Friday, August 12, 2016

The sad tale of Jeffrey Lee Wood.

  Sometimes I really have to wonder what is going on in the state of Texas.


“'I had a nightmare about my dad last night,” Paige Rowan told her aunt in the text.
Rowan described a dream in which she watched helplessly as the execution needle pierced her father’s skin.
She woke up screaming, panicking and feeling hopeless, she told Been.
Then, she said, she dropped to her knees and prayed.
“Please don’t allow this to happen,” Rowan wrote. “Don’t take my father away.”
Been struggled to finish reading the text message, her voice breaking as she paused several times to regain her composure during an interview with The Washington Post.
The message was sent Sunday, Been said, less than three weeks ahead of the date her niece has come to dread: Aug. 24, when the Texas Department of Criminal Justice plans to inject Jeffrey Lee Wood with a lethal dose of pentobarbital to stop his heart.
Rowan’s nightmares have been happening more often as her father’s execution date looms closer.
It is so close now that she can feel it, Rowan told her aunt.
The scheduled execution is Wood’s punishment for the 1996 death of a man he did not kill — and, by some accounts, did not know was going to be killed.
Legal experts say his case is rare, even in Texas, the execution capital of America — and a state that allows capital punishment for people who did not kill anyone or did not intend to kill.
Wood was convicted and sentenced to death under what’s called the law of parties, which has been in effect in Texas since the 1970s. It states that a person who “solicits, encourages, directs, aids, or attempts to aid the other person to commit an offense” is also criminally liable for that offense.
Under the law, prosecutors are not required to prove that a defendant had any part in committing a crime, or even intended to commit it. Jurors only need to find that there was a plan to commit a crime and that the defendant should have anticipated that the crime would occur.
In Wood’s case, he was sitting in a pickup outside a Texaco convenience store in Kerrville, Tex., in January 1996, when Daniel Reneau went inside and shot and killed the store clerk with a .22-caliber handgun.
Wood’s supporters say he was under the impression that Reneau, a drifter he had met months earlier, was only going to buy food and drinks.
But they also agree that Wood is not completely innocent.
Court records say he was involved in a scheme with Reneau and the store’s assistant manager to steal a safe that they believed contained thousands of dollars. While the others had backed out, Reneau took it upon himself to steal the safe, court records say.
Based on testimony from Wood’s then-girlfriend, he asked Reneau to not bring his gun before the two drove to the convenience store that day. Reneau did anyway, without Wood’s knowledge.
Wood’s attorney, Jared Tyler, said his client could not have anticipated the death of the clerk, Kris Keeran, and was unfairly held responsible for Reneau’s actions and decisions.
Both men were convicted of capital murder. Reneau was put to death in 2002.
Wood has been on death row since 1998, when his daughter, Paige Rowan, was a toddler.
If executed this month, Wood will be the “least culpable person executed in the modern era of death penalty,” said Scott Cobb, president of Texas Moratorium Network, a group that advocates against capital punishment.
Tyler has filed a writ of habeas corpus — used to review the legality of someone’s imprisonment — asking the state’s highest court for a new sentencing hearing for Wood, saying punishment should be proportional to culpability.
Wood’s death sentence, Tyler said, was based on “false and misleading” testimony from a psychiatrist who did not personally examine his client.
Bruce Curry, the Kerr County district attorney whose office prosecuted Wood’s case, said he could not comment because of the pending court decision. A spokeswoman for the Texas Attorney General’s Office, which is handling the case, also declined to comment.
Tyler is ultimately asking the court to declare the state’s death penalty unconstitutional “because of its arbitrariness and inability to ensure that only the worst of the worst receive death sentence,” according to court records.
That raises a question for Terri Been: How is her brother, a man without a violent criminal history, the worst of the worst?
A child in a man’s body
At the age of 12, Wood was described as a “highly impulsive” and “very troubled” youngster who often had negative opinions of himself.
When he was 15, he frequently asked how he was doing at school, often assuming he’d flunked, according to the writ of habeas corpus.
By the time he reached high school, he was spelling at a fourth-grade level and reading at a fifth-grade level. He has borderline mental disability with an IQ of 80.
His mother described him as an “eight-year-old in a man’s body.”
These “debilitating emotional and intellectual impairments” made Wood vulnerable to Reneau’s manipulation and rendered him unable to comprehend what Reneau was capable of doing, court records say. Because of those impairments, his attorney argued, Wood should have been declared incompetent to stand trial.
And he was — at least initially.
Wood was committed to a mental health hospital after he was found incompetent. A neuropsychologist had testified that Wood was delusional, unable to grasp the issues about his case and the reality facing him.
But Wood was released after 15 days in the hospital. Court records say the hospital tested his factual understanding of legal proceedings, but not his ability to be rational." [Read more] 
Do you think the action being taken by the state of Texas serves our best interest as a society?
I don't. Their "law of the parties" seems more like a law created by idiots to me.
*Pic from nytimes.com
 

