Eric Robert, 50, received lethal injection and was pronounced dead at the state penitentiary in Sioux Falls at 10:24 p.m. He is the first South Dakota inmate to die under the state’s new single-drug lethal injection method, and only the 17th person to be executed in the state or Dakota Territory since 1877.
Robert had no expression on his face. Asked if he had a last statement, Robert said: “In the name of justice and liberty and mercy, I authorize and forgive Warden Douglas Weber to execute me for the crimes. It is done.”
October 14, 2012 argusleader.com
October 12, 2012FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Michael Winder, Communications & Information Manager
Execution date, time set for Inmate Eric Robert
(Pierre, S.D.)- In accordance with South Dakota Codified Law 23A-27A-17, Doug Weber, Director of Prison Operations and Warden of the South Dakota State Penitentiary, has set the date and time for the execution of Inmate Eric Robert as Monday, October 15, 2012 at approximately 10:00 p.m. CDT.
State law allows for the judge in a capital punishment case to appoint a week for the execution to occur. The exact date and time of the execution is left to the warden’s discretion. The warden is required by state law to publicly announce the scheduled day and hour of the execution not less than forty-eight hours prior to the execution.
Eric Robert’s life bears little resemblance to that of his peers on death row.
Most condemned killers have troubling personal stories and long criminal histories.
Donald Moeller was beaten, demeaned and made to watch his biological mother’s drug use and sexual behavior. Elijah Page, executed in 2007, moved from house to house with substance-abusing parents then bounced from foster home to foster home in several states.
Rodney Berget suffered with an alcoholic father and abuse, and was first sent to the adult prison system at age 15. His brother, Roger, was executed in 2003 in Oklahoma, eight years before Rodney Berget and Robert would commit a capital crime in the murder of Corrections Officer Ron Johnson.
Robert’s life looked nothing like Berget’s. He will be put to death at 10 p.m. Monday.
Robert was the child of a single mother who helped raise his younger sister in his home state of Wisconsin. He had a stellar academic record, put himself through college and had a successful career in wastewater treatment. He was an emergency medical technician and frequent community volunteer who once helped erect a monument to a murdered sheriff.
He grew close to his longest-term love interest through her son, whom Robert coached on a Little League team.
In 2005, before he was sentenced to 80 years in prison for a Meade County kidnapping, his sister told the judge that her brother “has done more good in his life than many people in this world.”
This week, the state of South Dakota intends to put Robert to death by lethal injection for the brutal, premeditated killing of Johnson on April 12, 2011.
The rage that fueled the killing was a measure of how far he’d fallen from the life he once had. Robert said so himself in court one year ago. He’d refused to let his lawyer mention his good deeds.
“To be honest with you, the good acts that I’ve done in my life were not mentioned here, because they are irrelevant to these proceedings,” Robert said. “That person who did good things no longer exists.”
Last week, through his lawyer Mark Kadi, Robert reiterated his reasoning for staying quiet about his prior kind acts during sentencing for the Johnson murder “My client feels that none of the good things he’s done justify the killing of Ron Johnson,” Kadi said.
Eric Robert was born May 31, 1962, in Massachusetts. His father was gone by the time he was 6 months old. Robert, his mother and younger sister moved to Hayward, Wis., when he still was young.
His sister, Jill Stalter, declined to comment for this story but testified on her brother’s behalf in 2005.
She said then that Robert was the father figure in their house as their mother worked three jobs and studied to earn a college degree.
“My brother took care of everything. He took out the trash, he made sure dinner was on the table, he even did grocery shopping. He got me my first dog. He did everything. He even shoveled snow, and in Hayward, it’s a lot of snow,” Stalter said. “He put himself through college by working weekends and during summer breaks. He didn’t take a penny from my mother because she was putting herself through college.”
He was a good student, as well, graduating 18th in his class at Hayward High School in 1980. He returned to Hayward after earning a biology degree with a chemistry minor at the University of Wisconsin-Superior.
In 2000, he applied for a job as the wastewater treatment supervisor for the city of Superior. On his job application, released as part of a records request by the Argus Leader, Robert wrote that he hadn’t missed a day of work in 10 years.
He got along well with co-workers. Frog Prell, the city attorney, started work for the city in 2000, just a few months after Robert, whom family and friends knew as “Ranger.”
Robert used to drop by the office to joke around, quiz Prell about small towns in Wyoming, which is Prell’s home state. The short interactions left an impression on Prell, who didn’t know Robert was on death row until the records request came across desk this month.
“If you’d have asked me what I thought about Eric Robert before this, I’d have said he seemed like a pretty cool guy,” Prell said.
Dan Romans, the wastewater administrator for Superior, called Robert a “natural-born leader” who accomplished more in 18 months on the job than others had for decades.
Robert eventually lost his job in Superior, though, because he failed to comply with a city residence requirement, but he continued to consult with the city afterward.
He was living in a home in the rural community of Drummond, more than an hour southeast of Superior.
Violent toward women
It was in Hayward, almost a decade before, where he met the woman with whom he’d later build the house in Drummond.
That woman, who testified at Robert’s presentence hearing last year in Sioux Falls but declined to comment for this story, said there was an undercurrent of anger in him even then — one most people didn’t see.
“He was an aggressive, mean person who didn’t like other people and had to be in control,” she said the woman, whom the Argus Leader is not identifying because she is a victim.
She’d gone to high school with Robert but didn’t know him well at the time. They got reacquainted in 1992, when he was coaching her son’s baseball team. Robert soon was living with the woman and her two children.
“We got along fine at first,” she said, but then “he showed me his true colors.”
She recounted three specific incidents in court from their decade-long romance.
They rented an apartment in Cable, Wis., as they built their house, she said. One day, as they sat on the couch together, Robert backhanded her over an offhand remark.
She hit him back, she said, then recoiled when she realized that he was sure to retaliate.
“He punched me in the mouth so hard it pushed my bottom teeth through my lip,” she said.
Robert, who knew most of the employees in the local ER through his work as an EMT, told the doctors and nurses she’d slipped on icy steps while carrying in groceries.
He had similar explanation for her appearance at the ER with a broken foot years later. She called police on him after a separation, when he showed up at her house drunk and started a fight that ended with him pulling her around the yard by her hair.
Allen pleaded guilty in the 1986 shooting death of his ex-girlfriend Gail Titsworth in Oklahoma County. He was convicted in 1987. Titsworth had broken off the relationship with Allen three days before the killing and had sought a protective order. She was picking up her two sons at a child-care center when Allen shot her four times. He then struggled with a police officer and was shot in the head. Allen spent months in mental hospitals after his arrest to be treated for depression and his head injury. He was deemed competent at a 1987 hearing but won a new competency hearing in 1997 after the Supreme Court ruled that Oklahoma’s competency standards were too high. In the subsequent hearing, Allen was again ruled competent.
april 11, 2012BREAKING NEWS
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – A federal judge in Oklahoma City has stayed the execution of an inmate who was diagnosed with schizophrenia but found sane by a jury that considered whether he was eligible for the death penalty.
Fifty-six-year-old Garry Allen is scheduled to die by injection on Thursday. Allen pleaded guilty to capital murder after being shot in the head during his November 1986 arrest. He killed 24-year-old Gail Titsworth, with whom he had children, outside a daycare where she had picked up her sons days after she moved away from Allen. An officer shot Allen after he tried to shoot the officer.
In 2005, the state Pardon and Parole Board voted 4-1 to commute Allen’s sentence to life in prison, but Gov. Mary Fallin had decided to allow the execution to proceed.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Members of an anti-death penalty group said Monday they have little hope that Gov. Mary Fallin will commute the death sentence of an Oklahoma inmate scheduled to be executed Thursday.
Three members of the Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty met with Fallin’s general counsel, Steve Mullins, to urge the governor to reverse her decision to deny clemency for Garry Thomas Allen, 56.
Allen’s attorneys contend he was mentally impaired when he killed 24-year-old Lawanna Gail Titsworth, the mother of his two children, on Nov. 21, 1986, in Oklahoma City. They say he had been self-medicating for an underlying mental illness, and that his mental condition had worsened.
Coalition board member James T. Rowan said the group does not expect Fallin to change her mind about clemency. He said Mullins indicated during the meeting that Allen’s clemency request “was a close case.”
“I’m satisfied that the governor has gone through an exhausting process,” Rowan said.
