Rick Halperin
2007-02-17 02:37:42 UTC
Feb. 16
TEXAS----impending execution
Newton Anderson Scheduled for Execution in Texas
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott offers the following information about
Newton Anderson, who is scheduled to be executed after 6 p.m. Thursday,
February 22, 2007. Anderson was sentenced to death for killing a Tyler
couple during a burglary of their home.
FACTS OF THE CRIME
On March 4, 1999, Frank and Bertha Cobb arrived home, catching Anderson in
the process of burglarizing their residence.
Using the Anderson's shotgun, Anderson fatally shot Frank and fatally
shot, suffocated, strangled and sexually assaulted Bertha. After killing
the Cobbs, Anderson robbed them, set their house on fire and fled in the
couples maroon Cadillac.
After responding to the fire, firemen brought the blaze under control and
found Frank's body in the kitchen. He had been shot in the head at close
range with a shotgun, and was lying face down with his hands and feet
bound with electrical tape. At that point officials declared the house a
crime scene and ordered the firemen off the premises.
While leaving the house, a fireman discovered Bertha's body in the living
room. She also was face down and bound with electrical tape. Electrical
tape also covered her mouth and nose; she was not clothed from the waist
down; she had been shot many times in the head; and she had been raped and
strangled.
On the day of the murders, Anderson pulled into the trailer park where he
lived with his brother-in-laws nephew and asked for help unloading
clothing, a duffle bag, a suitcase, toiletry items, and an oscillating fan
from the maroon Cadillac. The Cobbs' son later identified those items as
having come from his parents' home. Anderson left the trailer park after
unloading the property, and after returning, he told the nephew that he
abandoned the Cadillac off the highway behind a building. Officials later
discovered the vehicle where Anderson said he had left it.
That night, Anderson asked his brother-in-laws niece and her boyfriend for
a ride to a Dallas night club. He offered to pay them 80 dollars, which
was unusual because Anderson did not ordinarily have extra cash. Bertha
had cashed a check for $892.00 that very day, and kept eight hundred
dollars in cash, but investigating officers found no cash in the Cobb
home. Also unusual were the expensive clothes Anderson was wearing.
Witnesses at the night club observed that Anderson had a large amount of
cash and bought a round of drinks for everyone at the bar. When asked
whether he had broken into someone's house, Anderson replied, "Yeah. I did
something like that." Anderson later told his sister that he "did it."
PROCEDURAL HISTORY
In March 1999, Anderson was indicted for the capital murders of Frank and
Bertha Cobb. In May 2000, a jury returned a "guilty" verdict and a death
sentence. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed both verdicts in
May 2002. In March 2003, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied
Andersons state habeas petition.
In April 2003, Anderson obtained federal habeas counsel and, learning of
the trial court's intention to set a May 2003 execution date, asked a U.S.
district court to stay his execution. On May 1, 2003, the federal court
ordered a stay. Anderson filed his federal habeas petition 10 months later
and was denied in January 2006.
He appealed to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and the state
district court set his execution for July 26, 2006, though the prior stay
was still effective. On November 1, 2006, the 5th Circuit Court affirmed
the lower courts decision to deny relief.
On January 5, 2007, Anderson filed a petition for certiorari review in the
U.S. Supreme Court and an application for a stay of execution pending
disposition of his petition. The petition and stay request are pending
before the court.
CRIMINAL BACKGROUND
Before killing and robbing the Cobbs, Anderson served jail time for family
violence assault. He also had a burglary conviction and was sentenced to 8
years probation in that case. When Anderson committed 4 more burglaries
less than three months into his probation, his probation was revoked and
he was sentenced to 8 years in state prison. Three months after he was
paroled from prison, Anderson killed Frank and Bertha Cobb.
Andersons criminal activity was not confined to Texas. Previously, he
committed burglary and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle in California,
where he received a six-year juvenile offender prison sentence. Within two
months of his arrival at the juvenile detention facility, Anderson
escaped.
While in jail, awaiting trial for capital murder in the slayings of the
Cobbs, Anderson obtained or made a rope and used a hacksaw blade to cut
through an air vent in his jail cell. On another occasion, Anderson
smuggled a razor blade into the courthouse, cut his leg restraints, and
escaped during a pretrial hearing. Anderson also possessed a shank and
attempted to bribe a correctional officer to leave his cell door unlocked.
MISCELLANEOUS
For additional information and statistics, please go to the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice website, www.tdcj.state.tx.us
[source: Texas Department of Criminal Justice]
(source: US News and Information)
***********************
DPS crime lab employee held in cocaine possession
An employee at the Texas Department of Public Safety's Houston crime lab
appeared in court today after he and 2 other men were accused of stealing
cocaine from the facility.
Jesus Hinojosa Jr., 30, along with Roberto Reynoso,35, and Tommy
Norris,33, were charged with possession of more than 400 grams of cocaine
with intent to deliver the illegal substance, officials said.
A technician at the Jersey Village lab since 2002, Hinojosa was arrested
earlier this week after authorities discovered he had been smuggling
cocaine out of the lab in order to sell the drugs for several years, said
District Attorney Charles Rosenthal, Jr.
After another chemist in the lab got different results for a sample of
cocaine she had previously tested, she went to her lab supervisor who then
made conclusions that led them to begin an investigation into the lab,
Rosenthal said.
"He would take cocaine out the lab and pass it to one particular person
who would repackage it and then he would put the repackaged goods back in
the vault,'' he said, adding that he does not know what the replacement
material was.
After questioning Hinojosa, who resigned from DPS Thursday, authorities
set up a sting to capture Reynoso and Norris who were both arrested
Wednesday night.
In addition to the drug charges, Reynoso was also charged with using a
deadly weapon when the offense was committed.
Rosenthal said the approximately 26 kilograms of cocaine stolen from the
lab should not affect any Harris County cases because they do not use the
DPS lab often and because Hinojosa was stealing cocaine that was already
scheduled to be destroyed.
"He was looking for high-grade cocaine, so he would steal it after it had
been analyzed,'' he said.
A DPS spokesman declined to reveal any other details of the case besides
the announcement of Hinojosa's resignation.
He remained in the Harris County Jail today under a $1 million bond.
Reynoso remained in jail on a $750,000 bond and Norris with a $500,000.
Their next court appearance is scheduled for March 20.
Rosenthal said he didn't think the arrests would affect any other cases.
However, he has notified the state district attorney's association about
the situation in case cases in other jurisdictions were compromised.
(source: Houston Chronicle)
***************
Innocence Project to review Dallas County convictions-----Group will
decide whether 354 cases warrant DNA testing
The extraordinary number of DNA-based exonerations in Dallas County has
led to a unique partnership between prosecutors and advocates for those
who may be wrongly convicted.
