On
this date, May 16, 2007, Cop Killer, Charles Edward Smith was executed by lethal
injection in Texas for the August 20, 1988 murder of Deputy Sheriff Tim Hudson.
Let us honor this fallen policeman and thank God that justice was served. I got
the information about him from ODMP and the cop
killer from clarkprosecutor.org. Please go to ‘Victims’ Families for The Death Penalty’ blog to hear from the two victims’ families.
Deputy Sheriff Tim
Hudson
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Deputy Sheriff Tim
Hudson
|
Bio & Incident
Details
Age:
61
Tour:
Not available
Badge #
Not available
Cause:
Gunfire
Incident Date:
8/20/1988
Weapon:
Handgun; .357 caliber
Suspect:
Executed in 2007
Deputy
Tim Hudson was shot and killed while pursuing two robbery suspects along I-10.
The two suspects were cousins who had escaped from a Kansas prison. They were en route to Mexico when they stole $22.50 in gas from a station in Bakersfield, Texas. As he was attempting to pass them to stop them with a rolling road block, one of the suspects shot him with a .357 caliber handgun as he passed them. Both suspects were eventually apprehended. One was sentenced to death and the other was sentenced to life.
The suspect who was sentenced to death was executed on May 16, 2007.
Deputy Hudson was survived by his wife, daughter, and son. He was due to retire in nine months.
Charles
Edward Smith
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Inmate: Smith, Charles Edward
Date of Birth: 2/24/66
TDCJ#: 953
Date Received: 11/1/89
Education: 10 years
Occupation: mechanic
Date of Offense: 8/20/88
County of Offense: Pecos
Native County: San Bernardino County, California
Race: White
Gender: Male
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Blue
Height: 05' 09"
Weight: 165 lb
Co-defendants: Carroll Bernard Smith
Date of Birth: 2/24/66
TDCJ#: 953
Date Received: 11/1/89
Education: 10 years
Occupation: mechanic
Date of Offense: 8/20/88
County of Offense: Pecos
Native County: San Bernardino County, California
Race: White
Gender: Male
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Blue
Height: 05' 09"
Weight: 165 lb
Co-defendants: Carroll Bernard Smith
Prior Prison Record : August 1987
convicted of Aiding a Felon, Burglary and Theft in Finney County Kansas,
sentenced to 1-5 years. Escaped an on the run from that sentence when murder
committed.
Charles
Edward Smith
|
Charles
Edward Smith, 41, was executed by lethal injection on 16 May 2007 in
Huntsville, Texas for murdering a sheriff's deputy while fleeing from a
robbery.
On
14 August 1988, Smith, then 22, and his cousin, Carroll Smith, 31, escaped from
a Kansas correctional facility. They stole a pickup truck and drove to Houston,
where Carroll had once lived. While in Houston, they burglarized several homes
and stole credit cards, jewelry, license plates, and a .357 magnum pistol. They
abandoned the stolen truck, stole a van, and began driving west on Interstate
10.
On
19 August, the pair stopped at a gas station in Bakersfield, about 35 miles
east of Fort Stockton. They put $22.50 worth of gasoline into the van, then
drove off. The gas station operator called the Pecos County Sheriff's
Department. Deputy Tim Hudson, 61, found the men driving on I-10 west of Fort
Stockton and turned his flashing lights on, but the van didn't stop. Hudson
then pulled alongside the van to look inside it. Charles Smith then fired a
.357 Magnum three times into his patrol car. One of the shots struck Hudson in
the side, killing him.
The
suspects then abandoned the van in Coyanosa, about 20 miles north of I-10, and
stole a truck tractor from a residence. With the aid of a U.S. Customs
helicopter, they were found north of Coyanosa. When they got to a roadblock,
they made a U-turn, and a chase ensued. The cousins were captured after a
running gun battle. Carroll Smith was wounded in the left arm during the chase.
Charles
Smith confessed to the crime upon his arrest. Evidence presented at his trial
showed that Deputy Hudson's sidearm was holstered and latched and his window
was rolled up.
Mark
Yates, who was incarcerated in a cell adjoining Charles Smith's in the Pecos
County Jail, testified at Smith's punishment hearing that Smith told him that
by killing a police officer, he had fulfilled one of the goals of his life.
Jail personnel testified that Smith set a fire in his cell, tore up light
fixtures and a television set and threw the pieces at the deputies, fought with
another inmate, and assaulted a jailer, grabbing him through the bars of his
cell. At least two jail personnel testified that they heard Smith singing
"I shot the sheriff, but in my case it was the deputy," a variation
on a hit song recorded by Eric Clapton.
Charles
Smith had prior convictions in Kansas for burglary, theft, and aiding a felon.
He and a companion, Jeff Miers, broke into a house and stole a rife. Miers then
used the stolen gun to kill Martin Esquivel after Esquivel confronted Miers and
Smith for stalking and harassing his sister. Testimony showed that Smith urged
Miers to kill Esquivel. He was sentenced in August 1987 to one to five years in
prison. If he had not escaped, he would have been eligible for parole after
serving another month.
A
jury convicted Smith of capital murder in August 1989 and sentenced him to
death. In December 1991, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals found that the
trial court refused a valid request from the defense to strike a juror, and
vacated his conviction. He was convicted and sentenced to death in a new trial
in 1992. This time, the TCCA affirmed the conviction, but vacated the death
sentence in September 1995 because the jury wasn't instructed to consider
whether Smith killed Deputy Hudson deliberately. Smith received a new
sentencing hearing and was sentenced to death for the third time in November
1999. The TCCA affirmed that death sentence in May 2002. All of Smith's subsequent
appeals in state and federal court were denied.
Carroll
Bernard Smith was convicted of murder with a deadly weapon and was sentenced to
life in prison. He remains in state custody as of this writing.
Charles
Smith declined to be interviewed by reporters while on death row.
Smith's
execution was delayed for a few minutes because of difficulty in finding a vein
for the injection. When the warden asked if he had a final statement, he
replied, "No sir." The lethal injection was then started. He was pronounced
dead at 6:41 p.m.
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