Death Row Inmate Robert Power dies before we can execute him

Robert Power, 50, passed away at the Union Correctional Institute in Raiford.

Robert Power was sentenced to death in 1990 for his crimes. Power had kidnapped a 12 year old girl and at some point he brutally raped her.

Powers was convicted of raping a woman and 2 girls and killing a 12 year old in the 1980’s.

The media reports the reason Power has not been executed is his case was still in the appeals process and a death warrant has not been issued to but him to death.

What a joke our system has become.

Here we have a murderer and rapist that “was” serving a death sentence along with 8 consecutive life sentences for other crimes.

That’s right not 1 but 8 life sentences.

Why would we allow someone like this to continue to live?

So defense attorneys can make all the money possible from this case before he is put to death.

There is no reason to allow someone with this much prison time to live. We the tax payers have to support criminal’s everyday while we have people in our community going without food or shelter.

Even though his death was reported to be from natural causes, they are still going to send his body to the medical examiner to cost the tax payers more money to do an autopsy. Is this something that the family has requested? If so let them pay for it. We the tax payers don't need to know the reason he died.

Oh well, regardless of the reasons he died, he is dead and thats all that matters at this point.

Just a shame he wasn’t put to death by the system. We need to stop playing games with these people and put them to death in a timely manor.

You have been sentenced to death, pick your poison…

And that’s exactly what Ronnie Lee Gardner done.







His answers surprised everyone it seems. As Gardner was shackled at his ankles and wrists he sat in court and said

"I would like the firing squad, please,"

In Utah apparently it was still on the books to allow the prisoners to elect which method of death will be used for their own execution.

Utah was the first state to execute a killer after the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.
Utah is the only state with a firing squad as an option for death row inmates.

Utah executed John Albert Taylor in 1996 by firing squad and Taylor’s selection in the firing squad was to embarrass the state.

Even though the firing squad was been brought up by Utah law makers, in 2004 there were several that supported keeping the firing squad as a method of death for Utah.

Some claim it was a law from the old west and was never removed from the books and I think now they said they have removed it, but it does not apply to the death row inmates already on death row. Several news reports have said there are several more inmates that have the option of dying by firing squad.

Gardner chose the firing squad in 1985 for his convictions then. But in 1990 and 1996 when death warrants were issued for Gardner he chose lethal injection. Sadly those execution dates were stayed through appeals.

But you got to love the attorneys they are right there in the media as well claiming that after 25 years of litigation amounted to unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment and that Gardner’s rights were violated in 1985 since the state did not pay for experts to testify about his abusive childhood and the alleged brain damage he suffered as a child.

Here we go again, I was beat as a child so I have to commit crimes and murder people and it’s my parents fault.

Anyway, the judge denied the request of Gardner’s attorneys. Apparently there is one more step he can take to appeal the execution but for the most part Gardner has exhausted all of his appeals and steps he can take to overturn this execution.

I say if he wants to die by firing squad, so be it. It’s his life and if he has to die he should have the right to chose how he will die.

Personally I think they should bring back public executions. Let the criminals see that going to prison is not something to take lightly. Let’s bring back the public hangings.

What am I saying, how could I be so cruel and unusual in my thoughts. How could we be so mean to a convicted murderer, child rapist or just an evil person? So evil that the courts elected to put the person to death as a result of their crimes.

People think there current approach is working and yet criminals laugh at going to jail and or prison. Sadly some of these people have a better life in prison than on the streets.

I will never understand why inmates are treated in the manor they are. When I worked in a jail, there were so many regulations that it was even determined that inmates had to have 3 light square feet of personal space. How do you measure 3 square feet of personal space, well for our jail it cut the population in half. Not that it really made a difference; we were over crowded all the time according to the state. But the regulations were there to protect the inmates in every aspect of their life in prison.

I say go back to bread and water, labor chain gangs and make them work to repay their debt to society.

Murderer David Russ got what he asked for…. The Death Penalty….

Back in 2007 David Russ murdered Madeleine Leinen. Russ had broke into her home hog-tied her and then stabbed her and strangled her to death in her own bathroom.

Once David Russ was caught, he done something we usually don’t see with criminals.

Russ ordered his attorneys to do nothing to spare him the death penalty.

Too bad more criminals aren’t like David Russ, think of the millions that would be saved each year if violent felons were simply put to death for punishment of their crimes. Because right now life in prison or a death penalty just doesn’t seem to have much of an effect on most criminals. It’s pretty sad when the criminals have no fear of being caught, but of course we have a lot of defense attorneys we can thank for that, just look at Baez.

