Post by sclcookie on Jun 5, 2006 0:19:26 GMT -5
A matter of life and death----Percy Walton is scheduled for execution on
Thursday for a triple murder in Danville a decade ago.
North Danville was the scene of a grisly triple murder during Thanksgiving
1996.
Within 2 days of each other, the bodies of Jessie and Elizabeth Kendrick
and Archie Moore were found inside their respective Cabin Creek homes.
They had been shot in the head.
Nearly 10 years and numerous court proceedings later, Percy Lavar Walton
is scheduled to be executed at 9 p.m. Thursday for their murders. He was
18 years old at the time of the crimes.
Three years ago, Walton narrowly avoided a date with death. Just three
days prior to his May 28, 2003, execution date, a federal judge in Roanoke
granted a stay.
At issue over the years has been Waltons mental state. His lawyers say he
is both mentally retarded and schizophrenic. Waltons fate now lies in the
hands of Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and the U.S. Supreme Court, if it chooses
to intervene.
Jennifer Givens last saw her client on Tuesday. She said he has displayed
no type of emotion regarding his impending death.
"He doesn't express any kind of sentiment," said Givens, a lawyer with the
Virginia Capital Representation Resource Center in Charlottesville. "It
doesn't register with him in any way."
The case
Barbara Kendrick Case was looking forward to spending Thanksgiving with
her parents, 81-year-old Jessie and 82-year-old Elizabeth. She had
specifically requested that her mother make her famous cabbage rolls.
Case lives in Brandon, Miss. Normally when she visited, she flew into the
Raleigh-Durham, N.C., airport. Elizabeth Kendrick had specifically
requested her daughter fly into the Greensboro, N.C., airport because she
wanted to do some shopping at nearby outlets, Case said recently.
The Kendricks never picked up their daughter from the airport. A day
later, Nov. 26, 1996, the Kendricks bodies were discovered inside their
townhouse at 629 Springfield Road.
Ironically, questions about Moore's whereabouts were raised when he failed
to pick up his sister at the same airport the night before Thanksgiving.
On Thanksgiving Day - Nov. 28, 1996 - the 33-year-old Moore was found
inside a closet in his apartment at 110 Cherokee Court, located 3/10 of a
mile away from the Kendricks' home.
Moore, a part-time Averett University student and flight instructor and
employee of Belk department store in Greensboro, had been shot in the
head, above his left eye, and his body stuffed behind a suitcase.
Later that day, Walton, who lived at 328 Seminole Trail, just a few
hundred yards away from the Kendricks and Moore, was arrested and charged
in connection with Moore's death after police found Moores car, a Ford
Mustang, parked near Walton's house and neighbors said they had seen
Walton driving it.
On Jan. 3, 1997, Walton was indicted for murdering Moore. On Aug. 28,
1997, Walton was indicted for murdering the Kendricks after bragging about
committing the murders to his fellow Danville City Jail inmates.
Walton pleaded guilty on Oct. 7, 1997, to three counts of murder in the
commission of robbery, one count of car theft and six firearms charges.
He told police investigators that he had been a heavy user of alcohol,
marijuana and cocaine since he was 16 years old. His juvenile record
included burglary and assault convictions. Danville Circuit Judge James F.
Ingram handed Walton three death sentences on Oct. 31, 1997.
A question of competency
Death row inmates are isolated. A death row cell at Sussex I State Prison
in Waverly is 73 square feet and contains a window, bed, desk and a
combination sink/toilet. The inmates in the death row unit spend most of
their time in their cells.
Walton is more isolated than his fellow death row inmates, his attorney
says. Givens said Walton has no form of entertainment in his cell, writes
no letters and makes no phone calls - even to her.
"As far as we can tell, all he does is pace back and forth in his cell,"
said Givens, who has represented Walton for about 7 years.
He carries on no meaningful conversations, she said. Much of what he says
consists of "I don't know, I don't even know."
This behavior, his lawyers say, is a result of the schizophrenia that has
progressed now for a decade. They also say Walton is mentally retarded.