60 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh Field, don't trouble yourself with all of these complexities and baloney!

If you ask me, he's lived too long anyway! I mean...even though it's true that most people nowadays are reading and writing at a fourth grade level, still , if he was reta...er...I mean 'mentally challenged' he shoulda been put down a loooong time ago! Before he had a chance to take up with the Reneau feller and all the rest of that entire confabulation!

Either way, I personally don't believe in that whole lethal injection, electric chair bs!

I say once they're pronounced guilty, just take em out to a firing squad and be done with it! Easy peazy! I'm sure y'all will agree. Another good way is to hit em over the head from behind with a rock or something so they never see it coming, you know humane like, and then shoot em'.

See, I have the answer to everything, sorta like Tru...er never mind...

I Hate Spics, Gooks, Kikes, and Faggots said...

I agree. Stupid laws created by stupid people will never do anyone any good anywhere.

Puerto Rican food is nasty shit said...

Texas is a stupid state anyway.

dinthebeast said...

My mother worked for criminal defense attorneys for a long time, so I've seen a few people that you just have to think something needs to be done about them, but I just don't trust capital punishment any more. They get it wrong way too often, and in Texas, even if the sheer volume of executions doesn't bother you, there's the guy they executed for murder when his daughter was burned up in a house fire, and they were too stupid to figure it out. So for those thinking it could never happen to you as a law abiding citizen, it can and does happen to law abiding citizens. And you're right, a stupid law, of a retribution and punishment maximizing mindset instead of a reduction and repair of harm to the community one. It probably keeps the money flowing to the private prison industry, though, as it would expand the number of possible prosecutions.

-Doug in Oakland

Puerto Rican food is nasty shit said...

I would rather eat Puerto Rican food than live in Texas...or maybe not.

I Hate Spics, Gooks, Kikes, and Faggots said...

Heard Hillary speak tonight! Love her! Can't wait for her win in November!
#ImWithHer

Alison Roberts said...

Trump 2016

vig power said...

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Rohini Sethi said...

I think you are confused, Mr. Field Negro. Jeffrey Lee Wood is white. There is nothing to see here. Only Black Lives Matter.

Anonymous said...

just another no account nigra getting his reward. negros will never learn because of their limited intellect.

Anonymous said...

Between "speech fees" and "honorary chancellorships," 90% of the Clintons' income is straight up bribes:

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/bill-clinton-laureate-for-profit-college-pay-226971

$300 million worth of direct bribes. That we know of.

That number doesn't include the billions that go to the Clinton Foundation, which is used by the Clintons to peddle influence across the world, as well as covering all of their personal staff, administration, and travel expenses.

anotherbozo said...

Ladies and gentlemen, Miss Nina Simone, singing "Texas GodDAMN!"

Why doesn't this appear before SCOTUS as a case of cruel and unusual punishment? Oh, yeah, right... the Roberts Court, the one that shredded the Voting Rights Act.

Not everything that comes out of Texas is awful. Simone Biles is Texan. So is Simone Manuel. Joseph Schooling attends UT at Austin. There was Ann Richards. Barbara Jordan. Jim Hightower.

But God! so much IS awful.

field negro said...

Anon@10:55, please what Rohini said. You can read, right?

field negro said...

Anon@10:55, please what Rohini said. You can read, right?

dinthebeast said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Lt. Commander Johnson said...

Don't forget to mention who drove that truck...anybody that retarded should not be allowed a Driver's license...photo or not!

Retarded Felons "R" Us said...

