Supreme Court of Virginia
Thomas v. Garraghty

The United States Court of Appeals
For the Fourth Circuit

Summary:

Thomas was sentenced to death for the November 1990 capital murders of Kathy and J.B. Wiseman.

Thomas was 17 years old at the time of the crime.

Thomas had been dating 14 year old Jessica Wiseman, the daughter of Kathy and "J.B." for a while before the murders. Their relationship was serious and her parents did not approve.

They pressured Jessica to break-up the relationship with Thomas, however, Jessica was unwilling to do so. She became angry with her parents and stated that she wished they were removed from her life.

In his confession Thomas stated that he had smoked some marijuana on his way over to the Wiseman house and carried with him a shotgun. He said Jessica helped him in the window and they then arranged some drugs on the floor to make it appear to be an attempted robbery.

Thomas then went down the hall to the Wiseman's bedroom and shot them as they slept. Thomas said Mrs. Wiseman did not die from the first shooting and Jessica implored Thomas to shoot her again. He did, killing her instantly.

Jessica was tried as a juvenile and was released when she turned 21.

Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty

In November 1991, Douglas Christopher Thomas was sentenced to death for the November 1990 capital murders of Kathy and J.B. Wiseman. Thomas was 17 years old at the time of the crime.

Thomas had been dating 14 year old Jessica Wiseman, the daughter of Kathy and "J.B." for a while before the murders. Their relationship was serious and her parents did not approve.

They pressured Jessica to break-up the relationship with Thomas, however, Jessica was unwilling to do so. She became angry with her parents and stated that she wished they were removed from her life.

In his confession Thomas stated that he had smoked some marijuana on his way over to the Wiseman house on the night of the murders.

He also carried with him a shotgun. Jessica helped him in the window and then arranged some drugs on the floor to make it appear to be an attempted robbery.

When Thomas expressed doubts about carrying through with the murders, Jessica insisted that it be done. Thomas then went down the hall to the Wiseman's bedroom and shot them as they slept. Mrs. Wiseman did not die from the first shooting and Jessica implored Thomas to shoot her again. He did, killing her instantly.

Thomas latter tried to suppress the confession, stating that it was involuntary because he was only seventeen years old at the time of the offense, was a high-school dropout, had slept only two hours in the forty-hour period preceding his interrogation, and was beset by people he thought held great ill will toward him.

In addition, Thomas says, the police initiated all conversations, and he felt surrounded by authorities who obviously wanted him to confess.

Furthermore, Thomas continues, the testimony of Dr. Earl H. Williams, II, a clinical psychologist, confirmed that Thomas's ability to make an informed decision about waiving his Miranda rights had been compromised because he was developmentally immature, "was unable`to make decisions at an adult level," was at the "lower end of the`average range of intellectual function," and was sleep-deprived.

"It is unreasonable to believe," Thomas concludes, `"that under these circumstances [his] confession ... was obtained by anything other than coercion and duress." The trial court denied his motion to suppress the confession and it was admitted as evidence.

Thomas also argues that he should have been granted a change of venue due the vast amount of pre-trial publicity the case received. In his support of Thomas' argument, Dr. Donald Smith stated that he administered a random survey and he found that between 96.3% and 99.3% of the "small population of Middlesex County readily recognized" the Thomas case.

He testified further that, of those surveyed, 38.7% expressed the opinion that Thomas was guilty, 1.4% thought he was innocent, and 59.8% expressed no opinion. Dr. Smith opined that between 35% and 57% of those expressing no opinion were "contaminated," meaning they were `more likely to convict than those who [were not subjected to the pretrial publicity]." However, the Commonwealth produced its own evidence which contradicted that of Thomas and the trial court agreed with the Commonwealth, thereby permitting the trial to remain in Middlesex county. The Appellate court denied Thomas' appeal and upheld his death sentence.

Douglas Christopher Thomas has been on death row since November 22, 1991.

ProDeathPenalty.com

In November 1991, Douglas Christopher Thomas was sentenced to death for the November 1990 capital murders of Kathy and J.B. Wiseman. Thomas was 17 years old at the time of the crime.

Thomas had been dating 14 year old Jessica Wiseman, the daughter of Kathy and "J.B." for a while before the murders. Their relationship was serious and her parents did not approve.

They pressured Jessica to break-up the relationship with Thomas, however, Jessica was unwilling to do so. She became angry with her parents and stated that she wished they were removed from her life.

In his confession Thomas stated that he had smoked some marijuana on his way over to the Wiseman house on the night of the murders. He also carried with him a shotgun.

He said Jessica helped him in the window and they then arranged some drugs on the floor to make it appear to be an attempted robbery.

Thomas then went down the hall to the Wiseman's bedroom and shot them as they slept. Thomas said Mrs. Wiseman did not die from the first shooting and Jessica implored Thomas to shoot her again. He did, killing her instantly. Jessica was tried as a juvenile and was released when she turned 21.

Death Row Inmate's Last Words -- U.S. Leads The World In Use Of The Death Penalty For Minors

By Dennis Bernstein - Pacific News Service

January 11, 2000

(The execution of Douglas Christopher Thomas in Virginia for a crime he committed when he was 17-years-old drew considerable attention because his co-defendant served only seven years for the same crime. He is the first of three death row inmates scheduled to die this month for crimes committed when they were minors.

Thomas talked with PNS correspondent Dennis Bernstein about fairness and his fate three days before he died. Bernstein is executive producer of the Pacifica radio daily news show "Flashpoints.")

