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Thread: Travis James Mullis - Texas Death Row

  1. #21
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Child-killer, family reunite in Galveston courtroom

    For the first time since Travis James Mullis was 9 months old, three members of his family came face to face with him Friday - in a courtroom where a jury is deciding whether Mullis should be executed for stomping his 3-month old son to death.

    "I feel partially responsible for what's going on," said half-brother Michael Nicholson, 43, who made the decision to allow Mullis to be adopted by an uncle who sexually abused him and was later convicted. "The guilt will always be with me."

    Nicholson, his sister, Mullis' aunt and a close friend of the family were the last witnesses to appear before the seven-woman, five-man jury in the penalty phase of Mullis' capital murder trial before state District Judge John Ellisor.

    His long-lost relatives didn't know Mullis was still alive until a defense investigator discovered them about two months ago and told them about Mullis' troubled childhood and that he was about to be tried for sexually abusing and killing his son on Jan. 29, 2008.

    Nicholson and the other relatives all pledged to visit Mullis at least twice a year in prison if the jury decides to spare his life and sentence him to life in prison without parole.

    "He's family," Nicholson said about his decision to make the long journey from Kannapolis, N.C., every year to visit Mullis. "That's a small price to pay to be part of my brother's life."

    Happy to reunite

    All three said they knew what Mullis had done to earn his conviction of capital murder last week but nevertheless were glad to be back in touch with him.

    Mullis' aunt, Denise Marie Devlin, 43, said she values Mullis' life despite what he has done. Asked why she agreed to travel from North Carolina to testify, she said, "Just to let people know that there are people around who love him."

    Devlin and Mullis' 33-year-old half-sister, whose name is being withheld because she is a sexual abuse victim, wiped away tears as they told how they wanted to keep their brother in Kannapolis after his mother died but were overruled by Nicholson.

    The said they never met Gary Mullis, their uncle, before he adopted Travis Mullis and only Devlin had seen him since, at her mother's funeral years later. None was aware of the sexual abuse Mullis suffered.

    Testimony about abuse

    But sexual abuse occurred in Travis Mullis' biological family as well, his sister testified. The sister said Mullis' biological father sexually abused her when she was 9, often several times a day, while she was living with Mullis' mother.

    Dr. Richard G. Dudley Jr., a psychiatrist, testified that he had never seen a patient with so many psychological problems layered one upon the other.

    http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...o/7478835.html

  2. #22
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Juror replaced as Mullis trial nears end

    The judge presiding over the capital murder trial of Travis James Mullis replaced a juror today shortly before the jury was to hear closing arguments in the penalty phase.

    State District Judge John Ellisor replaced juror No. 8 with an alternate juror after defense attorney Gerald Bourque complained that the juror had violated the judge's order that jurors only discuss the case in the jury room during deliberations.

    Ellisor also said he would discuss the issue with other jurors.

    "It's just a horrible, horrible impact on this client," Bourque said of the juror's actions.

    The jury convicted Mullis, 24, of capital murder March 11 and last week heard testimony in the penalty phase of the trial. Jurors will decide whether to sentence him to death or life without parole.

    Mullis is accused of stomping to death his 3-month-old son, Alijah, Jan. 29, 2008, to stop him from crying.

    Bourque asked Ellisor to declare a mistrial in the punishment phase and sentence Mullis to life imprisonment, alleging that juror No. 8 had consistently shared her view with a group of jurors who congregated to smoke.

    Special prosecutor Lyn McClellan said it would be a mistake to declare a mistrial because only the single juror had shared her views. Ellisor declined to declare a mistrial.

    The defense and the prosecution are expected to make final arguments this morning before the jury begins deliberations.

    http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...o/7484220.html

  3. #23
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Jury deliberates death sentence for Mullis

    A jury began deliberating today whether to impose the death penalty against a man convicted of capital murder in the stomping death of his 3-month-old son.

    The jury of seven women, five men and two alternates in Judge John Ellisor’s 122nd District Court, however, is one person short.