A spokesman for Fallin, Alex Weintz, confirmed the group met with Mullins and discussed Allen’s case. Weintz said Fallin appreciated their input but that there was no change in the status of the case.
“The execution is still scheduled for Thursday,” Weintz said.
Fallin denied clemency for Allen on March 13, but the coalition asked her to reconsider based on the state Pardon and Parole Board’s 4-1 recommendation in 2005 that Allen’s death penalty on a first-degree murder conviction be commuted to like in prison.
“That is a very exceptional factor,” said Rex Friend, another coalition board member.
Allen was shot in the face during a struggle with police after Titsworth’s shooting death and his attorneys said he was not competent to enter a blind plea of guilty to the murder charge.
Former Gov. Brad Henry never acted on the board’s 2005 clemency recommendation for Allen because a Pittsburg County judge issued a stay of execution after a prison psychological exam determined Allen had developed mental problems on death row. The doctor’s report noted Allen had dementia caused by seizures, drug abuse and the gunshot wound.
A 12-member jury was impaneled in 2008 to determine Allen’s sanity. Jurors rejected Allen’s argument that he should not be put to death and decided he was sane enough to be executed.
Friend said Fallin went through a long and detailed process that included meetings with prosecution and defense attorneys in the case before she made her decision to deny the Pardon and Parole Board’s recommendation. Rowan said Allen’s execution could still be blocked if prison officials believe he is not mentally competent.
OKLAHOMA CITY — As activists prepare to argue for clemency for a man scheduled to die next week, a death penalty expert said a blind guilty plea such as Garry Allen’s is unusual in Oklahomacapital murder cases.
Allen’s attorneys have argued that he was mentally impaired when he entered a blind guilty plea to a capital murder charge. Allen was shot in the head during his 1986 arrest, and he had a history of mental illness and alcohol abuse prior to the killing.
Activists on Monday plan to ask legal counsel for Gov. Mary Fallin to consider clemency for the 56-year-old man, who is scheduled to be executed Thursday.
Considering Allen’s apparent combination of mental illness and alcohol abuse, he shouldn’t have entered a blind guilty plea — a plea done in front of a judge without a deal — especially in a state where the death penalty is popular, said defense attorney James Rowan, a death penalty expert who does not represent Allen.
Allen has testified that he pleaded guilty to spare his family and his victim’s family from the ordeal of a trial.
His lawyers had argued he was not sane and therefore shouldn’t be executed, but in 2008, a jury said he was sane enough for the death penalty.
A personality test in Allen’s court file shows his “probable diagnosis is Schizophrenic Disorder, or Anxiety Disorder in a Paranoid Personality.” Allen, who had a history of substance abuse, had also testified that before the day of the killing, he got drunk whenever he could. Two hours after the killing, Allen’s blood-alcohol level was .27— more than three times the legal limit.
Considering Allen’s apparent combination of mental illness and alcohol abuse, he shouldn’t have entered a blind guilty plea — a plea done in front of a judge without a deal — especially in a state where the death penalty is popular, said defense attorney James Rowan, a death penalty expert who does not represent Allen.
Attorney Charles Hoffman, another expert on death penalty cases, said a blind guilty plea could be the result of the defendant’s insistence, “bad or lazy lawyering” or a strategy to argue the defendant acknowledged guilt when a conviction is sure to happen.
“Although entering a blind guilty plea in a death penalty case may sound like a very dumb thing to do, it really all depends on the facts of the case,” Hoffman said.
In the 42 capital murder cases that Rowan has tried, only two defendants entered blind guilty pleas — once because Rowan was “young and didn’t know any better.” In the other case, in 1989, a man killed five people in a multi-state spree, including a woman in an Ardmore, Okla., flower shop.
Rowan knew the case would be hard to win and decided to plead to the judge.
“It would almost be malpractice now to do it,” Rowan said. “Even if the defendant wanted to enter a guilty plea, I think you’d be almost incompetent to do that.”
In 2005, the Pardon and Parole Board voted 4-1 to recommend life without parole instead of execution for Allen, but Fallin has decided to proceed with the execution.
Fallin has said she and her legal team gave Allen’s case a thorough review, and she has no plans to change her decision.
Allen shot 42-year-old Lawanna Titsworth four days after she moved out of the home where she lived with Allen and their two sons, according to court documents. Titsworth and Allen had fought in the week before the shooting and he had tried to convince her to live with him again.
An officer in the area responded to a 911 call. Allen grabbed his gun and struggled with the officer, according to court documents. Allen tried to make the officer shoot himself by squeezing the officer’s finger on the trigger, but the officer got control of the gun and shot Allen in the face.
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March 14,2012
OKLAHOMA CITY
Governor Mary Fallin has denied clemency for Garry Thomas Allen, an Oklahoma death row inmate who killed the mother of his two children in 1986.
On February 9, 2012, Governor Fallin granted a stay of execution of thirty days from February 16, 2012, the date of the scheduled execution of Allen, in order for this office to thoroughly evaluate the recommendation of clemency by the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board.
The Governor met with the Federal Public Defender’s office, the Oklahoma Attorney General’s office and the victim’s family about this case.
The Executive Order, Fallin states, “Having thoroughly reviewed the arguments and evidence presented in this case, I have determined that clemency should be denied, and that the sentence of death shall be carried out.”
The Governor has granted an additional twenty-six day stay thereby scheduling the execution on Thursday, April 12, 2012.
Allen was convicted for killing 42-year-old Lawanna Gail Titsworth on November 21, 1986, in Oklahoma City.
A Pittsburg County jury has determined that a death row inmate is sane enough to be executed, but it’s uncertain when the punishment will be carried out.
On a 9 to 3 vote, a panel of 11 men and one woman rejected Garry Thomas Allen‘s argument that he shouldn’t be put to death for the fatal shooting of Lawanna Titsworth because he had become insane while in prison.
An Oklahoma County jury convicted the 52-year-old Allen of first-degree murder for gunning down in November 1986 outside an Oklahoma City daycare center. Titsworth had moved out of the home she shared with Allen and their 2 sons 4 days before her death.
According to court documents, the 2 were arguing when Allen reached into his sock, pulled out a revolver and shot her twice in the chest.
Titsworth got to her feet and ran toward the center, but Allen shoved her down some steps and shot her in the back twice.
An Oklahoma City police officer responding to the call tussled with Allen before shooting him in the face.
Prosecutors are now considering what to do next.
Okla. court dismisses death row inmate’s appeal
A condemned Oklahoma inmate who insists he is insane lost a legal challenge Thursday when an appeals court determined there is no procedure under state law to contest a jury’s finding that he is sane enough to be executed.
The Court of Criminal Appeals handed down the decision against Garry Thomas Allen, 55, who was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death for the Nov. 21, 1986, shooting death of 42-year-old Lawanna Gail Titsworth, the mother of Allen’s two children.
A district judge in Pittsburg County issued a stay one day before Allen scheduled execution in 2005 after a psychological examination at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary indicated Allen had developed mental problems while confined on death row. The U.S. Constitution forbids the execution of inmates who are insane or mentally incompetent.
According to state legal guidelines, a 12-member jury was impaneled in 2008 to determine Allen’s sanity. Jurors rejected Allen’s argument that he should not be put to death and decided he was sane enough to be executed.
Allen appealed, but in a six-page decision the appeals court concluded the appeal was not authorized by law and that there is no procedure to appeal a finding that a person facing execution is sane.
The decision, written by Vice Presiding Judge David Lewis of Lawton, says there is no federally mandated right to an appeal in Allen’s case and that the state Constitution does not mandate an appeal. In addition, the Legislature has not created a statutory appeal process for sanity proceedings, the appellate court said.
“It is, however, clear what the procedure should be when a person facing execution is found either insane or sane after a jury trial, and that procedure does not include an appeal to this court,” the ruling states.
Despite the decision, it remains unclear when Allen’s execution will be carried out. Attorney General’s Office spokeswoman Dianne Clay said attorneys plan to evaluate the decision before asking the appeals court to schedule a new execution date for Allen.
Allen’s attorney, Kristi Christopher of the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System, did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.
An Oklahoma County jury sentenced Allen to death for shooting Titsworth in the parking lot of the Oklahoma City daycare center. She had moved out of the home she shared with Allen and their two sons four days earlier.
