Post by Anja on Jun 21, 2006 1:05:00 GMT -5
Admitted drug dealer executed for triple slaying in Fort Worth
Proclaiming his innocence, an admitted drug dealer was executed Tuesday
evening for a shooting spree that left 3 men dead and 2 others wounded
outside a Fort Worth convenience store more than 7 years ago.
Lamont Reese, 28, had to be carried into the death chamber.
"I want everyone to know I did not walk to this because this is
straight-up murder," he said. "I am not going to play a part in my own
murder. No one should have to do that."
He expressed love to his mother and to relatives of the murder victims as
they watched from separate windows nearby.
"I do not know all of your names and I don't know how you feel about me,"
he said addressing the victims' relatives. "And whether you believe it or
not, I did not kill them."
He said that he was at peace and he wanted them to be at peace.
"You have to move past it. It is time to move on," he said.
He said he was glad that the execution was occurring and that his time on
death row was not "10 or 20 years."
As the drugs began taking effect, he said, "This is some nasty." Then he
gasped.
At that moment, his mother, Brenda Reese, began pounding with her fists on
the chamber window and began screaming repeatedly, "They killed my baby."
She kicked 2 holes in the death chamber wall and eventually was removed
from the chamber. She sobbed loudly as she walked from the prison and
nearly collapsed as she reached the prison administration building across
the street.
Reese was pronounced dead at 6:27 p.m., 8 minutes after the drugs began to
flow.
Reese, who described himself as "no angel" and acknowledged dealing crack
cocaine for years, contended in an earlier interview he wasn't involved in
the gunfire outside the convenience store the evening of March 1, 1999.
Anthony Roney, 26, Riki Jackson, 17, and Alonzo Stewart, 25, were killed.
A 24-year-old man and 13-year-old boy were wounded.
"I was not at the crime," Reese insisted.
Reese's lawyers went to the federal courts to try to block the punishment,
citing among their claims a U.S. Supreme Court ruling a week ago that
condemned prisoners can file special appeals challenging the lethal
injection method under a federal civil rights law after exhausting regular
appeals. The high court, however, said inmates would not always be
entitled to delays in their executions.
In Reese's case, the justices rejected his appeals about 20 minutes before
he was scheduled to be taken to the death chamber.
Evidence at Reese's trial showed his 18-year-old girlfriend, Kareema
Kimbrough, walked out of the convenience store about four miles southeast
of downtown Fort Worth and drew the attention of several men who were
drinking and playing dice outside the place. Reese became angry with the
men flirting with Kimbrough.
The couple left, met up with 23 others, including a pair of juveniles, and
armed themselves with handguns and assault rifles. With Kimbrough driving
and accompanied also by her 2-year-old son, she dropped off the 4 near the
store.
The gunmen then sprayed the scene with bullets. Kimbrough drove back
around, retrieved her friends and they all sped off.
Police were told by the victim of another shooting of people bragging
about the convenience store gunfire. That led to the arrests of Reese,
Kimbrough and their companions. Detectives found ammunition in Reese's car
that matched bullets found at the shooting scene.
Sean Colston, one of the Tarrant County district attorneys who prosecuted
Reese, said evidence was clear that Reese was responsible for the
slayings.
"When you're dealing with capital punishment, it's not that you get a
sense of satisfaction," he said. "I feel it's a just punishment."
Reese grew up in Louisiana where he said he spent much of his childhood in
state custody after his mother was sent to prison.
Kimbrough, now 26, is serving a life prison term on a capital murder
conviction. The 3 others, including the 2 juveniles who were charged as
adults, agreed to plea bargains and are serving sentences ranging from 35
to 50 years.
Scheduled to die next in Texas is serial killer Angel Maturino Resendiz, a
former FBI Ten Most Wanted fugitive, set for lethal injection June 27 for
the fatal stabbing of Houston-area physician Claudia Benton in December
1998.
Benton is among at least 15 victims police in Texas, California, Florida,
Georgia, Kentucky and Illinois have linked to Resendiz, who became known
as the "Railroad Killer" because many of the attacks were near railroad
tracks and because he was known to hop on freight trains to travel around
the United States.
Reese becomes the 12th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in
Texas and the 367th overall since the state resumed capital punishment on
Dec. 7, 1982. Reese becomes the 128th condemned inmate to be put to death
in Texas since Rick Perry became Governor in 2001.
Reese becomes the 23rd condemned inmate to be put to death this year in
the USA and the 1027th overall since the nation resumed executions on
January 17, 1977.