Anyway, back to this post, today on May 13, 2009 when David Russ went to court and people were concerned over the trial of Joshua Rosa going so fast, well this one only took 2 minutes.

That’s right 2 minutes.

Russ asked for nothing less than the death penalty and he got it today.

The judge said that she could have chosen life without parole, but because of the aggravating circumstances of this murder, she elected to give him death.

Even the details of his crime were a little unusual. David Russ watched Madeleine Leinen, who was 58 at the time of her death, leave for work. Once she left, he broke into her home and then made himself at home.

While he waited for Madeleine Leinen to return home from work, David Russ decided to take a shower, then he was a little hungry so he cooked some food and being the considerate thief he was he even decided to wash the dishes. Now after he finished eating and cleaning he decided to pack up her valuables. Once that was done, he decided to wait for the victim to return home.

Once Madeleine Leinen returned home, she started to unload the groceries she just bought she was attacked.

David Russ waited all day for his victim to return home, when at any time he simply could have left the scene and with his cleaning up could have possibly destroyed any DNA/fingerprint evidence he left behind.

The family members in court today said that the brutality of what Leinen suffered was incomprehensible.

"I wouldn't want that for anybody," she said. "She didn't do anything to hurt him. Nothing. She didn't even know him. The horrible things he did to her, I've never heard anything like it."

Now this case gets stranger and stranger as it goes on.

Since David Russ refused to allow his attorneys to put on any type of defense, the judge hired 2 attorneys for him.

Jeff Dowdy and Mike Nielsen were nice enough to tell the judge how smart and considerate and generous David Russ is when he is sober. I wonder where the attorneys came up with smart and considerate, I mean after all drugs or not, this man broke into a home and waited all day to murder the victim. When at anytime he could have elected to leave once he stole everything from her and the scum attorneys had to audacity to tell the judge how nice, smart and considerate this man was.

I guess they were taking the fact that he cleaned up after himself after cooking her food into consideration. Who knows?

But in a series of letters to the judge Russ blamed his actions on cocaine. Who to blame? Cocaine. Why is it always the fault of something else, cocaine or not, this man made a conscious decision to hang out in a home all day and wait for the victim to return home.

David Russ just picked a victim out of the blue and decided to kill her. There was no know relationship/friendship between Russ and the victim.

Now what’s even scarier, is once he murdered her, he fled. Russ ran to Texas and actually broke into another home of other women. Now this time for whatever reason, he elected to leave before the women returned home.

Now the sickening part of this case comes to play with the court attorneys. Nielsen said that Russ would appeal the sentence.

I wonder what grounds they will appeal on. Poor defense maybe? They have no one to blame but them selves. The convicted murderer wants to die for his crimes, let him.

Of course if David Russ was put to death the attorneys couldn’t make any more money from Russ. So they will play games and waste all the time possible to now appeal the sentence that a violent murderer wanted.

Sounds like equal and fair justice to me.

6 additional life terms for confessed child killer

Joseph Edward Duncan III, 45, received his final sentences Monday for the torture and slayings of an Idaho family.

But its not over yet, he may go to California for additional charges against him for a 1997 abduction and murder of a 10 year old boy.

Duncan III, is already serving 6 life prison terms. Duncan was given the death penalty in August.

Duncan had targeted the children and then he kidnapped a 9 year old Dylan Groene and his sister Shasta who was 8 at the time. Duncan held the children for weeks in western Montana. He tortured and sexually abused both children.

Duncan eventually murdered Dylan. Shasta was rescued after being held for 7 weeks.
Duncan in his stalking and targeting of the children had to murder the rest of the family in order to abduct the 2 children.

Their mother, Brenda Groene, was murdered along with her fiancé Mark McKenzie. Duncan also murdered their 13 year old brother Slade Groene.

"By any stretch of the imagination, your rampage ... exceeded the bounds of human understanding," the judge told Duncan. "These crimes ... were unfathomable, cruel and sadistic."

Right now they are not sure where Duncan, 45 will be held. They may end up in California since he still may face the abduction and murder charges there.
Duncan was a convicted pedophile and he said his violence was motivated by a need to seek revenge on society.

First, I understand the need for the California family to have closure in this case and a conviction may help them with that process, but why would we even consider moving this piece of crap anywhere other than to the Death Chamber?