Court documents indicated the two were arguing when Allen reached into his sock, pulled out a revolver and shot Titsworth twice in the chest. Titsworth ran with a center employee toward the building, but Allen pushed the worker away, shoved Titsworth down some steps and shot her twice in the back at close range, records show.
A police officer responding to a 911 call tussled with Allen before shooting him in the face, according to court documents. Allen was hospitalized for about two months for treatment of injuries to his face, left eye and brain.
The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has set a Feb. 16 execution date for a death row inmate who claims he is insane.
The court set the date Thursday for 55-year-old Garry Thomas Allen. Attorney General Scott Pruitt requested the date on Dec. 28 after a stay of execution for Allen was lifted by a Pittsburg County judge.
Allen was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death for the Nov. 21, 1986, shooting death of 42-year-old Lawanna Gail Titsworth. But Allen’s 2005 execution was stayed when prison officials reported he had developed mental problems on death row.
A 12-member jury was impaneled in 2008 to determine Allen’s sanity. Jurors rejected Allen’s argument that he should not be put to death and decided he was sane enough to be executed.
Garry Allen has epilepsy, which has apparently worsened during his time on death row. He has frequent seizures and doctors have said that he is so confused for periods after these seizures that he would not understand thereality of or reason for his impending execution. In 1993, Garry Allen’s IQ was measured at 111, above average. By 1999, it had dropped to 75.Doctors have reportedly put this down to his ongoing epileptic seizures combined with head injuries.
After having been presented with such evidence at a clemency hearing on 20 April 2005, the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board recommended by four votes to one that Governor Brad Henry commute Garry Allen’s death sentence to life imprisonment. An Assistant Attorney General, pursuing the executionfor the state, was quoted as saying that he believed that Garry Allen was faking his mental impairments: ”It is easier to act stupider than you are. It’s impossible to act smarter than you are. This guy now knows, play up my seizures, play down my IQ.”
A death-row inmate originally scheduled to be executed Thursday night will instead be put to death March 17 if the governor’s legal team decides against commuting the man’s sentence to life in prison.
Gov. Mary Fallin issued a 30-day stay last week to give her legal team more time to consider a 2005 clemency recommendation from the state Pardon and Parole Board for 55-year-old Garry Thomas Allen.
Allen had been scheduled to die for the 1986 murder of the mother of his two children. His attorneys have argued that he was mentally impaired when he killed 42-year-old Lawanna Gail Titsworth.
Allen’s current lawyer, Randy Bauman, declined to comment on the stay Thursday. Currie Ballard, a member of the pardon and parole board, said he could not comment on death-row cases.
Convicted killer Garry Thomas Allen will be executed April 12 after Gov. Mary Fallin issued an additional 26-day stay on Tuesday
Allen was set to be executed Saturday after the first 30-day stay expired for his case.
On Feb. 9, Gov. Fallin granted a 30-day stay of execution from the originally scheduled date of Feb. 16, in order to evaluate the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board’s recommendation of clemency.
The governor met with the Federal Public Defender’s office, the Oklahoma Attorney General’s office and the victim’s family to review Allen’s case, and after examining the arguments and evidence presented, determined that clemency should be denied, and that the sentence of death shall be carried out, according to spokesman Alex Weintz.
Allen was sentenced to death for the 1986 murder of the mother of his two children, 42-year-old Lawanna Gail Titsworth.
Allen’s attorneys have argued that he was mentally impaired when he killed Titsworth in Oklahoma City. They said he had been self-medicating for an underlying mental illness, which had gotten worse. A police officer shot Allen in the face during a struggle after Allen shot his wife.
The pardon and parole board voted 4-1 in 2005 to recommend commuting Allen’s sentence to life in prison. But before then-Gov. Brad Henry had a chance to act on the recommendation, a Pittsburg County judge issued a stay after a prison psychological exam determined Allen had developed mental problems on death row. The doctor’s report noted Allen had dementia caused by seizures, drug abuse and his gunshot wound.
A 12-member jury was impaneled in 2008 to determine Allen’s sanity. Jurors rejected Allen’s argument that he should not be put to death and decided he was sane enough to be executed.
David Gore and his cousin, Freddie Waterfield, picked up fourteen-year-old Regan Martin and seventeen-year-old Lynn Elliott, who were hitchhiking to the beach on July 26, 1983. Gore and his cousin drove the girls back to his house, took them to his bedroom, handcuffed them each, and then separated them. Gorecut Regan’s clothes off her and sexually assaulted her on three separate occasions. After Gore left Regan, she heard Goretell Lynn that he would kill her if she did not shut up. Gore had told Regan to be quiet or he would kill her too. Gore then put Regan in a closet, where she heard two or three gunshots. When Gore returned, he put Regan in the attic, where she was later rescued by the police. A witness testified that a girl (Lynn) ran naked down the driveway of Gore’s home, and Gore, who was also naked, was chasing her. Gore caught Lynn and threw her to the ground, then dragged her to a tree and shot her twice in the head.
Resentenced to death on December 8, 1992.
Co-defendant information:
Regan Martin testified that she was “pretty sure” that Waterfield left Gore’s house, and she did not see or hear him after the girls arrived at Gore’s house. On July 25, 1984, Waterfield, for his involvement in the murder, was sentenced to fifteen years imprisonment on one count of manslaughter.
Born in 1951, in Florida, David Gore resembled the stereotypical Southern redneck, weighing close to 275 pounds, and such a firearms fan that he studied gunsmithing in his free time. He also studied women, but in a different fashion. He lost one job as a gas station attendant after the owner found a peephole Gore had drilled between the men’s and women’s restrooms. Born in 1952, cousin Fred Waterfield was another product of Florida’s Indian River County. He was a high school football star whose bad temper and liking for violent sex made him and David seem like brothers. In 1976, they put their heads together and decided to combine their favorite sports by hunting women.
Their first attempts were embarrasing. Following a female motorist outside Yeehaw Junction, Fredflattened her tires with a rifle , but the intended victim escaped on foot. Later, the cousins followed another woman from Vero Beach to Miami, giving up the pursuit when she parked on a busy street. Their first successful rape took place near Vero Beach, and while the victim notified police, she later dropped the charges to avoid embarrassment in court. By early 1981, Gore was working days with his father as caretaker of a citrus grove, patrolling the streets after dark as an auxiliary sheriff’s deputy. Fred had moved north to Orlando, managing an automotive shop, but he made frequent visits home to Vero Beach. Together they recognized the potential of Gore’s situation, packing a badge by night, killing time in deserted orchards by day, and Fred offered to pay cousin Dave $1,000 for each pretty girl he could find. It was an offer David could not refuse. In February 1981, David found 17-year-old Ying Hua Ling disembarking from a school bus, tricking her into his car with a flash of his badge. Driving her home, Gore“arrested” her mother and handcuffed his captives together, then phoning Waterfield in Orlando before he drove out to the orchard. Killing time while waiting for his cousin, David raped both victims, but Fred was more picky. Rejecting Mrs. Ling as too old, he tied the woman up in such a fashion that she choked herself to death while struggling against her bonds. He then raped and murdered the teenager, slipping David $400 and leaving him to get rid of the corpses alone in an orchard a mile from the Ling residence.
Five months later, on July 15, David made a trip to Round Island Park, looking for a blonde to fill his cousin’s latest order. Spotting a likely candidate in 35-year-old Judith Daley, Gore disabled her car, then played Good Samaritan, offering a lift to the nearest telephone. Once inside his pickup, Gore pulled out a pistol, cuffed his victim, and called cousin Fred on his way to the orchard. Waterfield was happier with this delivery, writing out a check for $1,500 after both men finished with their victim. Two years later,Gore would tell about Judith Daley’s fate, describing how he “fed her to the alligators” in a swamp ten miles west of Interstate Highway 95. A week later, Gore fell under suspicion when a local man reported that a deputy had stopped his teenage daughter on a rural highway, attempting to hold her “for questioning.” Stripped of his badge, Davidwas arrested days later, when officers found himcrouched in the back seat of a woman’s car outside a Vero Beach clinic armed with a pistol, handcuffs, and a police radio scanner. A jury deliberated for thirty minutes before convicting him of armed trespass, and he was sentenced to five years in prison. Turning down psychiatric treatment recommended by the court, he was paroled in March of 1983.
