The Case of Preston Hughes III: Summary (Video)

The Case of Preston Hughes III: Confession #2

This will be my last post in this long, long series. I have been writing about this case for six months now. This post will be post #60. It will carry the total word count for the series beyond 90,000 words.

I write this post without enthusiasm, without passion. I will write it in perfunctory style. It's time for this series to come to an end.

This post, however, will not be the end of my effort to save Preston Hughes. Tomorrow, or the next day, or the next, I will begin another series of posts, and then another. One will be the The News of Preston Hughes III. The other will be the Trial of Preston Hughes III.

But right now, I have this series to finish.

After Preston Hughes signed the first confession under the pretense that he would be allowed to go home if he did, he was locked up rather than released. When the first shift of homicide officers came in to work after 7:00 AM, they were briefed on the case and Preston's first confession. They claim they simply asked Preston if he would be willing to sign a second confession describing how he stabbed Marcell. From the report of Sgt. D.A. Ferguson:

Sgt.'s re-viewed the suspect's written statement that was obtained by Sgt. Gafford. In the statement the suspect did not describe how the #2 compl. (boy) was stabbed. Sgt.'s then decided to reinterview the suspect about the stabbing of the #2 compl. Sgt. Ferguson went to the 5th floor men's jail and checked the suspect out ... Sgt.'s informed the suspect that he did not relate in his first statement about the stabbing of the #2 compl. Sgt.'s then asked the suspect if he would be willing to give a second statement de-scribing the stabbing of the stabbing the #2 compl. The suspect then agreed to give a second statement about the stabbing of the #2 compl.

Once again, the HPD reports seem to be pretty much full of crap. Preston Hughes wasn't asked if he would be willing to sign a second confession. He was told he had to sign a second confession. I will prove that assertion just as I proved my assertion that Preston signed the first confession because they told him he could go home if he did.

Once Preston was jailed rather than released, he no longer called his boss to make sure he would not lose his job. He no longer called his parole officer to make sure that his parole would not be revoked. He began trying to call his mother. Using the pay phone at the jail, he placed a series of collect calls to The Men's Wearhouse, where his mother worked. Each of his calls was accepted by Elizabeth Stroman.

Preston was no longer calm, as he was when he called his boss and when he called his parole officer. And no wonder. He was beginning to realize he may have been set up. Something was terribly wrong. He wasn't being released. He was still in jail. He needed to speak to his mother. He needed someone to get him help.

From Elizabeth Stroman's testimony:

He was upset and I couldn't carry on a conversation with him because it was off and on, I had to put him on hold and on and off. He was -- I remember the fact that he was upset and I was asking him if he had contacted his mother. He had called looking for his mother. I told him that he needed to call her at home, that she wasn't at work. 

He was telling me that he had to change his statement and I was asking him, "You gave a statement?" And he said, "They're telling me to change my statement. I have to go to change my statement." ... I was asking him why. "Why are you going to go change your statement?" And he said, "Because they told me I had to." ... And as we were talking, he had to get off the phone because they were ready to take him. He said, "They're here. I have to go."

That's pretty ominous, actually. What leverage could they have possibly had to force him to change his statement?

I suggest they used the same leverage they used to get the first confession.

"Look, we'd like to allow you to go home, but you haven't been completely truthful with us. You described only how you accidentally killed Shandra. But there were two dead children out there, and Shandra's pants were pulled part way down her hips. If you can't give us an innocent explanation of how Shandra's pants came to be pulled part way down, and of how the boy came to be accidentally killed, then there is no way we can let you go home. Surely you understand that."

So Preston gave them exactly what they asked for. The second confession, like the first, reveals that Preston had no idea what happened to Shandra and Marcell that night. He didn't know they were each stabbed only twice, each in the same precise manner. He didn't know they were found no where near one another. He had only been told they were stabbed, and he winged it from there.

I now end this series with the second confession of Preston Hughes III, the one in which he put a needle in his arm by confessing to a double murder, a capital offense.

Earlier this morning I gave a statement to Sgt. Gafford. Some of the things that I told Sgt. Gafford in the written statement was not the complete truth. I am giving this second statement to Sgt. Ferguson on my own free will and voluntarily. I was not threatened to give this statement. 

