The Case of Preston Hughes III: Shandra's Final Hour

Fifteen-year-old Shandra Charles and her 3-year-old cousin Marcell Taylor were murdered late at night in a vacant lot in Houston, Texas. The police claim Shandra lived long enough to identify her attacker as "Preston". The police located Preston Hughes in a nearby apartment complex. Hughes confessed not just once, but twice. He was convicted and sentenced to death. He has been on death row for more than two decades.

As I find time here and there to work on this case, I become increasingly doubtful of Preston Hughes' guilt. My thoughts, however, are ahead of my writing. I'll try to close the gap somewhat with this sad post about the terrible treatment of victim Shandra Charles at the hands of the those sworn to protect her. 

First I offer my references. Guest Blogger Al's original report begins here. My follow up posts on the Geography of the crime scene, on the events of Shandra's Last Day, and on the possible role of Weed in the case are at the links. All excerpts from police reports in this post were taken from here.

That's it for the references, so prepare yourself. Here we go.

Officers J. L. Cook and D. J. Becker were the first officers on the scene, arriving sometime after 11:30 PM. They found Shandra unconscious but alive. They found Marcell dead. From their report:

Officers walked east along the path ... approx 30 yards when observing a black female laying face down in the path. ... There was blood along the neckline and she was breathing deep but was unconscious. Officers notified the west side dispatcher of the find. The blood appeared to be fresh so officers looked ... for possible susp(s).

Make a mental note: the officers found a victim, alive but unconscious. They notified the dispatcher, but did not initiate any first aid. Instead, the felt it important that both of them look for possible suspects. At this point, I do not offer that as a criticism, merely as an observation. Their report continues:

Approx 40 to 50 feet east of the female's location officers found a small boy laying in the brush face down approx 2 to 3 feet north of the path. ... The boy did not appear to be breathing nor have a pulse. ... Officers notified the dispatcher of the find and began emergency first aid. Officer cook observed the boy's left shoulder area still bleeding and turned him over to check for any sign of life. Both eyes, pupils were dilated and there was still no pulse or breathing. ... The boy did not respond to any resusitation [sic] attempts.

I find it strange that Marcell's left shoulder area would still be bleeding, much less upwards and obviously so. Marcell was apparently dead and his heart had apparently stopped beating. There was no pump to pressure the blood upwards, much less at a rate that would be obvious.

Even more curious is the officers' reported response to finding Marcell compared to their reported response to finding Shandra. Upon finding Marcell, they notified the dispatcher, as they did after finding Shandra. However, after notifying the dispatcher, they began emergency first aid.

They applied first aid to Marcell, though he appeared dead. They did not apply first aid to Shandra, though she was still alive and could more clearly have benefited from it. They made note of blood still being pumped from the Marcell's shoulder wound. They made no note of blood that must have still be coming from Shandra's neck wound.

They delayed providing first aid to Shandra, though she was alive, so that they could search for suspects. They did not delay providing first aid to Marcell, though he was apparently dead. While the need to search for suspects (or secure the area) was paramount upon finding Shandra, who was clinging to life, the need to search for subjects (or secure the area) became secondary after finding Marcell, though he was already dead. 

Their report continues:

Officer Becker continued to look in the immediate area for any susp(s) or evidence. Cook stayed at the scene and observed numerous officers attending the black female. Paramedics from HFD Unit 69 arrived on the scene, assessed the situation, and pronounced the boy dead. Cook maintained the situation, and scene until homicide sgt's arrived.

Several more curiosities here. Cook observed numerous officers attending Shandra. Sgt. Hamilton, as you will soon learn, described only himself as the person who tended Shandra. Within the entirety of the police reports, only one other officer (also a sergeant) is identified who might have tended Shandra. Why would Cook use the term numerous to describe one or two?

Cook also mentions the arrival and behavior of Houston Fire Department Unit 69, but only as it pertained to Marcell. He notes that they confirmed Marcell was dead, but does not note any efforts to aid Shandra or transport her to the hospital.

Shandra is somehow off limits, except to Patrol Sergeant D. Hamilton, who happened to hear Shandra accuse Preston of her murder. According to his report, Hamilton was the first person to respond to Cook and Becker's calls. For now, I'll excerpt from his excerpt only those portions relating to the emergency care (or lack thereof) for Shandra.

Sgt D. Hamilton ... heard Officers V. L. Cook and C. J. Becker ... call out on an assault victim ... Around 2340 hrs Sgt Hamilton checked by with Unit 20G40 and arrived on the scene at approx 2343 hrs. Upon arriving at the scene, Sgt Hamilton found the crime scene to be an open field. Sgt Hamilton noticed Officer Becker and Cook standing near a b/m juvenile in the field. While approaching officer Cook, Sgt Hamilton noticed a second compl a b/f, laying face down on the ground in a small pool of blood. ...

Marcell on the trail before he saw Shandra on the trail. When Cook and Becker entered the trail from the Fuddrucker's parking lot, they found Shandra first and Marcell second. That makes sense. Shandra was located west of Marcell by approximately 30 yards.

Perhaps Hamilton was engaging in some poetic license when he reported he could see Marcell's body from from a distance but couldn't see Shandra though she was 30 yards closer. Such poetic license would be inappropriate in what is supposed to be a factual police report.

Perhaps Hamilton instead entered the path from the east side, from the apartment complex rather than from the Fuddruker's parking lot. That would explain why he saw Marcell first and Shandra second. It would leave unexplained why he entered the path from the apartments.

Note also that Hamilton confirms Cook and Becker were tending to the already dead Marcell while ignoring the still living Shandra. His report continues:

Sgt Hamilton spoke with the compl [complainant] while she was laying face down on the ground. It appeared to Sgt. Hamilton that the compl was having a difficult time trying to breathe. At this point, Sgt. Hamilton asked the compl if she wanted to roll over on her back, the compl stated that she did. Sgt Hamilton rolled the compl over to her back.

I interrupt Sgt. Hamilton's report at this point since this is where he told of his two-way conversation with Shandra. I'll discuss that conversation in substantially greater detail in a later post. For now, note that Officers Cook and Becker claimed Shandra was unconscious. Given that neither of them provided any first aid, and given that Shandra had surely lost more blood by the time Hamilton arrived, I'm a bit surprised she recovered enough to speak. Completing Hamilton's report:

Sgt. sat by the compl until amb arrived. Compl was transported to West Houston Hospital. Sgt along with unit 20G40 and 20G51 secured the scene and held it until it as released to homicide Sgt's.

