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John Thomas SATTERWHITE
Classification: Murderer
Characteristics: Robberies
Number of victims: 1 +
Date of murder:
March 12,
1979
Date of arrest:
Next day
Date of birth:
December 29,
1946
Victim profile: Mary Francis Davis,
54 (convenience store clerk)
Method of murder:
Shooting
Location: Bexar County, Texas, USA
Status:
Executed
by lethal injection in Texas on August 16,
2000
Summary:
On the morning of March 12, 1979, San Antonio Police were dispatched
to a local convenience store. When they arrived they found the clerk,
Mary Francis Davis, in a bathroom stall with gunshot wounds on both
temples.
More than $600 was missing from the cash register and the
last entry on the cash register tape reflected a 79 cent purchase.
The day after Davis' murder, police stopped Satterwhite for speeding.
At the time of the arrest, Sharon Bell was a passenger in
Satterwhite's car. Bell claimed that a gun police found in the car
was hers. She was arrested for unlawfully carrying a weapon.
A few days later, Bell was arrested again. During an interview with
police, she said that she had been involved in the robbery and
murder of Mary Francis Davis, but said that Satterwhite was the
person who shot and killed Davis.
Two eyewitnesses identified
Satterwhite in the store that day. Bell testified against
Satterwhite and received a 20 year sentence for Aggravated Robbery.
After Satterwhite's first death sentence was reversed in 1988, he
was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death a second time.
Texas Attorney General
Media Advisory
John T. Satterwhite Scheduled to
be Executed.
AUSTIN - Texas Attorney General John Cornyn
offers the following information on John T. Satterwhite who is
scheduled to be executed after 6 p.m., Wednesday August 16th:
John T. Satterwhite was convicted and sentenced
to death for the March 1979 murder of 54 year-old Mary Francis Davis.
On the morning of March 12, 1979, San Antonio
Police were dispatched to a local convenience store. When they
arrived they found Davis in a bathroom stall, leaning against a wall,
with gunshot wounds on either side of her head at the temple.
A pack
of cigarettes and an open soda container were found on the store's
counter. A set of keys, a purse, and a roll of pennies were found on
the floor behind the cash register. More than $600 was missing from
the cash register and the last entry on the cash register tape
reflected a 79 cent purchase.
The day after Davis' murder, police stopped
Satterwhite for speeding. At the time of the arrest, Sharon Bell was
a passenger in Satterwhite's car. Bell claimed that a gun police
found in the car was hers. She was arrested for unlawfully carrying
a weapon.
A few days later, Bell was arrested again. During an
interview with police, she said that she had been involved in the
robbery and murder of Mary Francis Davis, but said that Satterwhite
was the person who shot and killed Davis.
EVIDENCE
Sharon Bell told police that although she was
involved in the robbery and murder of Mary Francis Davis,
Satterwhite was the person who shot and killed Davis. Bell testified
at Satterwhite's trial about how the two of them went to the
convenience store.
Bell testified that after they entered the store,
Satterwhite, pulled a gun and demanded money from Davis. Bell said
Davis fully cooperated and told Satterwhite there was more money in
the safe in the back room. Bell testified that she and Satterwhite
then escorted Davis to the back and got money from the vault.
Bell said that as she was heading for the door,
she saw Satterwhite put the gun to Davis' temple and heard Davis ask
Satterwhite not to shoot her. Bell said shortly thereafter she heard
two or three gunshots. As Bell and Satterwhite drove away from the
store, Bell asked Satterwhite why he had shot the clerk. Satterwhite
told Bell that he did not want to leave any witnesses.
The gun recovered from Satterwhite's car the day
after the murder had been sold to Satterwhite's mother and was
determined to have fired the bullets that killed Mary Francis Davis.
Two witnesses identified Satterwhite as the person they saw in the
convenience store the morning of the murder.
One of the witnesses
also identified Bell as being with Satterwhite. This witness saw
Satterwhite and Bell make the 79 cent purchase that was the last
entry found on the cash register tape.
APPEALS TIME-LINE
March 10, 1993 - Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
affirmed Satterwhite's conviction and denied rehearing on June 9,
1993.
Nov. 8, 1993 - U.S. Supreme Court denied Satterwhite's petition for
writ of certiorari.
June 26, 1996 - The trial court recommended denying Satterwhite's
claims filed Feb. 22, 1994. On the basis of the trial court's
recommendation, the Court of Criminal Appeals denied habeas relief.
