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Thread: Kenneth Wayne Thomas - Texas

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    Kenneth Wayne Thomas - Texas



    Fred and Mildred Finch were found stabbed to death in their ransacked South Dallas home in March 1986.




    Facts of the Crime:

    Thomas was convicted in the March 1986 murder of Dallas civil rights attorney Fred Finch during the burglary of Finch's home. Finch and his wife Mildred were fatally stabbed after Thomas broke into their home.

    Thomas was sentenced to death in Dallas County in May 1987 and eventually re-sentenced to death on July 23, 2014.

  2. #2
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Thomas was denied a Certificate of Appealabilty in today's Fifth Circuit orders/opinions.

    http://crime.about.com/od/deathrow/i...eth-Thomas.htm

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    The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to review an appeal from a condemned Dallas man, moving him closer to execution for fatally stabbing the wife of a prominent Dallas civil rights lawyer who also was killed in the same attack.

    Kenneth Dewayne Thomas, 48, is awaiting lethal injection for killing Mildred Finch, 64, at her home in Dallas in 1986. Also fatally stabbed was her husband, Fred Finch, 66. Thomas does not yet have an execution date.

    Attorneys for Thomas wanted him declared ineligible for execution under a Supreme Court ruling that bars execution of mentally impaired people. Last June, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court's decision that Thomas wasn't entitled to a federal evidentiary hearing to support Thomas' claims he's mentally impaired.

    Thomas' lawyer, Lydia Brandt, said Monday she has another appeal before the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

    Evidence showed Thomas broke in the Finches' home in March 1986 by prying open a window, then stabbed the couple before fleeing with a pistol, clothing and a Rolex watch. Mildred Finch, a community college math teacher, was stabbed more than 80 times. Her husband was stabbed at least 25 times and sodomized.

    Fred Finch was a Harvard Law School graduate who fought for school desegregation and civil rights in Dallas. He filed the lawsuit that resulted in integration of what is now the University of Texas at Arlington.

    Thomas was convicted and sentenced to die for Mildred Finch's slaying after Dallas County prosecutors discovered a juror in the trial stemming from her husband's death was unqualified because she was on felony probation and charged with misdemeanor theft. Thomas had 2 death sentences until the Court of Criminal Appeals in 1990 reversed his capital murder conviction in Fred Finch's slaying.

    Thomas was arrested 2 days after the Finches' bodies were found in when a brother told police Thomas had brought stolen property and a bloody knife to his home. A person aware of Fred Finch's murder also alerted authorities after seeing Thomas with clothing carrying Finch's "FF" monogram.

    Thomas was on parole at the time of the attack. He'd been released from prison after serving about 6 months of a 10-year term for aggravated assault for stabbing a man in the head with a screwdriver.

    His death sentence was the first in Dallas County for a black offender convicted of capital murder of a black victim.

    http://people.smu.edu/rhalperi/updates.html

  4. #4
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    On March 31, 2010, Thomas was denied a subsequent writ of habeas corpus by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals:

    Opinion is here:

    http://www.cca.courts.state.tx.us/OP...PINIONID=19500

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    On August 25, 2010, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ordered re-sentencing for Thomas under Penry.

    Opinion is here:

    http://www.cca.courts.state.tx.us/OP...PINIONID=19993

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    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Jury to decide whether man facing possible death sentence competent to stand trial

    By Jennifer Emily
    The Dallas Morning News

    Jury selection is underway today for a hearing to determine whether a man is competent to stand trial in a death penalty case.

    Defense attorneys are expected to argue that Kenneth Wayne Thomas is mentally retarded and does not understand the legal proceedings.

    Dallas County prosecutors believe Thomas, 53, is competent.

    Thomas was convicted in separate trials of killing attorney Fred Finch and his wife, math professor, Mildred Finch. But the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ordered a new punishment hearing in 2010.

    If a jury finds Thomas competent, the punishment hearing would begin later this week.

    Another jury, which has already been selected, will then determine whether Thomas is sentenced to death or life without parole.

    After the first trial, prosecutors leaded that one of the jurors was on probation for felony theft. Fearing the courts would overturn the conviction in 66-year-old Fred Finch’s death, the district attorney’s office tried Thomas for the slaying of Mildred Finch, 64, who taught at El Centro Community College.

    Thomas stabbed Fred Finch 20 times and Mildred Finch 80 times while burglarizing their South Dallas home in 1986.

    Thomas is borderline retarded, according to court records. He was born in the back seat of a car and the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck. He had “significant” development delays and walk until age 2.

    At 16, he was assaulted and pistol whipped at the park where he worked. He suffered an injury to the front of the right side of his brain.

    He also has reduced impulse control that can result in violence, court records show. Medication could help.

    The new punishment hearing was ordered because jurors could not previously consider whether low intelligence, brain damage, and mental illness should have resulted in a life sentence rather than death.

    A previous prosecutor, George West, who is no longer with the district attorney’s office, said after a previous jury gave a death sentence: “This guy is Dallas’ Jason of (the movie) Friday The 13th, and it’s good society can be rid of him.”

    http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com
    Last edited by Helen; 07-07-2014 at 12:21 PM.
    "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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    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Judge won't declare mistrial in Dallas death penalty case

    Update 10:03: Judge denied mistrial.

    Update 9:52 a.m.: Jurors hearing the competency case are not allowed to know what Thomas is charged with.

    One of the prosecutors, Brandon Birmingham, used the world “murder” while questioning a witness.

    Jurors were sent out of the courtroom while the attorneys argue what should happen.

    Defense attorneys are asking for a mistrial.