Most of those requests already have been denied by trial court judges on
the recommendation of former District Attorney Bill Hill. Mr. Watkins, who
succeeded Mr. Hill on Jan. 1, wants to ensure that those decisions were
correct, his first assistant said.
"It's just simply the right thing to do," Terri Moore said this week.
Since taking office, Mr. Watkins has seen DNA evidence clear 2 men
convicted of rape. Those exonerations pushed Dallas County's total to 12,
higher than any other U.S. county and all but two states, according to the
national Innocence Project in New York.
More than 190 people have been cleared nationwide through genetic testing
since the 1st post-conviction DNA exoneration in 1989. A 13th exoneration
in Dallas County is expected over the next several weeks.
"When you hear 13 people, that's sobering," Ms. Moore said. "And you have
to say maybe it didn't happen on my watch, but it has happened. I am this
criminal justice system, and I have to do my part in it."
DeSoto cop says DA's office dropped case as favor
Attorneys with the 2 innocence projects began calling for a thorough
review of DNA applications in Dallas County last fall but had not
persuaded Mr. Hill to act. Mr. Watkins, on the other hand, almost
immediately began promising some kind of review.
Over the last month, he and Ms. Moore met with leaders of the Innocence
Project of Texas and agreed to allow volunteer lawyers and law students
access to a broad array of documents upon which to base recommendations
about testing.
The students would come primarily from Texas Wesleyan University's School
of Law in Fort Worth. Their selection would be approved by the district
attorney's office, they would be trained by experienced screeners from the
Innocence Project and they would have their work supervised by experienced
lawyers.
Organizers are working to line up participants and hope to start the
screening process in the next two months. The work is expected to take
several months to complete, said Jeff Blackburn, who heads the Innocence
Project of Texas.
Ms. Moore said the office is prepared to request testing in any case for
which it is recommended. If the cost of testing becomes an issue, she
said, private laboratories might be approached about providing a bulk rate
to the county.
Barry Scheck, co-director of the national Innocence Project, said he had
"no doubt" that if biological evidence is available and tests are
performed, more wrongful convictions will be discovered.
"There just always are," he said.
A radical change
Mr. Scheck and Mr. Blackburn pronounced Mr. Watkins' decision a sea change
for Dallas County.
"I think it's an unprecedented level of cooperation and unprecedented
sensitivity to the possibility that mistakes have been made," said Mr.
Scheck, one of the national pioneers in using DNA technology to free
wrongly convicted people.
Mr. Blackburn said he hopes the Dallas project can serve as an example to
other prosecutors, many of whom have offered stiff opposition since a
state law allowing convicted people to apply for DNA testing was passed in
2001.
"I think Mr. Watkins is blazing a trail in Texas," he said, "and showing
what a DA who cares ultimately about justice rather than the getting of
convictions should do and can do."
Mr. Watkins, a former Dallas defense attorney who is the first black
district attorney in Texas, has questioned whether his predecessors
operated in an even-handed manner.
He said in an interview last month that the number of DNA exonerations
left him wondering how many other people may have been wrongly convicted.
Ms. Moore said there was a concern that the approach to post-conviction
DNA applications practiced under Mr. Hill was not as objective as it
should have been.
"I don't know why it hasn't happened before," she said, "other than we
fall into the them-vs.-us."
Records provided by the district attorney's office list 434 applications
for DNA tests that have been submitted since April 2001. The applications
were submitted by 354 people who have been convicted, some of whom had
multiple cases or made more than one request for testing, the district
clerk's electronic records database shows.
Judges granted tests to 32 applicants, the district attorney's office
said. Of that group, 12 people were exonerated by testing, 9 had their
guilt affirmed, 5 had inconclusive results and the remaining 6 are
pending.
The district attorney's appellate section, which handles post-conviction
applications, declined to identify cases in which prosecutors opposed DNA
testing.
But several lawyers familiar with Mr. Hill's approach said his prosecutors
routinely opposed testing, especially in the first years after the testing
law took effect.
Vickers Cunningham, a felony trial judge until late 2005, when he resigned
to run for district attorney, said prosecutors were overwhelmed by the
number of applications they were being asked to review.
"The process had just begun and there were no rules, and they were just
being cautious," he said.
Mr. Cunningham said he supported Mr. Watkins' decision to take another
look at the DNA applications. But he said most of the requests presented
to him were "no-brainers" that did not meet the requirements set out by
the law.
John Rolater, who was deputy chief of Mr. Hill's appellate section,
declined to comment on what he described as the inner workings of the
office. He is now head of the appellate section in the Collin County
district attorney's office.
Welcomed by victims
The head of a Dallas victims' rights group also voiced support for Mr.
Watkins' decision and said she assumes that most crime victims would also
welcome it.
"They want justice, and they want the right person to receive punishment,"
said Kristianne Hinkamp, executive director of Victims Outreach.
Fred Moss, a former federal prosecutor who teaches law at Southern
Methodist University, called Mr. Watkins' decision laudable but not
without risk.
"The law-and-order types might see it as an attack on the police and the
prosecutors and maybe the judges and the juries that are necessary to
cause these wrongful convictions," Mr. Moss said.
"I think it might not make him terribly popular with some of the DAs that
work for him and maybe some of his fellow DAs across the state and across
the country."
(source: Dallas Morning News)
****************
Jessica's Law would allow death penalty for some child predators
A get-tough measure to punish sex offenders who abuse children, one of the
top issues for Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in the legislative session, was
filed Wednesday with minimum 25-year sentences for first convictions and
the death penalty option for repeat molesters.
Sen. Bob Deuell, R-Greenville, filed the bill that has raised concerns
among prosecutors and victims' rights groups. They worry the tougher
measures could make it harder to get convictions in cases that are already
difficult to prosecute and could lead to even more violence against
children.
Legal experts question whether the death penalty is constitutional in a
sex case.
If passed, Deuell and Dewhurst called the bill a major deterrent to stop
sex offenders.
"We want to spread the word: Don't molest kids," Dewhurst said. "Justice
will be severe."
Gov. Rick Perry also has given the bill emergency status for the session.
The bill has 4 major provisions:
_Minimum sentences of 25 years to life for first time violent sex offenses
against children under 14.
_Lifetime global positioning satellite tracking for offenders.
_Allow for the death penalty for a 2nd offense against a child under 14.
_Double the statute of limitations for sex crimes against children from 10
to 20 years after the victim's 18th birthday.
In 1977, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a death sentence for a Georgia
man convicted of raping a woman, calling it an "excessive penalty for the
rapist, who as such, does not take human life."