Dec. 13, 1996 - Satterwhite filed his second federal petition for
writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the
Western District of Texas, San Antonio Division.
Sept. 25, 1998 - District Court denied federal habeas relief and
also denied Satterwhite permission to appeal.
Jan. 7, 2000 - United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
denied Satterwhite permission to appeal.
Feb. 3, 2000 - The Court of Appeals denied motion for rehearing and
a motion for stay of proceedings on Feb. 7, 2000.
June 29, 2000 - U.S. Supreme Court denied Satterwhite's petition for
writ of certiorari.
Satterwhite has filed a petition for clemency with the Texas Board
of Pardons and Paroles.
PRIOR CRIMINAL HISTORY
Eight law enforcement officers testified at the
punishment phase of Satterwhite's trial, that Satterwhite had a bad
reputation and was known for not being a law-abiding citizen.
A state prison guard testified at the punishment phase of
Satterwhite's trial, about an incident where Satterwhite had started
a fire in his cell. When the guard told Satterwhite to put out the
fire, Satterwhite threw hot water on him, causing second-degree
burns to the guard's face, neck and chest.
A deputy sheriff testified at Satterwhite's
punishment phase that at a court proceeding in January 1987,
Satterwhite threatened to kill the trial judge and Assistant
District Attorney.
A county jailer who testified at Satterwhite's
punishment phase said that one day when Satterwhite was angry for
not receiving a newspaper, he threatened to beat up the officer and
said "someone should kill deputies who don't do their jobs."
Satterwhite's step-father testified at the
punishment phase that in June 1978, he had locked Satterwhite out of
the house. In response, Satterwhite shot his step-father twice
through the door, hitting him in the chest. Satterwhite's step-father
was seriously wounded.
Evidence was presented that Satterwhite had a
conviction for burglary and a 1970 conviction for robbery with a
firearm. Satterwhite also had his parole revoked in May 1974.
Evidence was presented that Satterwhite was involved in an attempted
armed robbery of a liquor store, three days after murdering Mary
Francis Davis.
ProDeathPenalty.com
John Satterwhite a San Antonio-area mechanic, was
convicted in the March 12, 1979, robbery-slaying of convenience
store clerk Mary Francis Davis. Mary was shot twice after she
surrendered cash from the register and a store vault at gunpoint.
Satterwhite and a female accomplice, Sharon Bell, were stopped the
next day for speeding, and the murder weapon was found in the glove
box. Bell was paroled after seven years in prison. Satterwhite was
convicted and condemned in two separate trials.
Satterwhite appeared worried about his victim's
family in the hour before he was executed by injection. "What I want
to say is I have remorse and I'm really sorry about what happened to
that family," John Satterwhite, 53, said in a telephone call to The
Associated Press less than an hour before he was strapped to the
Texas death chamber gurney for killing Mary Francis Davis, 54.
Satterwhite declined to make a final statement in
the death chamber and was pronounced dead at 6:29 p.m. Prison
officials generally allow an inmate a few final calls to relatives
preceding an execution, but a call to the media from a prisoner is
unprecedented. "I wanted them to know that I hope my remorse does
them good. But would it help them any? No," Satterwhite said in the
phone call.
Satterwhite already had been arrested 8 times and
had served a prison term for burglary and robbery by assault when he
was charged with the murder after walking into the Lone Star Ice and
Food Store in San Antonio under the guise of buying a pack of
cigarettes and a soft drink -- a 79-cent purchase.
Davis was found
seated on a toilet, a bullet through each temple. "I wouldn't say
I'm totally innocent," Satterwhite said from death row. "I'm guilty
of some things." Asked about the shooting, he replied: "There's a
possibility I could be the person that did it. ... I can't say I did
or didn't."
Texas Execution Information
Center
Txexecutions.org
John Thomas Satterwhite, 53, was executed by
lethal injection on 16 August in Huntsville, Texas for the murder of
a convenience store clerk.
In March 1979, Satterwhite, then 32, and Sharon
Renne Bell, 23, robbed a San Antonio convenience store at gunpoint.
Satterwhite shot the clerk, Mary Francis Davis, after she gave the
robbers $600 from the cash register and store vault.
The next day, the two were pulled over for
speeding. Officers found a gun in their car. Bell said it was hers
and was arrested for unlawfully carrying a weapon. Later, the gun
was determined to be the murder weapon, and Bell fingered
Satterwhite as the killer.
