Texas Attorney General

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Media Advisory: Cary Kerr scheduled for execution

AUSTIN – Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott offers the following information about Cary D. Kerr, who is scheduled to be executed after 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 3, 2011. A Texas jury sentenced Kerr to death in March of 2003 for sexually assaulting and murdering Pamela Horton.

FACTS OF THE CRIME

In the early morning hours of July 12, 2001, the body of Pamela Horton of Haltom City was found in a street by a taxicab driver. An autopsy determined that Horton had been beaten and strangled.

On the evening of July 11, Horton left a nightclub with Cary Kerr. After escorting Horton from the nightclub, Kerr returned briefly to the club and whispered to another woman that he was taking Horton home and that he would be right back.

An ambulance was summoned shortly after 2 a.m. the next day when Horton’s body, wearing shorts but nothing else, was discovered in the street.

After the paramedics had wrapped the victim’s body, Kerr approached them and asked them to pull back the sheet because he believed he could identify her. The paramedics responded that they would not pull back the sheet but asked Kerr to tell them who it was if he knew. Kerr stated that he was the one who found the body and had called them. The paramedics responded that no one “called” them; they were on the scene because they had been approached by a taxicab driver. Kerr then responded that he had flagged down the taxi. Kerr further stated that he had not stopped his car upon discovering her body because he thought she might be a robbery decoy and that he had seen a black sedan with two male passengers parked nearby. Kerr also stated that he recognized the woman as someone who frequented bars in the area.

Police officers arrived at the scene, secured it, and talked to Kerr. The officers saw a purse in Kerr’s car and asked whose purse it was. Kerr first stated it was the victim’s and then added, “If that’s the girl I picked up, maybe it’s hers.” He became very nervous after this admission. Kerr retrieved the purse from his vehicle for the officers’ inspection. A broken, comb-like hair clip was attached to the handle of the purse. During their conversation with Kerr, the officers noticed a long strand of blonde hair on his face. Kerr did not have blonde hair but the victim did. One of the officers took the strand of blonde hair. The officers later arrested Kerr at the scene.

A search of Kerr’s home yielded a brassiere, panties, and a plastic “tooth” for a comb or a hair clasp. The brassiere was severely torn in two places. Examination of the comb-like hair clip revealed that it had been manufactured with fourteen teeth but eight had broken off. The comb tooth retrieved from Kerr’s residence was the same color as the hair clasp, and microscopic analysis showed a match. The forensic examiner testified that considerable force would be needed to cause the observed damage to the hair clasp.

The brassiere and the panties contained DNA from the victim, and DNA testing showed that semen found in the victim matched Kerr’s DNA profile.

EVIDENCE OF FUTURE DANGEROUSNESS

Michelle Landdreth and Kerr were married from 1987 to 1991. During their marriage, Kerr injured Landdreth on several occasions. He would beat and choke her—resulting in black eyes, busted lips, and bruises. She did not seek medical attention or press charges because she was afraid of Kerr.

Diana Forgeson and Kerr were married from 1993 to 1996. Due to excessive drinking, Kerr became angry and jealous and would hit Forgeson if she said anything wrong or looked wrong.

Cindy Huffman and Kerr were romantically involved from 1989 to 1996. Kerr was often violent, both hitting her and threatening her with a gun. Huffman reported Kerr to the police and obtained several restraining orders against him.

On August 10, 1999, about 7 p.m., a woman returned home with some decorating items from a store. When she got out of her car, Kerr—who was house-sitting next door —was waiting. Kerr inquired whether the woman wanted to come over for a swim. The woman joined Kerr for a swim, but when she attempted to go home, Kerr pushed her back into the pool.Kerr grabbed the woman and asked her to show him her breasts. Kerr had both of the woman’s hands behind her back. When the woman threatened to scream, Kerr responded that he would kill her and dump her body into a lake. Kerr then held the woman’s head under water. She was choking when she managed to surface. Kerr ripped the woman’s shirt and brassiere, and demanded oral sex. The woman submitted. The next day, the woman contacted police. Kerr pled guilty to assault causing bodily injury and was sentenced to one year in jail.

