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  1. #1
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    James Earl Walker - Alabama Death Row


    Bessie Lee Thweatt




    Facts of the Crime:

    James Earl Walker was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death in 2003 for the killing of an 87-year-old Wicksburg woman, Bessie Lee Thweatt. According to authorities, Walker and his stepbrother Rex Allen Beckworth broke into Thweatt’s isolated home on January 5, 2000. The pair broke through her dining room window with a cinder block to gain entry after disabling her security light and telephone lines.

    According to authorities, Thweatt was hit several times in the face by a blunt object before being shot in the head with a .22 caliber rifle. Tim Byrd, a former cellmate of Walker’s, testified that Walker was the shooter. Beckworth was also sentenced to death for his part in the crime.

    For more on Beckworth, see: http://www.cncpunishment.com/forums/...ight=beckworth

  2. #2
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    January 20, 2010

    Man on death row for Wicksburg murder seeks new trial

    Lawyers for a man who has been on death row for more than six years believe a jury that heard the case could have reached a different conclusion during his trial if valuable information had been brought to its attention.

    James Earl Walker, 30, was convicted in 2003 for the shooting death of 87-year-old Bessie Lee Thweat during a robbery attempt. Police believe Walker participated in the killing with his half-brother, Rex Allen Beckworth, who was also convicted and sentenced to death. Walker has claimed he was present during the crime, but did not enter the Thweat home or participate in her murder.

    Walker’s current attorneys questioned his trial counsel, Michael Crespi, for more than two hours Tuesday, claiming numerous errors made in his defense could have — if corrected — led the jury to a different verdict.

    Some of the potential errors discussed Tuesday included:

    — Crespi hired an investigator during trial preparation, but the investigator died before the trial began and Crespi chose not to hire a new investigator.

    — Crespi filed a motion to suppress the statement Walker made to police, and used a written argument that police had no probable cause to arrest Walker, but did not advance that argument during oral arguments to the judge during trial.

    — Crespi did not make an argument that Walker was not promptly taken to the magistrate for a first appearance after his arrest.

    — Part of the prosecution’s case was the use of a jailhouse informant at the Houston County Jail who indicated Walker confessed. Apparently, Crespi did not remember during the trial that the district attorney had provided him with prior information about his intention to use the witness, as well as information as to what the informant would testify to, generally. He then had no information to rely on during cross examination, and was given only an afternoon to investigate the informant for bias or other motivation to testify against Walker.

    — Crespi did not question the informant about statements he said Walker made in connection with the confession that were inconsistent with the facts of the case.

    — Defense counsel did not retain an expert to rebut the prosecution’s claim that the murder was particularly heinous, atrocious and cruel, which is one of the aggravating circumstances of the crime the prosecution used to argue for the death penalty.

    — Defense counsel did not provide adequate records, nor give adequate time for the mitigation expert - the witness used to develop evidence and testify at trial as to why a defendant deserves life in prison instead of the death penalty - to develop a case.

    Walker’s attorneys are seeking a new trial for Walker. They are expected to present more evidence in front of Circuit Judge Larry Anderson at a later date. To receive a new trial, the judge must determine that errors made, if any, were to the extent that a jury could have reached a different conclusion, either in the guilt phase of the trial or the penalty phase.

    http://www2.dothaneagle.com/dea/news..._trial/123771/

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    March 31, 2010

    Lawyer claims ineffective counsel in death penalty case

    A Dothan defense lawyer said Tuesday he may not have been an effective counselor for a capital murder defendant during his trial.

    Attorney David Hogg told the court when questioned by Circuit Court Judge Larry Anderson that he may have been an ineffective lawyer in some regards as he and another attorney, Mike Crespi, defended James Earl Waker.

    Walker, 30, and his half brother, Rex Allen Beckworth, were arrested and charged with shooting Bessie Lee Thweat to death during a burglary at her Wicksburg home. Walker has been on death row for the Thweat murder since October 2003. Beckworth is also on death row.