5 other states have passed similar death penalty laws to the one proposed
in Texas. Although no one has been executed, one Louisiana inmate is on
death row for the rape of an 8-year-old girl. That case is still being
reviewed by state and federal appeals courts.
Dewhurst said he discussed the issue with prosecutors and several judges
on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which handles death penalty
appeals. He believes the bill would be constitutional because it is
narrowly tailored to a second offense against a child victim.
Dewhurst declined to identify whom he spoke with among the nine appeals
judges.
The Texas Association Against Sexual Assault previously opposed the death
penalty in child sex cases for fear it could lead to victims being killed.
Spokeswoman Torie Camp backed off that stance Wednesday, saying it would
likely only be sought in the worst, most violent cases. The death penalty
provision would not be mandatory.
"We'll leave that up to our prosecutors," she said. "If they feel like
they can succeed. then we can be supportive."
More troublesome for victims' groups is the 25-year minimum sentence for a
first-time offender. As most child sex abuse is committed by a family
member or close friend, families may be reluctant to report the crime if
it means a long sentence for a loved one, Camp said.
"We predict reporting rates will go down," she said. "That's a big concern
for us."
Cost estimates of the lifetime GPS monitoring would be about $14 a day, or
$5,110 per year per offender, Dewhurst said.
The bill is titled "Jessica's Law," after Jessica Lunsford, a Florida girl
who was abducted and killed in March 2005.
The Jessica's Law bill is SB 5.
(source: Associated Press)
**************
Trial set for adoptive parents facing capital murder charges
The couple accused of forcing their 4-year-old son to drink a deadly mix
of water and Cajun seasonings are set to go to trial March 26. Andrew Burd
died back in October from a sodium overdose that caused massive organ
failure. Thursday, Hannah and Larry Overton were arraigned after being
indicted last week.
The district attorney's office is expected to announce on Friday whether
they'll seek the death penalty. Hannah and Larry Overton were reminded
this week, just how serious this case is, as Hannah's attorney requested
to know whether the state will seek the death penalty against them.
Defense attorney John Gilmore said he believes the state will not.
"I'm relatively certain that they're not going to," Gilmore said. "Why
not? Because this is not a death penalty case. Even if they had done what
they're alleged to have done, this is not a death penalty case."
But prosecutors said it could be because Andrew Burd was just 4 years old,
and it is a capital murder charge.
"If you murder a child under the age of 6, that's capital murder," Sandra
Eastwood, prosecutor, said.
Prosecutors also asked the judge on Thursday to issue careful bond
restrictions for the parents out of concern for the newborn child, born
just weeks ago. The judge adopted the restrictions already imposed by
another court that require supervision at all times when the parents are
with the children.
Their attorney wouldn't comment on their defense strategy, but he said he
is confident that the real story will come out in court, and the couple
will be found not guilty.
Prosecutors, however, are also confident and added that it will likely not
be an easy trial to hear.
"These cases are always heartbreaking," Eastwood said. "So I know that it
will be very saddening in the courtroom to hear about some of the facts in
this case, but my duty is to present the evidence and see that justice is
served, so I'm very glad to be able to do that."
District Attorney Carlos Valdez will be the one to decide whether they'll
seek the death penalty or not and that decision will be announced Friday.
The reason that's important now is because death penalty cases require a
very different jury selection process, and attorneys on both sides need
extra time to prepare for such.
Again, as of Thursday, the trial date is set for March 26.
(source: KRIS TV news)
****************
Overton couple pleads not guilty in 4-year-old's death
Hannah and Larry Overton, charged with capital murder in connection with
the death of 4-year-old Andrew Burd, pleaded not guilty Thursday in the
214th District Court.
Hannah Overton, 29, fed Andrew a mixture of water and Cajun seasoning as
punishment on Oct. 2, according to arrest affidavits.
After drinking the mixture, Andrew vomited and drifted in and out of
consciousness. Hannah and Larry Overton, 30, waited nearly 3 hours before
taking the boy to a medical clinic, affidavits said.
He later was taken to Christus Spohn Hospital South, where he died the
next day, hospital officials said. The couple was in the process of
adopting Andrew, who was a foster child.
The couple faces trial March 26 in Judge Jose Longoria's court.
(source: Corpus Christi Caller-Times)
************************
Harlingen Man Charged with Murder, Burglary-----Murderer Confesses;
Victim's mother noticed withdrawals from son's account
A Harlingen man is charged with capital murder after confessing to
authorities and leading them to the victim's body.
Bryan Russell West is also accused of burglary.
Cameron County Sheriff's investigators say he shot 26-year-old Steven
Wagster with a 9 millimeter handgun he stole from Wagster.
West buried his friend in a wooded field in Harlingen. Investigators say
the two men were drinking there a couple of weeks ago.
The victim's mother called the sheriff's department when she discovered
repeated withdrawals from her son's debit card.
West told investigators when he killed his friend, he felt like he didn't
have a choice.
West claims Wagster was getting into drugs and into trouble.
"I wanted to do something with my life. And since we were such good
friends, I couldn't get away from him. And so I felt like this was the
only way to do it, it didn't make my life any better," says the confessed
murderer.
West's bond was set at $1,025,000. He could be sentenced to life in prison
or sent to death row.
(source: KRGV)
****************
Local woman awaits justice for father's death
It's a day Kerrville resident Gwynn Hudson-Simmons has been waiting on for
18 years.
It is the day she will travel to Huntsville to watch the execution of the
man who killed her father on Aug. 20, 1988, in Pecos County just nine
months before his retirement.
That fatal night
Hudson-Simmons' father, Pecos County Sheriffs Deputy Tim Hudson, 61, was
called out late on a Friday evening after 2 men stole $22.50 worth of gas
from a service station in nearby Bakersfield.
Hudson pulled up behind the van that matched the description at about
12:10 a.m. Saturday and turned on the lights of his patrol car in an
attempt to pull the van over on Interstate 10, west of Fort Stockton.
He didn't know the 2 men in the van had escaped from the State Release
Center in Shawnee County, Kan., a week earlier. He didn't know the driver,
Charles Edward Smith, 22, and his cousin, Carroll Bernard Smith, had
stolen the van, license plates, credit cards and a .357 magnum revolver in
Houston before heading to New Mexico.
When Hudson tried to pass the van on the left, Charles Smith fired 3 shots
into the patrol car, 1 of them striking the deputy in the side, killing
him.
"My dad's last radio transmission was running the plates," she said. "He
just thought it was a gas thief. He never knew they were escaped convicts.
He lived for about 90 seconds after he was shot, and we are thankful that
he didnt suffer."
The Smith cousins abandoned the van in Coyanosa and set it on fire before
stealing a tractor-trailer truck from a residence. A running gun battle
ensued between the 2 men and authorities, including county and city
officers, state troopers and a U.S. Customs helicopter.