(sources: Associated Press & RIck Halperin)
Proclaiming his innocence, an admitted drug dealer was executed Tuesday
evening for a shooting spree that left 3 men dead and 2 others wounded
outside a Fort Worth convenience store more than 7 years ago.
Lamont Reese, 28, had to be carried into the death chamber.
"I want everyone to know I did not walk to this because this is
straight-up murder," he said. "I am not going to play a part in my own
murder. No one should have to do that."
He expressed love to his mother and to relatives of the murder victims as
they watched from separate windows nearby.
"I do not know all of your names and I don't know how you feel about me,"
he said addressing the victims' relatives. "And whether you believe it or
not, I did not kill them."
He said that he was at peace and he wanted them to be at peace.
"You have to move past it. It is time to move on," he said.
He said he was glad that the execution was occurring and that his time on
death row was not "10 or 20 years."
As the drugs began taking effect, he said, "This is some nasty." Then he
gasped.
At that moment, his mother, Brenda Reese, began pounding with her fists on
the chamber window and began screaming repeatedly, "They killed my baby."
She kicked 2 holes in the death chamber wall and eventually was removed
from the chamber. She sobbed loudly as she walked from the prison and
nearly collapsed as she reached the prison administration building across
the street.
Reese was pronounced dead at 6:27 p.m., 8 minutes after the drugs began to
flow.
Reese, who described himself as "no angel" and acknowledged dealing crack
cocaine for years, contended in an earlier interview he wasn't involved in
the gunfire outside the convenience store the evening of March 1, 1999.
Anthony Roney, 26, Riki Jackson, 17, and Alonzo Stewart, 25, were killed.
A 24-year-old man and 13-year-old boy were wounded.
"I was not at the crime," Reese insisted.
Reese's lawyers went to the federal courts to try to block the punishment,
citing among their claims a U.S. Supreme Court ruling a week ago that
condemned prisoners can file special appeals challenging the lethal
injection method under a federal civil rights law after exhausting regular
appeals. The high court, however, said inmates would not always be
entitled to delays in their executions.
In Reese's case, the justices rejected his appeals about 20 minutes before
he was scheduled to be taken to the death chamber.
Evidence at Reese's trial showed his 18-year-old girlfriend, Kareema
Kimbrough, walked out of the convenience store about four miles southeast
of downtown Fort Worth and drew the attention of several men who were
drinking and playing dice outside the place. Reese became angry with the
men flirting with Kimbrough.
The couple left, met up with 23 others, including a pair of juveniles, and
armed themselves with handguns and assault rifles. With Kimbrough driving
and accompanied also by her 2-year-old son, she dropped off the 4 near the
store.
The gunmen then sprayed the scene with bullets. Kimbrough drove back
around, retrieved her friends and they all sped off.
Police were told by the victim of another shooting of people bragging
about the convenience store gunfire. That led to the arrests of Reese,
Kimbrough and their companions. Detectives found ammunition in Reese's car
that matched bullets found at the shooting scene.
Sean Colston, one of the Tarrant County district attorneys who prosecuted
Reese, said evidence was clear that Reese was responsible for the
slayings.
"When you're dealing with capital punishment, it's not that you get a
sense of satisfaction," he said. "I feel it's a just punishment."
Reese grew up in Louisiana where he said he spent much of his childhood in
state custody after his mother was sent to prison.
Kimbrough, now 26, is serving a life prison term on a capital murder
conviction. The 3 others, including the 2 juveniles who were charged as
adults, agreed to plea bargains and are serving sentences ranging from 35
to 50 years.
Scheduled to die next in Texas is serial killer Angel Maturino Resendiz, a
former FBI Ten Most Wanted fugitive, set for lethal injection June 27 for
the fatal stabbing of Houston-area physician Claudia Benton in December
1998.
Benton is among at least 15 victims police in Texas, California, Florida,
Georgia, Kentucky and Illinois have linked to Resendiz, who became known
as the "Railroad Killer" because many of the attacks were near railroad
tracks and because he was known to hop on freight trains to travel around
the United States.
Reese becomes the 12th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in
Texas and the 367th overall since the state resumed capital punishment on
Dec. 7, 1982. Reese becomes the 128th condemned inmate to be put to death
in Texas since Rick Perry became Governor in 2001.
Reese becomes the 23rd condemned inmate to be put to death this year in
the USA and the 1027th overall since the nation resumed executions on
January 17, 1977.
(sources: Associated Press & RIck Halperin)