    Hogg testified for nearly two hours Tuesday as part of a defense effort to get Walker a new trial and sentencing. Hogg said he was only ineffective in not coming to the court during trial to report poor communication issues between him and his co-counsel, Crespi.

    Anderson questioned Walker’s defense team whether they alleged in their petition for a new trial that both lawyers were ineffective during trial or just one.

    David Pitofsky, one of several lawyers from the Goodwin and Procter law firm out of New York City that represent Walker, said Hogg was ineffective in his failure to properly investigate the mitigating phase of the trial.

    “Even though he had a secondary role, we’re alleging he was ineffective,” Pitofsky said.

    Crespi served as lead counsel during the trial.

    “I did the best I was able to do under the circumstances,” Hogg said. “I would’ve jumped up and objected on some other occasions.“

    Defense attorney Yvonne Cristovic questioned Hogg about his working relationship with Crespi during the trial. She said their petition for a new trial stated Crespi failed to cooperate with the rest of the defense team during trial.

    Hogg said he would likely not work with Crespi again after being told he was too busy to work with Hogg on the Walker trial preparation.

    “There were times when he was somewhat condescending,” Hogg said. “He would talk to down to me.”

    Hogg said Crespi assigned him the mitigation and sentencing phase of the trial a week before the case went to trial.

    “It was the first mitigation I had ever handled in a death penalty case so there were definitely shortfalls,” Hogg said.

    Hogg also said Crespi didn’t think it necessary to hire a forensics expert to challenge the prosecution’s evidence at trial.

    During cross examination by Thomas Govan, who represented the state Attorney General’s Office, Hogg said he had already started preparation for the penalty phase before Crespi had assigned it to him. Hogg also acknowledged that he conducted individual interviews as part of his preparation.

    Hogg was one several witnesses scheduled to testify in the two-day evidentiary hearing as part of the petition for a new trial.

    http://www2.dothaneagle.com/dea/news...y_case/141576/

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    March 31, 2010

    New York lawyers seek relief in Wicksburg capital murder case

    Lawyers for a man on death row for the murder of an 87-year-old Wicksburg woman claimed his defense counsel at his trial failed to fully understand their client's mental health history.

    Circuit Court Judge Larry Anderson partially granted a motion by Maria Calaf, who represented 29-year-old James Earl Walker at a hearing Tuesday. Calaf represented Walker with Stephanie Gooptu from the Goodwin Procter law firm out of New York City in an effort to get Walker a new trial and sentencing.

    Walker and his half-brother, Rex Allen Beckworth, were arrested and charged with shooting Bessie Lee Thweat to death during a burglary at her Wicksburg home. Walker has been on death row for the Thweat murder since October 2003. Beckworth is also on death row.

    Anderson granted a request by the defense for Walker's father's mental records from Taylor Hardin and Bryce Hospital. But he denied a similar request for records from the state Department of Corrections. Calaf said the records would help show how their client's previous lawyers failed to retain a mitigation expert to talk about his mental state.

    Thomas Govan, who argued for the state Attorney General's Office, said the defense did not specifically state which mental illness their client suffered. Calaf said as defense lawyers they were not qualified to say what their client suffered from without an examination or records that show a family history of mental illness.

    "The fact he may have suffered a mental health disorder should have been presented at sentencing," Calaf said.

    Anderson granted a request by the defense for Walker's incarceration record.

    Anderson denied a request by the defense for the Department of Human Resources records of Walker's immediate family members. Calaf said the records would help show what kind of an environment Walker grew up in. Calaf said the defense could not use testimony from her client's father because he died in 2007.

    "This is a case where we'll have to prove a lot of the mitigation phase with documents," Calaf said.

    Anderson also denied a defense motion for financial records for three of their client's family members.

