MICHAEL WAYNE RICHARD (EXECUTED IN TEXAS ON SEPTEMBER 25, 2007)

            On this date, September 25, 2007, a rapist murderer parolee, Michael Wayne Richard was executed by lethal injection in Texas. He was convicted of the rape and shooting of 53 year old Marguerite Dixon on August 18, 1986. Please go to the VFFDP Blog to hear from the victim’s son. 

Michael Wayne Richard

INTERNET SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Wayne_Richard

Michael Wayne Richard (24 August 1959 – 25 September 2007) was a rapist and murderer whose execution gained notoriety because of procedural problems.

On 18 August 1986, in Hockley, Texas, while on parole for motor vehicle theft, Richard entered the home of Marguerite Dixon, stole two television sets, raped Dixon, fatally shot her, and then stole her van.

In the wake of the Supreme Court of the United States expressing interest in the question of the constitutionality of lethal injections, on the same day that the execution was scheduled, Richard's lawyers sought a stay of execution. The stay request had to be filed with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in Austin. The execution was scheduled for 6 PM, but the court's clerks office, where motions are usually filed, was scheduled to close at 5 PM, and refused to remain open beyond then to allow a later filing. Richard's lawyers claimed that, because of a computer failure, they did not reach the Court of Criminal Appeals until about 5:20 PM. Although there was a judge on call to receive emergency stay motions, and although Texas law would have allowed the stay application to be filed with any judge of the court, the lawyers did not attempt to contact any of them. Richard was subsequently executed at 8:23 PM on September 25, 2007.

On 19 February 2009, the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct brought seven charges against Judge Sharon Keller, alleging ethical improprieties in Keller's handling of the case. The Special Master assigned to the case found the Texas Defender Service to be primarily at fault in the failure, and although he concluded that Keller's actions were inadequate, found that she had violated no standard and recommended no further punishment. The Special Master's findings cast doubt on a number of the reported issues in the case. He concluded that there was no evidence that the Texas Defender Service suffered any significant computer failure; although news reports had mentioned multiple "crashes," the only claim that the TDS repeated during the hearings was that there had been some problems with an internal email service, and no documentation was produced about even that. Contrary to one of Richard's lawyers' earlier comment about the court refusing to stay open "20 minutes," the Special Master found that the filings were not ready until 5:56, with the execution authorized any time after 6:00. He also found fault with the attorneys for assigning only a junior attorney to prepare the documents; for delaying 2 hours past the US Supreme Court's grant of certiorari in Baze v. Rees, the case that would eventually determine the constitutionality of the execution procedure, before even discussing preparing a motion in Richard's case; and for relying on paralegals to contact the clerk's office about the filing, without any attorneys attempting to directly contact a judge or the Court of Criminal Appeal's General Counsel. The Special Master also criticized the TDS for "causing a public uproar against Judge Keller, much of which was unwarranted."

Michael Wayne Richard

INTERNET SOURCE: http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/richard1099.htm

Summary: Two months after he had been paroled from prison, Michael Richard approached Marguerite Dixon’s son, Albert, in front of the Dixon home in Hockley and asked if a yellow van parked outside the home was for sale. Albert said the vehicle belonged to his brother who was out of town and suggested that Richard come back another time. Richard left. When Albert and his sister, Paula, left a few minutes later, Richard returned and entered the house. He took two television sets and put them in the yellow van, sexually assaulted Mrs. Dixon and shot her in the head with a .25 caliber automatic pistol. Richard admitted he was involved in Mrs. Dixon’s murder and offered to help find the murder weapon. Police found the weapon and testing revealed it to be the gun that fired the fatal shot. 

Citations:
Richard v. State, 842 S.W.2d 279 (Tex.Crim.App. 1992) (Direct Appeal - Reversed). 

Final/Special Meal:
Fried chicken, a salad with pepper, lemon-lime soda, apple pie and a pint of ice cream. 

Final Words:
"I'd like my family to take care of each other. I love you, Angel. Let's ride. I guess this is it." 

Internet Sources:
Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Executed Offenders (Michael Richards)

Inmate: Richard, Michael Wayne
Date of Birth: 08/24/1959
DR#: 890
Date Received: 11/20/1987
Education: 9 years
Occupation: mechanic
Date of Offense: 08/18/1986
County of Offense: Harris
Native County: Waller County Texas
Race: Black
Gender: Male
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Brown
Height: 05' 08"
Weight: 142 lb
Co-Defendants: None 

Prior Prison Record: TDCJ #277562 received 3/7/78 Harris County 6 years Burglary, paroled 5/5/81; TDCJ #390694 received 1/23/85 Harris County Auto Theft, released 1/23/86. 