    Ellisor removed a female juror from today’s death penalty hearing on an allegation of juror misconduct.

    The defense team of Travis James Mullis asked Ellisor to declare a mistrial in the punishment phase and impose a sentence of life without parole.

    Ellisor ordered the juror removed and to be replaced by another woman, who was one of the two alternates.

    It is unclear if the instance stemmed from another defense attorney not connected with the case, who overheard last week jurors on Mullis’ case talking during a cigarette-smoking break.

    Attorney Lynette Briggs told the judge last week that she believed she heard some kind of discussion, but she wasn’t sure what she heard.

    Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Mullis, who was convicted March 11 of capital murder in the Jan. 29, 2008, slaying of his 3-month-old son, Alijah.

    Sightseers found Alijah’s body clad in a diaper on a desolate berm near Galveston’s East Beach.

    Mullis fled to the East Coast and surrendered Feb. 1 to Philadelphia police. He gave a videotaped confession to the killing, saying he stomped Alijah’s head, because it was the only way to keep him from crying.

    Mullis’ punishment hearing began March 14, and testimony in the hearing concluded Friday with both the state and defense resting their cases.

    Jurors heard closing arguments this morning and begin deliberating at 11:35 a.m. whether Mullis would die or spend life in prison.

    Mullis faces either life in prison without parole or death. Jurors must consider two issues: Whether Mullis is a continuing threat to society and whether there were sufficient mitigating circumstances.

    Defense attorneys, Robert K. Loper and Gerald Bourque, reminded the jury that Mullis was a victim of repeated sexual assault by his adoptive father.

    Mullis suffered from a multitude of mental disorders and was bipolar — issues he had no control over at an early age. He spent three years as a teen at a sex offender’s rehabilitation facility in Maryland.

    While jailed in Galveston County, Mullis wrote initials on his cell wall and titled it a “hit list.”

    “He was just showing frustration at the system,” Loper said of Mullis learning that after he’d been jailed for two years he’d have to wait another before going to trial.

    “Maybe you think this guy deserves so much to die. You shouldn’t hate him. You should pity him.”

    Bourque told the jurors Mullis didn’t belong in society and asked jurors to let his client spend life in prison.

    “Let him die by whatever cause and not carry his blood on your hands,” Bourque said.

    Special Prosecutor Lyn McClellan told the jury Mullis was a coldblooded killer and that there were no judicial safeguards for Alijah, who suffered a sexual assault before Mullis stomped on the boy’s head.

    “Travis was for Alijah judge, jury and executioner,” McClellan said.

    The jury at 11:46 a.m. sent a note to Ellisor, asking for Mullis’ statement to police, a list of exhibits by the state and defense and photos of Mullis’ cell wall at the county jail.

    The court sent jurors to lunch while their requests were being met.

    http://galvestondailynews.com/story/219154

  4. #24
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Galveston County jury sentences Southeast Texas man to death row for killing infant son

    A Southeast Texas man is going to death row — sent there by a Galveston County jury that convicted him of sexually assaulting his 3-month-old son before stomping him to death in 2008.

    The Houston Chronicle reports jurors took three hours Monday to agree on a death sentence for 24-year-old Travis James Mullis of Alvin in the death of his infant son, Alijah.

    DNA tests presented during the penalty phase of his trial showed that Mullis sexually abused the child before killing him. Police in Philadelphia, to where Mullis had fled after the death, say he acknowledged stomping the child's skull to stop him from crying.

    http://www.therepublic.com/view/stor...-Sons-Slaying/

  5. #25
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Name Mullis, Travis James

    TDCJ Number 999563

    Date of Birth 09/20/1986

    Date Received 05/23/2011

    Age (when Received)24

    Education Level (Highest Grade Completed)

    Date of Offense 01/29/2008

    Age (at the time of Offense) 21

    County Galveston

    Race White

    Gender Male

    Hair Color Brown

    Height 5'08"

    Weight 145 lbs.