A short time after Gore‘s release, his cousin moved back home to Vero Beach, and they took up where they left off. On May 20, they tried to abduct an Orlando prostitute at gunpoint, but she slipped away and left them empty-handed. The next day, they picked up two 14-year-old hitchhikers — Angelica Lavallee and Barbara Byer — raping both before Gore shot the girls to death. Byer’s body was dismembered, and buried in a shallow grave, while Levallee’s was dumped in a nearby canal.
On July 26, 1983, Vero Beach authorities received an emergency report of a nude man firing shots at a naked girl on a residential street. Surrounding the suspect house, owned by relatives of Gore, officers found a car in the driveway with fresh blood dripping from its trunk. Inside, the body of 17-year-old Lynn Elliott lay dead with a bullet in her skull. Outnumbered by the police, Gore surrendered, directing officers to the attic where a naked 14-year-old girl was tied to the rafters.
As the victim told police, she had been thumbing rides with Lynn Elliott when Gore and another man picked them up, flashing a pistol and driving them to the house, where they were stripped and raped repeatedly in separate rooms.Elliott had managed to free herself, escaping on foot with Gore in pursuit, but she had not been fast enough. Gore’s companion had left in the meantime, and detectives turned to their suspect in to find out who he was.
Gore cracked while in custody, describing crimes committed with his cousin. On January 21, 1985,Fred Waterfield was convicted in the Byer-Levallee murders, receiving two consecutive life terms with a specified minimum stint of 50 years before parole. Gore received the death penalty for his part in the crimes. Both are still currently incarcerated in Florida.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida Supreme Court has refused to stay serial killer David Gore’s execution. He is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Thursday.
The justices on Monday unanimously rejected several arguments by Gore’s lawyers.
That includes their contention a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision dealing with ineffective counsel applies to his case.
The state justices ruled that opinion appears to apply only to federal rather than state court proceedings.
One of Gore’s lawyers, Martin McClain, says the ruling will be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court and that other federal court options also are being considered.
Gore is to be executed for murdering a 17-year-old girl in Indian River County nearly 30 years ago. He also is serving life terms for killing five other girls or women.
Letter: Letter writer misrepresents position on Gore‘s execution
In her March 24 letter, Diane DuBose could’ve made points about David Gore and the death penalty without misquoting and blatantly distorting several points in my March 18 letter.
I stated, “Although I’m against the death penalty, the David Gore case has made a mockery of the system.” Now, please pay attention, Ms. Dubose: Since Florida has the death penalty, Gore should’ve been executed a long time ago, whether I favor the death penalty or not. His living all these years made a mockery of the system. Are we clear now?
Hopefully DuBose will be much more responsible and much less emotional with future letters, and not misrepresent other viewpoints.
Mother’s annual tribute to late daughter keeps light on serial killer
Every year, on July 26, Jeanne Elliott places a simple remembrance for her daughter in the Press Journal.
Lynn Elliott died on July 26, 1983.
She was 17.
There’s nothing to indicate how she died. Only longtime residents would know.
She was serial killer David Gore’s final victim.
Beverly Hilton explained in a letter to the editor what the name means to her.
“A memory that has stayed with me since I moved to Vero Beach in 1982 is the murder of 17-year-old Lynn Elliott,” she wrote. “A question that remains in my mind is why her killer, David Gore, is still alive. Exactly what does the death penalty mean?”
That letter to the editor appeared in the Press Journal eight years ago.
Gore, now 56, remains on Florida’s death row at the Union Correctional Institution in Raiford.
A former auxiliary deputy with the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office, Gore killed six women between February 1981 and July 1983.
Gore’s cousin, Fred Waterfield, was convicted of manslaughter in Lynn Elliott’s death. Waterfield, also at Raiford, is serving two consecutive life sentences for the murders of two teen girls, Barbara Ann Byer and Angelica LaVallee.
As longtime residents know, details of the gruesome Gore-Waterfield killings are hard to stomach. It’s almost unimaginable that something so heinous happened in the county.
Hilton has written multiple letters through the years — all but one in either late July or early August, coinciding with Jeanne Elliott’s remembrance in the Press Journal — to ask the same questions about Gore. According to our electronic library, she has written eight letters about Gore since 1999.
“It’s kind of one of my causes,” Hilton said Thursday. “I just thought it was terrible. He deprived her, and her family, of the joys of growing up, getting married and having a family. I have a daughter right around that same age, and I think, ‘If that would have been her … ’
“Why do they issue a death penalty? What does that really mean?”
Elliott said she appreciates Hilton’s letters to the editor.
“I thought about calling her several times, but I didn’t know if she would be receptive to that,” Elliott said.
Other members of the community have written similar letters to the editor.
An excerpt from Dr. James Copeland Jr.’s strongly worded letter in 2002:
“If the state doesn’t want to put him to death, then bring him back to Vero Beach for 24 hours and I am sure he will no longer be a problem.”
Contacted Thursday, Copeland, who is now retired, said he has written two letters to the editor — as well as personal letters to the last two governors, Jeb Bush and Charlie Crist — regarding Gore.
“Nothing’s happened,” Copeland said Thursday. “In my opinion, he should have been hung by his you-know-what.”
After Monday’s remembrance appeared in the Press Journal, a reader, Hank Parman, called and encouraged me to write about Gore avoiding his state-ordered execution.
“I’ve always felt bad over what happened,” he said. “That guy is still up there sucking up tax dollars. I thought he was going to be put away by now. And here we are, 27 years later.”
Jeanne Elliott, 67, wants to live long enough to see Gore executed.
“That would be the closure,” she said.
After Gore is executed, she said she will remove the words “Sail On Silver Girl” from the annual remembrance.
When asked what “Sail on Silver Girl” meant, Jeanne Elliott started crying.
It’s a line from the song “Bridge Over Troubled Water” by Simon & Garfunkel.
Do a Google search and look up the lyrics to “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”
Knowing what happened to Lynn Elliott, the “Sail on Silver Girl” part will tug at your heart.
Russ Lemmon: Aspiring film editor contemplates making documentary on Gore-Waterfield killings
It was one of those moments where you realize just how much time has passed.
When Michael Denninger told me his age (30), I did a quick calculation in my head.
“Wait a minute,” I said. “That means you were 3 years old when the last killing occurred.”
He nodded his head in agreement.
Which, from my perspective, makes what he is contemplating — a feature-length documentary about serial killers David Gore and Fred Waterfield — both fascinating and admirable.
Fascinating because he has no memory of, or any connection to, what happened. Admirable because he wants to undertake a substantial project like this.
Denninger, an aspiring film editor, has been engrossed in research since early August. The timing coincides with the columns I wrote about Jeanne Elliott’s annual memorial for her daughter, Lynn, who was the last victim.
He read “Innocent Prey” — the 1994 book by Bernie Ward — in just two days.
“I couldn’t put it down,” he said. “It’s definitely a page-turner, even 16 years after it was published.”
He also went to the Indian River County Main Library to look at old Press Journal articles from that era. He purchased a DVD of the television program “Crime Stories,” which featured the case.
He’s trying to come up with a new angle to tell the horrific story.
“Serial killers are fascinating to me as a psychology major (at Barry University) … but I can’t think of an angle to come from for the documentary,” he said. “I’m trying to think of something that would be unique and fresh.
“It is just something I’d like to do to honor the memories of the victims of these two monsters, but I can’t figure out how to do it properly. … It keeps bubbling up to the surface of my mind after I push it back down, so maybe I’ll think of some way to approach it eventually.”
As I told Denninger, I’d love to sit in on a brainstorming session. (Note: If you would be interested in participating in such an exercise, I’ll be happy to pass on your name and contact information.)
“You have to have a hook,” said Denninger, a video production specialist at Indian River State College. “You need something that people will talk about.”
Gore’s avoidance of the death penalty being carried out is one possibility.
The impact the killings had on a small community is another.
He’s also interested in the “familial aspect” — about how Waterfield supposedly manipulated his cousin, Gore.
In talking with Denninger, I described the feedback I received after the July 30 and Aug. 6 columns on the killings. I stated the obvious: The fact thatGore is still alive really sticks in the craw of this community.
Shining the light on that judicial travesty would be a winner in these parts, I told him. Whether it would have national appeal is unknown.
Denninger, a New York native, graduated from Sebastian River High School in 1998. He was in the school’s International Baccalaureate program.
The Gore-Waterfield killings meant little to him back then.
“I had heard stories about them in high school,” he said.
It was a movie during that same era — “Pulp Fiction” — that spurred his interest in becoming a film director.
