BackRichard Wayne Jones
(Texas) Case Shart Case Summary|
DEFENDANT’S INFORMATION |
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Defendant’s Name |
Richard Wayne Jones |
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Date of Birth |
April 9, 1960 |
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Defendant’s Race |
White |
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Criminal History |
Runaway as a juvenile; burglary and theft: served 2 yr. 4 mo; paroled in 1981; 1983 aggravated robbery; paroled in 1985 |
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Execution’ Date |
August 22, 2000 |
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TDCJ Number |
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Age at the time of crime |
26 |
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Age at the time of execution |
40 |
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THE CRIME |
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Date of Crime |
Feb. 19, 1986 |
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County |
Tarrant |
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Victim(s) |
Tammy Livingston |
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Race of Victim(s) |
White |
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Relationship to Defendant |
None |
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Offense Alleged |
Capital murder |
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Factual summary of allegations |
Victim abducted, stabbed 19 times, body nude but no sexual assault, field set on fire, body burned; robbed: credit cards, checks, car |
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THE TRIAL |
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County where tried |
Tarrant |
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Trial Judge |
CC "Kit" Cook |
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Prosecutor(s) |
Sharon Wilson, Scott Wise, Brent Carr |
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Defense Attorney(s) |
Jack Strickland, Bill Lane |
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Plea |
Not guilty |
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Racial Makeup of Jury |
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Convicted of (statute) |
Capital murder |
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Confession? |
Coerced: confessed after he and his pregnant girlfriend were threatened with the death penalty |
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Accomplice(s) |
Walt Sellers and Brenda Jones Ashmore (Richard’s sister) |
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Eyewitness(es) |
Ruthie Amato and 2 teenage daughters; Robert Speights (heard screams from crime scene) |
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Scientific Evidence |
A lot of blood around body indicating she was killed in field; a few spots of blood on leg of jeans of Jones; Jones’ fingerprint in car; fingerprints and hair samples at crime scene—never tested |
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Jail House Snitch? |
On Sellers: several witnesses said he confessed, some from jail |
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Defendant Testimony? |
Yes; shackled in court |
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Exculpatory Evidence Offered? |
No, but Jones kept silent to protect sister. He knew Walt Sellers did the murder and eventually stated this |
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Additional Punishment evidence by State |
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Mitigating Evidence by Defense |
No psychiatric investigation Indication of cognitive dysfunction ADHD-hyperactive Abusive family-drinking, beatings Started running away at 8 Mostly raised in state schools Two suicide attempts Last state school closed for brutality shortly after he left |
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Mental Retardation, Mental Illness, and/or neurological damage? |
Borderline retardation: IQ of 75, 3rd grade level |
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Sentencing Date |
July 24, 1987 |
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DIRECT APPEAL COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS |
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States appellate attorney |
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Defendant’s appellate attorney |
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Date appellate brief filed |
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Grounds Raised |
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Date of opinion |
April 29, 1992 |
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Opinion citation |
Affirmed conviction: Jones v State 843 S.W. 2nd 487 |
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Cert to S. Ct? |
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STATE WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS |
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Writ Attorney |
1st: Strickland, Butcher, Lamoreaux; 2nd: William Harris (Ft. Worth) and Rob Owen (Austin) |
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Appointed, retained or volunteer? |
Appointed |
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Grounds Alleged |
Coerced confession, physical evidence doesn’t support conviction, real killer known, need for DNA testing |
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Cert to S.Ct.? |
February 2, 1993; denied April 19, 1993 |