Unit 20G40 consisted of Officers Becker and Cook. Unit 20G51 seemed to consist of Sgt. J.H. Parham. Parham was described as being on the scene when the homicide sergeants arrived. He is mentioned only once in the reports. No other person is mentioned who might have been at the scene before Shandra was transported therefrom.

No one reports to providing or witnessing any first aid applied to Shandra Charles. Let's see what HealthGuidance.org has to say about what the Houston Police might have done to treat Shandra's neck wound.

Severe bleeding of an open wound can usually be controlled by pressing with the palm of one hand on a compress of cloth over the entire area of the wound. A thick pad of sterile gauze is preferable, but any soft, clean cloth can be used in an emergency. Even unclean material can be used, but only if nothing better is immediately available. 

In an emergency, in the absence of compresses, the bare hand or fingers may be used, but only until a compress can he applied. ... The objective is to control the hemorrhage by compressing the bleeding vessels against something more solid, such as underlying bone or uninjured tissues. 

The reason for applying hand pressure directly is to prevent loss of blood from the body without interfering with normal blood circulation. ... Unless there is evidence of a fracture, a severely bleeding open wound of the head, neck, arm, or leg should be elevated -- that is, raised above the level of the victim's heart. Elevation uses the force of gravity to help reduce the blood pressure in the injured area and thus aids in slowing down the loss of blood through the wound opening. However, direct pressure on a thick pad over the wound must be continued.

Now let's see what About.com has to say about how the Houston Police might have done to treat Shandra's penetrating chest wound.

A hole in the chest (gunshot wound, stabbing or other puncture wound) makes a new pathway for air to travel into the chest when it expands. That hole pulling air into the chest cavity is called a sucking chest wound. Sucking chest wounds are dangerous because they lead to collapsed lungs (pneumothorax). Treating a sucking chest wound requires two things: keeping air from going in while letting extra air out. 

It can be difficult to identify when a penetrating wound to the chest is sucking air or not, so it's best to assume any penetrating wound to the chest is a sucking chest wound. ... Seal the sucking chest wound. Put something plastic (preferably sterile or at least clean) over the hole and tape it down.

Apply pressure to a bleeding wound. Cover a chest wound to prevent a collapsed lung. These are not recently discovered life-saving procedures or technically demanding medical care. These are long known, widely recognized, basic first aid techniques. None of the responding officers attempted any such minimal first aid to save Shandra's life.

Cook and Becker applied CPR to Marcell's lifeless body. That's reasonable and professional if they thought there was some hope of reviving him. Perhaps one of them, however, should have applied pressure to Shandra's neck wound, or covered the hole in her chest.

It's possible, I suppose, that police procedures do not allow police officers to act as paramedics. That would not explain, however, Cook and Becker's efforts to save Marcell. Perhaps Houston Police can only give you first aid if they believe you are already dead.

Unlike Cook and Becker, Hamilton did not ignore Shandra. He interviewed her. At least he claimed he interviewed her. Perhaps the Houston PD allows its sergeants to interview victims of knife wounds, but does not allow them to cover chest wound or apply pressure to neck wounds.

We learn more disturbing information about Shandra's emergency care from the report of Sergeant J. L. Waltmon.

Sgt. J. L. Waltmon was requested by Lt. Neely to go to West Houston Hospital located at 12111 Richmond to check comps. condition and see if any other information could be obtained.

While driving to the hospital Sgt. was advised by Lt. Neely that the comp. had been transported out to Ben Taub Hospital. Sgt. then went to Ben Taub hospital to check on comp. Just as Sgt. arrived at the hospital HFD #69 arrived with the female comp. and was giving her CPR as they were taking her into the emergency room. 

A short time later Sgt. talked with HFD ambulance driver M. S. Miller and HFD parametic [sic] M. Atkinson on Unit #69 who stated that they had received the call 2347 and arrived on the scene at 2355. Atkinson stated that the small child [Marcell] was DOA from stab wounds and that the female as alive at that time. ... Atkinson stated that they had first taken the female by the West Houston Hospital and then transported her to Ben Taub. He stated that HPD officers were at the scene when they arrived. Atkinson stated he had no information on the comp. 

While talking to Adkinson it was learned that the female comp. [Shandra] was DOA and had been pronounced dead at 0054 hrs by Doctor Mark Bailey from what appeared to be two stab wounds.

The timing here is disturbing. Consider first that the paramedics received their call at 11:47 PM. The Houston Police are conveniently ambiguous about when the call for emergency services came in. The call was apparently before 11:40 PM. That's when Sgt. Hamilton claimed he contacted Officers Cook and Becker after overhearing their call.

There was, therefore, at least a seven-minute delay between the time the dispatcher received the emergency call from the s and the time the paramedics learned of it. That's seven minutes of Shandra bleeding needlessly from her neck and chest wounds. That's seven minutes of Shandra sucking air through her open chest wound. That's seven minutes of Cook and Becker ignoring her; seven minutes while Hamilton sat beside her waiting for an ambulance that had not been been promptly informed.

The ambulance delay, unfortunately, is not even the most disturbing part of this sad story. Not by a long shot. Shandra Charles was declared DOA at 12:54 AM. That's more than 1 hour and 14 minutes after the first officer's call for emergency medical assistance. Shandra was alive when they belatedly placed her in the ambulance. She was dead when she arrived at the hospital. She died somewhere along the way when she should have instead been in a trauma unit receiving professional medical care.

Let's try to account for that 1 hour and 14 minutes.

The doctors must have spent some time trying to revive her before declaring her dead at 12:54 AM. I don't know how long they spent, but I'll assume 15 minutes. I think that's generous. That leaves 59 minutes to account for.

We know already that there was at least 7 minutes wasted dispatching the ambulance. That leaves 52 minutes.

We know the ambulance took 8 minutes to respond. That leaves 44 minutes.

The paramedics must have spent some time on the scene checking Marcell, performing the most basic emergency procedures on Shandra, and getting her into the ambulance. I don't know how long they spent, but I'll again assume 15 minutes. Once again I think that's generous, particularly for someone in such imminent danger. That leaves 29 minutes to drive to the hospital.

