Summary:

On Feb. 2, 1994, around 1:00 p.m., 75-year-old Willard Davis was found lying in the street in front of his home in Longview. Davis had been shot once in the head and his car had been stolen.

The police arrested T.J. Jones several blocks from the crime scene after he abandoned the victim's car. When apprehended, Jones had the murder weapon, a .357 revolver, in his sweatshirt pocket. The weapon was fully loaded, except for one round, cocked, and ready to fire.

Jones confessed to the police that he and three friends had been drinking at a friend's house around 12:15 p.m. Jones asked his friends if they were "down for a jack," meaning did they want to steal a car. He claimed that the he was not aware that he had shot Davis, and that he did not intend to kill him, only to scare him.

The medical examiner testified that Davis died of a single gunshot wound to the head, which entered near the center of his forehead next to his left eyebrow.

A firearm expert testified that the gun did not go off accidentally; it could not have been fired unless the trigger was pulled. Forensic evidence showed that Jones was two to three feet from Davis when the gun was fired.

Jones was the 19th murderer executed in the United States since 1976 for a murder committed when younger than 18, and the 11th in Texas.

Final Meal:

Triple meat cheeseburger with fried bun and everything, French fries, ketchup, four pieces of chicken (two legs and two thighs), and one fried pork chop sandwich.

Final Words:

"I would like to say to the victim's family I regret the pain I put y'all through. I hope you can move on after this. Mom, I love y'all. Take care. I'm ready."

Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2002

T.J. Jones Scheduled to be Executed.

AUSTIN - Texas Attorney General John Cornyn offers the following information on T.J. Jones, who is scheduled to be executed after 6 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2002.

On Oct. 28, 1994 T.J. Jones was sentenced to death for the capital murder of Willard Davis during a robbery, which occurred in Longview, Texas, on Feb. 2, 1994. A summary of the evidence presented at trial follows:

FACTS OF THE CRIME

On Feb. 2, 1994, around 1:00 p.m., 75-year-old Willard Davis was found lying in the street in front of his home in Longview. Davis had been shot once in the head and his car had been stolen.

The police arrested T.J. Jones several blocks from the crime scene after he abandoned the victim's car. When apprehended, Jones had the murder weapon, a .357 revolver, in his sweatshirt pocket. The weapon was fully loaded, except for one round, cocked, and ready to fire.

After his arrest, Jones confessed to the police that he and three friends had been drinking at a friend's house around 12:15 p.m.

Jones asked his friends if they were "down for a jack," meaning did they want to steal a car. The friends agreed, and the four of them went to a known gang-house to obtain a gun to use in the "jack."

According to Jones' confession, they saw Davis backing out of his driveway in a red car. Jones approached the car and told Davis to step outside. Jones stated that, although he had the gun out, he was not pointing it at Davis at that time.

Davis got out of the car, and Jones' three friends got in. Jones stated that Davis was standing at the back of the car when Jones told him to get into the car.

Davis said he would not because of his wife, or something to that effect. Jones then pointed the gun to the side of Davis' head and tried to get him into the car so they could take him somewhere and rob him.

When Davis would not get into the car, Jones said that he decided to shoot the gun in an attempt to scare him. Jones claimed that as soon as he shot the gun, he got scared, jumped in the car, and quickly drove off. Jones claims he was not aware that he had hit Davis, and that he did not intend to kill him, only to scare him.

The medical examiner testified that Davis died of a single gunshot wound to the head, which entered near the center of his forehead next to his left eyebrow.

A firearm expert testified that the gun did not go off accidentally; it could not have been fired unless the trigger was pulled. Forensic evidence showed that Jones was two to three feet from Davis when the gun was fired.

Jones' cell mate from the Gregg County Jail testified that Jones told him that he and his accomplices saw Davis walking to his car and approached him. Davis told Jones and his accomplices that they could not have his car and that they would have to kill him to get it. Jones told his cell mate, in a very calm manor, that he then shot Davis.

Jones' mother testified that she first began having trouble with Jones when he was 16 years old, which was the same time that Jones moved into the gang-house.