Everything in the first statement is correct except what happened when I met Shawn on the trail between Puddruckers and the apt. complex. Shawn did not come up behind me and tap me on the shoulder. I was walking with my dog from from the Lakehurst Apts. toward Fuddruckers on the trail. As I was walking down the trail I saw Shawn walking down the trail from Fuddruckers toward the apt. complex. She was walking with a little boy. I did not know who he was. We then met in the middle of the trail. Shawn spoke first and she told me that she was on the way to my house. I then asked her what for. She told me that she was coming to use my contacts. I told her that she was a damn fool, that she was not wearing my contacts. She then gave me a kiss. She then started rubbing by crotch. She then unbuttoned my jeans. She then pulled her zipper down on her shorts. Shawn then placed my penis in the slit of her vagina. We call that "grinding" if you don't put it in the hole. We did that for about 30 seconds. While we were grinding" the zipper on her shorts rubbed against the sore on my penis. I then pulled away and buttoned up my jeans. The little boy that was with her was standing next to us. 

I then said, "Fuck this shit", because I hurt the sore. She then asked me if l had some money. I told her I keeps money. She then asked me for $50.00 and I told her no. She then started telling me that she was going to have me arrested for rape. I told her that I never forced her to do nothing with me. She then raised her hand and hit me. I then blocked her with my left hand. I hit her in the throat. She then came back at me with her hand open. She was coming at my face. I had my knife in a sheath on the right side of my pants on my belt. I then pulled my knife and stabbed at her six or eight or ten times. I'm not sure, I just started stabbing. 

I'm not sure how many times I stabbed her. As I was stabbing her the little boy looked up at me and started crying. He then ran in between us and I stabbed him. I don't know how many times I stabbed him. I stopped and looked at Shawn and she was looking at me. I then put the knife in my sheath and ran home. When I got home I looked at the knife to see if there was any blood on it. I did not see any and put it in a box in the closet. I then turned on the TV to see what the score was on the football game. When I got home I also took my clothes off in the bedroom. I then went outside to get my dog. I got my dog and then took her back in the apartment. I then went to bed and got woke up about 2:30am by the police. 

Last night was the first time that I had seen Shawn since June or July. I first met her back in October of 1987. She used to date my cousin, Shawn Graham. On three different times Shawn came over to my apartment. She came over wearing her two piece bathing suit. This was sometime in May or June because it was hot. She would pull down the top of her swim suit and show me her breasts. She also pulled down her bottom and showed me her vagina. I just touched her on the vagina. We never did have sex. I have never had sex with Shawn. 

I had one cigarette while giving this statment. My rights were read to me by Sgt. Ferguson and I understood them.

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Althouse, Hitchens, Hughes

Ann Althouse writes:

What if everyone had 5 "keep alive" cards, that could be played over the course of a lifetime to save human beings — only those you don't personally know? Millions would have played a card to keep Hitchens with us. I would have.

I was struck by the possibility that I may have indeed been given a "keep alive" card.

My card is not nearly as nifty as the one fantasized by Althouse. I don't get to choose for whom I might use it. My card already has a name on it. The name is that of a stranger, someone I have never met nor even previously heard of. The name is that of someone reviled by society, to the extent society even takes notice.

My card is, by itself, insufficient. Even if I play it, the person is unlikely to be saved.

My card is, however, necessary. If I don't play it, the person will almost certainly die.

And my card is hardly free. It demands quid pro quo. It demands that I change my life so that I can somehow become responsible for the very survival of social outcast, one who claims to have literally been misjudged.

How many of you would care to have such a card?

So struck was I by Althouse's fantasy that I bothered to watch the video that prompted it. I almost passed. I didn't have the time. My card was then (and now) demanding my time. But I clicked on the video.

I was dumbstruck by its relevance in how I am attempting to play my card.

Reward yourself. Watch the video in its entirety. Learn from the man that Althouse and millions of others would save.

The Case of Preston Hughes III: The Gingerbread Man

"Run, run, fast as you can.
"You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!"
                            - The Gingerbread Man

The Gingerbread Man had quite a story to tell. Sadly, he is no longer around to tell it, so I'll fill in the best that I can.

As The Gingerbread Man regained consciousness, after being subjected to a burning oven, a little old lady was preparing to eat him. He hopped to his feet and ran like the wind. Behind him, he could hear the little old lady yelling "Stop! Stop! I want to eat you."