“As soon as I saw that, I knew I wanted to make movies,” he said.
But his project would not resemble “Pulp Fiction” in any way.
“I wouldn’t want to fictionalize it,” he said. “I would want to do real-life interviews. It would have to be a documentary.”
Respecting the families of the victims would be of paramount importance, he said.
It’s just a matter of finding the right angle.
“He’s so meticulous, and he’s so smart,” said his wife, Heather. “Whatever he decides to do, it will be interesting.”
Old building stands as reminder to a painful part of Indian River County’s history
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, Fla. – It’s an ugly reminder of a terrible time in Vero Beach’s history.
The auto repair shop once operated by Fred Waterfield is now an abandoned, crumbing building.
Waterfield is in prison for the rest of his life.
His cousin, David Allan Gore, is awaiting execution on Florida’s Death Row.
It’s here, at the old auto repair shop on Oslo Road near 43rd Avenue, where investigators arrested Waterfield in 1983.
The arrest of Waterfield and Gore ended the cousins’ two-year crime spree which included the rape of seven women and murder of six.
Much has changed since 1983. Oslo Road is now four lanes instead of two. A Publix stands where there used to be woods. And many people who drive by the old building probably don’t know its history.
William Smith remembers that time well. A lifelong resident of Vero Beach, he’d like to see the building demolished.
“They couldn’t find anybody more ready to knock that thing over than I, just for what it stands for,” says Smith. “Why is it even there?”
Several people have offered to tear down the building. It should be demolished soon.
On 04/19/84, Gore filed a Direct Appeal with the Florida Supreme Court, citing the following errors: errors in voir dire, failing to suppress his confession, admission of two prejudicial photographs, juror interruption of defense’s closing argument, as well as other procedural matters. Gore challenged his death sentence on a number of grounds: failing to provide a list of aggravating circumstances prior to trial, error on jury penalty phase instructions, error in restricting closing arguments, and failure to prove the existence of certain aggravating circumstances. On 08/22/85, the FSC affirmed the conviction and imposition of the death penalty.
Gore filed a petition for Writ of Certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court on 12/18/85 that was denied on 02/24/86.
Gore filed a 3.850 Motion with the Circuit Court on 02/24/88 that was denied on 04/19/88.
Gore filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus with the Florida Supreme Court on 04/04/88 and a 3.850 Motion Appeal on 04/22/88, citing numerous issues; however, only one was commented upon by the FSC: ineffective assistance of counsel in failing to present pertinent non-statutory mitigating evidence that his cousin, Waterfield, exerted an influence over Gore that mitigated his participation in the crime. On 08/18/88, the FSC denied the Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus and affirmed the Circuit Court’s denial of the 3.850 Motion.
Gore filed a federal Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus with the U.S. District Court on 02/14/89 that was granted and his death sentence was vacated.Gore raised seventeen issues, but the most important issue was the failure of the trial court to consider non-statutory mitigating evidence. As a result of this, the USDC held that a fundamental error had occurred.
The State filed an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals on 11/12/89, and on 05/29/91, the USCA affirmed the decision of the USDC.
The State then filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court on 10/18/91 that was denied on 01/21/92.
On 12/08/92, Gore was resentenced to death. The jury recommended a death sentence by a vote of 12-0.
On 12/15/92, Gore filed a Direct Appeal with the Florida Supreme Court, citing sixteen errors, nine of which were considered by the FSC: denial of challenges for cause in the jury selection process, misleading the jury to believe that parole was possible, improper finding of an aggravating circumstance (prior violent felony conviction), error in jury instructions, unproven aggravating circumstances (avoid arrest, HAC, CCP), admission of improper testimony from a prosecutor, improper admission of a police officer’s testimony, an unqualified judge to rule over a capital sentencing proceeding, and the resentencing violated a constitutional guarantee of a speedy trial. The FSC upheld the death sentence on 07/17/97.
On 07/14/98, Gore filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court that was denied on 10/05/98.
Gore filed a 3.850 Motion with the Circuit Court on 09/30/99 and amended on 01/08/02 and 11/22/02. The motion was denied on 06/14/04.
Gore filed a 3.850 Motion Appeal with the Florida Supreme Court on 07/23/04, and on 07/05/07, the FSC affirmed the denial of the motion. A mandate was issued on 09/26/07.
Gore filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus with the Florida Supreme Court on 04/28/05 that was denied on 07/05/07. The FSC issued a mandate on 09/26/07.
On 10/02/07, Gore filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in the USDC Middle District that was transferred to the Southern District on 10/09/07. This petition was denied on 04/11/08.
On 07/07/08, Gore filed a Habeas Appeal in the United States Court of Appeals that was denied on 09/12/08.
On 11/28/07, Gore filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court that was denied on 02/19/08.
On 02/06/09, Gore filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari with the United States Supreme Court that was denied on 05/18/09
Editorial: The time for David Gore to die for his brutal crimes is long past due
August 9, 2011
David Gore has gamed Florida’s judicial system long enough.
It’s time for the state — and Gov. Rick Scott, in particular — to bring this sordid, tragic tale to an end.
Scott should sign the death warrant for Gore. Then Gore should be executed.
Gore killed six women in Indian River County between February 1981 and July 1983, and buried their bodies in the canal banks near Oslo Road. His victims — four of them teenagers — all were denied a future. In an instant, their families lost a loved one. (In the case of Gore’s first two victims — 17-year-old Ying Ling and her mother, Hisang Ling, 48 — the family lost two loved ones.)
Thankfully, Gore was caught and arrested in 1983, and sentenced to death in 1984. As part of a plea deal, he also was given five consecutive life sentences.
Ponder that for a moment: Gore was sentenced to death in 1984. This is 2011. He has been sitting on death row for 27 years.
Is this what passes for justice in our state?
In January 1989, Gov. Bob Martinez signed a death warrant for Gore. Two weeks later, U.S. District Judge Williams Hodges ordered a stay of execution 48 hours before he was to be put to death.
This was just one of many delays throughout the years that prolonged Gore’s execution.
Gore now has exhausted all of his appeals, according to the state Attorney General’s Office, and his fate is in the hands of Scott, who signed his first death warrant June 30, for the execution of Manuel Valle. Valle is slated to be executed Sept. 1.
The families of Gore’s victims — and countless other people in Indian River County and throughout our region who’ve grieved along with them — are looking to Scott to do the right thing and put David Alan Gore to death.
There never will be closure for the families of Gore’s victims. There can, however, be justice.
The time for Gore to die for his brutal crimes is long past due.
Letters for use in Gore’s clemency hearing due this week
Serial killer David Gore can’t be executed until he receives a clemency hearing.
He’s a day closer to receiving one.
Sentenced to death 28 years ago, Gore — who killed six women in the early 1980s — has beaten the odds at the Union Correctional Institution in Raiford. The average length of stay on death row before execution is 12.91 years, according to the Florida Department of Corrections.
The State Attorney General’s office recently contacted family and friends of Gore’s victims and asked them to write a letter describing how they have been impacted by the crime.
The letters will be included in the final report given to the Clemency Board, which includes Gov. Rick Scott and Cabinet members.
They were given a Feb. 1 deadline to submit the letters.
Carl and Jeanne Elliott — whose 17-year-old daughter, Lynn, was Gore’s final victim — collaborated on a one-page letter. (They divorced in 1986, three years after Lynn was killed, but they are working together to see that Gore is executed.)
Lisa Burford, one of Lynn’s classmates, also submitted a one-page letter.
She spent the first two paragraphs talking about her friendship with Lynn and the “what-ifs” that will never be answered.
In the third paragraph, Burford, 46, urged members of the Clemency Board to consider what Lynn never got to experience in life.
“I choose to also remind you of how her death impacted HER by sharing what she was never blessed to do, and how guilty I feel that I did,” she wrote. “She never graduated from college, got married, or felt the joy of motherhood. She never had the opportunity to start a career, or two.
“She never had the pleasure of lunching with her mother and sharing that she was getting married, expecting her firstborn, or buying a house. She never had the chance to do the everyday mundane tasks that many of us complain about, because she never had the chance to live!!”
I called Burford on Monday and asked her about the heartfelt letter.
“I’m not a huge proponent of the death penalty,” she said, “but there are situations where there is no other alternative — and this is one of them.”