Officer Tim Clontz testified that, while transporting Kerr to the Haltom City Police Department, Kerr began cursing and kicking the passenger window. During the change-over into jail attire, Kerr threw his blue jeans at Officer Clontz. Kerr then threatened to kill Officer Clontz. A Tarrant County jailer testified that when she was transferring Kerr to a different cell, she found contraband, including tennis shoes, and attempted to confiscate them. Kerr displayed a bad attitude and, when the jailer turned away, he tossed the shoes at her and hit her with one..

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

07/12/01 - Kerr sexually assaulted and murdered Pamela Horton.
09/20/01 - A Tarrant County grand jury indicted Kerr for capital murder (re-indicted 01/13/03)
03/25/03 - A Tarrant County jury convicted Kerr of capital murder.
03/28/03 - The 297th District Court of Tarrant County sentenced Kerr to death.
10/20/04 - Kerr filed an original application for a state writ of habeas corpus.
01/12/05 - The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals upheld Kerr’s conviction on direct appeal.
08/31/05 - The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied Kerr’s request for habeas relief.
05/30/06 - Kerr filed a petition for a federal writ of habeas corpus.
12/20/06 - The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals dismissed Kerr’s subsequent application.
09/17/09 - A Fort Worth federal district court denied habeas relief and issued final judgment.
06/30/10 - The U.S. Court of Appeals (5th Circuit) affirmed denial of habeas relief.
01/10/11 - The Supreme Court denied Kerr’s petition for certiorari review.
01/19/11 - The 297th District Court of Tarrant County scheduled execution for May 3, 2011.

Texas inmate executed using new drug mix

By Tori Brock - ItemOnline.com

May 03, 2011

HUNTSVILLE — Texas used a new three-drug combination to execute a condemned inmate for the first time Tuesday. Cary Kerr, 46, of Dallas was pronounced dead at 6:19 p.m. Tuesday in the death house at the Huntsville Unit, nine minutes after the administration of a lethal dose of drug that included for the first time pentobarbital in place of sodium thiopental, which is no longer available. The state has used sodium thiopental since 1982.

Just before the lethal dose of drugs began to flow, Kerr proclaimed his innocence in the 2001 rape and murder of 34-year-old Pamela Horton in Haltom City near Fort Worth. “To the state of Texas: I'm an innocent man,” Kerr said in his last statement. “Never trust a court-appointed attorney.” Kerr then asked his friends to search for the person he claimed committed the crime. “Check that DNA,” he said. “Check Scott.” As the sedation drugs began to take effect, Kerr sighed deeply and said, “Here we go.” “Lord Jesus,” he said. “Jesus.”

Earlier Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to block Kerr’s execution. Kerr's appeal didn't challenge the drug switch. Rather, he argued that a lawyer didn't properly represent him in earlier appeals, according to the Associated Press.

Kerr told the AP he first met Horton when they lived in the same trailer park, then ran into her the evening of July 11, 2001, at a bar where he was celebrating passing the test to get his commercial truck driving license. "I've never denied being with her," he said recently from death row. Kerr said he was "half drunk" and Horton was drunk when he decided to take her to his place where they had sex and then argued. She left alive, he insisted.

Authorities said Kerr pushed Horton out of a moving vehicle after sexually assaulting her, which caused her death. A taxi driver discovered her body in the street at 2 a.m. the following morning.

Kerr requested a final meal of pizza, fried chicken, baked chicken, lasagna, tacos, pork ribs with picante sauce, cheeseburger, quiche with meat, cheese and broccoli and ice cream for dessert.

Kerr was the third Texas prisoner executed this year. The next execution, of Gayland Bradford of Dallas County, is scheduled June 1.

Texas executes first inmate using drug used on animals

By Corrie MacLaggan - Reuters.com

May 4, 2011

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Texas on Tuesday carried out its first execution using a sedative often used to euthanize animals. Cary Kerr, 46, was put to death by lethal injection for the 2001 sexual assault and strangling of Pamela Horton.

The new drug, pentobarbital, replaced sodium thiopental in Texas' three-drug execution protocol. The change was necessary because Hospira Inc. of Illinois announced in January it would stop making the sodium thiopental after Italy objected to Hospira manufacturing an execution drug in that country. That caused a shortage of the drug throughout the United States. Ohio and Oklahoma have already switched to use of pentobarbital in executions.