"I will never forget that Saturday morning," said Hudson-Simmons, who was
28 with 2 small children at the time of her father's death. "I heard a
knock on the door and I thought 'Why doesn't dad just come on in?' But,
when I got to the door, it was the sheriff and my yard was filled with
officers."
Hudson was a 30-year veteran of law enforcement working in several West
Texas counties and cities, including Seminole, Midland, Stanton, Monahans
and Hobbs, N.M. He also was a U.S. Marine veteran who served during World
War II.
Trial after trial
A Pecos County grand jury indicted the 2 men shortly after Hudson's
murder, but it was 1 year later that Charles Smith stood trial. On Aug.
15, 1989, after 25 minutes of deliberating, a Pecos County jury found
Charles Edward Smith guilty of capital murder. Less than a week later, he
was sentenced to death by lethal injection. According to news reports from
the trial, at least 11 witnesses from Texas and Kansas testified for the
prosecution about Smiths behavior and previous actions.
One Pecos County jailer said Smith even attempted to escape the county
jail while awaiting trial. Smith was even heard over the jail's intercom
singing "I shot the deputy" to the tune of "I Shot the Sheriff."
Just after his cousin was found guilty and sentenced to death, Carroll B.
Smith pled guilty and was sentenced to life in prison.
For Hudson-Simmons, it looked like justice would be served, but justice
has had to wait.
"We knew there would be appeals, but we never realized we would have to
wait so long," she said.
In December 1991, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reversed the 1989
conviction of Charles Edward Smith in a 7-2 decision.
"The appellate judge found that one of the original 12 jurors was a cousin
to a police officer, so they deemed the jury biased and threw the whole
damn thing out," she said.
A new trial was held in 1994, and Charles Smith again was convicted of
capital murder and sentenced to die.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned the conviction again,
citing an error in the jury instructions given during the penalty phase of
the 2nd trial.
Finally, in November 1999, a West Texas jury found Smith guilty a third
and final time. He was given the death penalty again.
Hudson-Simmons had hoped the execution would be swift.
Justice at last
Hudson-Simmons finally got word from the Texas Department of Criminal
Justice that Charles Edward Smith will be executed on May 16.
She will watch his execution.
"This is not a happy occasion for anyone. I have prayed for this man and
his family for 18 years," she said. "I was against the death penalty, but
it's different when someone in your family is killed like this, and their
killer doesnt show any remorse."
Hudson-Simmons said Smith has threatened her and her family from prison.
"During the trial, he would turn around, smile and make obscene gestures
toward my mother in open court," she said. "He stated in his confession
that it has been his lifelong dream to kill a cop and that he felt like
his life was complete now. He said if he had a choice to do it over, he
would do it again, and he was very proud of what he did.
"Putting him to death will guarantee this man will not kill anyone elses
family member."
Hudson-Simmons has been warned about the death penalty protesters who will
be in Huntsville.
I know there are people against the death penalty, and it is going to be
difficult to see someone put to death, she said, "but I watched blown up
photos of my dad (in court) with 4 inches of blood in his floor board. I
can handle watching this guy getting euthanized. For us, this is closure."
Charles Edward Smith has been on death row for 18 years, and
Hudson-Simmons said that is a huge cost to taxpayers.
"Not only is this important to my family, but also from a taxpayer's point
of view," she said. "We pay for these people to live on death row. This
guy got a bachelor's degree in criminal justice for free while on death
row."
According to facts from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice about
death row, the cost per day per offender is $61.58.
"Multiply that times 18 years. It really adds up," she said. "We need to
execute these criminals in a timely manner. This sends the message that we
do not tolerate cop killers in Texas. Now, all we have to do is change
laws that require us to feed and house and educate these criminals for 18
years before justice is served."
Hudson-Simmons said she plans to work and talk to representatives about
pushing up executions.
Former Pecos County Sheriff Bruce Wilson, who was sheriff at the time of
Hudsons death, also will be present at the execution.
"Bruce and his wife, Martha, have been like second parents to me," she
said. "I can't thank him enough for everything he has done. Not only did
he work with my dad, but they were personal friends."
Remembering the man
Hudson-Simmons said she and her children, James and Julie, miss the man
who they called father and grandfather.
"He truly loved what he did and the fact that he could make a difference
in peoples lives," she said. "My son went on to become a Marine and is now
married and both he and my daughter grew up without him in their lives."
Mexia Police Detective Javier Ybarra also will attend the May execution.
Hudson impacted his life as a teenager.
"When he was a teenager, my dad caught him breaking into a store in Fort
Stockton," Hudson-Simmons said. "Instead of taking him in and putting him
in juvenile detention, he gave him the talking to of his life and made him
ride in the county car for 2 weeks. He told me if it hadnt been for my
dad, he might be in prison. This guy had a rough childhood, too, but he
didnt go out and kill cops, he became one."
Many of Hudson's friends and even his wife, Vera, are now deceased, but
his daughter says there is no denying that he was full of life and taken
too quickly.
"Anyone who knew him knew the kind of man he was, and I'm sure he would
want to thank all of the officers that were involved in this also," she
said. "He devoted his life to the safety and welfare of others."
(source: Kerrville Daily Times)
*********************
'Jessica's Law' lays down law
At least 20 states have adopted "Jessica's Law," legislation named after
Jessica Lunsford, a 9-year-old Florida girl who was abducted and murdered
by a registered sex offender in 2005.
Texas and Oklahoma are on their way to joining the club, which consists of
states that are fed up with sex offenders, many of whom manipulate the
U.S. justice system.
Texas Lt. Gov David Dewhurst is championing the Lone Star State's version
of "Jessica's Law" with a bill filed Wednesday. A similar bill was
approved in the Oklahoma House Criminal Justice and Corrections
Subcommittee Tuesday.
Not that any piece of legislation should be rubber-stamped, but lawmakers
have an easy decision.
Texas' version has earned the most scrutiny, with 25-year minimum
sentences for first-time violent sex offenders whose victims are under 14
and the possibility of the death penalty for a 2nd offense.
Extreme?
Not to those who value justice and the safety of children.
Oklahoma's version would require at least 25 years for sex offenses
against children under 12. The state currently has no minimum sentence.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice Web site, there are 27
registered sex offenders in Texas County in the Oklahoma Panhandle, and 7
in Beaver County.
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety Web site, there are 173
registered sex offenders in the 4 ZIP codes that are included in the
Amarillo area.
These individuals have already committed crimes - some heinous - and it is
time the justice system dealt with such criminals swiftly and severely.
"We want to spread the word: Don't molest kids," Dewhurst said. "Justice
will be severe."
Our children deserve nothing less.
