12 gauge shotgun, Jenkins
with a .38 caliber pistol and Mincey with a .380 caliber semi-automatic Llama
pistol. After several possibilities were discussed and rejected, the trio
drove by a Mini Food Store in Bibb County. They circled back to the store and
parked. Mincey entered the store briefly and returned to the car. He told the
others that there were only a female clerk and two teenagers inside and it
looked like a good place to rob. He informed the others that he did not plan
on leaving any witnesses. When Jenkins protested, Mincey told him, "If
you're talking about not wasting nobody, you're in the wrong . . . car."
They waited, hoping the kids would leave. When, after a few minutes, they did
not, Mincey reentered the store. Jenkins positioned himself outside, between
the ice machine and the dumpster. Jones, the driver, stayed in the car. A
fourteen-year-old girl and her 15-year-old brother were inside the store,
visiting the cashier, Mrs. Riggs. When Mincey entered the store, they
recognized him as the same young white male who had entered the store 10 or 15
minutes previously. He told Mrs. Riggs to "put the money in the bag"
and told the kids to go to the car. Jenkins, standing outside, saw two
teenagers walk out of the store just as a pick-up truck pulled up to the gas
pumps. The driver, Russell Peterman, got out and began to fill his tank.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Riggs, followed by Mincey, exited the store. When Mincey saw
Peterman at the gas pumps, he turned Mrs. Riggs over to Jenkins and walked
toward the pumps. Peterman testified that as he was pumping gas, he was
confronted by a young white man with a pistol in his hand, who said,
"come go with me." Peterman was so surprised that he failed to
respond. The man said, "You think I'm joking, don't you?" Then he
shot Peterman in the chest. Peterman fell to the ground, and the man walked
over and shot him in the face. When this happened, Jenkins proceeded toward
the getaway car and the teenagers ran. Jones, sitting in the car, saw Mrs.
Riggs run after them, but she ran too late. Mincey came back across the
parking lot and fired at her. Jones saw Mrs. Riggs grab her neck and fall
behind the dumpster. Mincey walked behind the dumpster and bent down. Jones
heard a second shot. Mincey ran to the car, got in, and they left. They
counted the money taken from the store -- about $40. Jones asked if the
victims were dead. Mincey answered, "Yes, they are dead. I know they are
dead, I shot both of them." Then Mincey asked where the kids were. When
he found out they had escaped, he said, "Well, I just got a death
sentence." Jones' car was a multi-colored Mustang with mag wheels, no
hood, one working headlight and a loud muffler. When police arrived at the
scene a few minutes after the robbery, witnesses were able to describe the car
and identify its owner. Jones was soon located and placed under arrest. After
he named Mincey as a participant, officers went to Mincey's residence and
placed him under arrest. Mincey thereafter admitted to law enforcement
officers that he had shot Peterman and Mrs. Riggs. Mrs. Riggs died. An autopsy
revealed that she had been shot twice. One bullet entered her left ear, went
through her head, and lodged in her right cheek. This bullet was recovered.
The other entered the right side of her head through the temporal bone
(driving bone fragments into her brain), deflected, and exited on the right
side of her neck. This bullet, which inflicted the fatal wound, was not
recovered. Peterman lived. One bullet entered his chest and lodged in a muscle
close to his spine, where it remains. The other bullet entered the left side
of his head and traveled across his face. Two weeks after he was shot, his
condition had stabilized sufficiently that this wound could be operated on.
The bullet was removed from under his right eyebrow. His left optic nerve was
damaged by the passage of the bullet and he is now totally blind in his left
eye. His right eye suffered severe retinal damage and has a drooping upper
lid, which may or may not eventually elevate on its own. With the lid lifted
out of the way, his right eye has approximately 40% of its original vision. A
.380 Llama pistol was recovered from Mincey's trailer. Ballistics examination
showed it to be the pistol which had fired the bullets recovered from Peterman
and Mrs. Riggs. |
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