Another Texas inmate, Cleve Foster, had been scheduled to be the first person in the state executed using the new drug last month. But Foster received a temporary stay of execution from the U.S. Supreme Court over concerns his state-appointed lawyers were ineffective.

Kerr was pronounced dead at 6:19 p.m. on Tuesday, said Michelle Lyons, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. "To the state of Texas: I am an innocent man," were among Kerr's final words, according to Lyons. "Never trust a court-appointed attorney. I am ready, warden."

For his last meal, Kerr requested a long list of food, including lasagna, spaghetti, pizza, fried chicken, baked chicken, tacos, pork ribs, deep-fried mushrooms, a cheeseburger, french fries, quiche and ice cream, according to Jason Clark, a spokesman for the Department.

Kerr was the third prisoner to be put to death this year in Texas, which executes more prisoners than any other state. Texas executed 17 people in 2010, down from 24 in 2009.

Cary Kerr

ProDeathPenalty.com

The victim in this case was Pamela Horton. Although another man was her boyfriend, Pamela had been seen at bars in Cary D. Kerr's company for about a month. On the evening of July 11, 2001, Pamela Horton socialized with Jennifer York and Kerr at a bar called the Swan Club, and the three later moved to a nearby nightclub called Cowtown. Jennifer briefly danced with Kerr but when he grabbed her arm as she was walking away, she punched him. Jennifer did not like Kerr and told Pamela so, but Pamela defended him as being "a nice guy." Pamela Horton later told Jennifer that she needed a ride home, but Jennifer was not yet ready to leave. Pamela was clearly intoxicated. In her testimony, Jennifer York characterized Pamela Horton as an "impatient" person, who could be predicted to look for someone else to take her home immediately, rather than wait until Jennifer was ready. Later, a bartender noticed Pamela leaving with Kerr. After escorting her from the nightclub, Kerr returned briefly and whispered to Cathy Dawson, "I'm taking this drunk bitch home and I'll be right back."

At 2:00 a.m. on July 12, a taxicab driver spotted Pamela Horton's dead body, lying in the street. The taxicab driver located an ambulance and notified the paramedics of the body's location. Pamela was wearing shorts but nothing else: no shirt, socks, shoes, or underwear. Only the top button of the shorts' button-fly was fastened. There was "fuzz" on the victim's feet, indicating the victim had recently worn socks.

After the paramedics had wrapped the victim's body, Kerr approached them and asked them to pull back the sheet because he believed he could identify her. The paramedics responded that they would not pull back the sheet but asked Kerr to tell them who it was if he knew. Kerr stated that he was the one who found the body and had called them. The paramedics responded that no one "called" them; they were on the scene because they had been approached by a taxicab driver. Kerr then responded that he had flagged down the taxi. Kerr further stated that he had not stopped his car upon discovering her body because he thought she might be a robbery decoy and that he had seen a black sedan with two male passengers parked nearby. Kerr also stated that he recognized the woman as someone who frequented bars in the area.

Police officers arrived at the scene, secured it, and talked to Kerr. The officers saw a purse in Kerr's car and asked whose purse it was. Kerr first stated it was the victim's and then added, "If that's the girl I picked up, maybe it's hers." The victim's boyfriend would later identify the purse as one he had bought for her. He became very nervous after this admission. Kerr retrieved the purse from his vehicle for the officers' inspection. A broken, comb-like hair clip was attached to the handle of the purse. During their conversation with Kerr, the officers noticed a long strand of blonde hair on his face. Kerr did not have blonde hair but the victim did. One of the officers took the strand of blonde hair. The officers later arrested Kerr at the scene. On the way to the police station, Kerr started kicking the back window of the patrol car and began "cussing" and saying he was going to get out of the car.