(source: Editorial, Amarillo Globe-News)
TEXAS----impending execution
Newton Anderson Scheduled for Execution in Texas
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott offers the following information about
Newton Anderson, who is scheduled to be executed after 6 p.m. Thursday,
February 22, 2007. Anderson was sentenced to death for killing a Tyler
couple during a burglary of their home.
FACTS OF THE CRIME
On March 4, 1999, Frank and Bertha Cobb arrived home, catching Anderson in
the process of burglarizing their residence.
Using the Anderson's shotgun, Anderson fatally shot Frank and fatally
shot, suffocated, strangled and sexually assaulted Bertha. After killing
the Cobbs, Anderson robbed them, set their house on fire and fled in the
couples maroon Cadillac.
After responding to the fire, firemen brought the blaze under control and
found Frank's body in the kitchen. He had been shot in the head at close
range with a shotgun, and was lying face down with his hands and feet
bound with electrical tape. At that point officials declared the house a
crime scene and ordered the firemen off the premises.
While leaving the house, a fireman discovered Bertha's body in the living
room. She also was face down and bound with electrical tape. Electrical
tape also covered her mouth and nose; she was not clothed from the waist
down; she had been shot many times in the head; and she had been raped and
strangled.
On the day of the murders, Anderson pulled into the trailer park where he
lived with his brother-in-laws nephew and asked for help unloading
clothing, a duffle bag, a suitcase, toiletry items, and an oscillating fan
from the maroon Cadillac. The Cobbs' son later identified those items as
having come from his parents' home. Anderson left the trailer park after
unloading the property, and after returning, he told the nephew that he
abandoned the Cadillac off the highway behind a building. Officials later
discovered the vehicle where Anderson said he had left it.
That night, Anderson asked his brother-in-laws niece and her boyfriend for
a ride to a Dallas night club. He offered to pay them 80 dollars, which
was unusual because Anderson did not ordinarily have extra cash. Bertha
had cashed a check for $892.00 that very day, and kept eight hundred
dollars in cash, but investigating officers found no cash in the Cobb
home. Also unusual were the expensive clothes Anderson was wearing.
Witnesses at the night club observed that Anderson had a large amount of
cash and bought a round of drinks for everyone at the bar. When asked
whether he had broken into someone's house, Anderson replied, "Yeah. I did
something like that." Anderson later told his sister that he "did it."
PROCEDURAL HISTORY
In March 1999, Anderson was indicted for the capital murders of Frank and
Bertha Cobb. In May 2000, a jury returned a "guilty" verdict and a death
sentence. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed both verdicts in
May 2002. In March 2003, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied
Andersons state habeas petition.
In April 2003, Anderson obtained federal habeas counsel and, learning of
the trial court's intention to set a May 2003 execution date, asked a U.S.
district court to stay his execution. On May 1, 2003, the federal court
ordered a stay. Anderson filed his federal habeas petition 10 months later
and was denied in January 2006.
He appealed to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and the state
district court set his execution for July 26, 2006, though the prior stay
was still effective. On November 1, 2006, the 5th Circuit Court affirmed
the lower courts decision to deny relief.
On January 5, 2007, Anderson filed a petition for certiorari review in the
U.S. Supreme Court and an application for a stay of execution pending
disposition of his petition. The petition and stay request are pending
before the court.
CRIMINAL BACKGROUND
Before killing and robbing the Cobbs, Anderson served jail time for family
violence assault. He also had a burglary conviction and was sentenced to 8
years probation in that case. When Anderson committed 4 more burglaries
less than three months into his probation, his probation was revoked and
he was sentenced to 8 years in state prison. Three months after he was
paroled from prison, Anderson killed Frank and Bertha Cobb.
Andersons criminal activity was not confined to Texas. Previously, he
committed burglary and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle in California,
where he received a six-year juvenile offender prison sentence. Within two
months of his arrival at the juvenile detention facility, Anderson
escaped.
While in jail, awaiting trial for capital murder in the slayings of the
Cobbs, Anderson obtained or made a rope and used a hacksaw blade to cut
through an air vent in his jail cell. On another occasion, Anderson
smuggled a razor blade into the courthouse, cut his leg restraints, and
escaped during a pretrial hearing. Anderson also possessed a shank and
attempted to bribe a correctional officer to leave his cell door unlocked.
MISCELLANEOUS
For additional information and statistics, please go to the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice website, www.tdcj.state.tx.us
[source: Texas Department of Criminal Justice]
(source: US News and Information)
***********************
DPS crime lab employee held in cocaine possession
An employee at the Texas Department of Public Safety's Houston crime lab
appeared in court today after he and 2 other men were accused of stealing
cocaine from the facility.
Jesus Hinojosa Jr., 30, along with Roberto Reynoso,35, and Tommy
Norris,33, were charged with possession of more than 400 grams of cocaine
with intent to deliver the illegal substance, officials said.
A technician at the Jersey Village lab since 2002, Hinojosa was arrested
earlier this week after authorities discovered he had been smuggling
cocaine out of the lab in order to sell the drugs for several years, said
District Attorney Charles Rosenthal, Jr.
After another chemist in the lab got different results for a sample of
cocaine she had previously tested, she went to her lab supervisor who then
made conclusions that led them to begin an investigation into the lab,
Rosenthal said.
"He would take cocaine out the lab and pass it to one particular person
who would repackage it and then he would put the repackaged goods back in
the vault,'' he said, adding that he does not know what the replacement
material was.
After questioning Hinojosa, who resigned from DPS Thursday, authorities
set up a sting to capture Reynoso and Norris who were both arrested
Wednesday night.
In addition to the drug charges, Reynoso was also charged with using a
deadly weapon when the offense was committed.
Rosenthal said the approximately 26 kilograms of cocaine stolen from the
lab should not affect any Harris County cases because they do not use the
DPS lab often and because Hinojosa was stealing cocaine that was already
scheduled to be destroyed.
"He was looking for high-grade cocaine, so he would steal it after it had
been analyzed,'' he said.
A DPS spokesman declined to reveal any other details of the case besides
the announcement of Hinojosa's resignation.
He remained in the Harris County Jail today under a $1 million bond.
Reynoso remained in jail on a $750,000 bond and Norris with a $500,000.
Their next court appearance is scheduled for March 20.
Rosenthal said he didn't think the arrests would affect any other cases.
However, he has notified the state district attorney's association about
the situation in case cases in other jurisdictions were compromised.
(source: Houston Chronicle)
***************
Innocence Project to review Dallas County convictions-----Group will
decide whether 354 cases warrant DNA testing
The extraordinary number of DNA-based exonerations in Dallas County has
led to a unique partnership between prosecutors and advocates for those
who may be wrongly convicted.