Jones denied being a member of a gang, and in his defense offered the testimony of Heather McLane, the 16-year-old mother of his child, who testified that she had lived in the gang-house with Jones and his friends, and did not consider herself to be a member of a gang. When asked if Jones considered himself a member of a gang, she replied: "Not that [she] knew of."

Tom Allen, a clinical and forensic psychologist, testified regarding Jones' propensity for future violence. Allen felt that Jones posed a threat to society to commit future acts of violence.

Allen's opinion was based on Jones' criminal history, particularly his willingness to use unnecessary violence to obtain property, the number of times Jones had been arrested in connection with criminal activity, his lack of education and job skills, his age, and his use of illegal drugs.

In defense, Jones called Craig Moore, a clinical psychologist. Moore concluded that Jones was competent, below average in intelligence, but not retarded, profoundly immature ("needy," dependent), not trustful of others, and had a conduct disorder, which is the failure to acquire rule-abiding behavior.

Moore also concluded that Jones presents "a distinct propensity for future risks to society," but that Jones -- at 17 year old -- was still developing-- and there was no way to determine his long-range behavior. Moore stated that Jones had been profoundly affected by being reared in a one-parent home and his failure to "bond" with his mother.

Moore also stated that Jones' use of marijuana laced with embalming fluid was addictive and could have caused brain damage, particularly in the areas of the brain affecting judgment and reasoning. Finally, Moore testified that Jones did not have a normal ability to show emotion, did not feel good about himself, and was preoccupied with guilt, grief, and sadness.

Pamela Jones testified that Jones was her only child and that his father left six months after Jones was born. Pamela Jones began a relationship with another man when Jones was approximately 10 or 11 years old. Jones would "hum and shake" when Ms. Jones and her boyfriend would argue and fight.

Although Jones was close to his grandmother, he did not show any emotion when she died. Ms. Jones said that Jones was unable to participate in gymnastics because she could not afford to pay for it. She also stated that Jones preferred to play Nintendo and with action figures, which was uncharacteristic given Jones' age. Will Jackson, Jr., Jones' grandfather, testified that Jones was a "follower."

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

• Oct. 24, 1994 - Jones was tried in the 124th Judicial District Court of Gregg County, Texas, and found guilty of the capital murder of Willard Davis while in the course of committing robbery.

• Oct. 28, 1994 - After a separate punishment phase, the court sentenced Jones to death.

• Dec. 18, 1996 - Jones' conviction and sentence affirmed by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

• Dec. 11, 1997 - Jones filed an application for post conviction writ of habeas corpus in the state court.

• Jan. 13, 1998 - The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals adopted the recommendation of the trial court and denied state habeas relief.

• Aug. 30, 1999 - Jones filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the federal district court.

• Jan. 11, 2001 - The district court entered final judgment dismissing Jones' federal petition for writ of habeas corpus and denying all relief. However, the district court issued Certificate of Appealability (COA) as to two issues: Jones' claim that a juror was influenced by out of court information, and his claim that the trial court improperly excused a venire person for cause. Jones filed a motion to enlarge COA to include nine additional issues, which both the district court and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals denied.

• Sept. 19, 2001 - After oral arguments, the Fifth Circuit affirmed the District Court's denial of relief.

PRIOR CRIMINAL HISTORY

TDCJ records show that Jones has no prior criminal record as an adult.

The evidence during the punishment phase showed that Jones was arrested for breaking into and vandalizing a middle school in Longview when he was 14 or 15 years old. Jones was arrested and confessed to throwing a large concrete block through the front glass door of a sporting goods store, then stealing clothing from the store.

Jones was also found in possession of baseball trading cards, taken from a neighbor's home during a burglary. Jones claimed a friend gave him the cards but the friend could not be located. The record does not indicate that Jones was ever charged with any of these crimes, or that any of these burglaries resulted in a conviction or probation.

Jones was a suspected member of a gang that was known in the law enforcement community to engage in various criminal activities, such as assaults, sexual assaults, illegal weapons possession, and illegal drug possession.