It was at that time that The Gingerbread Man, hereafter known as TGM, uttered the taunt that would make him famous throughout the ages.

"Run, Run, fast as you can.

"You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!"

As he ran outside he encountered a little old man. The little old man also wanted to eat him, so he taunted the old man as well. I'll not repeat the taunt each time, but you get the idea.

Then TGM ran past the pigsty, and the pig wanted to eat him.

[Insert taunt here.]

Then he ran past a dog. Same story.

And a cow. Same story, same taunt.

Soon he came to a mighty river, and he was in a bit of a bind. Behind him were an old woman, an old man, a pig, a dog, and a cow. All of them wanted to eat him alive. In front of him was the mighty river, and he certainly didn't want to go in there. He would melt away for sure.

To complicate matters, there was a fox standing between him and the mighty river. TGM was a bit wary, since foxes are known for their cleverness and guile (C&G). In this case though, the fox seemed sincerely well-intentioned. It didn't want to eat him alive. It wanted only to help him. It offered to save him by allowing him to ride on its tail as it swam across the mighty river.

If TGM would simply hop on its tail, if TGM would only do that an nothing more, then TGM would be safely transported across the mighty river and would there be allowed to run free.

TGM was in a pretty tough spot. He had voracious mammals of all sorts pursuing him, and a mighty river before him. Now he had a fox offering to help, but foxes are well-known for their C&G.

But there's an amazing twist/turn to this story, one never before told. TGM had already once been saved by a fox. That's right. As hard as it is to believe, TGM had previously been in a quite similar bind. The voracious mammals behind him had not been so many, and the river before him had not been so mighty, but other than that the binds were quite similar. There had been a fox at that not-so-mighty river as well, and that fox had offered to help him gain his freedom.

And sure enough, in that earlier case situation, the fox had carried TGM to freedom.

Now it was happening all over again. All that TGM had to do was to sign a confession in which he described the stabbing as an accident hop on the fox's fluffy tail.

Having little choice, given the alternative, and having been previously granted his freedom for pleading guilty to a crime he did not commit hopping aboard a fluffy tail, TGM jumped at the opportunity.

With TGM now onboard, the fox eagerly leaped into the mighty river and began swimming across, all the while holding his fluffy tail high in the water, all the while causing TGM to believe he had been saved.

For TGM there was no going back. It was too late to change his mind. He was surrounded by the mighty river. And, as it turns out, the river was full of alligators and crocodiles. And water moccasins. And molten lava.

But TGM was confident he had made the right decision. Soon he would be on the other side of this fearsome river and he would be free. And that would be a good thing too, because his employer would be expecting him. He had already missed one day of work because that little old lady had arrested him cooked him, and he didn't want to get fired. So he pulled out his cell phone and called his boss. He told his boss that he had experienced a bit of bother, that he had missed work because of that bother, but that he would not miss any more.

The greedy, profit-driven, capitalistic boss said: "Okay."

TGM was relieved. He realized he should call his parole officer as well, and maybe even his mother. It never occurred to him that he should have called a lawyer earlier.

Particularly when he was dealing with the fox, for foxes are known for their C&G. 

Once they were well away from the shore, the sly and cunning fox suddenly reneged on the deal. It suddenly told him that he would have to sign a second, more damaging confession that it was unable to keep its fluffy tail above water any longer, and that he should hop inside the fox's mouth.

If he wanted to be free.

And, believing he had no choice, he did exactly what the fox instructed him to do.

And on November 15, 2012, the State and people of Texas are going to stick a needle in his arm and inject lethal chemicals the fox swallowed him, and smiled a contented smile. For foxes are known for their cleverness and guile.

*** THE END ***

Author's Note:

This story may have been inspired by a real-life murder case in which the suspect was threatened with life behind bars if he did not confess, and offered freedom if he did. The confession seemed innocent enough. The suspect would only need claim he had stabbed a 15 year old girl when he thought he was stabbing a black, male assailant. It wasn't an ideal situation for the suspect, but the suspect felt he had no choice. He had a mountain of manufactured evidence behind him, and a seemingly innocent enough confession in front of him.