So where the hell was the hospital? Why did it take 29 minutes, probably longer?

Sgt. Waltmon and Sgt. Hamilton both report that she was transported (at least initially) to West Houston Hospital. Sgt. Waltmon gave the address as 12111 Richmond. Below, I present a Bing bird's eye view of the West Houston Medical Center.

I don't know what it looked like in 1988, but today it certainly seems to be a substantial medical center. That circle with a white cross in it (just southwest of center) is a helipad. That indicates the medical center has an emergency trauma unit. That red vehicle in the curved driveway is a fire truck. The paramedics must have believed that medical services were available at West Houston Medical Center, even in 1988, since that's where they initially rushed Shandra Charles as they tried to save her life.

The distance from the Fuddrucker's parking lot to the emergency room door is 1.1 miles. If the ambulance averaged a mere 30 miles per hour, the trip would have taken but 2 minutes. They could have been at that door at 11:55 PM if they had been notified promptly (which they were not), if they responded in 8 minutes (as they did), if they had transported her within 5 minutes of their arrival (as they might have), and if they drove to the hospital at a leisurely 30 miles per hour (which I doubt they did).

We know that Shandra was still alive at 11:55 when she could have been at that emergency room door. Recall that the paramedics belatedly arrived at the crime scene at 11:55 PM, they spent some time on the scene before transporting her, and she was alive when they left.

But Shandra did not begin receiving professional medical care at West Houston Medical Center at 11:55 PM. She was instead pronounced DOA at Ben Taub hospital at 12:54 AM. What happened? How did it come to be that she died in the back of an ambulance when she should have been on an operating room table with some unknown but some chance of survival.

This sucks.

For some reason, the ambulance was redirected from West Houston Medical Center to Ben Taub Hospital. The map below shows what a disaster this was. Click to enlarge.

West Houston Medical Center is the green dot at the left. Ben Taub is the green dot on the right. Shandra's nearly lifeless body was found near the red dot, barely north and east of West Houston. I literally could have carried Shandra Charles from that empty field to West Houston in the time it took to get her to Ben Taub, and I could have done so with time to spare.

Let's continue our effort to account for the time. When I last digressed from the accounting, there was 29 minutes left to drive Shandra to the hospital. The distance between West Houston Medical Center and Ben Taub Hospital is 15.5 miles. If the ambulance averaged 70 mph, that's 13 minutes. We're still missing 16 minutes, at least. Where did that precious quarter hour go?

It seems that time was spent somewhere within the walls of West Houston Medical Center, but not within the confines of an operating room. It's not clear Shandra Charles made it past admittance. It seems that West Houston declined to treat Shandra. Shandra was presumably alive when she was dispatched from West Houston. She would have otherwise been transferred to the morgue. Shandra was certainly dead when she arrived at Ben Taub.

We know that Shandra was actually inside West Houston Medical Center from the report of Crime Scene Unit (CSU) Officer F.L. Hale. For what it's worth, I trust Officer Hale's reporting more than I trust the reporting of any other officer involved in this case. Officer Hale provided the most specific, most thorough report in the otherwise sorry collection of reports. Let's see what Officer Hale had to say about West Houston Medical Center. As usual, he refers to himself in the third person.

While at the scene Officer Hale learned that the female complainant had died. She had first been transported to the West Houston Hospital at 12111 Richmond. Then transported to Ben Taub. While the female was at West Houston Hospital her short [sic] and shoes were removed. Officer Hale was requested by Sergeant Gafford to go to the hospital and recover the clothing.

At this time I cleared the scene and went to West Houston Hospital. Inside the emergency Officer Hale met with the attanding [sic] nurse. She handed be [sic] a white plastic hospital bag. On the outside of the bag was written, Personal Belongings Name; Jane Doe, 5290857, with the date 9/27/88. Inside the plastic bag was [sic] the following items; 

(1) pair white shoes.
(1) pair of white shorts. Inside the front left pocket was a piece of torn paper with the name "Dog" and telephone number 884-1217.
(1) gold neck chain, with safety pin.
(5) one dollar bills. F 71495177 E, K 24739558 F, B 07807654 N,  C 10472969 D, L 72137012.
(1) five dollar bill, L 58976848 C. 

These articles were recovered and kept in officer's care, control, and custody until tagged in the police property room.

By comparison, Sgt. Waltmon (who saw Sandra as she arrived at Ben Taub hospital) described her clothing and personal effects as follows:

The comp. when brought in had a blue and white striped long sleve [sic] shirt and white braw [sic]. She had one silver ear ring on her left ear which was in the shape of a fan. She had a gold colored ring on the little finer of the left hand and silver ring on the ring finger of the lefet [sic] hand.

Sgt. Waltmon must have had a pretty good look at Shandra given his detailed description of her one ear ring and her to rings. He mentioned neither shorts nor shoes, however. He thereby reinforced Officer Hale's report that Shandra's shorts and shoes were handed to him in a plastic bag by the emergency room personnel at West Houston Medical Center.

Sgt. Waltmon did not mention the condition of Shandra's shirt and bra. He did mention details such as the color and the length of the shirt sleeves, but he did not note that either the shirt or bra were torn, or unfastened, or pulled away to expose the victim's chest. I presume he made no such note because the shirt and bra were being worn pretty much as expected.

Neither Hale nor Waltmon mentioned her panties. Elsewhere in the compilation of police reports, we learn that Sandra's green panties, her bra, and her shorts [?] were recovered from the morgue more than 8 months later.

We have a situation in which the people at West Houston removed Shandra's shorts and shoes, but did not remove her panties, shirt, or bra. It seems as if they did not even unfasten her shirt and bra. In other words, it doesn't seem as if they attempted to provide any serious emergency care for Shandra's penetrating chest wound. It sounds more as if they were searching only for identification, and perhaps insurance information or a lead thereto.

It's distressing that West Houston Medical Center may have, and I repeat, may have declined to treat Shandra Charles because she had no apparent means of paying them.

I consider it possible, as an alternative, that the emergency personnel at West Houston believed the surgeons at Ben Taub were better qualified to save her. I guess it is possible also that no surgeons were available to anywhere at West Houston to operate on Shandra, though that seems unlikely.