T.J. Jones was sentenced to death for the robbery and murder of 75-year-old Willard Lewis Davis in Longview.

Jones was part of a group of four young people drinking at a friend's house during the early afternoon hours of Feb. 2, 1994. Jones asked his friends if they were "down for a jack," (if they wanted to steal a car).

They agreed, and after getting a .357-caliber pistol, the group saw 75-year-old Willard Davis backing out of his driveway in his car. Jones approached the car and told Davis to get out. He did, and Jones' three friends got in.

Jones then told Davis to get back in the car so he could be taken to a more secluded area and robbed; Davis refused.

According to forensic evidence used at Jones' trial, he was between two and three feet away when he fired at Davis with a .357 Magnum pistol, striking him in the head and killing him instantly. Davis's body was dumped in the driveway, and the group fled in his car.

They were caught after they crashed the car a short time later and all four confessed to the police investigators. Jones was arrested several blocks from the scene less than an hour later after abandoning the car. Edgar Fletcher Jr., 19, Sanford Ray Jimerson, 18 and Latecia Howard, 17, were also taken into custody.

According to his cellmate in the Gregg County Jail, Jones calmly described how Davis had told him he would have to kill him to take his car, at which point Jones said he shot him.

Txexecutions.org

T. J. Jones, 25, was executed by lethal injection on 8 August in Huntsville, Texas for the carjacking murder of a 75-year-old man.

In February 1994, four young people saw Willard Lewis Davis, 75, backing out of his driveway. One of the youths, T.J. Jones, then 17, approached the car and told Davis to get out.

Davis was carrying a .357 magnum revolver. When Davis got out of the car, the other three youths -- Edgar Fletcher Jr., 19, Sanford Ray Jimerson, 18, and Latecia Howard, 17, got in. Jones then told Davis to get back in the car, but Davis refused.

Jones then shot Davis once in the head from a distance of two to three feet. He got in the car with his three friends and drove off. Davis died in the road in front of his house. The bandits were captured a short time later after wrecking Davis' car.

All four gave written confessions to the police. In his confession, Jones stated that he and his friends had been drinking when he asked them if they were "down for a jack," i.e. if they wanted to steal a car. They agreed, and went to a gang house to obtain a gun. Jones stated that he only fired the gun in an attempt to scare Davis, and he did not intend to kill him. When he was arrested, he was carrying the murder weapon -- a loaded .357 magnum revolver with one round fired.

At 17, Jones had no prior felony convictions. He did, however, have a history of arrests for vandalism, burglary, and drug usage. He was also charged with the attempted murder of a convenience store clerk, which occurred three days before the murder of Willard Davis.

Craig Moore, a clinical psychologist testifying for the defense, said that Jones had a below-average intelligence and had the emotional maturity of a 10 to 12 year old. He also testified that Jones may have had brain damage from using drugs. Nevertheless, Moore testified that Jones was mentally competent and was not retarded.

A jury convicted Jones of capital murder in October 1994 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in December 1996. Jones' state habeas corpus appeals were denied, but in 2001, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to hear his case.

Jones' lawyers contended that a juror in his case was influenced by out-of-court information, and that the trial court improperly excluded a potential juror. The Fifth Circuit rejected these claims in September 2001.

"I would like to say to the family, I regret the pain I've put you through. I hope you can move on after this," Jones said in his last statement. "Mom, I love y'all. Take care. I'm ready." The lethal injection was started, and Jones was pronounced dead at 6:18 p.m.

Texas Man Convicted of Murder at 17 Executed

Canadian Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty

An 8th-grade dropout who was a teenager when he was convicted of killing an East Texas man during a carjacking more than 8 years ago apologized for the crime and was executed today. "I would like to say to the victim's family I regret the pain I put y'all through. I hope you can move on after this," T.J. Jones said, looking at relatives of his victim.