So the suspect signed the confession. He then called his boss, just as the gingerbread man called his boss. The parallels are too striking to be coincidence. The suspect told his boss that he would not be able to work that day, but would be able to work the next. From the trial testimony:

[H]e just said he had been picked up by the police and that he would probably be able to be in to work the next day.

In the classic fairy tale, the fox seems to be a metaphor for the police, and the fluffy tail seems to be a metaphor for the first confession. In the fairy tail, the gingerbread man was told the rules had changed, that he could save himself only by jumping in the fox's mouth. In the murder case, the suspect was told that he would have to modify his statement, and not just by a little bit. The suspect would have to change his statement in life-threatening fashion.

As I said before, the parallels are simply to striking to be coincidental.

I quote once again from the trial transcripts. This time I quote from a co-worker of the suspect's mother. The suspect had not been freed after signing the first confession, as promised. Instead, he had been jailed. He was calling collect from a pay phone located in that jail, trying to reach his mother.

He was telling me that he had to change his statement and I was asking him, "You gave a statement?" And he said, "They're telling me to change my statement. I have to go to change my statement."

And the suspect did just as he was told.

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The Impending Execution of Robert Wayne Harris

Robert Wayne Harris sits on on death row awaiting execution by the people of Texas on 20 September 2012. I suspect he will not survive the day.

I provide the following summary of his case from the adverse decision in Harris v. Thaler (2012):

[Harris] worked at Mi-T-Fine Car Wash for ten months prior to the offense. An armored car picked up cash receipts from the car wash every day except Sunday. Therefore, [Harris] knew that on Monday morning, the safe would contain cash receipts from the weekend and the cash register would contain $200-$300 for making change. On Wednesday, March 15, 2000, [Harris] masturbated in front of a female customer. The customer reported the incident to a manager, and a cashier called the police. [Harris] was arrested and fired. 

On Sunday, March 19[th], [Harris] spent the day with his friend, Junior Herrera, who sold cars. Herrera was driving a demonstrator car from the lot. Although [Harris] owned his own vehicle, he borrowed Herrera's that evening. He then went to the home of friend Billy Brooks, who contacted his step-son, Deon Bell, to lend [Harris] a pistol. 

On Monday, March 20[th], [Harris] returned to the car wash in the borrowed car at 7:15 a.m., before it opened for business. [Harris] forced the manager, Dennis Lee, assistant manager, Agustin Villaseñor, and cashier, Rhoda Wheeler, into the office. He instructed Wheeler to open the safe, which contained the cash receipts from the weekend. Wheeler complied and gave him the cash. [Harris] then forced all three victims to the floor and shot each of them in the back of the head at close range. He also slit Lee's throat. 

Before [Harris] could leave, three other employees arrived for work unaware of the danger. [Harris] forced them to kneel on the floor of the lobby area and shot each of them in the back of the head from close range. One of the victims survived with permanent disabilities. Shortly thereafter, a seventh employee, Jason Shields, arrived. Shields noticed the three bodies in the lobby and saw [Harris] standing near the cash register. After a brief exchange in which [Harris] claimed to have discovered the crime scene, pointed out the bodies of the other victims, and pulled a knife from a nearby bookshelf, Shields became nervous and told [Harris] he needed to step outside for fresh air. Shields hurried to a nearby doughnut shop to call authorities. [Harris] followed Shields to the doughnut shop, also spoke to the 911 operator, then fled the scene. 

[Harris] returned the vehicle to Herrera and told him that he had discovered some bodies at the car wash. [Harris] then took a taxi to Brooks's house. At Brooks's house, he separated the money from the other objects and disposed of the metal lock boxes, a knife, a crowbar, and pieces of a cell phone in a wooded area. [Harris] purchased new clothing, checked into a motel, and sent Brooks to purchase a gold cross necklace for him. Later that afternoon, [Harris] drove to the home of another friend and remained there until the following morning, when he was arrested. Testimony also showed that [Harris] had planned to drive to Florida on Tuesday and kill an old girlfriend.

I oppose the execution of any person who might be innocent of the crime for which they are to die. Regarding the propriety of all other executions, I stand mute. In the case of Robert Wayne Harris, I stand mute.

ADDENDUM (20 Sep 2012)
Robert Wayne Harris was executed by the people of Texas as scheduled.