Lt. Commander Johnson said...
Don't forget to mention who drove that truck...anybody that retarded should not be allowed a Driver's license...photo or not!
--

But then how would they vote democrat?

Loretta Lynch said...

@ Retarded Felons "R" Us:

You don't need an ID to vote democrat.

Anonymous said...

YESSSSSS! Today we are all PUIG!!!!! xD

Anonymous said...

Boricuaaa! Pa que tu lo sepas!!!

Shane Barrett said...

I would rather vote for Trump than eat Puerto Rican food. Yuck!

Lt. Commander Johnson said...

Which other states, beyond Texas, who you seem to hate so much, also have this prosecuturial standard?

Pennsylvania, maybe?

If you are convicted of a crime, where a person dies, and you were convicted of participating in that crime, you are adjudged to be just as guilty of murder.

Rob a bank. The teller has a heart attack. Isn't the driver of the getaway vehicle just as culpable?

Crowney Halloway said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Bob Corwin said...

I would rather watch the Kardashians and Ted Cruz speeches at the same time than eat Puerto Rican food.

Paul Koppler said...

I would rather lick my dirty driveway than eat Puerto Rican food...although I suppose it would be a very similar experience.

Anonymous said...

I agree with the three guys above me. Puerto Rican food is disgusting, putrid bullshit cuisine. Why the hell would anybody willingly eat it?

Lt. Commander Johnson said...

Oh, forget PR food. No One eats that crap anyway. It's all just made from the detritus from cattle, pigs, sheep, opossums, we send them, anyway.

field negro said...

Lot of trump supporters posting today. Not that bright that bunch.

Anonymous said...

I hope these motherfuckers get the death penalty:

http://www.northescambia.com/2013/04/state-to-see-death-penalty-in-beating-burning-death-with-video

America must be destroyed.

Anonymous said...

These motherfuckers too:

http://www.fox32chicago.com/news/188775650-story

Colonel Bernie "KKK" Sanders said...

Hey, remember the Vermont socialist who said America had too many brands of deodorant? He just bought his 3rd house.

Chinese-American Pride said...

I don't really like black people that much, but I won't vote for Trump, if that makes you feel better.

teh stooopid said...

just another no account nigra getting his reward. negros will never learn because of their limited intellect.
---------------
Says the dumbass who is too stoooopid to even read the article. Once again this proves irony is lost on white racists.

Anonymous said...

I don't really like black people that much, but I won't vote for Trump, if that makes you feel better.
---------
Actually no one gives a flying fuck who you like or who you'll vote for. Bye Felecia.

Anonymous said...

How about that Simone Manuel!!!

Anonymous said...

Why do white men suck so much?

field negro said...

Anon@9:44, u are right, we should be outraged.

Are u equally as outraged at the animal who executed a NM police officer a couple of days ago?*crickets*

anotherbozo said...

Hey, field - any pride about all the Jamaican gold medals in track lately? Why not a post about that? Some are saying it's a cultural thing, something to do with Jamaican values... though that sounds a little vague to me.

Anonymous said...

It's genetics. West African populations are fast.

Omigosh said...

All the killing, murdering, exections, shootings, hate in this country, no one's going to ANY LUCK while living here. The people living here have gone beyond OUT OF CONTROL and INSANE. They're just flat out PSYCHOPATHS. If this guy's innocent, he shouldn't be executed and should be released immediately. What gives White People the authority to do the things they do against others? Did they just appoint themselves the RULERS Over ALL LIFE? Damn, there's no forgiveness in their hearts anywhere for anybody. What a group of people you are, when it gets right down to it. You are all becoming extremely unpleasant to glance upon, all of you are becoming UGLY as hell with all your HATRED.

Ironymous said...

"What a group of people you are, when it gets right down to it. You are all becoming extremely unpleasant to glance upon, all of you are becoming UGLY as hell with all your HATRED."

Omigosh decries racism.

Fancy that.

The Purple Cow said...

"Hey, field - any pride about all the Jamaican gold medals in track lately? Why not a post about that? Some are saying it's a cultural thing, something to do with Jamaican values... though that sounds a little vague to me."

It's like the Dutch and ice skating - Track and field is just the Yawdie national sport, it's as simple as that. They get crowds of 35000 to watch high school track meets. That's how they factory farm these fast kids.