I think he has more than enough convictions that he should be put to death tomorrow.

Do they really need to risk moving him anywhere? Has he confessed to those crimes or would he confess to them. He has pleaded guilty to these crimes so instead of moving him anywhere, why not ask if he would plead guilty and then let him attend trial by video. Just my thoughts.

The court offered Duncan a final chance to explain his actions or offer remorse to the Groene family and all he had to say after he quoted a biblical passage all he said was “he cared very little about being judged for his crimes.”

Then Duncan was ordered to pay $100,000 for the counseling and treatment for Shasta. Even though the court acknowledged Duncan is unlikely to pay.

Duncan pleaded guilty to 10 federal crimes stemming from his kidnapping and sexual abuse of the children and the murder of Dylan. Three of those crimes qualified for the death penalty, which he was sentenced to in August.

Duncan has 10 days to file a notice of intent to appeal his federal sentence.

During his federal death penalty hearing, prosecutors spelled out the grim details of the weeks the children were held captive. Steven Groene was in the court while this happened. Steven is the father of Shasta, Dylan and Slade. There were also members of the jury at the sentencing on Monday.

Richard Cooey claims he is too fat to die.

Richard Cooey claims he is too fat to die.

Richard Cooey was convicted of murder, robbery, assault and kidnapping of two University of Akron students in 1986.

Cooey was sentenced to the death penalty and over the years he has been given a stay but now he is scheduled to die on October 14, 2008.

Now with the date set, Cooey and his lawyers now claim he is too fat to die by lethal injection, claiming since he is so fat they will have problems finding his veins. His lawyers reported that medical staff usually has a problem finding his veins now for routine medical/lab work.

Richard Cooey was 19 at the time of the crime and his co-defendant Clint Dickens was 17.

What happened, what did they do?

To start this event, Cooey and Dickens dropped a chunk of concrete off on an overpass on I-77 just as Wendy Offredo and Dawn McCreery drove under the overpass.

As soon as they dropped the concrete they headed down to see if the girls were ok and they offered to drive them to a payphone. The girls accepted the offer.

Cooey drove his two friends and two victims to a near by pay phone so that Offredo could call her mother and McCreery called the Akron Police.

Wendy Offreedo

**Note: this story I read referred to another person being with Cooey and Dickens, I have not read anything else on line that said there were more involved. I’m not sure if a third person was there or not. I will continue to look around and see if I can find the correct series of events in this case. If anyone knows, please leave a comment. ***

Dawn McCreery

At some point, they noticed that Offredo had some cash in her wallet and it was suggested that they rob the girls before returning to their car.

Cooey starts back towards the girl’s car, but they ended up in a remote area where they raped and robbed the girls. Cooey claimed he was innocent in trial and said he did not have forcible sexual intercourse nor did he cause the fatal blows.

The occurred on September 1, 1986, while Cooey was home on a 30 day leave from the U.S. Army. He apparently had just finished his six months of training.

However, even with his pleas of innocence, a three judge panel convicted Cooey of four counts of aggravated murder, two counts of kidnapping, two counts of aggravated robbery and one count of felonious assault.

Even with his failed attempt of claiming he was innocent, he testified that he could not have committed the crime based on his level of intoxication and drug use. The panel refused to allow expert testimony into the trial. Mitigating evidence was introduced during the sentencing phase of the trial, showing that Cooey had suffered severe mental and physical abuse, abused alcohol and drugs, and had a mental disorder that was aggravated by the drug and alcohol use. Another mitigating factor brought into the trial was the Cooey’s youth at the time of the offense and his lack of criminal record. The three judge panel weighed the evidence against the mitigating factors and sentenced Cooey to death.

Clint Dickens was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Since he was 17 at the time he could not receive the death penalty.

Now all these years later, Cooey claims he is too fat to die. His attorneys are supporting him and his efforts to remain alive; maybe we should take the Tim “the Tool Man" Taylor approach and give lethal injection in Ohio MORE POWER!!!

Mark D. Schwab is scheduled to die

Mark D. Schwab is scheduled to die

Mark Dean Schwab could be the first to die by lethal injection since Angel Diaz. Lethal injection was put on hold by the Governor after the Diaz execution.

However, the State now has new policy and procedures in place that could be tested on Tuesday.

Mark Schwab, 39, has been on death row for 16 years. He was sentenced to death in the 1991 kidnapping, rape and murder of an 11 year old boy.