With Wednesday’s deadline for the victim-impact letters looming, it’s anyone’s guess when the clemency hearing will be held. I tried without success to get anyone in Tallahassee to go on the record regarding a possible timeline.
No one would say if we’re talking days, weeks or months.
“It sounds like this case may well be in the final stages,” said Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington, D.C. “Typically, clemency hearings are done only close to an execution.”
In a Jan. 17 letter to the State Attorney General’s office, a representative from the Florida Parole Commission indicated the victim-impact letters needed to be received by Feb. 6 to be included in the final report to the governor.
So, the report could be in Scott’s hands as early as next week.
Pete Earley’s new book “The Serial Killer Whisperer” has turned a spotlight of sorts on Gore. The book includes letters written by the serial killer. It was the No. 1 best-seller in nonfiction again last week at the Vero Beach Book Center. (The store reports 70 copies have been sold.)
Burford, who lives in West Palm Beach, said she wants to see the death penalty carried out because Carl and Jeanne Elliott have waited so long for justice.
“Knowing the agony they went through, and knowing how they want the outcome to be, that’s why it’s very important for me,” the former Lisa Pyle said.
Several local residents — including Rick Lane, Beverly Hilton, Charles Searcy and Kim Massung — have written letters urging the governor to sign Gore’s death warrant. Lane says he continues to do it because of the respect he has for Carl Elliott, whom he worked with at the Sheriff’s Office.
Burford and Lynn Elliott met in sixth grade at what is now Gifford Middle School.
“She was from the beach side of Vero, and I was from the country side of Vero,” she said.
They have birthdays just one day apart. (“That’s a big deal when you’re 11,” she said.) She visits Lynn’s grave every year on Lynn’s birthday.
Perhaps this year she’ll have some good news to tell her.
Gov. Rick Scott has signed the warrant for David Alan Gore to be put to death for the 1983 rape and murder of a teenage girl on the Treasure Coast.
Gore’s execution is scheduled for April 12 at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison.
The death-row warrant is the fourth for Scott.
Earlier this year he signed the warrant for Robert Waterhouse, who was out on lifetime parole for second-degree murder in New York when he was convicted of killing of a St. Petersburg woman, Deborah Kammerer, in 1980.
Last year, Scott signed the death warrants for Oba Chandler, convicted of murdering a woman and her two daughters who were vacationing in Tampa from Ohio in 1989, and convicted cop killer Manuel Valle.
Russ Lemmon: Gore’s execution date (April 12) circled on her calendar
Lee Martin is planning to make the 7- to 8-hour drive from her Georgia home to Raiford to witness serial killer David Gore’s execution.
“I’m not going to miss it,” she said. “I want to see that man die.”
On Tuesday, Gov. Rick Scott signed Gore’s death warrant. The execution, by lethal injection, is scheduled for April 12 at the Florida State Prison.
Martin’s daughter, Regan, and Lynn Elliott were abducted by Gore and his cousin, Fred Waterfield, on July 26, 1983. Gore shot and killed Lynn, who was 17. Regan, 14, survived the ordeal.
Gore, now 58, killed six women in the early 1980s.
Lee Martin, 74, said she wants to be at the execution to show support for Jeanne Elliott, the mother of Lynn.
As of Tuesday, Regan Martin said she was undecided whether she would be attending.
“Whatever she decides is all right with me,” Lee Martin said.
Meanwhile, she described herself as “elated” over news about the governor signing Gore’s death warrant.
“I really wish I could have been there to see the look on his face when he was told April 12 was going to be his last day on earth,” Lee Martin said. “I would have given anything to see that look on his face.”
A Delaware death row inmate who has waived his right to all further appeals of his conviction and death sentence has been sentenced to die by lethal injection.
A Superior Court judge set an April 20 execution date for Shannon Johnson during a brief hearing Wednesday. Johnson waived his right to a requirement that the execution be held no sooner than 90 days from the sentencing date.
Johnson was sentenced to death for the 2006 murder of a man whom he found sitting in a car with Johnson’s former girlfriend. He later shot the former girlfriend, but she survived.
After the state Supreme Court upheld his conviction and death sentence, Johnson said he did not want to pursue any further appeals.
Thomas Arthur is a death row prisoner in Alabama who could be exonerated by a DNA test, but the courts are preventing this from happening. Another man has already confessed to the crime. Why is this happening?
The death penalty is immoral. No one has the right to intentionally take someone else’s life. And America’s death penalty system is broken.
30 Years On Death Row
Thomas Arthur was sentenced to death for the murder of Troy Wicker in 1982, so he’s been on death row for 30 years. He has always maintained his innocence, and another man has confessed to the crime. So why are the Alabama courts refusing to allow post-conviction DNA testing in this case?
Three times Alabama tried Arthur for murdering Troy Wicker on February 1, 1982. Three times the state got a conviction and death penalty against him. Three times there were problems at trial.
Arthur was set to be executed on March 29, 2012, but received a stay-of-execution related to his claim that it is cruel and unusual punishment for the state to use a new sedative called pentobarbital as part of the lethal injection.
Victim’s Wife Was Lying
Alabama seems to have based its entire case against Arthur upon the testimony of Judy Wicker, Troy’s wife, who said at the time of the murder that she had been raped by a stranger. Over and over again state investigators asked her if Thomas Arthur was involved in the crime. And over and over again she said no.
What happened was that Judy Wicker was lying. Turns out she had hired someone to murder her husband — and got caught doing so! Several months after her husband’s death, Wicker was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. A few years later, however, she cut a deal with prosecutors. In exchange for a recommended early release from prison, she would change her testimony and accuse Arthur of the crime. And that’s what happened. Wicker’s testimony secured Arthur’s third and final conviction. And this time, for over 20 years now, all of the state and federal courts that have reviewed the case have endorsed that result.
Were this all to the story it would be bad enough. But in 2008 things got worse. A man named Bobby Ray Gilbert confessed under oath to murdering Troy Wicker. In a sworn affidavit, Gilbert said he started an affair with Judy Wicker after they met at a bar and soon agreed that he would kill Troy Wicker, whom Judy Wicker claimed was an “abusive” husband. They agreed, Gilbert said decades later on paper, that he would wear an “Afro wig” and dark make-up as a disguise. After he shot Troy Wicker, Gilbert wrote, he and Judy Wicker had unprotected sex, after which she asked Gilbert to “beat her up” so it would look like rape.
Thomas Arthur Must Be Exonerated
Thomas Arthur appears to be innocent. In fact, both the prosecution and defense agree they have evidence worn by the perpetrator of the crime, and Arthur’s lawyers want that evidence retested with advanced DNA technology.
The defense has offered to pay for the testing, and Alabama should allow it.
If you think this case is outrageous, sign our petition telling Governor Bentley of Alabama to allow the DNA testing that could save Arthur’s life.
MONTGOMERY, Alabama — A federal appeals court has granted a stayof execution for an Alabama man who was set to die next week in a 1982 murder-for-hire case.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday postponed the execution of Thomas Douglas Arthur until further action of the court.
Earlier in the week the court had reversed a judge’s decision to dismiss Arthur’s appeal, which contended that Alabama’s decision to use a new sedative called pentobarbital as part of a three-drug execution combination could be cruel and unusual punishment.
Arthur’s attorneys on Thursday had sought a stay while the state asks the entire 11th Circuit to reconsider the court’s decision.
Arthur was set to be executed on March 29 for the 1982 murder-for-hire killing of Muscle Shoals businessman Troy Wicker.
update march 21 : source
ATLANTA — A federal appeals court has revived an Alabama death row inmate’s challenge of his state’s new three-drug lethal injection protocol.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday reversed a judge’s decision that dismissed Thomas Arthur’s appeal.
Arthur is set to be executed on March 29 for the 1982 murder-for-hire killing of Muscle Shoals businessman Troy Wicker. It is unclear whether Wednesday’s decision will postpone his execution.
His attorneys claimed that Alabama’s decision to use a new sedative called pentobarbital as part of its three-drug execution combination could be cruel and unusual punishment. State attorneys pointed to successful executions where pentobarbital was used.
The three-judge panel’s decision said the judge who dismissed Arthur’s appeal should have considered whether the swap constituted a “significant change” to Alabama’s execution protocol.
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A lawyer for death-row inmate Tommy Arthur says she wants a chance to argue in court that the procedure the state plans to use this month to execute her client may be unconstitutional.