Texas Attorney General
 
Wednesday, September 19, 2007 

Media Advisory: Michael Richard scheduled for execution 

AUSTIN – Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott offers the following information about Michael Wayne Richard, who is scheduled to be executed after 6 p.m. Tuesday, September 25, 2007. Richard was convicted and sentenced to death for the capital murder of Marguerite Dixon during a burglary of her Houston-area home in 1986. 

FACTS OF THE CRIME 

On the afternoon of August 18, 1986 and just two months after he had been paroled from prison, Michael Richard approached Marguerite Dixon’s son, Albert, in front of the Dixon home in Hockley and asked if a yellow van parked outside the home was for sale. Albert said the vehicle belonged to his brother who was out of town and suggested that Richard come back another time. Richard left.
When Albert and his sister, Paula, left a few minutes later, Richard returned and entered the house. He took two television sets and put them in the yellow van, sexually assaulted Mrs. Dixon and shot her in the head with a .25 caliber automatic pistol. 

Richard told police he ran out of the house and hot-wired the van, then drove to Acres Homes. 

Richard attempted to sell the televisions there, but ended up just giving the gun to a friend. He drove the van to another home, where it stopped working. He told his friend there that he would return shortly for the van, but never did; the owner of the house called a wrecker the next morning to pick up the vehicle, which led to the police being called when it was discovered the van had been stripped of several valuable items and had obviously been hot-wired to get to its present location. 

Mrs. Dixon’s children returned home around 9:30 p.m. on the day of the killing to find the sliding-glass door open and all the lights in the house turned off. Frightened by the condition of the house, they got a neighbor, who entered the house with a flashlight and a gun. They discovered Mrs. Dixon dead in her bedroom. 

The next morning, the detective assigned to the case determined the missing van had been found and interviewed the owner of the home where Richard left the van and the man to whom Richard tried to sell the televisions. Based on that information, the police obtained a warrant for Richard’s arrest. Police found Richard at his mother’s home the next evening; Richard admitted he was involved in Mrs. Dixon’s murder and offered to help find the murder weapon. Police found the weapon and testing revealed it to be the gun that fired the fatal shot. 

PRIOR CRIMINAL HISTORY 

During the punishment phase of his trial, the state presented evidence of Richard’s two prior convictions for burglary of a habitation. Evidence was also presented of an auto theft charge, committed shortly after the second burglary, but not prosecuted. Richard murdered Mrs. Dixon less than two months after he was released on mandatory supervision for his second burglary conviction. 

PROCEDURAL HISTORY 

October 29, 1986 -- A Harris County Grand Jury indicted Richard for the capital murder of Marguerite Dixon.
September 4, 1987 -- A jury found Richard guilty of capital murder, and he was sentenced to death.
September 16, 1992 -- The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reversed conviction due to faulty jury instructions.
May 15, 1995 -- Richard’s second trial began.
June 15, 1995 -- A second jury found Richard guilty of capital murder, he was sentenced to death.
June 18, 1997 -- The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed Richard’s conviction and sentence on direct appeal.
April 3, 1998 -- Richard filed his first application for writ of habeas corpus with the state trial court.
June 26, 1998 -- The U.S. Supreme Court denied Richard’s petition for writ of certiorari.
February 7, 2001 -- The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied Richard’s state application for writ of habeas corpus.
February 7, 2002 -- Richard filed a federal petition for writ of habeas corpus in a Houston federal district court.
December 31, 2002 -- The Federal District Court denied Richard’s petition.
June 20, 2003 -- Richard filed a successive state application for the writ of habeas corpus.
June 27, 2003 -- The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied Richard permission to appeal his first federal petition.
March 21, 2007 -- The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied Richard’s second state habeas corpus application.
March 28, 2007 -- Richard filed a motion for authorization to file a successive federal habeas corpus petition.
May 15, 2007 -- The 5th Circuit Court denied Richard’s motion for authorization to file a successive habeas petition.
June 12, 2007 -- The trial court set Richard’s execution date for Tuesday, September 25, 2007. 