It had to be clear to everyone, though, that Shandra Charles was barely clinging to life. Even the most inexperienced nurse or doctor must have recognized that Shandra was in dire need of immediate, invasive care.

For what ever reason, Shandra did not receive the medical treatment she needed while she was within the emergency room at West Houston Medical Center. Instead, she died somewhere along the road running between WHMC and Ben Taub hospital.

I fear I have found the missing 13 minutes in my accounting of Shandra's final hour. She spent those 13 minutes lying on a gurney inside the West Houston Medical Center emergency room as those around her tried to decide what to do with her.

I don't know if Shandra could have been saved by a rapid, professional emergency response. I do know she fought hard enough for her life that she survived the lack of first aid by the Houston PD, the lethargic response of the emergency dispatching system, and the indecisiveness of the emergency personnel at West Houston Medical Center. She had too little life left in her, though, to survive all that plus the 15 mile journey to Ben Taub.

There is nothing about this case that is not heartbreaking sad.

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The Impending Execution of Jesse Joe Hernandez

Jesse Hernandez sits on death row awaiting execution by the people of Texas on 28 March. He was convicted of killing an 10-month-old boy by striking him in the head with a flashlight. I provide a summary of the case by excerpting from the adverse appellate decision in Hernandez v. Quarterman (2008). I have substituted Hernandez' name for each instance of "appellate" in the decision. I have removed the legal citations.

The evidence at trial showed that at the time Karlos and Melodi were assaulted, Misty Leverett, [ten-month-old] Karlos, and [four-year-old] Melodi, were living with Hernandez, his wife Mary Rojas, their young son, Joshua, and Gilbert Gomez. On the day of the assaults, Leverett went to work and left the children in the care of Hernandez and Rojas. Rojas testified that after Leverett left for work around noon, she stayed home with the children while Hernandez and Gomez left to run errands. When Hernandez and Gomez returned about two hours later, Rojas left for her sister-in-law's house and was gone approximately thirty to forty-five minutes. Rojas testified that when she got home, she heard Hernandez screaming at Joshua. She picked him up and took him to the room she shared with Hernandez. Rojas asked where Karlos and Melodi were, and Hernandez replied that they were sleeping in the next room. Rojas then went into her room and relaxed with Joshua. Later, when she heard Hernandez preparing a bottle, she told Hernandez she was going to go into the room where Karlos and Melodi where sleeping. Hernandez instructed Rojas not to enter the room for fear she would wake them up. Despite having seen blood stains on Hernandez's shirt, Rojas waited until Leverett got home from work to check on the children. 

Levertt testified that when she arrived home, she went into the dark room she shared with the children and found Melodi complaining that her head hurt. Rojas and Leverett took Melodi out into the kitchen and saw that her head was swollen with "red splotches. Alarmed, Leverett decided to take Melodi to the hospital. After they left, Rojas checked on Karlos and noticed his lips were swollen. She determined Karlos was badly hurt and took Karlos and Joshua down the street to her sister-in-law's house to call an ambulance. 

When Leverett and Melodi arrived at the hospital, hospital workers asked Leverett if she had any other children. When she replied that she did, the hospital workers instructed her to return home and get her son immediately. Leverett testified that when she returned home, Hernandez was alone and he told her that Karlos was at his sister's house. Leverett asked Hernandez to take her there but he refused. Moments later, police arrived and informed Leverett that Karlos had been rushed to Children's Hospital by ambulance. 

In addition to this evidence, Hernandez stated in his voluntary written statement that he was babysitting Melodi and Karlos and "they were being very bad by crying a lot for nothing." Hernandez continued that he "just exploded and hit them with the back of my hand not realizing I was hurting them[.]" ... 

When police began investigating the assault on Karlos, they went to Hernandez's home where he and his wife had been babysitting Misty Leverett's ten-month-old son, Karlos, and Karlos' four-year-old sister Melodi. They discovered that Hernandez had some outstanding warrants, arrested him, and transported him to the police station. While there, Detective Warren Breedlove spoke with Hernandez to obtain some general information and inquire about the injuries to the children. At a pre-trial hearing regarding the voluntariness of Hernandez's written statement, Breedlove testified that Hernandez was not a suspect at that time so he was not informed of his Miranda rights. Hernandez gave an affidavit denying any knowledge of what happened to Karlos and Melodi and was later transported to the county jail. After police spoke with Karlos' doctor and with Melodi, Hernandez became a suspect in the assaults. Breedlove met with Hernandez, read him his Miranda warnings and began an interview. Over approximately an hour and a half, Hernandez repeatedly admitted and then denied striking the children. Breedlove asked Hernandez about a flashlight found at the scene and Hernandez admitted he may have hit Karlos with the flashlight. 

Detective Lesher took over the interview after Hernandez became upset with Breedlove....Lesher asked Hernandez to make a written, voluntary statement. After speaking with his wife and using the restroom, Hernandez agreed. In his statement, Hernandez admitted hitting Karlos and Melodi because they cried for no reason, because he was upset over recently losing his grandmother, and because he had a bad day with his wife. He added that he was sorry for hitting them. There was nothing in Hernandez's written statement about hitting Karlos with a flashlight.

I oppose the execution of any person who is factually innocent of the crime for which he is to die, or has a reasonable chance of being factually innocent. In other cases, take no position on the propriety of the execution. In the case of Jesse Joe Hernandez of Texas, I stand mute.

The Impending Execution of William Mitchell

William Gerald Mitchell sits on death row awaiting execution by the people of Mississippi on 22 March. I present a summary of his case by excerpting from the adverse appellate decision in Mitchell v. State (2001). The paragraph numbering is in the original.

4. The last time that Patty Milliken was seen alive was at the conclusion of her shift at 8:00 p.m., November 21, 1995, at the Majik Mart on Popps Ferry Road in Biloxi, Mississippi. She told her co-worker, James Leland Hartley, that she was going outside to smoke and talk to William Gerald Mitchell and that she would return shortly. Before following Mitchell outside, she telephoned her son, telling him she would be home in approximately fifteen minutes. She also left her keys in the safe to initiate a 10-minute time-released unlock and her purse and other personal items on the counter. Patty Milliken's body was found the following morning under a bridge. She had been beaten, strangled, sexually assaulted, crushed by being driven over, and mutilated. 