    According to a previous Eagle report, Mike Crespi and David Hogg represented Walker during his trial, but defense attorney Charles Decker represented Walker during his sentencing.

    http://www.allbusiness.com/legal/leg...2243826-1.html

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    Court upholds death sentences in murders of Birmingham, Pelham police officers

    A state appeals court is upholding the convictions and death sentences of two men convicted of killing police officers.

    The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals issued opinions Friday denying appeals by Kerry M. Spencer and Bart Wayne Johnson.

    Spencer was sentenced to death in the slayings of three Birmingham police officers in 2005. Jurors recommended life without parole, but a judge sentenced Spencer to die.

    Johnson was convicted of killing a Pelham police officer in 2009. A Shelby County judge had to issue a new sentencing order for Johnson, and the appeals court says that order was sufficient to explain the penalty.

    The court also upheld conviction and death sentence of James Earl Walker, who was convicted of killing an 87-year-old woman in Houston County in 2003.

    http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/201...l#incart_river
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    On May 16, 2016, Walker filed a habeas petition in Federal District Court.

    https://dockets.justia.com/docket/al...6cv00348/60422

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    Appeal of man convicted in 2000 murder moves slowly

    By Lance Griffin
    The Dothan Eagle

    It has been 15 years since James Earl Walker was sentenced to death for the murder of 87-year-old Bessie Lee Thweatt in 2000.

    It does not appear a resolution on Walker’s most recent appeal will happen soon.

    Walker and co-defendant Rex Allen Beckworth were convicted for the Jan. 5, 2000, killing near Wicksburg. According to police reports and trial testimony, Walker and stepbrother Beckworth broke through Thweatt’s dining room window with a cinder block to gain entry to her residence after disabling her security light and telephone lines. She was beaten severely and shot with a .22 caliber rifle. A trial witness testified Walker was the shooter.

    Walker appealed his conviction to the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals and later to the Alabama Supreme Court. Both courts upheld the conviction.

    Walker then filed a Rule 32 petition with the court, which argued that he received ineffective representation during the trial. Walker asserted, among other claims, that attorneys representing him did not adequately prepare to cross examine the state’s key witness, a cellmate of Walker who testified that Walker confessed to the murder while in prison awaiting trial. Walker also claimed his attorneys did not pursue other lines of questioning that could have raised doubt in the minds of jurors concerning his guilt.

    A hearing on some of Walker’s claims was held in Houston County in 2010, where, in a 34-page ruling, a judge determined the claims mentioned would not have changed the outcome of the trial.

    Six years later, Walker turned to the federal courts, filing a petition for relief on similar grounds. The petition argues the state’s witness who identified Walker as the trigger man may have had an ulterior motive to testify falsely against Walker and that defense counsel did not explore the witness’ motives completely during cross examination, nor did they explore his history of “untruthfulness.” The state’s position in its response that all claims have been argued previously and are without merit.

    Little movement has taken place since the original federal filing on May 13, 2016. Attorneys representing Walker and those representing the State of Alabama filed briefs on the merits of the case in January and February of 2017, respectively.

    Since then, at least one attorney representing Walker has withdrawn from the case and two others have joined the case to represent Walker free of charge.

    Walker, 46, and Beckworth, 51, are serving time on Alabama’s Death Row at Holman Prison in Atmore.

    http://www.dothaneagle.com/news/crim...e5d44024f.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  8. #8
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    Seldom have I been acquainted with a murder as heinous s this one. Invading the home of elderly people, not merely senior citizens, and beating them to death without necessity, is the bottom of the barrel. Only had they raped her could the level of depravity dragged lower. I understand equal protection of the law. Yet, reading the appeal courts' summaries of the facts of this case provokes within me the thought that the more despicable the crime, the more painful and enduring should be the perpetrator's execution. A frail, 87 year old woman, easing into her final years of life, was savagely attacked during a robbery. She was no threat to them and likely would have given them her money in exchange for her life.
    The helpless and most vulnerable deserve a safe journey since they offer no danger to anyone. I hope the cretins are miserable until they are executed, their days filled with fear and pain.

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