Schwab and his attorneys aren’t so sure the problems have been fixed. The attorney, Mark Gruber, who is state paid said that an analysis done for Schwab showed that 9 out of the 30 mock executions were failures.

Schwab’s legal options are running out. The Florida Supreme Court on Friday rejected his latest appeal claiming the new procedure still carried the risk of causing intense pain and suffering.

Now the state has argued successfully in several courts that the procedure meets all constitutional tests against cruel and unusual punishment and Schwab cannot raise that issue again.

Once Schwab’s appeal was rejected by the Supreme Court it is expected they will turn to the federal courts. The U.S. Supreme Court has allowed eight lethal injections to continue since upholding the Kentucky case.

Family of Schwab's victim are counting down the days to execution with a timer on a Web site devoted to the boy. They've been through years of appeals, and they decided not to comment on the latest.

"The roller coaster has begun, and we don't want to get on," Vickie Rios-Martinez, Junny's mother, said recently.
Schwab raped and killed Junny a month after he was released early from a prison sentence he got for raping a 13-year-old boy, who was from Cocoa, a small town on the Atlantic coast of Florida.

Schwab got close to the boy and his family by posing as a reporter who promised to help the boy with his dream of becoming a professional surfer. On the day of the rape and murder, Schwab called the boy's school posing as his father, then picked him up there.

The case prompted Florida's Junny Rios-Martinez Act of 1992, which prohibits sex offenders from early release from prison or getting credit for good behavior.
Schwab's execution is to be held at the state's death chamber in Starke.

According to the DOC web site

Florida Department of Corrections Website




Inmate Population Information Detail
(This information was current as of 6/22/2008)




DC Number: 111129
Name: SCHWAB, MARK D
Race: WHITE
Sex: MALE
Hair Color: BROWN
Eye Color: BLUE
Height: 6'01''
Weight: 156 lbs.
Birth Date: 12/16/1968
Initial Receipt Date: 07/01/1992
Current Facility: FLORIDA STATE PRISON
Current Custody: MAXIMUM
Current Release Date: DEATH SENTENCE



________________________________________
Aliases:
MARK D SCHWAB MARK DEAN SCHWAB

Scars, Marks, and Tattoos:
Type Location Description
TATTOO LEFT ARM BART SIMPSON UPPER ARM
TATTOO RIGHT ARM HEART BREAKER W/KNIFE & HEART

Current Prison Sentence History:
Offense Date Offense Sentence Date County Case No. Prison Sentence Length
04/18/1991 1ST DG MUR/PREMED. OR ATT. 07/01/1992 BREVARD 9107249 DEATH SENTENCE
04/18/1991 SEX BAT BY ADULT/VCTM UNDER 12 07/01/1992 BREVARD 9107249 SENTENCED TO LIFE
04/18/1991 KIDNAP V<13/AGG.CHLD ABUSE 07/01/1992 BREVARD 9107249 SENTENCED TO LIFE
07/20/1987 SEX BAT/ WPN. OR FORCE 07/01/1992 BREVARD 8703147 SENTENCED TO LIFE

Note: The offenses descriptions are truncated and do not necessarily reflect the crime of conviction. Please refer to the court documents or the Florida Statutes for further information or definition.
Detainers: (Further information may be obtained by contacting the detaining agency)
Detainer Date Agency Type Date Canceled
01/24/1990 NTFY:18-2 COCOA P&P NTFY/P&P 03/04/1991

Incarceration History:
Date In-Custody Date Out-of-Custody
04/05/1988 03/04/1991
07/01/1992 Currently Incarcerated

Prior Prison History: (Note: Data reflected covers periods of incarceration with the Florida Dept.of Corrections since January of 1983)
Offense Date Offense Sentence Date County Case No. Prison Sentence Length
07/20/1987 SEX BAT/ WPN. OR FORCE 03/16/1988 BREVARD 8703147 8Y 0M 0D

Rattlesnake Romeo

Rattlesnake Romeo


Is the name of the book that covered the death of Vicki Lyn Robinson. Robinson was 49, when she was murdered in here Carrollwood home in Tampa, FL.

Even though it’s been 10 years since this infamous crime, this story made the news again.

On June 27, 1998, Vicki Robinson stepped into her kitchen in a nightgown. Whispel twice testified about how Davis attacked her there, how Valessa Robinson held her mother down while Davis slashed at the woman's throat with a bleach-filled syringe, how he handed Davis a knife.

This time the news reports that Adam Davis has remained on death row and Valessa Robinson is still in prison as well.




