That's the title of an article in the Kerrville Daily Times regarding the case of Jeffrey Wood. LINK
Jeffery Lee Wood does not deserve to die.
That’s the plea made in an application to the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole seeking clemency for the man sentenced to death for the 1996 murder of a Kerrville convenience store clerk, Kriss Keeran.
“I think he is the ideal candidate for clemency,” said San Antonio Attorney Scott Sullivan, who has represented Wood since 1999. “We are asking for a sentence less than death.”
Wood is scheduled to die by lethal injection Aug. 21.
Wood’s roommate, Daniel Reneau, also was convicted of Keeran’s death. Reneau was executed in 2002.
Evidence showed that Reneau entered the store at Texas 16 and Interstate 10 just before dawn on Jan. 2, 1996 and shot Keeran.
Records show Wood was waiting outside the store and came in after Keeran was shot.
And:
The appeal to the state board points out that Keeran and William “Bill” Bunker, the assistant manager of the convenience store, were involved in discussions with Wood and Reneau prior to the robbery. Apparently on the day of the incident, Keeran changed his mind and did not cooperate.
“Reneau — the only person inside the store and who carried a weapon — alone made the decision to take Keeran’s life,” the application stated. “Mr. Wood’s culpability for Kriss Keeran’s death lies somewhere between Daniel Reneau’s and Bill Bunker’s.”
Sullivan claims that because Wood did not pull the trigger, he is as liable of the murder as Bunker, who was never charged in the case. He said the prosecution wrongly accused Wood of being the mastermind behind the robbery-turned-murder.
“He is a party (to the murder) in every sense of the word,” Sullivan said. “We take issue with the prosecution calling him a mastermind. I don’t think he is capable of being a mastermind.”
Sullivan said Wood’s unstable mental state most likely had a lot to do with his death sentence. Wood refused to defend himself during his trial.
“Having worked with him the last nine years, I know he can’t put things together. He is not capable of that,” Sullivan said. “His emotional history and mental history are real poor.”
If there is a trace of deja vu all over again for loyal readers, you might be recalling the case of Kenneth Foster from August 2007. Foster had also been convicted and sentenced to death under the law of parties. A StandDown post of his commutation is here. Our coverage of the case is here. Two commentaries are:
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