    Eye Color Green

  6. #26
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Mullis refuses to appeal sentence for slaying son

    A death-row inmate’s decision not to appeal a capital murder conviction could put his execution on a fast track.

    If Travis James Mullis passes a psychological examination, then the earliest he could be put to death for the Jan. 29, 2008, stomping death of his 3-month-old son, Alijah, would be April, the inmate said during a Wednesday interview at the Galveston County Jail.

    Mullis described the moment he sexually assaulted his son and stomped the life from him as a selfish impulse. A sightseeing couple found Alijah’s lifeless body on a Galveston seawall berm near East Beach.

    “The way it ended was not intended,” Mullis said. “It was just more of a holy ... Look what I just did. How am I going to clean this up?”

    Mullis left Galveston but surrendered Feb. 1, 2008, and confessed to Philadelphia police that he stomped Alijah until he felt the infant’s skull collapse. It was the only way to stop Alijah from crying, he said. Evidence in his punishment hearing revealed Mullis sexually assaulted Alijah before killing him.

    There was no thought process, Mullis said during the videoconference interview with The Daily News. “Then flight took over after that,” he said.

    A jury convicted Mullis of capital murder in Galveston’s 122nd District Court and affirmed the death penalty sentence in March. The $168,843 combined fee approved for two defense lawyers, Robert K. Loper and Gerald Bourque, was approved, and an appeals attorney was appointed.

    ‘Eye For An Eye’


    “I’ve accepted the consequence the jury gave me,” Mullis said. “I’ve accepted the verdict ... I don’t feel it’s necessary to go through it again.”

    Mullis doesn’t want to drag his relatives or anyone else through another trial, if it came to that, he said.

    “I have a religious and moral belief of an eye for an eye,” Mullis said. “I think the punishment is justified for the crime.”

    Is Mullis ready to die?

    “I won’t say I want to, but it is the consequence of my actions, and I’m accepting that,” Mullis said.

    Mullis urged anyone with emotional instability to seek help.

    “Don’t think you can handle it alone, because I couldn’t,” Mullis said. “I could have had just the sexual assault charges, and that by itself. It was unnecessary for any of it to happen.”

    If Mullis won’t appeal, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals still would review the trial for constitutional error.

    Hearing Set Oct. 11

    In court documents, Mullis decided to represent himself on an appeal. He has not filed any briefs in the case, First Assistant District Attorney Donna Cameron said. Mullis said he doesn’t intend to.

    The court of Judge John Ellisor set a hearing for Mullis on Oct. 11 after a doctor has been able to evaluate Mullis for his competency.

    “When I waive my habeas, they’re still going to do the constitutional review on direct appeal,” Mullis said. “Because I’m not filing anything, my habeas will expire Dec. 23. That’s my deadline.”

    Anytime after that, Ellisor could affirm his sentence, Mullis said.

    “Once it’s affirmed, the judge sets my date, and I can be executed roughly no early than 90 days,” Mullis said. “Which, depending on the court, could be as early as April of next year.”

    Mullis explained what it’s like being on death row.

    “Despite what I’ve heard from other people, my personal take on it is that it’s really not that bad,” Mullis said. “When I first got there, I had people giving me all kinds of stuff.”

    Mullis told them he couldn’t afford to pay them back.

    “They’re like, ‘Hey. It doesn’t matter,’” Mullis said. “The next guy that comes to death row with nothing, make sure he has something.”

    In his more than three years in jail and state prison, what does Mullis miss the most?

    “My son,” he said.

    http://galvestondailynews.com/story/259502

  7. #27
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    TRAVIS MULLIS v THE STATE OF TEXAS

    In today's orders, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals AFFIRMED Mullis' conviction and sentence of death on direct appeal.

    Let's see if he volunteers!
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

  8. #28
    Administrator Michael's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Heidi View Post
    “I have a religious and moral belief of an eye for an eye,” Mullis said. “I think the punishment is justified for the crime.”

    [.....]