An April 2011 change in Alabama’s execution procedure is at issue in the case, The TimesDaily of Florence reports (http://bit.ly/wu60LY ).
The change involved a switch in the first of three drugs administered during lethal injections. The state switched to the drug pentobarbital in 2011, when supplies for sodium thiopental ran low.
Arthur’s lawyer, Suhana Han, argued in federal appeals court this week that the change in procedure might result in an inmate suffering cruel and unusual punishment, which is prohibited by the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The second injection in the trio causes paralysis, so even if an inmate were still conscious, they may not be able to communicate that they can feel pain, Han said.
Arthur’s lawyer, Suhana Han, argued in federal appeals court this week that the change in procedure might result in an inmate suffering cruel and unusual punishment, and should have been significant enough to trigger an appeals process.
The change should have been significant enough to trigger an appeals process, she maintains.
Assistant Attorney General Clay Crenshaw argued Monday that the switch in drugs was not a significant change to the state’s lethal injection procedure and that safeguards are taken to ensure an inmate is unconscious.
Those safeguards include saying his name, waving a hand close to his eyes and pinching him, Crenshaw said.
Crenshaw said he expects the three-judge panel to make a decision later in the week or early next week.
Arthur was sentenced to death for the Feb. 1, 1982, contract killing and robbery of Troy Wicker Jr. in Muscle Shoals. He is scheduled to die March 29.
Man on Alabama death row makes appeal for new DNA test
Lawyers for a convicted murderer who has spent the last 30 years on Alabama’s death row and is due to be executed on March 29 are asking for a new DNA test to prove his innocence.
Thomas Douglas “Tommy” Arthur, 70, has spent nearly half his life on death row for his role in the 1982 contract killing of Muscle Shoals businessman Troy Wicker Jr. Arthur’s lawyers say no physical evidence linked him to the crime. “We do believe that reasonable doubt exists here, and advanced DNA testing could resolve any doubt,” Arthur’s lead attorney, Suhana Han, said in an email statement.
The state plans to go ahead with the lethal injection barring a last-minute reprieve by the courts. Arthur’s argument for the testing is based on testimony already found by a court to be untrue and has no bearing on the death row inmate’s pending execution, said Assistant Attorney General Clay Crenshaw. http://www.chicagotribune.com/sns-rt…,7803317.story
Case from Arthur’s website
The following is not provided by the Innocence Project. Information is based on facts from case documents.
1. Thomas Arthur has sat on Alabama’s death row for over 25 years for the murder of Troy Wicker. He has always maintained his innocence.
2. He has been scheduled for execution 4 times. Hair and finger prints found at the crime scene did not match him. No physical evidence linked him to the murder. No murder weapon was ever found. Eye witnesses said he was 75 miles away when the murder was committed. Recent DNA testing in 2009 of the crime scene evidence came back negative for Thomas Arthur. See DNA Test Results
Thomas Arthur’s DNA Was Not Present On Crime Scene Evidence
3. The state’s key witness, the victims wife, Judy Wicker (Mary Turner now) was convicted of murdering her husband for $90,000.00 of insurance money. She was given a life sentence. In her first 7 sworn statements while under oath, Judy Wicker testified Thomas Arthur had nothing to do with the murder.
4. Judy and her sister Theresa were both found at the crime scene with blood on their clothes. Neither woman were tested for GSR (Gun Shot Residue) to see if they had fired a weapon. The bloody clothes have never been DNA tested to see if Troy Wicker’s blood was on them.
5. After serving 10 years in prison Judy Wicker was released from prison in exchange for a new testimony to say Thomas Arthur killed her husband. She also changed her testimony to say it was Thomas Arthur that beat her up and killed her husband. In the original interviews, Judy Wicker now stated Thomas Arthur had sex with her
after killing her husband. This version changed after the interviews and police never charged Thomas Arthur with rape. Originally Judy has said a black man beat her up and raped her. Judy Wickers statements disappeared from the records along with much of the physical evidence including the rape kit.
6. Investigators ignored key evidence and did not disclose key evidence that could of proven Thomas Arthurs innocence. This conviction was based on very weak circumstantial evidence and the key witness is a convicted murderer and has committed perjury.
7. Thomas Arthur has never had his 1st habeas corpus review. 8. Thomas Arthur’s most recent execution scheduled for July 31, 2008 was stayed by the Alabama Supreme Court after the stay had already been denied by the Alabama Supreme Court. Another man, Bobby Ray Gilbert said that he committed the murder not Thomas Arthur. Read Confession
The July 31st, 2008 execution was stayed based on the confession of Bobby Ray Gilbert. A hearing was scheduled
for April 15th, 2009 in Jefferson County Circuit Court before Judge Theresa Pulliam. After hearing testimony from Bobby Ray Gilbert and several others, Judge Pulliam ordered DNA testing on 3 pieces of physical evidence that was collected at the crime scene in 1982. The three pieces of evidence were clothing worn by the victims wife, Judy Wicker, a wig prosecutors and Judy Wicker said Thomas Arthur wore before, during and after the murder, and a single strand of hair found at the crime scene on Judy Wickers shoe. Other key pieces of physical evidence were not available for testing, including a rape kit, because the State had lost them. On July 10th, 2009, DNA test results were turned over to Judge Pulliam. See DNA Test Results 9. Judge Pulliam “sealed” the test results and prevented the defense from disclsoing results.
10. August 10, 2009, Judge Pulliam ruled Bobby Ray Gilbert lied and that DNA test results proved he was not at the crime scene and could not have committed the murder. She also ruled Thomas Arthur perpetrated fraud against the court and provided Bobby Ray Gilbert with information to aid in his confession. There was no evidence to prove Thomas Arthur provided information to Bobby Ray Gilbert. However, lets assume he did provide information to Gilbert. What would this prove? It would prove Thomas Arthur was attempting to prove his innocence in the only way he could, to have the DNA tested. The courts would not allow him to test the DNA evidence simply because of his claims of innocence. The United States Supreme Court has ruled DNA testing to prove your innocence is not a constitutional right.
11. The most crucial piece of evidence, the wig worn by the killer could not be DNA tested by Alabama’s Forensic Department becuase they lack the advanced equipment needed for the test. Arthur requested that the wig be tested by a more advanced lab at the defense’s expense. Pulliam denied the request.
12. April 15th, 2011, the State of Alabama files a motion to set a new execution date.
****Bobby Ray Gilbert’s DNA was not present at the crime scene.
Neither was Thomas Arthur’s. ****That is a fact that cannot be ignored.***
13. June 22nd, 2011 The Supreme Court of Alabama denied the State of Alabama’s Motion to set a new execution date. (click on “links to motions filed” tab on left of home page to see copy of order)
It makes one wonder, if DNA test results prove one man was not at the crime scene and is lying about committing this murder, then how is it possible those same DNA test results cannot confirm Thomas Arthur was not at the crime scene? How can the same DNA test results say one man was not there and then say the other man was there? DNA test results were the same for both men… negative.
Additional DNA Evidence that includes blood, hair and semen was recovered and still exists, but it has never been DNA tested !!! Yet the State of Alabama not only REFUSES to DNA test the crime scene evidence –but it is refusing to allow Arthur to have the evidence DNA tested at HIS EXPENSE!!! See all the Evidence Collected By The State of Alabama
Note:
The same day as the confession and the stay of execution the state of Alabama’s attorney general, Troy King and Clay Crenshaw claimed a rape kit and other physical evidence collected at the crime scene in 1982 is missing. After all these years of Thomas Arthurs defense team trying to obtain it, it is now missing. Troy King also stated to the media the DNA would not have matched Thomas Arthur anyway. King said Arthur had planted all the DNA evidence. This stunned legal professionals especially since DNA testing was not around in 1982 when the murder was committed.
The Innocence Project based in New York is involved in Thomas Arthurs case. They are assisting Thomas Arthurs attorneys and have written numerous letters and filed several motions on Arthurs behalf. Click on the Innocence Project link for more information. There are many prominent organizations that have requested additional DNA testing in Arthur’s case. The Innocence Project in New York, Amnesty International, The Saint ‘Egidio Community, The Justice Institute, for the wrongfully convicted, DER/SPIEGEL, former Governor Jim Petro, Alabama Senator Hank Sanders, Equal Justice Initiative of Alabama, Sister Helen Prejean. There are many other organizations involved in demanding additional DNA testing in Arthur’s case. Project Hope to Abolish the death penalty, National Coalition to Abolish the death penalty, Florida support groups, The Patrick Crusade, are among the many organizations that have been involved. There are many individuals who are helping on a personal level. There are to many to name them all. Literally tens of thousands of United States Citizens, and people around the World have written or called on Arthur’s behalf.