Most of those requests already have been denied by trial court judges on
the recommendation of former District Attorney Bill Hill. Mr. Watkins, who
succeeded Mr. Hill on Jan. 1, wants to ensure that those decisions were
correct, his first assistant said.
"It's just simply the right thing to do," Terri Moore said this week.
Since taking office, Mr. Watkins has seen DNA evidence clear 2 men
convicted of rape. Those exonerations pushed Dallas County's total to 12,
higher than any other U.S. county and all but two states, according to the
national Innocence Project in New York.
More than 190 people have been cleared nationwide through genetic testing
since the 1st post-conviction DNA exoneration in 1989. A 13th exoneration
in Dallas County is expected over the next several weeks.
"When you hear 13 people, that's sobering," Ms. Moore said. "And you have
to say maybe it didn't happen on my watch, but it has happened. I am this
criminal justice system, and I have to do my part in it."
DeSoto cop says DA's office dropped case as favor
Attorneys with the 2 innocence projects began calling for a thorough
review of DNA applications in Dallas County last fall but had not
persuaded Mr. Hill to act. Mr. Watkins, on the other hand, almost
immediately began promising some kind of review.
Over the last month, he and Ms. Moore met with leaders of the Innocence
Project of Texas and agreed to allow volunteer lawyers and law students
access to a broad array of documents upon which to base recommendations
about testing.
The students would come primarily from Texas Wesleyan University's School
of Law in Fort Worth. Their selection would be approved by the district
attorney's office, they would be trained by experienced screeners from the
Innocence Project and they would have their work supervised by experienced
lawyers.
Organizers are working to line up participants and hope to start the
screening process in the next two months. The work is expected to take
several months to complete, said Jeff Blackburn, who heads the Innocence
Project of Texas.
Ms. Moore said the office is prepared to request testing in any case for
which it is recommended. If the cost of testing becomes an issue, she
said, private laboratories might be approached about providing a bulk rate
to the county.
Barry Scheck, co-director of the national Innocence Project, said he had
"no doubt" that if biological evidence is available and tests are
performed, more wrongful convictions will be discovered.
"There just always are," he said.
A radical change
Mr. Scheck and Mr. Blackburn pronounced Mr. Watkins' decision a sea change
for Dallas County.
"I think it's an unprecedented level of cooperation and unprecedented
sensitivity to the possibility that mistakes have been made," said Mr.
Scheck, one of the national pioneers in using DNA technology to free
wrongly convicted people.
Mr. Blackburn said he hopes the Dallas project can serve as an example to
other prosecutors, many of whom have offered stiff opposition since a
state law allowing convicted people to apply for DNA testing was passed in
2001.
"I think Mr. Watkins is blazing a trail in Texas," he said, "and showing
what a DA who cares ultimately about justice rather than the getting of
convictions should do and can do."
Mr. Watkins, a former Dallas defense attorney who is the first black
district attorney in Texas, has questioned whether his predecessors
operated in an even-handed manner.
He said in an interview last month that the number of DNA exonerations
left him wondering how many other people may have been wrongly convicted.
Ms. Moore said there was a concern that the approach to post-conviction
DNA applications practiced under Mr. Hill was not as objective as it
should have been.
"I don't know why it hasn't happened before," she said, "other than we
fall into the them-vs.-us."
Records provided by the district attorney's office list 434 applications
for DNA tests that have been submitted since April 2001. The applications
were submitted by 354 people who have been convicted, some of whom had
multiple cases or made more than one request for testing, the district
clerk's electronic records database shows.
Judges granted tests to 32 applicants, the district attorney's office
said. Of that group, 12 people were exonerated by testing, 9 had their
guilt affirmed, 5 had inconclusive results and the remaining 6 are
pending.
The district attorney's appellate section, which handles post-conviction
applications, declined to identify cases in which prosecutors opposed DNA
testing.
But several lawyers familiar with Mr. Hill's approach said his prosecutors
routinely opposed testing, especially in the first years after the testing
law took effect.
Vickers Cunningham, a felony trial judge until late 2005, when he resigned
to run for district attorney, said prosecutors were overwhelmed by the
number of applications they were being asked to review.
"The process had just begun and there were no rules, and they were just
being cautious," he said.
Mr. Cunningham said he supported Mr. Watkins' decision to take another
look at the DNA applications. But he said most of the requests presented
to him were "no-brainers" that did not meet the requirements set out by
the law.
John Rolater, who was deputy chief of Mr. Hill's appellate section,
declined to comment on what he described as the inner workings of the
office. He is now head of the appellate section in the Collin County
district attorney's office.
Welcomed by victims
The head of a Dallas victims' rights group also voiced support for Mr.
Watkins' decision and said she assumes that most crime victims would also
welcome it.
"They want justice, and they want the right person to receive punishment,"
said Kristianne Hinkamp, executive director of Victims Outreach.
Fred Moss, a former federal prosecutor who teaches law at Southern
Methodist University, called Mr. Watkins' decision laudable but not
without risk.
"The law-and-order types might see it as an attack on the police and the
prosecutors and maybe the judges and the juries that are necessary to
cause these wrongful convictions," Mr. Moss said.
"I think it might not make him terribly popular with some of the DAs that
work for him and maybe some of his fellow DAs across the state and across
the country."
(source: Dallas Morning News)
****************
Jessica's Law would allow death penalty for some child predators
A get-tough measure to punish sex offenders who abuse children, one of the
top issues for Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in the legislative session, was
filed Wednesday with minimum 25-year sentences for first convictions and
the death penalty option for repeat molesters.
Sen. Bob Deuell, R-Greenville, filed the bill that has raised concerns
among prosecutors and victims' rights groups. They worry the tougher
measures could make it harder to get convictions in cases that are already
difficult to prosecute and could lead to even more violence against
children.
Legal experts question whether the death penalty is constitutional in a
sex case.
If passed, Deuell and Dewhurst called the bill a major deterrent to stop
sex offenders.
"We want to spread the word: Don't molest kids," Dewhurst said. "Justice
will be severe."
Gov. Rick Perry also has given the bill emergency status for the session.
The bill has 4 major provisions:
_Minimum sentences of 25 years to life for first time violent sex offenses
against children under 14.
_Lifetime global positioning satellite tracking for offenders.
_Allow for the death penalty for a 2nd offense against a child under 14.
_Double the statute of limitations for sex crimes against children from 10
to 20 years after the victim's 18th birthday.
In 1977, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a death sentence for a Georgia
man convicted of raping a woman, calling it an "excessive penalty for the
rapist, who as such, does not take human life."
5 other states have passed similar death penalty laws to the one proposed
in Texas. Although no one has been executed, one Louisiana inmate is on
death row for the rape of an 8-year-old girl. That case is still being
reviewed by state and federal appeals courts.