    “I won’t say I want to, but it is the consequence of my actions, and I’m accepting that,” Mullis said.
    If he doesen´t change his mind he´ll be one of the less worse ones....
    No murder can be so cruel that there are not still useful imbeciles who do gloss over the murderer and apologize.

  9. #29
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    Court approves Mullis’ waiver in death sentence

    The state’s highest appeals court Wednesday affirmed a judge’s ruling that allows Travis James Mullis to waive his appeal of his death sentence for stomping his 3-month-old son to death.

    Mullis, 25, first told The Daily News in an exclusive jailhouse interview in September that he would not appeal his conviction, putting his execution on a fast track.

    “I’ve accepted the consequence the jury gave me,” Mullis said. “I don’t feel it’s necessary to go through it again.”

    Mullis didn’t want to drag his relatives or anyone else through another trial, he said.

    “I have a religious and moral belief of an eye for an eye,” Mullis said. “I think the punishment is justified for the crime.”

    The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals announced its decision Wednesday. Justices agreed with Judge John Ellisor, of Galveston’s 122nd District Court, after reviewing the court transcripts and finding no error. A death sentence results in an automatic appeal.

    A jury in March 2011 convicted Mullis and sentenced him to die for the Jan. 29, 2008, death of his son Alijah.

    Mullis surrendered to Philadelphia police and admitted in videotaped interviews that he killed Alijah after driving from Alvin to an isolated stretch of the Galveston seawall near East Beach. Stomping his son’s head was the only way to keep Alijah from crying, Mullis told police.

    Mullis’ execution date hasn’t been listed with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. The date is set by the district court where the offender was convicted. Once a date is set, the court will send the Texas Department of Criminal Justice the paperwork, Jason Clark, a spokesman for the department, said earlier this month.

    Mullis remains on death row at the Polunsky Unit near Livingston.

    http://galvestondailynews.com/story/309966
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

  10. #30
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Dad on death row for killing newborn wants to appeal sentence

    As the state prepares to set an execution date for Travis James Mullis, the man condemned for stomping the life from his infant son, has had a change of heart and wants to appeal his death sentence.

    Mullis, 25, had adamantly opposed appealing his March 2011 capital murder conviction in the Jan. 29, 2008, death of his son, Alijah, who was 3 months old, in Galveston. But a letter Mullis wrote Aug. 20 from death row says he wants to appeal the verdict — even though he missed the July 2 deadline for an appeal.

    In September 2011, Mullis said he accepted the consequences and had a religious and moral belief of an eye for an eye. The punishment was justified for the crime, he said in a jailhouse interview with The Daily News.

    Mullis waived the appeal of his death sentence from Judge John Ellisor’s 122nd District Court, a pro se waiver affirmed in April by the state’s highest appeals court. Any death sentence, however, results in an automatic appeal, and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reviewed trial transcripts and found no error.

    “New evidence has surfaced that was not available at the time I chose to waive my appeal. I hereby request that this court reinstate my appeal and appoint counsel to help me with this appeal,” Mullis’ letter to Ellisor states.

    The letter doesn’t give details on the new evidence, but Mullis wrote he would discuss it on the record in court.

    Mullis wrote that the decision to waive an appeal was based on misleading and incomplete information.

    The appeals court issued an order Wednesday after evaluating Mullis’ letter and the proceedings so far in the case. The court determined that all deadlines for appeals had passed, Galveston County Criminal District Attorney Jack Roady said.

    The court also held that if Mullis or an attorney on his behalf wanted to file an application for writ of habeas corpus, then it would have to show “good cause” for missing the deadline, Roady said.

    Roady has been in regular contact with Mullis’ last appointed habeas counsel, Brad Levenson, with the state Office of Capital Writs.

    “We are still communicating about (Wednesday’s) order by the Court of Criminal Appeals,” Roady said. “I anticipate that in the near future, I will be asking the trial court to proceed with scheduling the execution date.”

    http://galvestondailynews.com/story/347286
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

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