5. The record shows that on November 21, 1995, Hartley saw Mitchell enter the store three separate times to visit Milliken while she was working her shift. Hartley overheard Milliken refer to Mitchell by the name of "Jerry." At the end of Milliken's shift that evening, around 8:00 p.m., Milliken and Hartley realized that they had forgotten to document the amount of cash they had placed in the safe that night. Milliken opened the safe and telephoned her son that she would be home in fifteen minutes. At approximately 8:05 p.m. Milliken decided to walk out of the store with Mitchell and told Hartley that "she'd be outside smoking a cigarette if [Hartley] needed her and that she'd be right back." 

6. Milliken left her keys in the lock on the safe, cigarettes and lighter on one counter, and her purse on another counter. Hartley testified that it was odd for Milliken to go outside to smoke because employees were authorized to smoke inside the store. Ten minutes after Milliken had gone outside, Hartley walked outside to ask her a question, but she was not there. Her belongings were still inside the store, and her car remained in the parking lot. Hartley telephoned Milliken's home and learned that she had not been in contact with her family. When Milliken had still not returned by 10:00 p.m., Hartley telephoned the police. 

7. When the police arrived, Hartley gave them Milliken's purse and showed them where she had written Jerry's phone number. The police cross-referenced the telephone number to a physical address, and proceeded to 323 Croesus Street. The police arrived at the residence at approximately midnight. 

8. Officers Matory and Doucet went to the front door, and Officer McKaig "was on the right side of the house approaching the rear." McKaig saw Mitchell, and Mitchell asked, "Who's that?" McKaig identified himself as a police officer and explained that he wanted to speak to him. Mitchell ran, and a pursuit on foot followed. 

9. Captain Anderson responded to assist with the foot pursuit. Captain Patterson, arriving to assist with the foot pursuit, spoke with Booker Gatlin, Mitchell's grandfather and owner of the residence on Croesus Street. Gatlin indicated that "Jerry" was William Gerald Mitchell, and that he drove a blue Grand Am. 

10. When the foot pursuit proved unsuccessful, the Biloxi Police Department issued a be-on-the-lookout ("BOLO") for Mitchell and his vehicle. Shortly thereafter, an officer spotted Mitchell getting gas at a Shell station located on U.S. Highway 90. When Mitchell noticed the police car, he threw down the gas nozzle he was using and sped away in his vehicle. Patrolman Sonnier took part in the pursuit of Mitchell. That evening he had a television camera crew riding with him, and they were able to film most of the pursuit. Sonnier testified that Mitchell was the driver of the vehicle and that Curtis Pearson was his passenger. The high-speed chase ended in Mitchell being arrested for various traffic violations. Mitchell's passenger, Pearson, testified that, during the chase, Mitchell stated 2-3 times that he "got that bitch." 

11. Officer Heard of the Biloxi Police Department discovered the mutilated, almost naked body of Patty Milliken under the Popps Ferry Bridge at 7:14 a.m. the following morning. Officer Robert Burriss arrived at the scene at approximately 7:30 a.m., and worked the scene until 2:00 p.m. Burriss testified that he found Milliken's body on its back. She had part of a shirt sleeve around her right arm and part of her bra around her left arm, with only a pair of white socks clothing her body. Her body was bruised and scraped, and her head was "burst open" with the brains "spilling out of the skull, scattered about on the yard, and there (sic) was also some of the brain matter stuck on her back." 

12. There were "numerous" tire tracks "back and forth all over that area;" tracks that were similar to the ones found on Milliken's body. Testing would ultimately show that the tire casts from the area matched three of the four tires on Mitchell's car with regard to tread design, size and "overall width." 

13. Later that day, pursuant to a search warrant, Burriss also collected evidence from Mitchell's car. Burriss made a diagram of the car indicating where he found "various pieces of blood and hair on the automobile." Burriss found hair and blood on the passenger door; blood underneath the fender and body of the car, as well as on the catalytic converter; and blood spatters in three of the wheel wells. Milliken's broken lower dentures were also found in Mitchell's car. 

14. After Mitchell's arrest for traffic violations, he was taken to the Biloxi Police Department. Mitchell was initially interviewed by Sergeant Torbert and Investigator Thompson. Later, Officers Newman and Peterson interviewed Mitchell at 1:07 p.m. on November 22, 1995, the same day Milliken's body was found. At the time of this second interview, Mitchell had not 198*198 been arrested or charged with murder, but was in custody for the traffic violations. Mitchell said that he was the only one to use his vehicle that night. Mitchell claimed that Milliken was alive when he left her, though he did admit that he had hit her hard enough in the nose that "blood just flew everywhere." A redacted version of Mitchell's second interview was admitted during the trial. The tape was edited and redacted at the point before Mitchell made any statement that he killed or was responsible for the death of Milliken. 

15. After Mitchell's second interview, Mitchell was booked on the charge of murder and transported to the Harrison County Jail. Prior to his transfer, a suspect rape kit was performed on Mitchell at the Biloxi Regional Medical Center. Later, search warrants were secured and executed on Mitchell, Mitchell's car, and Mitchell's residence at 323 Croesus Street in Biloxi. 

16. Dr. Paul McGarry performed the autopsy on Milliken's body. According to McGarry, Milliken was strangled, beaten, sexually assaulted, and repeatedly run over by a vehicle. McGarry stated that the damage to Milliken's larynx cartilages and hemorrhagic airway proved that she had been strangled. There were also semicircular marks from her attacker's fingernails on her neck. She was beaten to the point that her lower denture was broken and expelled. Her face was swollen and purple which "would evidence that hard blows had been delivered to the head." Analysis of the genital area displayed "the kind of injuries that are produced by stretching and tearing of the delicate lining of the vagina" which McGarry "interpreted as forceful penetration enough to damage the tissue and tear and rub off surfaces of the tissue, to stretch the opening. The anus was even more so damaged." McGarry confirmed that Milliken's sexual injuries occurred while she was still alive. 

17. McGarry also testified to finding five tire tracks across the victim's body. According to McGarry, Milliken apparently lived long enough to experience the crushing injuries that ruptured her kidney, liver, and spleen; broke almost every rib; broke her spine; broke her collarbone; and, tore open her lungs and heart vessels. Milliken was killed when her "brain [was] blown out by crushing and squashed out." The brain was expelled up to four feet from an opening at the top of her head measuring eight inches in diameter. 