There is an African American professor who thinks it's down to testosterone. The most awkward and difficult to manage slaves were dropped off in Jamaica and Trinidad, because it was felt that American slaver owners wouldn't be able to handle them. These big awkward characters are likely to have had very high testosterone levels, and this - so the theory goes - is why Jamaicans are so fast and why Trinidad produces so many fire-brands like Malcolm X, Stockley Carmichael and Gil Scott Heron. I don;t buy the theory myself, I think it's simply that nations are good at the sports they concentrate on.

Anonymous said...

"They're just flat out PSYCHOPATHS"

Beating a woman close to death and then setting her on fire is pretty psychopathic. I can think of five such incidents in the recent past, all involving groups of blacks doing it to a white person.

I don't blame all blacks, nor do I assume all blacks are psychopaths.

I do think our culture teaches a hatred of whites, and this climate promotes such acts.

Looking at the reality of this century, or even the past half century, such interracial atrocities are almost exclusively black on white. As is every category of violent crime.

The sentiment here and through much of the country seems to be that whites have it coming because of perceptions of what happened in the past. That beating and raping a white women is somehow justified because another white person enslaved a black person 155 years ago.

That's really fucked up.

field negro said...

Naw, just a great emphasis on track and field from an early age.

If u want to get thexpert girls in high school u run track.

30,000 people in the national stadium for high school track championships.

Anonymous said...

99 of the top 100 meter dash times belong to men of West African descent.

Whatever the country, it's guys who trace their ancestry from a fairly limited part of Africa.

They are built for speed - strong, fast twitch muscle fibers, and small torso to limb length ratios.

Africans in Western countries have more access to better training and nutrition. When you are good at something, it becomes a national passion. Jamaica is maximizing their potential.

It's genetic.

field negro said...

What you said...*nods head*

field negro said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
field negro said...

Naw, just a great emphasis on track and field from an early age.

If u want to get thexpert girls in high school u run track.

30,000 people in the national stadium for high school track championships.

John Rivers said...

A Black Cop shot a Black Gangbanger - so Blacks rampaged and beat up random White People in the street.

Democrats hate White People and have declared a War On Whites.

What happened in Milwaukee last night was the inevitable result.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cp1831RVYAIANSY.jpg:large

Anonymous said...

It's clear that a great many black Americans walk around all day with fantasies of killing white people.

The Purple Cow said...

"It's clear that a great many black Americans walk around all day with fantasies of killing white people."

No actually, it's just you they want dead.

Anonymous said...

Milwaukee was a nice place until Potsie, Richie, and Ralph were demographically replaced by DeAndre, Jamal and Shitavious.

Fuck Milwaukee said...

Milwaukee was never a nice place. Milwaukee sucks ass and is a shithole. I hope that city burns down.

Anonymous said...

Fuck white people. Fuck the white race.

Anonymous said...

It's clear that a great many black Americans walk around all day with fantasies of killing white people.
------------

Says an ignorant white racist who doesn't know one single blah person.

Anonymous said...

Beating a woman close to death and then setting her on fire is pretty psychopathic. I can think of five such incidents in the recent past, all involving groups of blacks doing it to a white person.
-------------
I guess shooting a room full of 5 year olds is just par for the course. Or shooting up a movie theater full of people. I guess you just choose to ignore the sick shit like raping babies that whites do. Uh ok. Carry on.



Looking at the reality of this century, or even the past half century, such interracial atrocities are almost exclusively black on white. As is every category of violent crime.
-----------
Yeah, ok.


The sentiment here and through much of the country seems to be that whites have it coming because of perceptions of what happened in the past. That beating and raping a white women is somehow justified because another white person enslaved a black person 155 years ago.
-------
Who the fuck has said that? No one so stop projecting your ignorant views on others. Your extremely biased and stoooopid views are fucked up.

FL said...

White people ain't shit. Especially the men. The women are at least attractive and good-looking.

Anonymous said...

"I guess you just choose to ignore the sick shit like raping babies that whites do"

Blacks commit child rape at a much higher rate.

Just sayin'.

Anonymous said...

Blacks commit child rape at a much higher rate.

-----------

Anon at 10:31 commits more wrong comments than anyone else as well as whites committing more sexual violent crimes. There is that.

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