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Don
William DAVIS
Classification: Murderer
Characteristics:
Robbery
Number of victims: 1
Date of murder: October 12, 1990
Date of birth:
November 23, 1962
Victim profile: Jane
Martha Daniels, 62
Method of murder:
Shooting
(.44 caliber Magnum revolver)
Location: Benton County, Arkansas, USA
Status: Sentenced to death on March 6, 1992
United States Court of
Appeals For the Eight Circuit
Don Davis was
sentenced to death for the 1990 execution-style killing of Jane Daniels
of Rogers, Arkansas.
Committing a series
of burglaries, Don William Davis broke into the Rogers home of Jane
Martha Daniel, 62, on Oct. 12, 1990. Using a .44 caliber Magnum revolver
he had stolen earlier, he shot her once in the head in a storeroom in
her house.
Richard Daniel found
his wife dead in the basement when he returned home that night from a
business trip. Davis was arrested in New Mexico after his roommates went
to the police with their suspicions about his involvement. Most of the
stolen objects were recovered and traced back to Davis.
A jury convicted
Davis of capital murder March 6, 1992. Davis had a previous execution date set in November
1999.
UPDATE:
Federal judge Susan Seber Wright granted Davis a stay to pursue claims
that lethal injection is cruel and unusual punishment.
UPDATE:
The U.S. Supreme Court refused
Wednesday to intervene in the case of convicted killer Don Davis, whose
execution had been put on hold by a lower court judge. Attorneys for the
state had asked the court to void the lower court's stay so Davis'
execution could go forward. The court denied the request, said spokesman
Ed Turner, and did not comment on the decision. Davis, 43, was condemned
to die for the 1990 execution-style slaying of Jane Daniels. A federal
judge in Little Rock last week granted Davis' request for a stay. Davis
claims that Arkansas, which uses lethal injection, executes prisoners in
a cruel and unusual manner in violation of the U.S. Constitution. Davis
joined a lawsuit filed by another death row inmate, Terrick Nooner. In
court filings, the state has said that Davis joined the suit late - two
months before his scheduled execution - and that he was simply trying to
avoid the execution. Under a death warrant signed by Gov. Mike Huckabee,
Arkansas prison officials faced a midnight deadline to execute Davis.
Court issues stay of execution for
Davis
ArkansasOnline.com
April 12, 2010
The Arkansas Supreme Court issued a stay of execution
Monday afternoon, hours before Don Davis was to die by lethal injection.
The state Department of Correction said justices
intervened amid a question over whether the Legislature properly left
execution policies in the hands of prison officials.
Davis, 47, was convicted of breaking into a home in
Northwest Arkansas in 1990 and killing a woman who lived there is to die
by lethal injection Monday night.
Davis has been on death row since his conviction in
1992. Prosecutors said Davis burglarized a Rogers home next door to Jane
Daniel’s home on Oct. 12, 1990, and stole a variety of items, including
a .44-caliber Redhawk Magnum revolver. He then used the gun, which was
later found in Davis’ Bentonville home, to murder Daniel, execution
style.
Daniel’s husband arrived home from a business trip
later the night of the killing. He found a Kool cigarette butt in a
kitchen rice bowl and his wife lying dead in a nearby pantry.
Davis was arrested in Las Vegas, where officers said
he asked for Kool brand cigarettes.
Earlier, Department of Correction spokeswoman Dina
Tyler said prison officials were preparing as though the 9 p.m.
execution would go forward.
However, the Friday ruling by a three-judge panel of
the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that lifted Davis’ stay was on a
2-1 vote. The dissenting judge argued that the stay should endure
because of Davis’ challenge to a state policy allowing changes in the
execution protocol.
“The stay should remain in effect until that issue
can be resolved,” wrote Judge Michael J. Melloy.
Witnesses testified at Davis’ trial that they saw
Davis with stolen goods from the two houses. One of Davis’ roommates
testified Davis had a gun in a white towel in his car. The roommate said
Davis warned her that if she touched the towel “it would be (her) death
sentence.”
Arkansas last executed a prisoner in November 2005,
when convicted killer Eric Nance died by lethal injection.
Excluding Davis, there are 39 people on Arkansas’
death row.
Davis had been set for execution on Nov. 8, but won a
stay because of a court challenge in Kentucky that claimed the lethal
injection procedure was cruel and unusual. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled
against the inmates.
Stacey Eugene Johnson, 40, is scheduled to be
executed by lethal injection on May 4. Like Davis, his stay was lifted
in a 2-1 ruling by a panel of the 8th Circuit. Johnson’s lawyer, Jeff
Rosenzweig, said he would seek a new hearing.
A spokesman for Gov. Mike Beebe said it planned to
set a new date for Jones soon after receiving a letter from Attorney
General Dustin McDaniel saying Jones had exhausted his appeals.
In 1995, Davis was among death row
inmates caught when state police investigated a gang of killers on death
row who managed to smuggle drugs, weapons, alcohol and tools into death
row. The tools included wire cutters, pliers and a hacksaw blade, and
troopers also found a priest’s cassock and the white top to a karate
uniform.
DON WILLIAM DAVIS
General Information
DOB: November 23, 1962
Race: White
Gender: Male
Crime and Trial
County of conviction: Benton
Number of counts: 1
Race of victim: White
Gender of victim: Female
Date of crime: October 12, 1990
Date of sentencing: March 6, 1992
Trial Counsel:
Joel Huggins
Charles Duell
Legal status
Current proceedings:
1983 Challenge to Lethal Injection in E.D.
of Arkansas
Last judicial decision:
Stay of Execution based on Lethal Injection Claim
by E.D. of Arkansas, June 26, 2006, Dansby v. Norris, Case No.
5:06-Cv-00110-SWW.
Reported Opinions:
Stay of Execution based on Lethal Injection Claim
by E.D. of Arkansas, June 26, 2006, Dansby v. Norris, Case No.
5:06-Cv-00110-SWW.
Eighth Circuit's affirmance of district court's
denial of habeas September 14, 2005, Case No. 04-2192. Davis v.
Norris, 423 F.3d 868 (8th Cir. 2005).
Stay of execution dissolved by Davis v. State,
53 S.W.3d 46 (Ark. 2001).
Denial of post-conviction relief affirmed by
Davis v. State, 44 S.W.3d 726 (Ark. 2001).
Conviction and sentence affirmed on direct appeal
by Davis v. State, 863 S.W.2d 259 (Ark. 1993), cert. denied,
511 U.S. 1026 (1994).
Significant legal issues:
Lethal Injection Challenge
Ake and IAC claim stemming from trial
court's refusal to appoint an independent psychiatric examiner to
assist with the penalty phase defense
psychiatrist's testimony during penalty phase that
he did not have the opportunity to interview Mr. Davis because he
invoked his right to remain silent