18. At the time of Milliken's savage murder, Mitchell had been paroled for approximately eleven months from a sentence of life in prison for murder.

I oppose executions in which there is a possibility the person to be executed is factually innocent. Otherwise, I stand mute with respect to the propriety of the execution.

In the case of William Gerald Mitchell, I stand mute.

The Impending Execution of Larry Puckett

Larry Puckett sits on death row awaiting execution by the people of Missouri on 20 March. Though he claims he is innocent and the victim's husband is guilty, his protestations are muffled by the overwhelming evidence against him. I present that evidence by excerpting extensively from the adverse appellate decision of Larry Matthew Puckett v. State of Mississippi. The paragraph numbers are in the original.

1. Larry Matthew Puckett was indicted during the January 1996 term of the Circuit Court of Forrest County, Mississippi, for the capital murder of Rhonda Hatten Griffis on October 14, 1995, while engaged in the commission of the crime of sexual battery ...  

3. On October 14, 1995, shortly before 5:00 p.m., Mrs. Rhonda Hatten Griffis, age 28, was found lying in a large pool of blood next to the couch in the living room of her home on 198 Sunrise Road, Petal, Mississippi. Mrs. Griffis was found wearing a t-shirt, and the only clothing on the lower part of her body was around her left foot. She had several gashes on the back of her head. There were other injuries to Mrs. Griffis' head, back, and chest, including a deep laceration and three to four hesitation marks to the neck. She was also bleeding from her vagina. She had several defensive wounds on her hands, arms, and elbows. Mrs. Griffis died as a result of the injuries; the cause of death was cranial cerebral trauma, secondary to blunt force trauma. A wooden stick or club covered with blood was recovered outside the residence.

4. Rhonda's mother, Nancy Hatten, lived next door, roughly 150-175 feet from the Griffis' trailer. On the day of the murder, Mrs. Hatten helped Rhonda's boys, Justin, age 7, and Jeffrey, age 5, put up Halloween decorations in the yard. Rhonda was not feeling well that day, suffering from a headache and bad sinus problems. Later that afternoon, Mrs. Hatten was in her front yard when she heard a "scream and a thud" come from the Griffis' trailer. Mrs. Hatten then ran home and telephoned the trailer. The phone rang four or five times, but there was no answer. Mrs. Hatten hung up and dialed again, but there was still no answer. She then immediately went to the trailer. 

5. As Mrs. Hatten neared the trailer, she saw David Griffis, Rhonda's husband, and their two boys driving up to the trailer. David had been hauling pine straw all day and was returning with his last load. A blue truck was parked in the vacant lot beside the residence. Nancy entered the trailer door at the kitchen/dining room area and called for Rhonda but there was no answer. Puckett came from the hallway into the kitchen/dining area and raised a club back and started towards Nancy. As Nancy backed away from Puckett, Jeffrey entered the house followed closely by David. Justin was still outside. Nancy then took the children, ran to her house, locked the boys in the bathroom, and called 911. This 911 call was received by the 911 system at 5:01:15 p.m. and answered by the 911 operator at 5:01:20 p.m. At 5:01:41 p.m., Nancy was placed on hold, as 911 received a call from the Griffis' trailer. Mrs. Hatten identified State's Exhibit Number 3 as the club that Puckett had in his hand in the trailer. 

6. The Griffis family knew Puckett because he was once employed by David Griffis. While Puckett was employed by David, the employees would gather at the Griffis' house before leaving for work. 

7. Jeffrey Griffis testified that when he entered the home, he saw Puckett with a club in his hand and holding on to Mrs. Hatten's shirt. David Griffis testified that when he entered the home, he saw Mrs. Hatten with Puckett standing in front of her with the club in his hand raised over his head. David indicated that Puckett was wearing army-type coveralls. The club had blood and a white substance on it. David asked Puckett what he was doing in his house and Puckett said he had hit a deer on the road and came to get David's help and to use the telephone. David called out for Rhonda but no one answered. However, Puckett told David that Rhonda was down at her mother's house. David asked Puckett about the blood on the club and Puckett indicated that it was blood from the deer. David then dialed 911 from a portable phone that was laying on the counter beside him. This 911 call was received by the 911 system at 5:01:27 p.m. and answered by the 911 operator at 5:01:41 p.m. This (David's) call was terminated at 5:04:42 p.m. At some point, David and Puckett struggled and David got the club from Puckett. David tried to keep Puckett in the trailer until the police arrived. However, Puckett took off running towards the door. As Puckett was running for the door, David swung the club and hit Puckett on the shoulder. Then, as Puckett ran out the door, David threw the club at him. Dr. Michael West testified at trial that the club, State's Exhibit 3, was consistent with the wound pattern found on Puckett's back. 

8. Once Puckett exited the trailer, David entered the living room and reached for his pistol that was usually on a gun cabinet just to the left of the living room door. However, the pistol was not there. David did not see Rhonda's body lying in the living room at this time. David then ran into the bedroom to retrieve a rifle from the bedroom closet. The bedroom door is straight ahead as you turn towards the cabinet. As David exited the bedroom and re-entered the living room, he then saw Rhonda laying on the floor. He saw that Rhonda was injured and dialed 911 again to inform the police. David's second 911 call was received by the 911 system at 5:05:01 p.m. and was answered by the 911 operator at 5:05:07 p.m. This call was terminated at 5:11:45 p.m. The time between the end of David's first 911 call and the beginning of his second 911 call was 18 seconds. Sheriff's deputies and paramedics arrived within minutes. 

9. Before David fired Puckett, David considered him to be a decent employee and even wrote a letter of recommendation for Puckett to become an Eagle Scout. Another former employer of Puckett's, Ray Watkins, testified that shortly before Rhonda's murder, a maul handle was broken at his work site. Watkins had the maul handle for several years, between seven (7) and ten (10) years, and believed the maul handle to be State's Exhibit No. 3. Watkins also testified that he had seen the handle in Puckett's truck on several occasions. 

10. Puckett was seen around 3:30 p.m. the afternoon of the murder at the same house from which David Griffis was collecting pine straw. Puckett's blue 4-wheel drive truck was also seen passing the Griffis' residence at approximately 4:41 p.m. 