Then Jones, 25, turned to a second window where his mother was watching and said, "Mom, I love y'all. Take care. I'm ready." He gasped and stopped breathing. Jones was pronounced dead at 6:18 p.m., 7 minutes after the lethal dose began. His mother sobbed quietly and was comforted by Jones' aunt.

Jones was 17 when he was arrested with 3 companions for gunning down 75-year-old retired electrician Willard Davis, who had surrendered his car to them outside his home in Longview, about 190 miles north of Houston. "They tried to make him get in the back seat and he said: 'No. Here's my car. Please let me go to my wife,'" recalled Alfonso Charles, an assistant district attorney in Gregg County who helped prosecute Jones. "And T.J. shot him right between the eyes."

Jones' lawyers filed no late appeals to try to halt the punishment. "He has exhausted his remedies," attorney Don Davidson said. Jones' sentence and his age at the time of the shooting renewed criticism from traditional death penalty opponents. As a teenage offender, Jones "would not be facing this punishment in almost any other country in the world," Amnesty International said in a statement.

"He's not a juvenile," Gregg County District Attorney Bill Jennings responded. "Under Texas law he is an adult and he's in an adult system. "He did an adult crime and he deserves to receive an adult penalty, which in this case 12 jurors decided should be death."

Texas is among 22 states that allow capital punishment for 17-year-olds. Jones was the 12th Texas inmate and the 20th in the United States executed since 1976 for a murder committed when the killer was younger than 18.

In May, and with much greater outcry from capital punishment opponents, Napoleon Beazley received lethal injection in Texas for killing the father of a federal judge. Beazley was 17 at the time of the crime. "I'm pretty sure of my fate here," Jones, who declined to speak with reporters in the weeks leading up to his execution, said on a Web site sponsored by an anti-death penalty organization. On the site, he asked for pen pals "who will give me moral support and if possible help me to make the rest of my stay here as comfortable as can be in this situation."

Court records show Jones and 3 partners approached Davis the mid-afternoon of Feb. 2, 1994 and demanded his red Chrysler LeBaron. When Davis surrendered the car but refused to go with them, he was shot with a .357-caliber Magnum. Witnesses saw Jones and his companions get in the car and drive away. Davis' wife of 56 years heard the shots from inside her house and was among the 1st to see the body.

All 4 teenagers were arrested soon after the shooting. "The car made it a short distance before a tire blew out," Jennings said. Jones' partners were convicted of engaging in organized criminal activity and received long prison terms.

Testimony showed Jones lived in a gang house with the then-16-year-old mother of his child and was addicted to smoking marijuana laced with embalming fluid. He had been arrested repeatedly as a juvenile for burglary and police said the gang was believed responsible for numerous assaults. 3 days before the Davis killing, authorities determined Jones shot a convenience store clerk during a robbery in nearby Tyler. The victim survived 5 bullet wounds and testified against Davis in the punishment phase of the capital murder trial.

Another 2 executions are set for next week, and 2 more for later in the month, including Toronto Patterson, who was 17 in 1995 when he was arrested for shooting a mother and her 2 young daughters at their home in Dallas.

Jones becomes the 20th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Texas and the 2nd in as many days. Richard William Kutzner, 59, was executed Wednesday for killing a Montgomery County woman during a robbery. Kutzner had a 2nd death sentence for a similar Harris County slaying.

Jones was the 276th condemned inmate put to death in Texas since the state resumed capital punishment on December 7, 1982. Jones becomes the 40th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA and the 789th overall since America resumed executions on January 17, 1977.

Jones was part of a group of 4 young people drinking at a friend's house during the early afternoon hours of Feb. 2, 1994. Jones asked his friends if they were "down for a jack," or if they wanted to steal a car. They agreed, and after getting a .357-caliber pistol, the group saw 75-year-old Willard Davis backing out of his driveway in his car. Jones approached the car and told Davis to get out. He did, and Jones' three friends got in.

Jones then told Davis to get back in the car so he could be taken to a more secluded area and robbed; Davis refused. According to forensic evidence used at Jones' trial, he was between 2 and 3 feet away when he fired at Davis, striking him in the head and killing him instantly. Jones was arrested several blocks from the scene less than an hour later after abandoning the car.