Dewhurst said he discussed the issue with prosecutors and several judges
on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which handles death penalty
appeals. He believes the bill would be constitutional because it is
narrowly tailored to a second offense against a child victim.
Dewhurst declined to identify whom he spoke with among the nine appeals
judges.
The Texas Association Against Sexual Assault previously opposed the death
penalty in child sex cases for fear it could lead to victims being killed.
Spokeswoman Torie Camp backed off that stance Wednesday, saying it would
likely only be sought in the worst, most violent cases. The death penalty
provision would not be mandatory.
"We'll leave that up to our prosecutors," she said. "If they feel like
they can succeed. then we can be supportive."
More troublesome for victims' groups is the 25-year minimum sentence for a
first-time offender. As most child sex abuse is committed by a family
member or close friend, families may be reluctant to report the crime if
it means a long sentence for a loved one, Camp said.
"We predict reporting rates will go down," she said. "That's a big concern
for us."
Cost estimates of the lifetime GPS monitoring would be about $14 a day, or
$5,110 per year per offender, Dewhurst said.
The bill is titled "Jessica's Law," after Jessica Lunsford, a Florida girl
who was abducted and killed in March 2005.
The Jessica's Law bill is SB 5.
(source: Associated Press)
**************
Trial set for adoptive parents facing capital murder charges
The couple accused of forcing their 4-year-old son to drink a deadly mix
of water and Cajun seasonings are set to go to trial March 26. Andrew Burd
died back in October from a sodium overdose that caused massive organ
failure. Thursday, Hannah and Larry Overton were arraigned after being
indicted last week.
The district attorney's office is expected to announce on Friday whether
they'll seek the death penalty. Hannah and Larry Overton were reminded
this week, just how serious this case is, as Hannah's attorney requested
to know whether the state will seek the death penalty against them.
Defense attorney John Gilmore said he believes the state will not.
"I'm relatively certain that they're not going to," Gilmore said. "Why
not? Because this is not a death penalty case. Even if they had done what
they're alleged to have done, this is not a death penalty case."
But prosecutors said it could be because Andrew Burd was just 4 years old,
and it is a capital murder charge.
"If you murder a child under the age of 6, that's capital murder," Sandra
Eastwood, prosecutor, said.
Prosecutors also asked the judge on Thursday to issue careful bond
restrictions for the parents out of concern for the newborn child, born
just weeks ago. The judge adopted the restrictions already imposed by
another court that require supervision at all times when the parents are
with the children.
Their attorney wouldn't comment on their defense strategy, but he said he
is confident that the real story will come out in court, and the couple
will be found not guilty.
Prosecutors, however, are also confident and added that it will likely not
be an easy trial to hear.
"These cases are always heartbreaking," Eastwood said. "So I know that it
will be very saddening in the courtroom to hear about some of the facts in
this case, but my duty is to present the evidence and see that justice is
served, so I'm very glad to be able to do that."
District Attorney Carlos Valdez will be the one to decide whether they'll
seek the death penalty or not and that decision will be announced Friday.
The reason that's important now is because death penalty cases require a
very different jury selection process, and attorneys on both sides need
extra time to prepare for such.
Again, as of Thursday, the trial date is set for March 26.
(source: KRIS TV news)
****************
Overton couple pleads not guilty in 4-year-old's death
Hannah and Larry Overton, charged with capital murder in connection with
the death of 4-year-old Andrew Burd, pleaded not guilty Thursday in the
214th District Court.
Hannah Overton, 29, fed Andrew a mixture of water and Cajun seasoning as
punishment on Oct. 2, according to arrest affidavits.
After drinking the mixture, Andrew vomited and drifted in and out of
consciousness. Hannah and Larry Overton, 30, waited nearly 3 hours before
taking the boy to a medical clinic, affidavits said.
He later was taken to Christus Spohn Hospital South, where he died the
next day, hospital officials said. The couple was in the process of
adopting Andrew, who was a foster child.
The couple faces trial March 26 in Judge Jose Longoria's court.
(source: Corpus Christi Caller-Times)
************************
Harlingen Man Charged with Murder, Burglary-----Murderer Confesses;
Victim's mother noticed withdrawals from son's account
A Harlingen man is charged with capital murder after confessing to
authorities and leading them to the victim's body.
Bryan Russell West is also accused of burglary.
Cameron County Sheriff's investigators say he shot 26-year-old Steven
Wagster with a 9 millimeter handgun he stole from Wagster.
West buried his friend in a wooded field in Harlingen. Investigators say
the two men were drinking there a couple of weeks ago.
The victim's mother called the sheriff's department when she discovered
repeated withdrawals from her son's debit card.
West told investigators when he killed his friend, he felt like he didn't
have a choice.
West claims Wagster was getting into drugs and into trouble.
"I wanted to do something with my life. And since we were such good
friends, I couldn't get away from him. And so I felt like this was the
only way to do it, it didn't make my life any better," says the confessed
murderer.
West's bond was set at $1,025,000. He could be sentenced to life in prison
or sent to death row.
(source: KRGV)
****************
Local woman awaits justice for father's death
It's a day Kerrville resident Gwynn Hudson-Simmons has been waiting on for
18 years.
It is the day she will travel to Huntsville to watch the execution of the
man who killed her father on Aug. 20, 1988, in Pecos County just nine
months before his retirement.
That fatal night
Hudson-Simmons' father, Pecos County Sheriffs Deputy Tim Hudson, 61, was
called out late on a Friday evening after 2 men stole $22.50 worth of gas
from a service station in nearby Bakersfield.
Hudson pulled up behind the van that matched the description at about
12:10 a.m. Saturday and turned on the lights of his patrol car in an
attempt to pull the van over on Interstate 10, west of Fort Stockton.
He didn't know the 2 men in the van had escaped from the State Release
Center in Shawnee County, Kan., a week earlier. He didn't know the driver,
Charles Edward Smith, 22, and his cousin, Carroll Bernard Smith, had
stolen the van, license plates, credit cards and a .357 magnum revolver in
Houston before heading to New Mexico.
When Hudson tried to pass the van on the left, Charles Smith fired 3 shots
into the patrol car, 1 of them striking the deputy in the side, killing
him.
"My dad's last radio transmission was running the plates," she said. "He
just thought it was a gas thief. He never knew they were escaped convicts.
He lived for about 90 seconds after he was shot, and we are thankful that
he didnt suffer."
The Smith cousins abandoned the van in Coyanosa and set it on fire before
stealing a tractor-trailer truck from a residence. A running gun battle
ensued between the 2 men and authorities, including county and city
officers, state troopers and a U.S. Customs helicopter.