In court, Bell testified that as she was
leaving the store, she saw Satterwhite hold the gun against Davis'
head, she heard Davis plead for her life, then she heard two or
three shots. Bell also testified that Davis had fully cooperated
with the two, but Satterwhite told her he didn't want to leave any
witnesses.
Satterwhite had eight prior arrests and four
convictions. He was convicted of robbery in 1970 and given ten years
on probation. He was convicted of armed robbery in 1974 and served
three years of a six-year prison sentence. His other convictions
were for burglary and petty larceny.
Satterwhite and Bell were also believed by police
to be responsible for a string of other robberies in San Antonio,
including another where a clerk was killed.
It was further shown at
trial that Satterwhite once burned a prison guard by throwing hot
water on him, that he once shot his stepfather, and that three days
after Davis' murder -- after Bell had already been arrested -- he
was involved in another attempted armed robbery of a liquor store.
Sharon Bell was convicted of aggravated robbery and sentenced to 20
years in prison. She served seven years and was paroled in 1986. She
was discharged from parole in March 1999, upon the completion of her
sentence.
In 1988, the U.S. Supreme Court removed
Satterwhite's death sentence because he was not allowed to visit
with a lawyer before taking a psychiatric test. Results of the test
were used to show the jury that he was a continuing threat to
society, which is an essential factor in death penalty sentences.
Satterwhite was tried and given the death penalty again. The U.S.
Supreme Court rejected his appeal of this sentence in June. In a
recent death-row interview with Michael Graczyk of the Associated
Press, Satterwhite was evasive about his role in the killing. "I
wouldn't say I'm totally innocent." Satterwhite said. "I'm guilty of
some things." When asked about Davis' murder, he replied, "There's a
possibility I could be the person that did it. ... I can't say I did
or didn't." He claimed he was discriminated against because he was
male, whereas Bell was not convicted of capital murder because she
was female.
As the hour of his execution approached,
Satterwhite decided to elaborate on his feelings to the media.
Prison officials generally allow a condemned inmate a few final
telephone calls to relatives on the afternoon of his execution.
Satterwhite used this time to call the Associated Press and asked to
speak again with Graczyk. He said, "What I want to say is, I have
remorse and I'm really sorry about what happened to that family."
He also spoke kindly of the prison chaplain and said, "I'm at peace."
At his execution, Satterwhite declined to make a final statement. He
was pronounced dead at 6:29 p.m.
Convicted Killer With Extensive Arrest History
Executed for 1979 Murder
by Michael Graczyk -
Abeline ReporterNews.com
Associated Press
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A ninth-grade dropout
with an extensive arrest record worried about his victim's family in
the moments before he was put to death Wednesday evening for
murdering a San Antonio convenience store clerk more than 21 years
ago.
“What I want to say is I have remorse and I'm
really sorry about what happened to that family,” John Satterwhite,
53, said in a telephone call to The Associated Press less than an
hour before he was strapped to the Texas death chamber gurney for
killing Mary Francis Davis, 54.
Satterwhite declined to make a final
statement in the death chamber and was pronounced dead at 6:29 p.m.,
nine minutes after the lethal drugs began flowing into veins in his
hands.
Prison officials generally allow an inmate a few final calls
to relatives preceding an execution, but a call to the media from a
prisoner is unprecedented. “I wanted them to know that I hope my
remorse does them good. But would it help them any? No,” he said,
after asking to speak with an AP reporter who interviewed him
previously.
Satterwhite said he was doing fine — “Everything's good”
— and praised the prison chaplain, Jim Brazzil, for helping him
through the day. “He's wonderful,” Satterwhite said. “I'm at peace.”
Shortly before he was executed, he nodded to
reporters who were to witness his death. After declining to make his
final statement, he closed his eyes took a deep breath as the drugs
began to take effect, sputtered twice and gasped twice.
Satterwhite
was the third of six condemned killers scheduled to die this month
in Texas and the 29th this year in the nation's busiest death house.
At least 11 other death row inmates have lethal injections set
through the end of 2000, which could wind up a record year for
executions in Texas, topping the 37 condemned prisoners put to death
in 1997.
“It's kind of scary,” Satterwhite acknowledged in
an interview earlier this month. “But if I have to go through with
it, why fight it? You ain't got much choice.”
In June, the U.S.
Supreme Court refused to review Satterwhite's case, clearing the way
for his execution. Satterwhite's punishment attracted none of the
attention that drew the hundreds of protesters and media to
Huntsville in June for the lethal injection of convicted killer Gary
Graham.