Walton's mental state has been debated back and forth in the courts for
the last 10 years. On May 25, 2003, U.S. District Judge Samuel G. Wilson
granted a stay to Waltons execution to allow medical experts to
investigate new information that supported Walton being both mentally
retarded and schizophrenic.
Givens said the most recent IQ score for Walton - 66 - was obtained in
2003 from a test administered by the Department of Corrections.
Individuals with scores below 70 are considered mentally retarded.
The U.S. Supreme Court banned the execution of mentally retarded people in
2002, ruling it was a violation of the Eighth Amendments protection
against cruel and unusual punishment.
Wilson later ruled that Walton's life could not be spared under Virginias
definition of mental retardation, which requires proof of onset before age
18.
Waltons lawyers then set out to prove that he did not understand the death
penalty or why he would be executed due to the progressing schizophrenia
that had rendered him incompetent. A 1986 Supreme Court decision prohibits
the execution of defendants who are mentally ill.
Givens said the onset of Waltons schizophrenia was age 16, which she said
is a typical age of onset for the mental illness in males. In previous
court hearings, prison staff has said Walton does not shower. Givens said
the majority of the time she sees her client he "smells horrible" and that
he usually looks disheveled, wears dirty prison garb and uses a string for
a belt.
Lack of personal hygiene is also a classic symptom of schizophrenia,
Givens said.
Danville Commonwealth's Attorney William Fuller, who prosecuted Walton,
said whether Walton is schizophrenic is not the issue.
"The issue is - does he know why he is supposed to be executed and what he
did to cause that," Fuller said on Friday.
On March 4, 2004, Wilson ruled that Walton understood both those issues,
considering expert analysis that concluded while Walton was probably
schizophrenic, he was competent to be punished by death. A prison
psychiatrist labeled Walton a "mentally limited, street-wise predator."
In March of this year, a federal appeals court in Richmond agreed with
Wilson.
In April, Waltons execution date was reset.
Judgment day
About 2 weeks ago, Case called her aunt Irene Jurscaga in Suffolk to
deliver some good news about her daughter. Jurscaga had some news of her
own. She told her niece an execution date had been set for Walton.
Walton is not someone Case thinks much about these days.
"I have put it behind me and gone on with my life," said Case, 68, of the
murders.
Case said she has forgiven Walton. However, that road to forgiveness was a
long and bumpy one for her. She was depressed for a long period of time.
She recalled having to plan her parents funeral.
"I went through the whole thing like it was a play," Case said. "It was so
unreal to me."
At the time Case visited Danville that Thanksgiving week, she had not seen
her parents in three years. She says she never got to see them even after
their deaths because funeral home officials begged her not to do so.
"I will never get over the way Mother and Daddy left this earth," Case
said. "They were both shot in the head. Thats horrible."
Case said she went through grief counseling to help her deal with her
parents deaths. She has no desire to witness their murderer executed.
"What satisfaction would I get out of watching him die?" she said.
"Absolutely none."
Jurscaga, on the other hand, plans to be at the Greensville Correctional
Center in Jarratt on Thursday.
"I want him executed," said Jurscaga, Elizabeth Kendrick's younger sister.
"He killed 3 people. He deserves that. Absolutely."
Jurscaga, who is 85 years old, plans to attend the execution with the
Kendricks' son, Grady Kendrick, who lives in South Carolina.
Jurscaga cried while speaking about her sister and brother-in-law over the
telephone. She last saw her sister in July of 1996. She said it would "do
my heart good" to see Walton executed. The retired nurse said she would
have no problems watching him die.
Walton, now 27 years old, will be moved from the Sussex prison to
Greensville this week. Condemned inmates in Virginia are given a choice of
electrocution or lethal injection. If they decline to make a choice,
lethal injection is chosen.
3 years ago, Walton chose electrocution. He declined to make a choice this
time around, said Larry Traylor, director of communications for the
Virginia Department of Corrections.
If the execution is carried out, Walton will be the 2nd person executed in
Virginia this year.