Edgar Fletcher Jr., 19, Sanford Ray Jimerson, 18 and Latecia Howard, 17, were also taken into custody. According to his cellmate in the Gregg County Jail, Jones calmly described how Davis had told him he would have to kill him to take his car, at which point Jones said he shot him.

During Jones' trial, clinical psychologist Craig Moore, called by the defense, described him as "profoundly immature" and distrustful of others. He also said Jones has an IQ of 78, a low but acceptable intelligence level, and that his continued use of marijuana laced with embalming fluid was addictive and might have caused brain damage. Moore also said Jones was still developing at the age of 17, but admitted he presented "a distinct propensity for future risks to society."

As part of its case, the prosecution told the jury Jones had been accused of shooting the clerk of a convenience store several times just 3 days before Davis' murder. The victim, Willard Davis, was shot in the head, chest, arm and shoulder and was permanently disabled as a result of the attack. On Oct. 24, 1994, Jones was found guilty of capital murder, and 4 days later, he was sentenced to death.

International activist groups have taken up the cause of Jones, now 25. Amnesty International and the European Union have both demanded Texas Gov. Rick Perry halt Jones' execution, claiming it would violate the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which bars the execution of individuals who committed their crimes before age 18. The United States is not a signatory to the treaty, and a 17 year old is legally considered an adult in Texas. Perry has rejected similar demandsin the past.

Jones has requested his lawyers not seek clemency or any further appeals. Barring a last-minute stay, Jones will be executed sometime after 6 p.m. in the death chamber of the Huntsville "Walls" Unit.

On The Execution Dates for TJ Jones and Toronto Patterson

RACE, GEOGRAPHY AND THE EXECUTION OF JUVENILE OFFENDERS: ONCE AGAIN, TEXAS LEADS THE PACK.

Aug. 5, 2002 - The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty Monday called on Texas Gov. Rick Perry to acknowledge the role that race and geography play in the application of the death penalty, particularly as it relates to juvenile offenders, and to stay the scheduled executions of T.J. Jones and Toronto Patterson.

Since executions resumed in the United States in the 1970s, 19 juvenile offenders have been put to death. The past four such executions have each taken place in Texas and each has involved an African American inmate. If the scheduled Aug. 8 execution of Jones and the scheduled Aug. 28 execution of Patterson are allowed to proceed, it will mean that the last 6 juvenile offender executions in the United States all will have taken place in Texas and all will have involved African American inmates.

"Texas has accounted for 11 of the 19 juvenile offender executions in the United States during the past 2 decades," said NCADP Executive Director Steven W. Hawkins. "7 of the 11 juvenile offenders executed in Texas have been African American or Latino. The death penalty in the United States disproportionately affects people of color and this is even more true when it comes to juvenile offenders."

Hawkins noted that of the 81 juvenile offenders on death row in the United States, 52, or almost 2/3, are people of color. Of the 81 inmates, just over 1/2 - 42 - are from Texas or Alabama. The past 4 juvenile offenders executed in Texas were Napolean Beazley, executed May 28; Gerald Mitchell, executed Oct. 22, 2001; Gary Graham, executed June 22, 2000; and Glen McGinnis, executed Jan. 25, 2000.

Hawkins added that Texas is speeding up its pace of executing juvenile offenders even as the international community shuns the practice. Only three countries - the United States, Iran and the Democratic Republic of Congo - currently execute juvenile offenders. Just last week, Pakistan announced it is sparing the lives of 72 juvenile offenders while in the Philippines, the Supreme Court ordered the removal of a dozen juvenile offenders from death row, ruling that their execution would violate the law.

"Such executions not only violate international norms, they also offend human decency," Hawkins said. "The mind of a juvenile offender is by definition less developed than the mind of an adult. Juvenile minds do not handle social pressure, instinctual urges and other stresses the way that adult minds do. Juvenile offenders therefore cannot be held to the same degree of culpability as adults, just as mentally retarded people cannot be held to the same degree of culpability. We now ban the execution of mentally retarded offenders. There can be little justification for applying a different standard when it comes to juveniles."