The victim's body exhibited a large number of injuries, some of which were inflicted before death, and some after death. Injuries to the victim while she was still alive included: bruising of the right temple and the top of the right eye, a bruise on the top side of the left eye or eyelid, tiny pinpoint bruises on the neck and the collarbone, a bruise on the chest above the right breast, and bruises on the arms. Also, the hyoid bone of the neck was fractured. Post-mortem injuries included abrasions on the trunk of the body, the front part of the breasts, the abdomen, the left arm, the right leg, and the right foot. These post-mortem abrasions were "gliding abrasions" that could be found on someone thrown out of a motor vehicle. It was determined that the victim also had semen in her mouth. According to the deputy medical examiner who performed the autopsy, the bruises on the neck indicated that the cause of death was manual strangulation and that the death was a homicide. A forensic anthropologist testified that the broken hyoid bone was also a sign of manual strangulation. The deputy medical examiner indicated that the injuries and sexual activity occurred within a short time of each other, but he conceded in cross-examination that the physical condition of the body was not inconsistent with consensual sexual activity followed by a homicide.

DNA testing showed that the semen in the victim's mouth matched the defendant's DNA profile. The probability of a match with another person was 1 in 21 trillion for Caucasians, 1 in 159 trillion for those of African descent, and 1 in 615 trillion for Southwestern Hispanics. Hair analysis of the strand of blonde hair picked off Kerr's face showed similarities to the victim's hair but with enough differences that the hair examiner could say only that the strand could not be ruled out as having come from the victim. Pamela's blood alcohol concentration at the time of autopsy was determined to be 0.465 - over five times the legal limit. The deputy medical examiner estimated that the concentration probably had peaked at 0.5 and was on its way down, and that the victim would have to have been a "seasoned drinker" to be able walk around with that much alcohol in her body.

A search of Kerr's home yielded a brassiere, panties, and a plastic "tooth" for a comb or a hair clasp. The brassiere was severely torn in two places. In one place there was a complete separation of the strap from the cups in the front, and in another place there was a tear on one of the cups at the side. A forensic examiner testified that the tears were significant enough to interfere with the brassiere's function, and he testified that a great deal of force would be required to produce the tears in question. Examination of the comb-like hair clip revealed that it had been manufactured with fourteen teeth but eight had broken off. In addition, part of the gripping surface was missing and the hinging mechanism was damaged. The comb tooth retrieved from Kerr's residence was the same color as the hair clasp, and microscopic analysis showed a match. The forensic examiner testified that considerable force would be needed to cause the observed damage to the hair clasp. The brassiere and the panties contained DNA from the victim.

Pamela Horton's aunt, Joann Mazyck, who said she helped raise Horton, wished Kerr would at least show some remorse. "I want him to be punished," she said. "I hate to use 'dead.' I just want to know he's not here."

Office of Capital Writs Involved in Kerr Litigation

Standown.typepad.com

UPDATE: Convicted murderer Cary Kerr tonight became the first Texas inmate to be executed with the state's new three-drug lethal injection cocktail, including pentobarbital.The U.S. Supreme Court today denied Kerr's request for a stay.

The Tribune's original story about Kerr's case is below.

Less than a month before his scheduled execution, Cary Kerr had no attorney. And the ones he had had up to that point, he argues, didn’t do him much good. Now, he’s asking the U.S. Supreme Court to stop his execution — scheduled for tonight — and allow him another opportunity to argue for his life. “This was a life history that wasn’t told,” says Brad Levenson, Kerr’s new attorney. “No one has done this investigation.”

Levenson is director of the state’s new Office of Capital Writs. Created by lawmakers in 2009 to provide better representation for people on death row who can't afford to pay their own lawyers to challenge their sentences, the office opened in September 2010. Kerr’s case is the first the office has taken with an impending execution date. And prophetically, the appellate lawyer whose previous work Kerr lambasts is the same one who helped spur lawmakers to create the office of writs in the first place.

Kerr was sentenced to death in 2003 for the rape and murder of Pamela Horton. He’s not arguing that he didn’t strangle the woman and leave her badly beaten corpse in the middle of the street in a Fort Worth suburb. Rather, Kerr says, his attorneys never gave the jury a chance to hear about his abusive upbringing and mental problems, a background he believes could have persuaded jurors or appellate courts to issue a sentence other than death.

Lawyers for Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott argue, however, that Kerr’s original trial lawyer did present jurors with mitigating evidence. And, they say, the courts have not recognized that death row inmates have a constitutional right to effective appellate attorneys.