Texas Execution Information Center by David Carson.
 
Michael Wayne Richard, 48, was executed by lethal injection on 25 September 2007 in Huntsville, Texas for the rape, robbery, and murder of a woman in her home. 

On the afternoon of 18 August 1986, Richard, then 26, was in front of the Hockley home of Marguerite Dixon, 53. Richard approached Dixon's son, Albert, and asked if the van parked in the driveway was for sale. When Albert Dixon told him the van belonged to his brother who was out of town, Richard left. A few minutes later, Richard saw Albert and his sister, Paula, leave the property. Richard then entered Mrs. Dixon's home. He forced her into a bedroom, where he raped her. The then shot her in the head with a .25-caliber pistol. He then stole two televisions and the van. 

Mrs. Dixon's children returned home that evening. They found the sliding-glass door open and all the lights turned off. After calling a neighbor for assistance, they entered the house and discovered their mother dead in her bedroom. 

Richard hotwired the van and drove it to Houston. He traded the murder weapon to a friend for cocaine and attempted to sell the televisions. He then drove the van to another home, where it broke down. He told the homeowner, a friend of his, that he would return for the van, but he never did. The homeowner called a wrecker the next morning to take the van away. When it was discovered that the van had been hotwired and stripped, the police were called. After interviewing the homeowner and the man to whom Richard had tried to sell the televisions, the police obtained an arrest warrant for Richard. He was arrested at his mother's home the next evening. 

Richard admitted being involved in Dixon's death and helped police track down the murder weapon. His fingerprints were also found on the sliding-glass door to the victim's home. He claimed that the gun discharged accidentally. 

Richard had previously served parts of two prison sentences for home burglary. In March 1978, he was sent to prison on a 6-year sentence. He was paroled in May 1981. In January 1985, he was returned to prison on a 5-year sentence. He was paroled in June 1986, about two months before Dixon's murder. 

A jury convicted Richard of capital murder in September 1987 and sentenced him to death. In September 1992, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned his conviction because the jury was not instructed to consider his history as an abused child as a possible mitigating factor when determining his punishment. In a new trial in June 1995, a jury again convicted Richard of capital murder and sentenced him to death. The TCCA affirmed this conviction and sentence in June 1997. All of his subsequent appeals in state and federal court were denied. 

At Richard's first trial, his attorneys told the jury that he scored 62 on an IQ test. Richard's IQ and possible mental retardation were not mentioned in his second trial. After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June 2002 that executing mentally retarded prisoners is unconstitutional, a hearing was held on Richard's mental retardation claim. A psychologist for the state, George Denkowski, reviewed Richard's IQ tests and determined him to be retarded. However, Harris Country officials succeeded in obtaining a new hearing in December 2006. Prosecutor Lynn Hardaway supplied evidence showing that Richard's activities in prison - including writing letters and playing chess - showed that he was not retarded, and that he had never been diagnosed as retarded during his childhood. Denkowski then changed his evaluation, stating that a low IQ test was not conclusive by itself. The courts ruled that Richard's claim of mental retardation was not proven, and rejected his appeals. 

Richard later denied any involvement in the killing. "I was a thief - I ain't gonna lie to you," he told an interviewer on death row the week before his execution, "because that's what I was taught by my father. But I've been trying to tell everybody I didn't break in that house or kill that woman." He said that a detective tricked him into signing a document he could not read. 

Lee Coffee, the prosecutor in Richard's first trial, and who is now a judge in Memphis, Tennessee, said that Richard never denied the killing during his trial. Coffee also said that, at the Dixon family's request, he offered Richard a life sentence, but Richard rejected the plea offer. Richard said that he accepted the plea offer, but Coffee reneged on his promise. 

As for his mental retardation claim, Richard said that the state's evidence against him was misleading. He said that he had others write letters for him, then he copied them in his own handwriting, and that he merely imitated behavior he saw others doing. "There's a lot of things I can't do, but if I sit and watch you, I can learn to do a little," he said. 

On the day Richard was executed, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a Kentucky case challenging the constitutionality of execution by lethal injection. Richard's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to grant a stay in his case until the Kentucky case is decided, but their request was denied a few minutes before 8:00 p.m. 

At his execution, Richard expressed love to his family in a brief last statement. After the lethal injection was started, he said, "I guess this is it." He was pronounced dead at 8:23 p.m.