11. Puckett's truck was recovered the next night in a wooded area in Perry County. On October 16, 1995, Puckett was apprehended near his mother's home in Perry County. At the time of his arrest, Puckett nervously commented to his mother that "[t]his is a lot of law enforcement for somebody who just committed a burglary." A duffle bag containing various items including a pair of coveralls was recovered from Puckett at the time of his arrest. 

12. Puckett did not deny being in the trailer at the time of the murder, but testified that he witnessed David Griffis murder his wife. He indicated that he had originally planned only to burglarize the house in order to find money to pay his truck note. He stated that the idea to burglarize the house just popped into his head at the time he went by the Griffis' house. Puckett testified that he parked his truck in a vacant lot beside the Griffis' trailer and put his coveralls on. Puckett saw Rhonda's car at the trailer, but proceeded to the door anyway and knocked. Puckett said that Rhonda let him in and they began to talk. Puckett said that he saw the stick lying on the living room floor. He stated that he and Rhonda began kissing and he then began acting out his sexual fantasy of undressing a woman while he remained fully clothed. He said that Rhonda then saw her mother approaching the trailer, grabbed her clothes and ran into the bedroom, and told Puckett to get rid of her mother. Puckett said he ran into the dining room area and had picked up the stick and decided to scare Mrs. Hatten away with the club. Puckett further stated that after Mrs. Hatten fled with the children, David accused Rhonda of sleeping with Puckett and began hitting her with the stick that David took from Puckett. After beating his wife, David struggled to keep Puckett in the trailer, but Puckett was able to escape while David was calling 911. At trial, Puckett indicated the whole incident took four or five minutes. Puckett said he hid in the woods for two days because he was afraid of David. 

13. Puckett indicated that State's Exhibit No. 3 was not the same maul handle which he had obtained from a former employer, Ray Watkins. He testified instead that he had destroyed that maul handle while he was working for Mark Hicks, by making a torch out of it to burn off some trash. ... 

106. Puckett maintains there was insufficient evidence presented for a reasonable hypothetical jury to find him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and points to the following deficiencies in support of his argument: (1) no seminal fluid was identified from the sexual assault kit; (2) hair samples recovered at the victim's residence failed to match the defendant's; (3) no seminal fluid was recovered from a sample of carpet taken from the victim's residence; (4) testing of the coveralls worn while in the victim's residence revealed only the presence of several stains from deer blood and one stain which could be identified only as human protein, but not as a specific body fluid; and (5) the State failed to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the stick admitted into evidence ... was in fact the murder weapon. ... 

107. We first address Puckett's contention that the State's case was fatally flawed because no seminal fluid was found either from the sexual assault kit or from testing of the carpet in the victim's residence. The State's case in regards to sexual assault was based upon the fact that sexual penetration with a wooden club had occurred without the victim's consent. The fact that no seminal fluid was detected is not a fatal defect since one would not logically expect seminal fluid to naturally result from sexual assault perpetrated by a wooden club. 

108. Puckett's next contention that hair samples taken from the victim's residence is also not fatally defective to the State's case. The State's case did not rely on the presence of hair samples in the victim's residence in order to establish the fact that Puckett was in the residence at the time of the murder. Puckett's presence in the victim's residence on the day of the murder was established by several eye-witnesses, Nancy Hatten, David Griffis and Jeffrey Griffis. Additionally, Puckett himself testified not only that he was in the victim's residence on the day of the murder, but that he was in fact present during the commission of the murder. Consequently, hair samples were not necessary to establish Puckett's presence in the victim's trailer. 

109. Puckett's contention that testing of his coveralls failed to establish the presence of human blood. The testimony was that some human protein was found but that it was not a sufficient amount to establish the type of human protein. So it was not conclusively established that there was or was not human blood on the coveralls. Additionally, David Griffis testified that Puckett was wearing zip-up coveralls on the day of the murder, but the coveralls tested were button-up coveralls. Accordingly, the jury could have inferred that the coveralls tested were not the coveralls that Puckett wore to the victim's house on the day of the murder. 

110. Puckett's final contention that the State failed to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the stick admitted into evidence as State's Exhibit No. 3 was in fact the murder weapon is the most incredible argument of all. Puckett himself testified that he witnessed David Griffis beat Rhonda Griffis with the stick that was admitted into evidence as State's Exhibit No. 3. Therefore, in order for the jury to believe that State's Exhibit No. 3 was not the murder weapon, Puckett is urging the jury and this Court to totally disregard his own testimony. 

111. On the other hand, the State points to the following facts which they contend provide more than sufficient evidence of Puckett's guilty verdict: (1) Puckett was fired from his job by David Griffis; (2) Puckett was seen at the scene by Nancy Hatten, David Griffis, and Jeffrey Griffis; (3) Puckett admitted holding the stick and attempting to scare away Nancy Hatten; (4) there was blood on the club he held; (5) Nancy heard a scream from the trailer before David even returned home; (6) Puckett claimed he witnessed the murder and that David Griffis was the individual who brutally beat to death Rhonda Griffis with State's Exhibit No. 3. The State maintains that Puckett's story was incredible and "[t]he jury clearly believed the circumstantial evidence and the testimony of David Griffis and Nancy Hatten." ... 

112. A review of the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, along with all inferences tending to support the verdict, reveals that there is more than enough evidence to support a guilty verdict. Although not specifically addressed by the State, this Court should find the inconsistency in Puckett's allegation that David killed Rhonda within a four or five minute time period while the physical evidence establishing that David's second 911 call was placed 18 seconds after his first 911 call was terminated, especially convincing of Puckett's guilt. Accordingly, this assignment of error is without merit.

I object to the execution of people who are factually innocent or have some reasonable chance of being factually innocent. With respect the propriety of executing Larry Puckett, I stand mute.

The Impending Execution of Briley Piper

Briley Piper sits on death row awaiting execution by the people of South Dakota.  I provide a summary of his case by excerpting from the adverse appellate court decision in State v. Piper (2006).

Briley Piper pleaded guilty to felony murder, kidnapping, robbery in the first degree, burglary in the first degree, and grand theft. After waiving his right to a jury trial and sentencing by jury, the circuit court sentenced Piper to death by lethal injection on the murder charge. ... 

On March 12-13, 2000, Piper and two others, Elijah Page and Darrell Hoadley, kidnapped and killed Chester Allan Poage so that they could steal property from the home Poage lived in with his mother and sister in Spearfish, South Dakota. 