After he was sentenced, Richard Alley was appointed as Kerr’s state habeas corpus attorney. The main goal of habeas proceedings is to uncover new evidence that either proves the inmate’s innocence or shows a constitutional violation during trial proceedings. Alley, though, didn’t do any investigating, Kerr contends. He never even retrieved Kerr’s case file. When he drafted the habeas pleading, he copied and pasted from older filings in Kerr’s case and others he had handled. Kerr’s first name was misspelled on the cover page. One section of the pleading compared Horton’s murder to “any other shooting death.” Horton was strangled. The pleading said Kerr’s youth should be a mitigating factor, but Kerr was 39 at the time of his trial. The petition was quickly denied.

Levenson argues that Alley should never have been appointed to handle Kerr’s case because the State Bar of Texas had twice disciplined him for unethical behavior, including using false evidence and making false statements. In 2006 — shortly after an investigative report from the Austin American-Statesman about the shoddy work of Alley and other death row lawyers — he was removed from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals list of capital appointments because of his work on Kerr’s case and others. And reports about Alley’s work and the troubled capital appellate system were a major factor that led lawmakers to establish the office of writs in 2009.

Levenson found out about Kerr from other lawyers who told him the death row inmate didn’t have an attorney even though he was about to be executed. Despite having little time for investigation and a small staff, Levenson says, on April 6, he took on Kerr’s case and delved into his past. “What normally takes a year and a half, we did in two and a half weeks,” he says. They interviewed family members, including Kerr’s sister and stepsister and his biological mother, and talked to Kerr’s friends and neighbors. They reviewed school and jail records.

The story they found, Levenson says, was disturbing. Kerr was born to alcoholic parents. His mother left when he was young, and he was raised mostly by his sister, who was only a couple of years his senior. His youth was riddled with poverty, and the children often went hungry. Kerr’s father and grandfather introduced him to alcohol when he was about 10. He was sexually assaulted twice, once at age 5 and again at 12. His stepmother openly disdained him and routinely slapped him in the face in public. By the time Kerr was a teenager, his father and stepmother repeatedly kicked him out of the house; at one point he lived in an old car under a neighbor’s carport.

“This is a pretty sad and traumatic childhood, and I think a jury should hear all the evidence before they make a decision,” Levenson says. “We found this in two-and-a-half weeks. What could competent habeas counsel have found if they had worked for much longer?”

The primary question in the Kerr case, however, is whether he even had a right to effective habeas counsel. So far, the courts have ruled the U.S. Constitution makes no such guarantee. Recent action by the U.S. Supreme Court have fueled hopes among defense lawyers that the nation’s top court might be ready to take up that issue. Last month, the court stayed the execution of Texas death row inmate Cleve Foster, who has made similar ineffective counsel claims. The court also stayed the execution of Daniel Cook in Arizona, another case that raises questions about ineffective counsel. “For years, people have wanted that question answered,” Levenson says.

Cary D. Kerr

Todesstrafe-usa.de

About Cary D. Kerr
DOB 10/06/1964
Date of crime 07/12/2001
On death row since April 2003
We mourn about Cary Kerr, executed on May 3, 2011...

The Crime

The victim in this case Ms. Pamela Horton was found on the side of the road wearing only a pair of cut off blue jean shorts.

Horton and Cary Kerr lived in the same trailer park for 5 ½ months, they both knew each other, they were friends and they spent time together from time to time. The night Pamela Horton was murdered, she and Cary had spent some time together earlier that same evening. They engaged in oral sex “only” and afterwards Pamela Horton left his home and started walking to her home at around 12:30 am. She never made it.

Her body was found at 2:05 am halfway between her home and Cary’s home lying on the side of road. She was beaten, strangled and then run over by a vehicle according to police reports and the state prosecution. The police found a tire print on the upper leg of Ms. Horton and stated that she was run over in an attempt to cover up the crime.

When the police arrived at the place where Ms. Horton’s body lay in road, Cary went to the scene and tried to tell the police that he knew her and that they were even out together earlier the evening. Cary tried to tell the police about a dark colored car that was parked close to the body but the police ignored him and told him to wait in a police car until a detective arrived. After a detective arrived Cary was allowed to talk to him and allowed police to search his vehicle. The detective told Cary that since he was out with the victim earlier the same night that that was good enough for him. Cary was then arrested.