"I will never forget that Saturday morning," said Hudson-Simmons, who was
28 with 2 small children at the time of her father's death. "I heard a
knock on the door and I thought 'Why doesn't dad just come on in?' But,
when I got to the door, it was the sheriff and my yard was filled with
officers."
Hudson was a 30-year veteran of law enforcement working in several West
Texas counties and cities, including Seminole, Midland, Stanton, Monahans
and Hobbs, N.M. He also was a U.S. Marine veteran who served during World
War II.
Trial after trial
A Pecos County grand jury indicted the 2 men shortly after Hudson's
murder, but it was 1 year later that Charles Smith stood trial. On Aug.
15, 1989, after 25 minutes of deliberating, a Pecos County jury found
Charles Edward Smith guilty of capital murder. Less than a week later, he
was sentenced to death by lethal injection. According to news reports from
the trial, at least 11 witnesses from Texas and Kansas testified for the
prosecution about Smiths behavior and previous actions.
One Pecos County jailer said Smith even attempted to escape the county
jail while awaiting trial. Smith was even heard over the jail's intercom
singing "I shot the deputy" to the tune of "I Shot the Sheriff."
Just after his cousin was found guilty and sentenced to death, Carroll B.
Smith pled guilty and was sentenced to life in prison.
For Hudson-Simmons, it looked like justice would be served, but justice
has had to wait.
"We knew there would be appeals, but we never realized we would have to
wait so long," she said.
In December 1991, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reversed the 1989
conviction of Charles Edward Smith in a 7-2 decision.
"The appellate judge found that one of the original 12 jurors was a cousin
to a police officer, so they deemed the jury biased and threw the whole
damn thing out," she said.
A new trial was held in 1994, and Charles Smith again was convicted of
capital murder and sentenced to die.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned the conviction again,
citing an error in the jury instructions given during the penalty phase of
the 2nd trial.
Finally, in November 1999, a West Texas jury found Smith guilty a third
and final time. He was given the death penalty again.
Hudson-Simmons had hoped the execution would be swift.
Justice at last
Hudson-Simmons finally got word from the Texas Department of Criminal
Justice that Charles Edward Smith will be executed on May 16.
She will watch his execution.
"This is not a happy occasion for anyone. I have prayed for this man and
his family for 18 years," she said. "I was against the death penalty, but
it's different when someone in your family is killed like this, and their
killer doesnt show any remorse."
Hudson-Simmons said Smith has threatened her and her family from prison.
"During the trial, he would turn around, smile and make obscene gestures
toward my mother in open court," she said. "He stated in his confession
that it has been his lifelong dream to kill a cop and that he felt like
his life was complete now. He said if he had a choice to do it over, he
would do it again, and he was very proud of what he did.
"Putting him to death will guarantee this man will not kill anyone elses
family member."
Hudson-Simmons has been warned about the death penalty protesters who will
be in Huntsville.
I know there are people against the death penalty, and it is going to be
difficult to see someone put to death, she said, "but I watched blown up
photos of my dad (in court) with 4 inches of blood in his floor board. I
can handle watching this guy getting euthanized. For us, this is closure."
Charles Edward Smith has been on death row for 18 years, and
Hudson-Simmons said that is a huge cost to taxpayers.
"Not only is this important to my family, but also from a taxpayer's point
of view," she said. "We pay for these people to live on death row. This
guy got a bachelor's degree in criminal justice for free while on death
row."
According to facts from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice about
death row, the cost per day per offender is $61.58.
"Multiply that times 18 years. It really adds up," she said. "We need to
execute these criminals in a timely manner. This sends the message that we
do not tolerate cop killers in Texas. Now, all we have to do is change
laws that require us to feed and house and educate these criminals for 18
years before justice is served."
Hudson-Simmons said she plans to work and talk to representatives about
pushing up executions.
Former Pecos County Sheriff Bruce Wilson, who was sheriff at the time of
Hudsons death, also will be present at the execution.
"Bruce and his wife, Martha, have been like second parents to me," she
said. "I can't thank him enough for everything he has done. Not only did
he work with my dad, but they were personal friends."
Remembering the man
Hudson-Simmons said she and her children, James and Julie, miss the man
who they called father and grandfather.
"He truly loved what he did and the fact that he could make a difference
in peoples lives," she said. "My son went on to become a Marine and is now
married and both he and my daughter grew up without him in their lives."
Mexia Police Detective Javier Ybarra also will attend the May execution.
Hudson impacted his life as a teenager.
"When he was a teenager, my dad caught him breaking into a store in Fort
Stockton," Hudson-Simmons said. "Instead of taking him in and putting him
in juvenile detention, he gave him the talking to of his life and made him
ride in the county car for 2 weeks. He told me if it hadnt been for my
dad, he might be in prison. This guy had a rough childhood, too, but he
didnt go out and kill cops, he became one."
Many of Hudson's friends and even his wife, Vera, are now deceased, but
his daughter says there is no denying that he was full of life and taken
too quickly.
"Anyone who knew him knew the kind of man he was, and I'm sure he would
want to thank all of the officers that were involved in this also," she
said. "He devoted his life to the safety and welfare of others."
(source: Kerrville Daily Times)
*********************
'Jessica's Law' lays down law
At least 20 states have adopted "Jessica's Law," legislation named after
Jessica Lunsford, a 9-year-old Florida girl who was abducted and murdered
by a registered sex offender in 2005.
Texas and Oklahoma are on their way to joining the club, which consists of
states that are fed up with sex offenders, many of whom manipulate the
U.S. justice system.
Texas Lt. Gov David Dewhurst is championing the Lone Star State's version
of "Jessica's Law" with a bill filed Wednesday. A similar bill was
approved in the Oklahoma House Criminal Justice and Corrections
Subcommittee Tuesday.
Not that any piece of legislation should be rubber-stamped, but lawmakers
have an easy decision.
Texas' version has earned the most scrutiny, with 25-year minimum
sentences for first-time violent sex offenders whose victims are under 14
and the possibility of the death penalty for a 2nd offense.
Extreme?
Not to those who value justice and the safety of children.
Oklahoma's version would require at least 25 years for sex offenses
against children under 12. The state currently has no minimum sentence.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice Web site, there are 27
registered sex offenders in Texas County in the Oklahoma Panhandle, and 7
in Beaver County.
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety Web site, there are 173
registered sex offenders in the 4 ZIP codes that are included in the
Amarillo area.
These individuals have already committed crimes - some heinous - and it is
time the justice system dealt with such criminals swiftly and severely.
"We want to spread the word: Don't molest kids," Dewhurst said. "Justice
will be severe."
Our children deserve nothing less.
(source: Editorial, Amarillo Globe-News)