DA to seek death for escapee
Walker County District Attorney David Weeks will let a jury decide the fate of an inmate who is accused of the murder of a correctional officer during an attempted escape from prison almost five years ago.
Weeks said Monday that the state will pursue the death penalty for John Ray Falk Jr., who along with Jerry Duane Martin, broke out of the Wynne Unit in 2007, stole a truck and ran over Texas Department of Criminal Justice employee Susan Canfield, killing her.
Two weeks ago, District Judge Ken Keeling addressed the commissioners court on the costs Walker County faced in bringing Falk to trial for capital murder. Keeling said with defense attorney and expert fees, the trial would cost around $500,000. He wanted to give the commissioners a heads up while they were sorting through budget issues because he intended to see the case tried in October.
When Walker County got a death penalty conviction in 2009 for Martin — who was driving the vehicle that struck the horse Canfield was riding — the cost of that trial was $400,000. The state reimbursed the county for most of the expenses.
The problem facing the county in Falk’s trial is that the state claims it can only cover $50,000 of the expected $500,000 expense. Because of budget issues in the last couple of years, the state says the money available for Martin’s 2009 trial is not available to reimburse the county for Falk’s trial.
Weeks, Keeling and the commissioners all agree that the state should foot the bill — not Walker County taxpayers — since Falk escaped from the state’s custody. And Walker County’s state representative, John Otto, R-Dayton, seems to agree, county officials said.
“Money is a concern, but I believe the state will help us. We have always gotten a positive response from them,” Weeks said. “I have spoken with State Rep. John Otto, and we will continue to explore ways to get funding. Walker County should not have to pay for this.”
Weeks said he could not in good faith plead for life in Falk’s capital murder trial. Correctional officers need to be protected, and that Falk was already serving a life sentence for murder when he escaped and killed Canfield, he said.
Weeks said he will present the case to a jury and let it decide if Falk should be sentenced to death or life, if convicted.
“Falk killed someone while he was already serving life, so I cannot in good conscience plead this case for life,” Weeks said. “We ask correctional officers to watch these guys and we need to show inmates that there are consequences for their actions.
“We have to try this case because I have an obligation to seek justice and do what is right.”
Falk’s trial has been delayed by unforseen circumstances. Weeks does not see this case going to trial in October. Citing a lack of staff resources, he is going to file a motion of continuance, possibly this week, to get the trial moved to the spring. The DA’s office has had to replace three out of six staff members and Weeks and assistant district attorney Stephanie Stroud are the only ones on staff familiar with Falk’s case. Other employees would have to go through the stack of files concerning the trial to be caught up to speed, which will take time, and the office’s current case load will make that difficult.
“A trial like this is going to take a lot of time. Jury selection alone could take up to four weeks,” Weeks said. “And life goes on; it does not stop. We are dealing with staffing issues right now and we have other cases we are working on. Things will get piled up. We are going to see if we can get it moved to the spring and keep seeking help from the state to fund it.”
There are a number of reasons as to why it would cost Walker County half a million dollars to try Falk, county officials said. Court-appointed defense attorney Michele Esparza from Bryan turned into Keeling an estimate that trial costs for experts, investigators and other essentials would be $150,000. The estimated attorney’s fees would amount to $350,000.
Esparza also would request a third attorney to attend the trial, which will be conducted in Brazos County on a change of venue, to assist in recording trial errors and serve as Falk’s appellate attorney. If Falk is convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death, he is automatically granted an appeal.
Fees for defense attorneys in capital murder trials are high because these attorneys must meet certain qualifications and there are not that many who are willing to take on these cases.
Keeling told the commissioners court that defense attorneys are heavily scrutinized during a capital murder trial by inmates’ appellate attorneys.
http://itemonline.com/local/x3285689...th-for-escapee
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