After waiting almost two years for a trial, Cary D. Kerr was convicted in March of 2003, and sentenced to death by lethal injection.

The Case of the State

The case of Cary D. Kerr is 100% circumstantial and factually has no evidence that Mr. Kerr committed any crime at all.

The state prosecutor withheld DNA evidence from Mr. Kerr’s defense lawyers that showed Mr. Kerr was not the attacker! Only when a DNA expert testified for the state did defense attorneys learn about the DNA evidence that excluded Mr. Kerr from this crime. The state prosecutor told the jury that they had to disregard this DNA evidence that does not belong to Mr. Kerr. The prosecution stated that just because it does not match to him does not mean that it is not his! The prosecution stated, “don’t even think about it!”

The prosecution told the jury that Mr. Kerr had just met Ms. Horton that night and preyed upon her because she was drunk. The prosecution further stated that Mr. Kerr was a lion and that he has preyed upon women for years and has eluded police for years. They stated that Mr. Kerr was a serial rapist, a lion preying on gazelles.

The prosecution told the jury that Mr. Kerr sexually assaulted Ms. Horton, while beating her with a bloody club and strangling her to death. He then placed her dead body into his vehicle and took her out to some remote woods, but before he could get there Ms. Horton “while dead“ accidentally opened the car door and fell out onto the street. The prosecutor then stated that when Ms. Horton fell out of the vehicle Mr. Kerr in an attempt to cover up the crime ran her body over with his vehicle. The prosecutor told the jury that the reason they could not find any evidence of this is because Mr. Kerr went home, took a shower and then cleaned his home of all evidence!

The lead detective in Mr. Kerr’s case Glen Diviney has a record of tampering with evidence. Mr. Glen Diviney testified to going out to Mr. Kerr’s home at 4:00 am to have a look around. Mr. Diviney did not have a warrant, did not have Mr. Kerr's permission and was alone. He stated that the door war not locked, but he did not enter. Ms. Horton’s brassiere was found torn, laying just inside the door next to Mr. Kerr clean and folded laundry on the couch. Mr. Glen Diviney was supposed to lead the search of Mr. Kerr’s home at 7:00 am but for some strange reason, Mr Diviney did not show up and told crime scene investigators to go ahead without him.

The jury was not allowed to hear that this detective has tampered with evidence in other case(s). The trial judge refused the defense this evidence in Mr. Kerr‘s favor.

Why is Cary Kerr innocent?

There was semen found in the victim’s vagina that did not match to Cary Kerr. There were skin-cells found on the victim’s brassiere that did not match to either Mr. Kerr or Ms. Horton. This proves that someone other than Mr. Kerr attacked and sexually assaulted Ms. Horton.

There was a blonde hair that police removed from Mr. Kerr’s beard stubble and trace analyst could not match this single hair to the victim. This hair was not the same length as the victim’s hair but only similar in color as being blonde. Ms. Horton was not the only blonde in the club and Mr. Kerr did dance with other women, some blonde and some brunette. The tire print that was found on the victim’s upper leg did not match to any of Mr. Kerr’s tires on his vehicle.

The victim was beaten bloody with what the prosecutors called a bloody club. The victim had 26 cuts on her head and upper body and lost some amount of blood. Police and crime scene investigators never found any blood or tissue in Mr. Kerr’s vehicle that was said to be the vehicle that ran Ms. Horton over. Police and crime scene investigators never found any blood or tissue on or even under Mr. Kerr’s vehicle. Police and crime scene investigators never found any blood or tissue at Mr. Kerr’s home and never found any blood or tissue on Mr. Kerr himself. The police and crime scene investigators also never found any kind of weapons, especially this bloody club they said was used by Mr. Kerr. When Mr. Kerr’s home was searched there were no signs of any violence and no evidence to support the prosecution's allegations.