Adam Davis and his lawyers appealed his case to the high courts stating Davis did not receive proper representation during trial.

The Supreme Court denied the claim that the attorneys for Davis were ineffective. They had a similar ruling from an appellate court.

Davis and his girlfriend Valessa were found guilty of the murder while Jon Whispel pleaded guilty to second degree murder and agreed to testify against Davis and Robinson. .

According to the Supreme Court ruling, late on June 26, 1998, Davis, Valessa Robinson and Whispel met at a Denny's and took LSD. While on the drug, Valessa Robinson proposed the three kill her mother by injecting an overdose of heroin, but they couldn't get any of the drug.

During Valessa Robinson's trial, prosecutors said she wanted to kill her mother because Vicki Robinson wanted to end the girl's relationship with Davis.

They bought a syringe for $2 to inject the sleeping woman with bleach and an air bubble. By then it was early in the morning of June 27. Vicki Robinson woke up, and Davis grappled with her.

The girl and Davis held Vicki Robinson down and Davis injected the bleach. When that didn't kill her, Davis stabbed the woman.

When they heard her groaning, Davis went back into the room, and later he told Whispel he had stabbed Vicki Robinson two more times and tried to break her neck.

They stuffed her body into a plastic garbage can and dumped it along a canal near Waters Avenue.

The trio stole Vicki Robinson's car, credit cards, cash and ATM card, intending to head to Phoenix.

On July 2, 1998, they were caught in Texas.

Vicki Davis was popular in her church and community. More than 100 people showed up for a vigil at her house the day after her daughter told investigators where to find the body.

The state high court's ruling today was its second review of Davis' trial and death sentence. In 2003, attorneys for Davis appealed the conviction and sentence, an appeal the Supreme Court denied.




In 1999, Whispel was sentenced to 25 years in prison. He testified against Davis and Valessa Robinson at their trials and avoided a possible death penalty.











In 2000, Valessa Robinson was found guilty of third-degree murder along with theft charges and sentenced to 20 years.





The book, Rattlesnake Romeo can be found here Kensingtonbooks

Robert Stacy Yarbrough was put to death.

Robert Stacy Yarbrough was put to death.

Robert Stacy Yarbrough was the 100th Execution in Virginia since 1976 when the US Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment.

Yarbrough was convicted of killing a convenience store clerk. Yarbrough nearly beheaded the clerk

Yarbrough, 30, died by lethal injection. He was at the Greensville Correctional Center. He was pronounced dead at 9:28 p.m.

His last words were, "Tell my kids I love them, and let's get it over with," said Larry Traylor, a spokesman for the Virginia Department of Corrections.

Virginia Governor Kaine declined yesterday to block Yarbrough's execution, and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to intervene.

In a statement, Kaine said: "The trial, verdict, and sentence have been reviewed in detail by various state and federal courts, including the Supreme Court of Virginia, a United States Magistrate, a United States District Court Judge, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The Supreme Court of the United States also has denied Yarbrough's petition for review."

Kaine continued: "Having carefully reviewed the Petition for Clemency and judicial opinions regarding this case, I find no compelling reason to set aside the sentence that was recommended by the jury, and then imposed and affirmed by the courts. Accordingly, I decline to intervene."

After Yarbrough died, state Attorney General Robert F. McDonnell (R) said: "Tonight, justice has been served. Our thoughts and prayers remain with [the victim's] children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and all his friends and family."

Attorneys for Yarbrough declined to comment. They had said the execution should have been stopped because Yarbrough's trial lawyers should have challenged the DNA evidence used to convict him and should have presented evidence that he was neglected as a child.

Yarbrough was convicted in the 1997 slaying of Cyril Hugh Hamby, 77, in Mecklenburg County. Yarbrough and a former high school classmate tied Hamby's hands behind his back with an extension cord, and Yarbrough cut Hamby's neck in a sawing motion at least 10 times as Hamby pleaded for him to stop.

Hamby bled to death, and the state medical examiner said his wounds were consistent with an attempted beheading.

James Earl Reed Executed.

Update

James Earl Reed was pronounced dead at 23:27 hrs. Reed was the first person executed in the electric chair in the U.S. in nearly a year and South Carolina’s first since 2004.

Reed gave no final statement.

The execution, first scheduled for 6 p.m., had been put on hold as defense attorneys successfully obtained a stay from a federal judge, only to see it vacated by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Their attempt to get the U.S. Supreme Court to block the execution was subsequently denied.