Piper, Page and Hoadley, all of whom were friends with each other and with Poage, met up with Poage at approximately 8:00 p.m. on March 12, 2000. Piper had informed another friend, Nathan Whartman, that Poage would give him a ride to the Job Corps facilities. Poage complied with the request for the ride, and he, along with Piper, Page and Hoadley, picked Whartman up and dropped Whartman off at Job Corps. The remaining four then went to Poage's house and played PlayStation games. While there, Piper, Page and Hoadley convinced Poage to leave his house, and the four left in Poage's 1997 Chevrolet Blazer. All four ended up at the house in which Piper, Page and Hoadley had been staying. 

Once there, Page exposed a .22 caliber pistol, which he had stolen from Poage's mother's room at the Poage residence, and ordered Poage to get on the floor. Once Poage was on the floor, Piper kicked him in the face, knocking him unconscious. While Poage was unconscious, he was tied up with a cord and sat upright in a chair. After he regained consciousness, Piper laid a tire iron across his feet to prevent him from moving, while Page made him drink a mixture containing crushed pills, beer and hydrochloric acid. During this time, Poage begged for an explanation as to why his alleged friends were doing this. In response, Page hit him in the face and told him to "shut up." While Piper and Page discussed their plan to kill Poage, which included slitting the victim's throat, Poage pleaded for his life and offered to give them everything he owned in exchange for his release. At this point, Page asked Poage for the personal identification number for his ATM card, and Poage gave it to him. 

Next, the group escorted Poage to his own vehicle, placed him in the back seat and threatened his life if he attempted to escape. Piper got in the driver's seat. The group stopped at a gas station, and then Piper drove the group to Higgins Gulch in the Black Hills, a wooded area about seven miles away from the house where Piper, Page, and Hoadley had been staying. Upon arriving at Higgins Gulch, the group forced Poage out of his vehicle into twelve-inch deep snow. Poage was forced by Piper and Page to take off all of his clothes, except his tank-top style undershirt, shoes, and socks in temperatures of about twenty-five degrees Fahrenheit. The three young men then took Poage's wallet. 

Thereafter, the three tried holding Poage down and covering him up with snow. Poage was then escorted to an icy creek, just over fifty feet from the road they had driven on to reach the gulch. Page and Piper admitted kicking him numerous times in various parts of his body and head. At one point in the attack, Poage did try to escape, but upon Piper's urging, Page recaptured him and continued to beat his near-naked body in the freezing temperatures. Poage was also made to lie in the icy creek water for a lengthy period of time. Piper later stated he had kicked Poage at the gulch a couple of times in the body and a couple of times in the head. Throughout the beatings, Piper laughed and said things like "Ohh... like that would suck" and "Ah, that's got to hurt."

At one point, Poage asked to be let into his vehicle to warm himself. The record indicates that Poage said he preferred to bleed to death in the warmth rather than freeze to death in the cold. Piper agreed to grant his request, so long as he washed the blood off of his body in the creek. After rinsing in the icy waters, Piper refused to let him warm himself in the vehicle. Instead, they continued beating and taunting Poage. 

Next, Poage was dragged back into the creek, where Piper and the others attempted to drown the victim. The co-defendants' stories diverge somewhat on the final fate of Poage. One witness stated that Piper admitted standing on Poage's neck to help Hoadley drown him, then Piper stabbed him twice or more — once by the ear and then under the chin. Piper's brief contends he did not participate in the drowning attempts or stabbings, but instead that he went back to Poage's vehicle. After the drowning attempts, stabbings, beatings and stoning, Poage was still moving. According to Piper, Hoadley threw the final rock that killed Poage, but at that point Piper was not there to personally witness this act. Both Page and Hoadley admitted they jointly dropped large rocks on Poage's head, actions which they believed finally killed him. Approximately four hours after the three kidnapped Poage, and about three hours after the beatings began at the gulch, Poage was left for dead in the creek. 

Piper drove the three away from the secluded area in Poage's vehicle, and they proceeded to discuss how they would divide Poage's property. They went to Poage's house and stole numerous items. The group then drove to Hannibal, Missouri, together. There, they visited Piper's sister, but upon her refusal to let them stay, they headed back to South Dakota. The group returned to Rapid City, South Dakota, using Poage's ATM card for cash and pawning some of Poage's property throughout the trip. Eventually, the three went their own ways. Piper ultimately ended up in his home state of Alaska. 

On April 22, 2000, over a month after the three left Poage for dead, a woman who owned land near Higgins Gulch spotted what was later determined to be Poage's remains in the creek. His body was found, clad in a sleeveless t-shirt, socks and shoes. Donald Habbe, a forensic pathologist from the Clinical Laboratory in Rapid City, performed an autopsy on the body. Habbe discovered numerous head injuries and stab wounds. Some examples of the head injuries inflicted included: stab wound to the jugular vein, another stab wound through the skull, and a complex, spider-web shaped skull fracture that measured five inches. Habbe determined the cause of death was the "stab wounds and the blunt force injury to the head." 

After the body was discovered, Piper became a suspect. Law enforcement from South Dakota tracked him down in Alaska, questioned him and arrested him for first degree murder. While still in Alaska, he gave a detailed statement describing Poage's murder and his participation in it to South Dakota law enforcement. He was subsequently extradited to South Dakota. Piper was then jailed in Lawrence County, South Dakota. He later pleaded guilty to, and was convicted of, first degree felony murder; kidnapping; robbery in the first degree; burglary in the first degree; and grand theft. A sentencing hearing began on January 17, 2001, and lasted for three days. At the hearing, the State argued for the death sentence, and Piper argued against imposing such a sentence. After argument, the circuit court ruled that the death penalty would be imposed for the first degree murder conviction. Thereafter, co-defendant Page also pleaded guilty to the same charges, and after an extensive sentencing hearing, he was also sentenced to death by the same judge. Hoadley then stood trial in front of a jury on the same charges. He was found guilty of the same charges but the jury sentenced him to life in prison. Thereafter, Piper appealed to this Court. We remanded Piper's case to the circuit court for an intra-case proportionality review after a jury sentenced co-defendant Hoadley to life imprisonment.

Since there is no doubt that Briley Piper participated in the crimes that led to the death of Chester Allan Poage, I stand mute relative to the propriety of his execution.