An eyewitness told defense investigators that he seen a white Land Rover stop at where the victim’s body lay in the road and a white male got out and this white male was about five foot nine to five foot ten inches in height and had a tattoo on his left shoulder. Mr. Kerr does not own and was not driving a white Land Rover and Mr. Kerr is six foot one inch tall and had no tattoos on either of his shoulders. Mr. Kerr’s vehicle was a Dodge Raider suv (small 2 door ) and it was blue, silver and black. During trial the eyewitness changed the color of the “Land Rover” to blue (only) and stated that the car he had seen was a “Land Rover” “For Sure a Land Rover”.

The medical examiner, Doctor Konzelman, testified that he could not determine a sexual assault by Mr. Kerr, the defendant. The sexual assault was what made this case a capital case. We have prepared a Fact Sheet with excerpts from the trial record. These excerpts show the injustice against Cary and also back up that he was wrongly convicted..

If you are a lawyer or investigator and would like to look deeper in this case, please contact us and we are going to send you the complete trial-transcrip as pdf-file: info@alive-gegen-todesstrafe.deThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Other Strange Points

The medical examiner testified that Ms. Horton fought her attacker back and that he found evidence that shows this, but then went on to testify that he does not know what he did with the fingernail clippings and scrapings from his examination. Where is this apparently lost DNA? The lead detective has a history of TAMPERING WITH EVIDENCE and it is on his employment record as well as in the court record. There was an ex-police officer that was willing to testified for Mr. Kerr about the detectives tampering charges. The trial judge did not allow the jury to hear this information.

Police let a dark colored vehicle leave the crime scene that was parked close to the body upon their arrival and the emergency technician (EMT) pointed this vehicle out to police as suspicious. This is the exact same vehicle that Mr. Kerr pointed out as well but the police ignored it and allowed it and the driver to leave without checking on the driver or taking down information.

The prosecution re-indicted Mr. Kerr 60 days before trial was to begin adding an additional charge of robbery. Mr. Kerr was accused of taking a wallet/day planner from the victim. There was a young woman that sat in the court room with the victim's family through the entire trial and listened to several people testify to this missing wallet/day planner including the victim's family that testified that this wallet/day planner was missing. At the very end of trial and during the last break the prosecution told the judge that this young lady has just approached them and told them that she has had this missing wallet/day planner for the last 23 months. Why didn’t this young woman come forward at the beginning of all of this testimony? Because this was a scheme by the prosecutor to make Mr. Kerr look bad and let several people testify in order to find the jurors' hearts.

The prosecutor told the trial judge that the state would like to dismiss the robbery element of the indictment because of this new news. The trial judge failed to order the jury that they had to disregard all of the robbery testimony because the wallet/day planner was in fact never missing.

How was it possible that Cary Kerr got convicted

Cary D. Kerr was convicted because of over zealous prosecutors and lazy, poor court appointed attorneys. Mr. Kerr’s court appointed attorneys did very little to help Mr. Kerr. They did not do a full investigation of their client's case and refused to let Mr. Kerr review evidence that the state was going to use against him. His attorneys told Mr. Kerr that there was no evidence to review. Mr. Kerr's attorneys also told the jurors several times that they as defense attorneys do not have to do anything except just show up. They did not have to prove that Mr. Kerr is innocent and it is the state's job to prove that Mr. Kerr broke the law! “All we have to do as Mr. Kerr’s attorneys is just show up.”

The lead detective in Mr. Kerr’s case stated that he did not do a full investigation like he was supposed to have done. He stated: “I should have done a full investigation but I did not, I wish that I did!” The prosecutors in Mr. Kerr’s case told the jury they had to disregard DNA evidence that excluded Mr. Kerr. That they have not to even think about it! The prosecution further told the jury that Mr. Kerr was a serial rapist. That he has preyed on women and has eluded police for a long time. This was a lie and defense attorneys objected to it, but still it was said and heard by the jury. Mr. Kerr has never been convicted of any rape, has no history of violence and has no felony convictions.

All in all Cary D. Kerr’s conviction became possible because the prosecutors in his case lied and mislead the jury and told jurors to disregard DNA evidence. This violated Mr. Kerr’s constitutional rights and the laws of the state of Texas. Mr. Kerr’s court appointed attorneys failed to assist Mr. Kerr with effective counsel and failed to investigate. In Mr. Kerr’s case they were unable and/or unwilling to challenge the prosecutors claims against Mr. Kerr, but they did show up!