Graham's claims of innocence and an unfair trial spotlighted
Texas as the nation's execution capital and support of the death
penalty by Gov. George W. Bush, the Republican presidential nominee.
Satterwhite had a spiritual adviser as his only personal witness.
No one from the victim's family attended. Outside, half a dozen
protesters stood quietly. Satterwhite already had been arrested
eight times and had served a prison term for burglary and robbery by
assault when he was charged with the March 12, 1979, killing of
Davis, 54, after walking into the Lone Star Ice and Food Store in
San Antonio under the guise of buying a pack of cigarettes and a
soft drink — a 79-cent purchase. Davis was found seated on a toilet,
a bullet through each temple.
“I wouldn't say I'm totally innocent,”
Satterwhite said from death row. “I'm guilty of some things.” Asked
about the shooting, he replied: “There's a possibility I could be
the person that did it. ... I can't say I did or didn't.”
Satterwhite and an accomplice, Sharon Bell, were pulled over for
speeding a day after the Davis shooting and $600 robbery and
officers found a gun in their car. Bell said it was hers and she was
arrested for unlawfully carrying a weapon.
Interviewed later by
police, Bell fingered Satterwhite as the killer. Testifying at his
trial, she told of seeing Satterwhite holding the gun against Davis'
head as she was leaving the store and heard the victim plead for her
life.
Other witnesses identified the pair as being in the store just
before the slaying. Authorities said they were responsible for a
string of robberies in San Antonio, including another where a clerk
was killed.
“He's a very cold-blooded psychopath, one of the
worst I ever prosecuted, just because he had no regard for his
victims,” said Bill Harris, the former Bexar County assistant
district attorney who prosecuted Satterwhite. Bell, from San
Antonio, received a 20-year prison term for aggravated robbery with
a deadly weapon.
She was released in 1986. “To me, it was total
discrimination,” Satterwhite said, complaining Bell received
favorable treatment because of her gender. “They never tried any
deal with me. I'm the dude. I'm the male.”
In 1988, the Supreme
Court threw out Satterwhite's death sentence because he was not
allowed to visit with a lawyer before taking a psychiatric test. At
a second trial, a Bexar County jury convicted him and again decided
he should be put to death.
EU URGES GOV. BUSH TO COMMUTE DEATH PENALTY IN
SATTERWHITE CASE
Eurunion.org
Representatives of the European Union to the
United States have appealed by letter to Governor George W. Bush of
Texas to show compassion by commuting the August 16 execution of Mr.
John Satterwhite, in keeping with internationally accepted human
rights norms and because the inmate is both mentally ill and
mentally retarded.
The EU is opposed to the death penalty in all
cases. The EU considers that the abolition of the death penalty
contributes to the enhancement of human dignity and the progressive
development of human rights.
The appeal reads: We, as the representatives of
the Presidency of the European Union, France, together with the next
president, Sweden, and the European Commission wish to convey to you
an urgent humanitarian appeal by the EU on behalf of Mr. John
Satterwhite.
We make this request in the framework of the European
Union's policy of seeking a global moratorium on the use of the
death penalty (which we have long renounced in Europe), as a step
toward its worldwide abolition. The execution of Mr. Satterwhite, a
U.S. citizen, is scheduled to be carried out by Texas State
Authorities on August 16, 2000.
The case of Mr. Satterwhite seems to us to
particularly merit your clemency, as Mr. Satterwhite is considered
by many experts to be both mentally ill (borderline paranoid
schizophrenic) and mentally retarded. Furthermore, according to Mr.
Satterwhite's defense, there was mitigating evidence withheld by the
state and not made known to the jury. We urge you to demonstrate
compassion with regard to this case.
The EU considers that the execution of Mr.
Satterwhite would be contrary to generally accepted human rights
norms. In particular, it is our opinion that his execution would
violate the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
Resolution 1989/64 of 24 May 1989 on the implementation of the
safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the
death penalty.
As you know, this resolution recommends that
United Nations Member States eliminate the death penalty for persons
suffering from mental retardation or extremely limited mental
competence, whether at the stage of sentence or execution.
It would
also be contrary to Resolution 2000/65 adopted at the last session
of the United Nations' Commission on Human Rights, which
specifically urges all States that still maintain the death penalty
"not to impose the death penalty on a person suffering from any form
of mental disorder or to execute any such person."
The European Union respectfully urges you to
commute Mr. Satterwhite's sentence to any other penalty compatible
with international law