    Birmingham, who apologized for saying “murder,” has asked state District Judge Ernie White to instead tell jurors to disregard it now and again in the written instructions given to jurors before they deliberate.

    The instruction, Birmingham said, will “cure any error that I might have unintentionally created.”

    Thomas’ attorneys say that doesn’t go far enough and the court must begin the competency hearing again.

    “It undermines the whole proceeding,” said defense attorney John Tatum.

    Original post 9:20 a.m.: A Dallas County jury has resumed hearing testimony to determine whether a 53-year-old man is competent to stand trial in a death penalty case.

    The defense is arguing that Kenneth Wayne Thomas is not competent, meaning he does not understand the legal proceedings and/or he cannot help his attorneys. Prosecutors disagree.

    Thomas was convicted in separate 1987 trials for the murders of civil rights attorney Fred Finch, 66, and his wife, Mildred Finch, 64, a math professor. He stabbed Fred Finch 20 times and Mildred Finch 80 times while burglarizing their South Dallas home in 1986.

    He was sentenced to death but was awarded a new punishment phase after the Court of Criminal Appeals, the highest criminal court in the state, found that jurors could not properly consider whether low intelligence, mental illness and brain damage could have resulted in a life sentence rather than the death penalty.

    If Thomas is found competent, his criminal trial could begin as soon as today. If he is found incompetent, he would be sent to a mental hospital where doctors would work to restore his competency so he can stand trial at a later date.

    A psychologist testified for the defense that Thomas has irrational beliefs about the justice system despite attempts over the years to change his mind. A psychologist is expected to testify for prosecutors that Thomas is competent.

    http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com
    "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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    Jury finds man competent to stand trial in Dallas death penalty case

    A Dallas County jury found Kenneth Wayne Thomas competent to stand trial in a death penalty case.

    Testimony in the capital murder trial is expected to start this week. It is not clear when.

    Thomas, 53, has low intelligence, brain damage and mental illness, according to testimony and court records. His attorneys had argued that Thomas could not help them with his defense or understand the proceedings.

    Had be been found incompetent, he would have gone to a mental hospital where doctors would have tried to restore him to competency to stand trial at a later date.

    Thomas was convicted in separate 1987 trials for killing attorney Fred Finch, 66, and his wife, math professor, Mildred Finch, 64. Thomas stabbed Fred Finch 20 times and Mildred Finch 80 times while burglarizing their South Dallas home on 1986.

    Thomas was sentenced to death. But the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ordered a new punishment hearing in 2010. Jurors could not previously consider whether low intelligence, brain damage, and mental illness should have resulted in a life sentence rather than death.

    http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/2014...lty-case.html/
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

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  9. #9
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    Dallas couple killed in 1986 were stabbed more than 100 times, jury is told in capital murder trial

    The trial of a man who fatally stabbed a Dallas civil rights attorney and his wife in 1986 continued Friday morning, with testimony from medical examiners who conducted the couple’s autopsies.

    But he won a new punishment phase of his trial in 2010 because the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that previous jurors could not properly consider whether Thomas’ mental abilities should result in the lesser sentence.

    Kenneth Wayne Thomas, 53, was convicted in 1987 and given a death sentence for killing Mildred and Fred Finch while burglarizing their South Dallas home in 1986.

    Thomas’ defense attorneys hope to sway jurors to vote for a life sentence. They plan to argue that Thomas’ low intelligence, brain damage and mental illness mean he shouldn’t be executed for killing the Finches. Prosecutors are again seeking a death sentence.

    The Dallas County medical examiner’s office concluded in 1986 that both Mildred and Fred Finch died because of multiple stab wounds, said Dr. Edward McDonough, who conducted Mildred Finch’s autopsy.

    During the testimony, prosecutors presented to the jury graphic images of the wounds on their bodies. Some of the jurors winced when they saw the photos.

    Mildred Finch had between 80 and 90 stab wounds, and Fred Finch had 21 wounds, said McDonough, who is now an assistant medical examiner for the state of Delaware.

    “Any or all of those wounds could be fatal,” McDonough said.

    Authorities did not recover a weapon from the crime scene, but medical examiners testified Friday that the stab wounds appear to be from a single-edged blade.

    http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/2014...er-trial.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

  10. #10
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Couple’s killer no longer present for punishment phase of trial in 1986 murders

    The punishment phase in the trial of a man who killed a Dallas civil rights attorney and his wife in 1986 continued Wednesday – but without the defendant in the courtroom.

    When proceedings resumed this afternoon, district Judge Ernest White told jurors that Kenneth Thomas had “voluntarily decided not to come into the courtroom.” Instead, proceedings are being miked and piped into Thomas’ holding cell.

    Before jurors came into the courtroom, prosecutor Brandon Birmingham told the judge that Thomas’ attorneys can ask for a break during the trial proceedings if they needed to consult with their client. Both parties agreed that if Thomas decided to come into the courtroom later on, he could.

    The attorneys involved in the case are under a gag order and declined to say why Thomas didn’t appear in court.

    Thomas, 53, was convicted of capital murder in 1987 and sentenced to death for stabbing Fred and Mildred Finch more than 100 times total in their South Dallas home. He won a new punishment phase of his trial in 2010, however, after a ruling by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals concerning his mental capacity.

    Kenneth Thomas has an IQ in the low to mid-70s, which makes him “borderline retarded,” according to testimony and court records. A jury decided last week that he was competent to stand trial.

    Now, a different jury is hearing evidence to determine whether to uphold Thomas’ death sentence or grant him a life sentence instead.

    http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/2014...-murders.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

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