In South Carolina, anyone sentenced to death may choose the electric chair or lethal injection. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, eight other states electrocute inmates.

In the request for the stay that was granted Friday, the defense attorneys cited a U.S. Supreme Court decision made the day before regarding defendants' rights to represent themselves. The high court on Thursday said a defendant can be judged competent to stand trial, yet incapable of acting as his own lawyer.



James Earl Reed's final ride out of prison. May God have mercy on his soul.

James Earl Reed has been granted a stay

James Earl Reed has been granted a stay. The stay came just in the nick of time. He was scheduled to die at 1800 hrs and the stay was issued at 1740 hrs.

Reed was to die in the electric chair. The stay triggered several other legal moves by the State as it sought out to carry out the death penalty.

Prisons spokesman said state lawyers filed a motion with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., to vacate the stay. They also filed the motion with the U.S. Supreme Court in case they were successful at the lower level and challenged again.

Even if state attorneys got the stay lifted Friday night, the state might have to reschedule the execution because it must be carried out by midnight.
Reed, 49, has been on death row since 1996, when he was convicted of murdering Joseph and Barbara Lafayette in their Charleston County home two years earlier. Prosecutors said he was looking for an ex-girlfriend

James Earl Reed fired his attorney during the trial. Reed then decided to represent himself, denying the killings despite a confession and arguing that no physical evidence placed him at the scene. Jurors found him guilty and decided he should die.


James Earl Reed operates his own web site HERE.

Here is the first part of his site.

My name is James Earl Reed, with the SCDC number of 5041 being incarcerated upon South Carolina Death Row, here within Ridgeville S.C. at Lieber Corr. Inst. Where I am within a urgent need of help!

This case is upon black and white, meaning court transcribe, along with being upon television camera for my lawyer at the S.C. appellate defense 1122 Lady St. Suite 940 Columbia S.C. 29201-3243 Joseph L. Savitz trial transcribes. News channel 2 NBC (843) 884-2288, Mrs. Jill Ford I gave her a one hour and thirty minute interview before trial, plus a thick folder of all the state paperwork, with all the covering the full trial in court camera, for I was my own lawyer within this death penalty case/trial. News channel 4 ABC (843) 881-4444 covered the full trial only in court camera. News channel 5 CBS (843) 577-6397 Ben Mankiewicz, I gave him a one hour and 45 minutes interview along with a thick folder with all the evidence, plus other state paperwork, along with on camera all the pictures of the crime. I didn’t every hide, nor hold back anything from anyone!

The big issue within this death penalty case/trial, was that I would be representing myself which I have come to find out this hasn’t been done, until I became the first! Within this state, and was told perhaps within any other state! I didn’t become my own lawyer for no type of fame nor glory! Yet to save my life period! I had the head public defender of Charleston S.C. Ashley Pennington, for his trial strategy was call reconciliation, that’s it! Not to do a effective cross-examination, to whittle down the adversary’s state

evidence, which all the state evidence help’s me! So I fired both lawyers, and took my own case not knowing the law well enough to handle a death penalty trial as such, just the truth and knowing this truth it carried me through the 7 day trial without stopping it to teach me anything!

Where I am within a urgent need of help!

Charles Dean Hood lives.

Update in the comments

Execution warrant reinstated in Texas.

Charles Dean Hood. Cried when he was informed he could live.

Hood was convicted of a double slaying almost 20 years ago in Texas. Hood won a reprieve just an hour before he could have been put to death.

"I just thank God," he said. "I just walk by my faith. If it didn't happen, I was going home to the Lord."

I wonder if he thanked God when he killed.

Apparently the Judge did not give a reason for lifting the death warrant. Seems once he lifted the death warrant he removed himself from the case.

The attorneys for Hood lost the last day appeals and out of the blue get a reprieve from a Judge who was accused by the defense of having an affair with the prosecutor that was assigned to the case. The now retired Judge and prosecutor declined to address the allegations.

Hood was convicted in 1989 for the slayings of Ronald Williams and Tracie Lynn Wallace. They were at the home of Williamson in the Dallas suburb of Plano.

Hood fled the scene in Williamson’s Cadillac and when he was arrested in Indiana he insisted he has permission to be driving Williamson’s Cadillac.

Hood still claims he is innocent in the case. Tuesday’s execution date was he 5th scheduled date to die and mysteriously won reprieve hours before he was scheduled to die.