T.J. JONES ORIGINAL PEN PAL REQUEST

Execution date set for 08/08/2002

T.J. Jones (m), black, aged 25, is scheduled to be executed in Texas on 8 August for a murder committed when he was 17 years old. International law, respected in almost every country of the world except the USA, prohibits the death penalty against people who were under 18 at the time of the crime.

T.J. Jones was convicted in October 1994 of the car jacking murder of Willard Lewis Davis, a 75-year-old white man, in Longview, Gregg County, east Texas on 2 February 1994. T.J. Jones was also facing charges of attempted murder in relation to a robbery in neighbouring Smith County committed four days before the Gregg County crime. During the robbery, T.J. Jones allegedly shot and seriously wounded a man. Prior to these shootings, T.J. Jones had no record of violence against people, although as a younger teenager he had been involved with acts of vandalism and burglary.

A death sentence can only be passed in Texas if the jury unanimously agrees that 'there is a probability that the defendant would commit criminal acts of violence that would constitute a continuing threat to society' - so-called 'future dangerousness'. The state presented evidence of T.J. Jones's short juvenile burglary and vandalism record. It also presented detailed evidence of the Smith County shooting, including testimony from the victim.

The state presented a psychologist who testified that T.J. Jones was a future danger. He had, however, never spoken to or examined the defendant. In contrast to a 1982 US Supreme Court opinion that 'chronological age of a minor is itself a relevant mitigating factor of great weight', the expert testified that T.J. Jones's young age was an aggravating factor. He also stated that his 'lack of education' and consequent lack of 'job skills' made him likely to commit future acts of criminal violence.

The defence presented a psychologist who had interviewed and tested T.J. Jones over several visits. He found that T.J. Jones had an IQ of 78, in the borderline retardation range, and had begun using drugs and alcohol at age 13, his continuing use of which exacerbated his 'grossly poor judgment'.

The psychologist found that T.J. Jones was 'typically a very passive person' and had the emotional and psychological maturity of a 10 to 12 year old. The expert stated: 'A person at 17, particularly a person who is this immature cannot, should not be judged, I think, on the same basis that you would judge a 25 or 30-year-old. And the reason is simple. Development is still taking place in this boy. And we really don't know what's in his future in terms of final and completed development.' He also stated that T.J. Jones could now be offered rehabilitative treatment, as he could have been if the authorities had offered appropriate intervention when he had come into contact with the juvenile justice system as a younger teenager.

Not long before the shootings, T.J. Jones had been living in a house used by alleged gang members, who had access to guns and were allegedly involved in criminal violence. T.J. Jones was the youngest male in the house. The gun used in both offences was given to him by one of the others in the house, a 22-year-old, who allegedly participated in the Smith County robbery and the planning of both crimes. Two other older male teenagers and a 17-year-old female were also involved in the Gregg County crime.

Various relatives testified on T.J. Jones' behalf at the trial. His 16- year-old girlfriend, who two months earlier had given birth to their daughter, suggested that 'peer pressure' lay behind the crimes. His grandfather stated that T.J. Jones had always been a 'follower'.

His mother testified about the beatings she had been subjected to by his father, including when she was pregnant with TJ. They separated when TJ was a baby. She lived with another man for about two years when TJ was about 11 to 12. His violence against her, witnessed by TJ, caused him evident distress. She testified that she had sought official help with her son when he quit school at 15 and began to stay away from home, but to no avail.

The unequivocal international prohibition on the death penalty for people under 18 years old at the time of the crime is enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the latter ratified by all countries except the USA and Somalia. The prohibition stems from the recognition of a young person's immaturity, impulsiveness, vulnerability to peer pressure, and capacity for rehabilitation. Since 1998, there have been 15 executions of child offenders documented worldwide, 10 in the USA (six in Texas).

T.J. Jones has asked his lawyer not to seek clemency or any further appeals.