(source: Danville Register Bee)
Thursday for a triple murder in Danville a decade ago.
North Danville was the scene of a grisly triple murder during Thanksgiving
1996.
Within 2 days of each other, the bodies of Jessie and Elizabeth Kendrick
and Archie Moore were found inside their respective Cabin Creek homes.
They had been shot in the head.
Nearly 10 years and numerous court proceedings later, Percy Lavar Walton
is scheduled to be executed at 9 p.m. Thursday for their murders. He was
18 years old at the time of the crimes.
Three years ago, Walton narrowly avoided a date with death. Just three
days prior to his May 28, 2003, execution date, a federal judge in Roanoke
granted a stay.
At issue over the years has been Waltons mental state. His lawyers say he
is both mentally retarded and schizophrenic. Waltons fate now lies in the
hands of Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and the U.S. Supreme Court, if it chooses
to intervene.
Jennifer Givens last saw her client on Tuesday. She said he has displayed
no type of emotion regarding his impending death.
"He doesn't express any kind of sentiment," said Givens, a lawyer with the
Virginia Capital Representation Resource Center in Charlottesville. "It
doesn't register with him in any way."
The case
Barbara Kendrick Case was looking forward to spending Thanksgiving with
her parents, 81-year-old Jessie and 82-year-old Elizabeth. She had
specifically requested that her mother make her famous cabbage rolls.
Case lives in Brandon, Miss. Normally when she visited, she flew into the
Raleigh-Durham, N.C., airport. Elizabeth Kendrick had specifically
requested her daughter fly into the Greensboro, N.C., airport because she
wanted to do some shopping at nearby outlets, Case said recently.
The Kendricks never picked up their daughter from the airport. A day
later, Nov. 26, 1996, the Kendricks bodies were discovered inside their
townhouse at 629 Springfield Road.
Ironically, questions about Moore's whereabouts were raised when he failed
to pick up his sister at the same airport the night before Thanksgiving.
On Thanksgiving Day - Nov. 28, 1996 - the 33-year-old Moore was found
inside a closet in his apartment at 110 Cherokee Court, located 3/10 of a
mile away from the Kendricks' home.
Moore, a part-time Averett University student and flight instructor and
employee of Belk department store in Greensboro, had been shot in the
head, above his left eye, and his body stuffed behind a suitcase.
Later that day, Walton, who lived at 328 Seminole Trail, just a few
hundred yards away from the Kendricks and Moore, was arrested and charged
in connection with Moore's death after police found Moores car, a Ford
Mustang, parked near Walton's house and neighbors said they had seen
Walton driving it.
On Jan. 3, 1997, Walton was indicted for murdering Moore. On Aug. 28,
1997, Walton was indicted for murdering the Kendricks after bragging about
committing the murders to his fellow Danville City Jail inmates.
Walton pleaded guilty on Oct. 7, 1997, to three counts of murder in the
commission of robbery, one count of car theft and six firearms charges.
He told police investigators that he had been a heavy user of alcohol,
marijuana and cocaine since he was 16 years old. His juvenile record
included burglary and assault convictions. Danville Circuit Judge James F.
Ingram handed Walton three death sentences on Oct. 31, 1997.
A question of competency
Death row inmates are isolated. A death row cell at Sussex I State Prison
in Waverly is 73 square feet and contains a window, bed, desk and a
combination sink/toilet. The inmates in the death row unit spend most of
their time in their cells.
Walton is more isolated than his fellow death row inmates, his attorney
says. Givens said Walton has no form of entertainment in his cell, writes
no letters and makes no phone calls - even to her.
"As far as we can tell, all he does is pace back and forth in his cell,"
said Givens, who has represented Walton for about 7 years.
He carries on no meaningful conversations, she said. Much of what he says
consists of "I don't know, I don't even know."
This behavior, his lawyers say, is a result of the schizophrenia that has
progressed now for a decade. They also say Walton is mentally retarded.