This page has the basic history of Thomas Arthur’s case. This case is very complex and has many files.The murder of Troy Wicker occurred February 01, 1982. Thomas Arthur has been convicted in 3 separate trials. Most assume that if he has had three trials, he must be guilty if he was convicted three times. The attorneys appointed to represent him at all three trials had never tried a capital murder case before and were subjected to a $1,000.00 cap on fees paid to them by the State of Alabama. Recent Article Thomas Arthur even produced documents showing that his attorney’s had told him they were not prepared or qualified to defend him. He also showed he was not able to communicate with them. Several jury members have since made statements that if they had been allowed to view all of the evidence, they would not have found him guilty. By the time he found a law firm to represent him pro-bono, (2001) , based in New York, they, with a private investigator found many new pieces of new evidence. However, because Arthur had no attorney during his post-conviction appeals,(Alabama is the only State in United States that does not provide a death row inmate an attorney during this post-conviction appeal process) his rule 32 was filed late. Therefore, none of the new evidence has ever been allowed to be shown to a Court of Law.Thomas Arthur, Alabama death row inmateZ-427 has sat on death row for over 20 years. He has been denied DNA testing of crime scene evidence, and his claim of innocence, nor any of the irregularities related to the investigation of the murder, has EVER been considered by a state or federal habeas court for how they affected his constitutional right to due process, a fair trial, effective assistance of counsel. the State of Alabama states he has “exhausted all of his appeals”. When in fact he has never had any of his post-conviction appeals heard by any court.We have added an additional page for the media (click on the link to motions filed) to find all the past and current motions filed. If you have questions or request more file information, go to the contact us page and contact Sherrie Stone for any media information or call Arthur’s Attorneys SuHana Han 212-558-4647 or Jordan Razza 212-558-3496 for legal issues.
The following is the background information :
The following are “facts” in Thomas Arthur’s Case:DNA Evidence that includes blood, hair and semen was recovered and still exists, but it has never been tested!!! Yet the State of Alabama not only REFUSES to DNA test the crime scene evidence—but it is refusing to allow Arthur to have the evidence DNA tested at HIS EXPENSE!!!
DNA Evidence that includes an untested rape kit, bloody shirts, and hair has never been tested. The State of Alabama has denied Thomas Arthur the right to evidence that could conclusively prove Thomas Arthur’s innocence and that Thomas Arthur was never at the crime scene. Because of an act called the AEDPA act, Read the ADEPA Act , this evidence is not being allowed because it is based on a 1 year time limit on filing your petition within a year. Very hard for a death row prisoner to file this if they have no attorney. Arthur had no attorney. The State of Alabama is the only State that does not guarantee a Death Row Inmate the right to an attorney during the post conviction appeals.
No physical evidence links him to the crime. His conviction was based almost exclusively on the testimony of a convicted murderer. Although DNA testing was not available when the crime was committed, hair and fingerprints found at the scene of the crime did not match Thomas Arthur. See all the Evidence Collected By The State of Alabama
Two eyewitness gave statements (exculpatory affidavits) placing Thomas Arthur 75 miles away at the time of the crime. These eyewitnesses were visited by the State of Alabama and under suspicious circumstances changed their statements. However, one of the witnesses changed his story back to the original story, then recently was visited by the State and changed his story again under very “pressured circumstances”. The other witness has made statements that he is frightened of losing his business and “other” things. The first time these witnesses gave their statements, they came forward on their own, under no pressure. See Witnesses 1st StatementsSee Witnesses 2nd Statement After State Visited Them You can view additional statements made by the attorney and private investigator that were present during the first statements made by the witnesses. See Attorney And Investigator Statements
The victim’s wife Judy Wicker was charged with the murder and originally stated under oath Thomas Arthur was not the murderer, but she did name two other people that assisted her with committing the murder. Judy wicker stated she had paid her sister , Theresa Rowling $6000.00 and Theresa’s boyfriend Theron McKinney had received a Trans Am. Theresa had cashed a check in the amount of $6,000.00 from Judy. They were never charged with a crime, regardless of Theresa being found at the crime scene with her sister Judy and both had blood on their clothes. Neither Judy or Theresa were tested to see if they fired the gun that killed Troy Wicker. Numerous Law Enforcement Officials were on the scene with the equipment to perform such a test. See Writ of Certiorari With All Information A recent statement made by the Alabama Attorney General Troy King is “he was aware of an affair Judy Wicker was having with one of the police officers at the crime scene and the untested semen could belong to anyone”. He went on to state “Judy was known for her promiscuous behavior”. This could be why Judy or her sister Theresa were never tested to see if they fired the gun that killed Troy Wicker.
Judy Wicker never testified at Thomas Arthur’s 1st and 2nd trials. However, she did sign statements that he had nothing to do with the murder , and made numerous written statements(7 times) that Thomas Arthur was not the murderer. She did tell investigators Mays, and Aycock she paid her sister Theresa and Theresa’s boyfriend to help her with the murder. However, after serving 10 years in Tutwiler prison, she changed her testimony by force from the DA in exchange for freedom. She then stated that she had sex with Arthur and he then killed her husband . (There is a rape kit the State refuses to DNA test). After signing the statement, they did not release her. The State then told her she would have to wait and see if Thomas Arthur got a new trial and he did. The State lied to her and did not release her. They made her wait four more years. Then Judy Wicker was forced to testify at Thomas Arthur’s 3rd trial to say he was the murderer. She was released from prison in exchange for her testimony. The prosecutor during Arthur’s 3rd trial, when Judy Wicker changed her testimony in exchange for early parole, had represented Wicker as her defense attorney during her previous unsuccessful parole hearing. She also stated at first she was raped by an Intruder then he killed her husband. That was her statement 7 different times. The final statement, the one she gave in exchange for parole, she said Thomas Arthur had sex with her, then killed her husband. The untested rape/sex kit could be compared to the FBI data base to see if it matches someone else that could have murdered Troy Wicker. After the recent statement made by the Alabama Attorney General, Troy King, that untested kit could match the police officer at the crime scene with Judy Wicker that morning. It seems as if it would match anyone other than Thomas Arthur. If you click on the link , look at pgs 2,3,4 & 5 See Writ of Certiorari With All Information .
Alabama is the only State that does not provide death row inmates the right to an attorney during post-conviction petitions. Read Recent New York Times Article The inmates are supposed to have the right to a law library to research and file their own petitions. Thomas Arthur did not have an attorney and was given access to a “day” room with no law books. See Statement From Holman Prison Official He was told he could request the law books. By the time he found a voluntary attorney, his petition was denied for being filed late. Therefore he is denied his FIRST HABEAS CORPUS review. He has been turned down for the right to the reviews that will prove his innocence. He will be executed without receiving ANY State or Federal reviews.
The Holman Prisons Warden denied visitation by an investigator who was willing to try and ferret out the facts that would enable an lawyer interested in Arthur’s case to decide to represent him.
Holman Prison lacks a law library for death row prisoners or information about how to qualify for a state or federal post-conviction lawyer.
Thomas Arthur made many unsuccessful efforts to interest a pro bono lawyer in his case, including an article in Justice Denied (Aug-Sept. 1999) Read Article
Several jury members have made statements that if they had seen all of the evidence, they would not have found him guilty.
The victim, Troy Wicker’s sister has signed an affidavit that she does not believe Thomas Arthur Killed her brother. She is asking that Governor Riley stay the execution until the crime scene evidence can be DNA tested . See Wickers Sister Statement.
The State has made numerous statements that the DNA testing of the crime scene evidence would not prove Arthur’s innocence. The Innocence Project based in New York, is the Nations leading experts in DNA testing, and wrongful convictions have strongly disagreed. The Governor of Alabama’s legal advisors even requested Post-Conviction DNA testing information from the Innocence Project. See Letter From Innocence Project Now with a confession from a man that says he committed the murder, with the leading experts in DNA testing stating that DNA testing the evidence could prove Arthur’s innocence, and prove if the confession of the man that claims to have killed the victim, is in fact the killer. The State still insists on executing Arthur without allowing DNA testing at Arthur’s expense.
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