T.J. Jones Faces Unjust Execution; NMHA Urges Texas Governor Perry to Commute Sentence.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (August 5, 2002) The National Mental Health Association sent Texas Gov. Rick Perry a letter urging him to commute the death sentence of T.J. Jones to life in prison. Jones has been diagnosed with schizoid personality disorder and has an IQ of 78, which borders on mental retardation. Just 17 years old at the time of his offense, Jones faces execution on August 8.

“Governor Perry has a moral responsibility to commute this sentence and put an end to the practice of executing people who committed their crimes when they were teens,” said Michael Faenza, president and CEO of the National Mental Health Association. “No one can deny the horrible nature of the crime for which Jones was convicted, but execution is not the answer for a youthful offender, particularly when the individual was known to have an untreated mental illness at the time of his offence.”

NMHA opposes the execution of people who committed their crimes before the age of 18, and believes that the age, maturity, mental status and childhood history of abuse/trauma of a youthful offender should always be mitigating factors in deciding an individual’s punishment.

In T.J. Jones’ case, testimony by the psychologist for the defense, Dr. Craig Moore, indicated that in addition to his low IQ and personality disorder, Jones has the emotional and psychological maturity of a ten to twelve year old. These factors inherently impact Jones’ decision-making skills and must be considered in sentencing him to death. Dr. Moore also testified that Jones is capable of responding to rehabilitative treatment.

Over the last decade, the United States has executed more offenders of juvenile crime than the rest of the world’s nations combined. The death penalty for juvenile offenders is expressly prohibited by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the American Convention on Human Rights and the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Attention Focuses on Tonight's Execution of Inmate

By Mark Passwaters - The Huntsville Item

August 8, 2002

T.J. Jones, sentenced to death for the 1994 killing of a 75-year-old Longview man, is scheduled to become the second man executed in as many days if his sentence is carried out this evening. Jones' case has received some international attention because he was 17 years old at the time of the murder.

Jones was part of a group of four young people drinking at a friend's house during the early afternoon hours of Feb. 2, 1994. Jones asked his friends if they were "down for a jack," or if they wanted to steal a car.

They agreed, and after getting a .357-caliber pistol, the group saw 75-year-old Willard Davis backing out of his driveway in his car. Jones approached the car and told Davis to get out. He did, and Jones' three friends got in. Jones then told Davis to get back in the car so he could be taken to a more secluded area and robbed; Davis refused. According to forensic evidence used at Jones' trial, he was between two and three feet away when he fired at Davis, striking him in the head and killing him instantly.

Jones was arrested several blocks from the scene less than an hour later after abandoning the car. Edgar Fletcher Jr., 19, Sanford Ray Jimerson, 18 and Latecia Howard, 17, were also taken into custody. According to his cellmate in the Gregg County Jail, Jones calmly described how Davis had told him he would have to kill him to take his car, at which point Jones said he shot him.

During Jones' trial, clinical psychologist Craig Moore, called by the defense, described him as "profoundly immature" and distrustful of others. He also said Jones has an IQ of 78, a low but acceptable intelligence level, and that his continued use of marijuana laced with embalming fluid was addictive and might have caused brain damage. Moore also said Jones was still developing at the age of 17, but admitted he presented "a distinct propensity for future risks to society."

As part of its case, the prosecution told the jury Jones had been accused of shooting the clerk of a convenience store several times just three days before Davis' murder. The victim, Willard Davis, was shot in the head, chest, arm and shoulder and was permanently disabled as a result of the attack. On Oct. 24, 1994, Jones was found guilty of capital murder, and four days later, he was sentenced to death.

International activist groups have taken up the cause of Jones, now 25. Amnesty International and the European Union have both demanded Texas Gov. Rick Perry halt Jones' execution, claiming it would violate the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which bars the execution of individuals who committed their crimes before age 18. The United States is not a signatory to the treaty, and a 17 year old is legally considered an adult in Texas. Perry has rejected similar demands in the past.