Cary D. Kerr needs help! The situation for Cary Kerr has not changed. He is still represented by an attorney that is not willing to file a proper appeal. His attorney will not even respond to Mr. Kerr’s letters or visit with Mr. Kerr. He has ignored Mr. Kerr’s cries for help completely! His court appointed federal appeal attorney did not file any of Mr. Kerr’s issues from the trial. His attorney was supposed to take Mr. Kerr’s case back into the state courts so that all the issues in Mr. Kerr’s case including the DNA would be filed. He said he would, but he lied to Mr. Kerr.

Mr. Kerr’s court appointed state habeas corpus attorney has refused to correspond with him and also refuses to visit with him on a legal visit to discuss Mr. Kerr’s case. Mr. Kerr’s attorney filed the direct appeal as Mr. Kerr habeas corpus along with verbatim issues that are raised on all of the attorney’s appeals. Mr. Kerr’s attorney would not file issues that he was instructed to file by Mr. Kerr himself. His attorney did not raise the DNA issues or any other issues from Mr. Kerr’s trial. This attorney has been reported to the Texas state bar over and over and was suspended by the federal courts for a period of one year for filing the same type of brief that he filed Mr. Kerr’s case! Mr. Kerr’s habeas attorney has managed to make himself known to news papers and magazines. News week magazine did a story on this attorney back in the year 2000, and the Austin American statesman has reported on him and his incompetent practice in year 2006.

Cary D. Kerr is 100% innocent of this crime and has the evidence to prove it! His cries to the courts have been unheard. His letters to the courts have been unanswered. Cary needs help! He needs your help! Cary asks for pen-friends that are willing to give mental support as well as physical. He is searching for legal support as well. Please don’t let Cary become another statistic in the Texas Death Penalty Murder Scheme! He has the evidence to prove his innocence, he just needs help to get this evidence into the courts.

Please, let us all come together for a good cause. This cause is called LIFE and it is worth living. If you would like to contact Cary Kerr personally, you can write to the address below, if you have questions or need further information please contact ALIVE e.V. at info@alive-gegen-todesstrafe.de

Cary D. Kerr # 999449
Polunsky Unit
3872 FM 350 South
Livingston, TX 77351 USA

Cary D. Kerr

Deathrow-usa.us

April 23, 2004

How to start? Well, I guess I'll start by writing a little about myself first. I am a white male of 39 years of age born October 6th 1964 in Dallas, Texas.

I spent half my childhood in the country with grandparents. The rest in the Dallas Fortworth area. I am six (6') foot one and a half (1½') tall, weigh in @ 224 ibs. I work out some to stay in good shape. I have brown hair, green eyes. I do not have a good picture to send or I would send one. Fact is, I do not have any pictures of myself at all. I enjoy outside activities such as motorcycling, camping, golf, swimming and lake side cookouts. I also enjoy writing and I have a good sense of humor.

I would enjoy a pen-friend to write to and to help me through some of my frustrations.

I have no financial support in order to purchase writing supplies such as stamps, envelopes, paper and pens and other much needed supplies such as soaps, toothpaste, deodorants and a fan or chothes, also snacks and food items. I also believe in being honest up front. I pray that I receive a pen-friend that will understand my situation.

I have never been in serious trouble before or prison, in fact, the worst trouble I have had is a D.W.I. (Driving while intoxicated) in 1994.

I will also tell you I am 100% innocent of the crime I was charged with. I am fighting to prove my innocence but it is very difficult with court appointed attorneys who will not even write and discuss the case! I have DNA that helps prove my innocence along with several other facts. The problem is trying to get that information to the criminal courts by appeal.

All I ask of my pen-friend is a chance. You then can decide for yourself.

I am seeking a pen-friend male or female that would not mind helping me in order to write and have a few supplies. I will write honest letters (No games) and I would like honesty in return. All I need is a chance to prove myself. Thank You.

Very Sincerely

Cary D. Kerr # 999449
Polunsky Unit D.R.
3872 FM 350 South
Livingston - Texas 77351 C.A.5 (Tex.),2010