Walton's mental state has been debated back and forth in the courts for
the last 10 years. On May 25, 2003, U.S. District Judge Samuel G. Wilson
granted a stay to Waltons execution to allow medical experts to
investigate new information that supported Walton being both mentally
retarded and schizophrenic.
Givens said the most recent IQ score for Walton - 66 - was obtained in
2003 from a test administered by the Department of Corrections.
Individuals with scores below 70 are considered mentally retarded.
The U.S. Supreme Court banned the execution of mentally retarded people in
2002, ruling it was a violation of the Eighth Amendments protection
against cruel and unusual punishment.
Wilson later ruled that Walton's life could not be spared under Virginias
definition of mental retardation, which requires proof of onset before age
18.
Waltons lawyers then set out to prove that he did not understand the death
penalty or why he would be executed due to the progressing schizophrenia
that had rendered him incompetent. A 1986 Supreme Court decision prohibits
the execution of defendants who are mentally ill.
Givens said the onset of Waltons schizophrenia was age 16, which she said
is a typical age of onset for the mental illness in males. In previous
court hearings, prison staff has said Walton does not shower. Givens said
the majority of the time she sees her client he "smells horrible" and that
he usually looks disheveled, wears dirty prison garb and uses a string for
a belt.
Lack of personal hygiene is also a classic symptom of schizophrenia,
Givens said.
Danville Commonwealth's Attorney William Fuller, who prosecuted Walton,
said whether Walton is schizophrenic is not the issue.
"The issue is - does he know why he is supposed to be executed and what he
did to cause that," Fuller said on Friday.
On March 4, 2004, Wilson ruled that Walton understood both those issues,
considering expert analysis that concluded while Walton was probably
schizophrenic, he was competent to be punished by death. A prison
psychiatrist labeled Walton a "mentally limited, street-wise predator."
In March of this year, a federal appeals court in Richmond agreed with
Wilson.
In April, Waltons execution date was reset.
Judgment day
About 2 weeks ago, Case called her aunt Irene Jurscaga in Suffolk to
deliver some good news about her daughter. Jurscaga had some news of her
own. She told her niece an execution date had been set for Walton.
Walton is not someone Case thinks much about these days.
"I have put it behind me and gone on with my life," said Case, 68, of the
murders.
Case said she has forgiven Walton. However, that road to forgiveness was a
long and bumpy one for her. She was depressed for a long period of time.
She recalled having to plan her parents funeral.
"I went through the whole thing like it was a play," Case said. "It was so
unreal to me."
At the time Case visited Danville that Thanksgiving week, she had not seen
her parents in three years. She says she never got to see them even after
their deaths because funeral home officials begged her not to do so.
"I will never get over the way Mother and Daddy left this earth," Case
said. "They were both shot in the head. Thats horrible."
Case said she went through grief counseling to help her deal with her
parents deaths. She has no desire to witness their murderer executed.
"What satisfaction would I get out of watching him die?" she said.
"Absolutely none."
Jurscaga, on the other hand, plans to be at the Greensville Correctional
Center in Jarratt on Thursday.
"I want him executed," said Jurscaga, Elizabeth Kendrick's younger sister.
"He killed 3 people. He deserves that. Absolutely."
Jurscaga, who is 85 years old, plans to attend the execution with the
Kendricks' son, Grady Kendrick, who lives in South Carolina.
Jurscaga cried while speaking about her sister and brother-in-law over the
telephone. She last saw her sister in July of 1996. She said it would "do
my heart good" to see Walton executed. The retired nurse said she would
have no problems watching him die.
Walton, now 27 years old, will be moved from the Sussex prison to
Greensville this week. Condemned inmates in Virginia are given a choice of
electrocution or lethal injection. If they decline to make a choice,
lethal injection is chosen.
3 years ago, Walton chose electrocution. He declined to make a choice this
time around, said Larry Traylor, director of communications for the
Virginia Department of Corrections.
If the execution is carried out, Walton will be the 2nd person executed in
Virginia this year.
(source: Danville Register Bee)