Texas Man Convicted of Murder at 17 Executed

Houston Chronicle

Associated Press - August 8, 2002

HUNTSVILLE -- An eighth-grade dropout who was a teenager when he was convicted of killing an East Texas man during a carjacking more than eight years ago apologized for the crime and then was executed today. "I would like to say to the victim's family I regret the pain I put y'all through. I hope you can move on after this," T.J. Jones said, looking at relatives of his victim.

Then, Jones, 25, turned to a second window where his mother was watching and said, "Mom, I love y'all. Take care. I'm ready." He gasped and stopped breathing. Jones was pronounced dead at 6:18 p.m., seven minutes after the lethal dose began. His mother sobbed quietly and was comforted by Jones' aunt.

Jones was 17 when he was arrested with three companions for gunning down 75-year-old retired electrician Willard Davis, who had surrendered his car to them outside his home in Longview, about 190 miles north of Houston. "They tried to make him get in the back seat and he said: 'No. Here's my car. Please let me go to my wife,'" recalled Alfonso Charles, an assistant district attorney in Gregg County who helped prosecute Jones. "And T.J. shot him right between the eyes."

Jones was the 20th inmate put to death this year in Texas and the second in as many days. Richard William Kutzner, 59, was executed Wednesday for killing a Montgomery County woman during a robbery. Kutzner had a second death sentence for a similar Harris County slaying.

Jones' lawyers filed no late appeals to try to halt the punishment. "He has exhausted his remedies," attorney Don Davidson said. Jones' sentence and his age at the time of the shooting renewed criticism from traditional death penalty opponents. As a teenage offender, Jones "would not be facing this punishment in almost any other country in the world," Amnesty International said in a statement. "He's not a juvenile," Gregg County District Attorney Bill Jennings responded. "Under Texas law he is an adult and he's in an adult system. "He did an adult crime and he deserves to receive an adult penalty, which in this case 12 jurors decided should be death."

Texas is among 22 states that allow capital punishment for 17-year-olds. Jones was the 12th Texas inmate and the 20th in the United States executed since 1976 for a murder committed when the killer was younger than 18. In May, and with much greater outcry from capital punishment opponents, Napoleon Beazley received lethal injection in Texas for killing the father of a federal judge. Beazley was 17 at the time of the crime.

"I'm pretty sure of my fate here," Jones, who declined to speak with reporters in the weeks leading up to his execution, said on a Web site sponsored by an anti-death penalty organization. On the site, he asked for pen pals "who will give me moral support and if possible help me to make the rest of my stay here as comfortable as can be in this situation."

Court records show Jones and three partners approached Davis the mid-afternoon of Feb. 2, 1994 and demanded his red Chrysler LeBaron. When Davis surrendered the car but refused to go with them, he was shot with a .357-caliber Magnum. Witnesses saw Jones and his companions get in the car and drive away. Davis' wife of 56 years heard the shots from inside her house and was among the first to see the body. "I was very thankful he apologized," Geraldine Davis said after watching Jones die. "It's the first time he's ever showed any type of remorse. He said he was sorry and I hope it was a sincere apology and I do appreciate him doing it."

All four teenagers were arrested soon after the shooting. "The car made it a short distance before a tire blew out," Jennings said. Jones' partners were convicted of engaging in organized criminal activity and received long prison terms.

Testimony showed Jones lived in a gang house with the then-16-year-old mother of his child and was addicted to smoking marijuana laced with embalming fluid. He had been arrested repeatedly as a juvenile for burglary and police said the gang was believed responsible for numerous assaults.

Three days before the Davis killing, authorities determined Jones shot a convenience store clerk during a robbery in nearby Tyler. The victim survived five bullet wounds and testified against Davis in the punishment phase of the capital murder trial.

Another two executions are set for next week, and two more for later in the month, including Toronto Patterson, who was 17 in 1995 when he was arrested for shooting a mother and her two young daughters at their home in Dallas.

 

JUVENILE OFFENDER TJ JONES FACES EXECUTION AUGUST 8TH IN TEXAS