Douglas Christopher Thomas was executed Monday for a crime he committed when he was 17-years-old. Thomas, who was 26, spent his entire adult life on death row. He was prepared for Virginia Governor James S. Gilmore's refusal to sign a stay of execution, saying he was ready to die. "The whole process that you go through while being on death row prepares you to die," he said, "because you're faced with death every day. If it is God's will that I die at 26, then I'm prepared to go."

Thomas spoke with me Friday afternoon, January 7, by telephone from his death row cell. He was calm, forthright and quite focused as he repeated his claim that his girlfriend, Jessica Wiseman, masterminded the 1990 murder of her parents and fired the shot that killed her mother. Several federal court decisions and new evidence support Thomas' claim.

Because Wiseman was 14 at the time of the crime, she is now free. Thomas said he was not bitter about this, but was troubled that "she was given only seven years, and she is free to resume her normal life while I'm four days away from paying the ultimate price for something we both participated in."

Thomas initially took the blame for the 1990 double murder of James and Catherine Wiseman. He confessed without advice of counsel and while he was high on drugs and alcohol. Like many child and juvenile offenders, Thomas had an extremely difficult childhood. His parents divorced before he was born -- Thomas did not meet his father until last year.

At two, his mother left him to be adopted and raised by his grandparents. When he was twelve, his life unraveled. Several close relatives, including his grandparents, died suddenly. He was shuffled back to his mother, though the two of them did not get along. In 1989, at 16, Thomas attempted to take his own life.

Around this time, he met Wiseman. Thomas said he was so desperate for love he would have done anything his new girlfriend told him to do. Wiseman's parents tried to break up the couple, and her father threatened to kill him. "I wanted to be with my co-defendant," he said, "we were so much in love and her parents were trying to keep us apart. "Jessica just showed me that love I so desperately needed and wanted that I would have basically done anything to keep her around. But I was just a kid when I committed the crime. I mea, I still had the capacity to change, to grow, to learn, and I have."

Thomas felt he should be given a chance to live. "I made the wrong decision. So I can't be angry at anyone but myself. But I don't feel the U.S. should execute juvenile offenders because it's basically saying that we have no chance to be rehabilitated. "I can't see how at seventeen a court could say, 'Well, this juvenile doesn't have the capacity to learn and to grow and to mature."'

Thomas is not alone in his sentiments. In fact, failure to abide by international treaties and UN conventions regarding the execution of youthful and child offenders has made the United States a pariah state. Amnesty International reports 191 states have joined a "global consensus against executing child offenders."

The United States has earned the "shameful distinction of leading a tiny and dwindling group of states.... Only five countries outside the United States are known to have executed child offenders since 1990."

In that decade, the U.S. has executed 10 child offenders, more than the five other countries combined. Chris Thomas' execution means the United States is the first country in the world to execute a juvenile offender who claimed that such an execution violates international law and well established fundamental norms of international human rights.

Two more death row inmates convicted of crimes as minors are scheduled to die this month -- Steve Edward Roach in Virginia on Jan. 13 and Glen Charles McGinnis in Texas on Jan. 25.

The stay of execution in June left him with "mixed feelings," Thomas said. "Since I've been on death row I've been searching for one thing and that's finality. In June I thought finally something is going to happen. I'm either going to be given life in prison or I'm going to die. "When the stay came down I was happy for my family because I'm still here and that made them happy. Personally, I knew I was going back and would have to go through this whole process over again and I was a little disappointed."

Asked what he would do if set free, Thomas listed three things. "The very first thing I would do would be to go to church, get down on my hands and knees and thank God because it would truly be a miracle.

The second thing would be to try to put all this behind me and try to get some normalcy back in my life. Try to get a job. Try to do something positive -- maybe join the military for the discipline, the adventure, the traveling and the camaraderie."

Thomas worked hard to create some normalcy in his life. He earned his GED and reestablished family ties, including with his estranged dad. "He read in the newspaper that I had gotten an execution date and he called the prison and he requested to speak with me," said Thomas. "I called back and we communicated back and forth on the telephone. "This past June when I came down to Greenville [for the execution] they allowed him to come back and visit me and that was the first time I had ever seen him in my life. It meant a great deal, because even though he wasn't there in the past, he did at least try and make an effort now."

Amnesty International

Letter from Pierre Sané, Secretary General, Amnesty International, to the Governor of Virginia on the execution of child offender Douglas Christopher Thomas.

January 13, 2000

The Honourable James Gilmore
Governor of Virginia

Dear Governor

Amnesty International very deeply regrets that you allowed the execution of Douglas Christopher Thomas to proceed on 10 January 2000 in violation of international law banning the use of the death penalty against child offenders -- those who commit crimes when under 18 years old.

The organization urges you to grant clemency to Steve Edward Roach, scheduled for execution tonight, also for a murder committed when he was 17. By appealing for clemency, we in no way seek to excuse that crime or belittle the suffering it has caused. We seek only Virginia's compliance with international law and global standards of justice.

Amnesty International notes that in your statement regarding the execution of Chris Thomas, you made reference to the international ban on the use of the death penalty against child offenders: "....it has been asserted that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights prohibits the Commonwealth from executing Thomas because he was 17 years old at the time he murdered Mr. and Mrs. Wiseman.

Although the United States Senate ratified this treaty on April 2, 1992, it expressly conditioned its ratification on the continued right of states to impose the death penalty on murderers under the age of 18 years. Both the Virginia Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court have rejected Thomas' claim that the treaty bars his execution."

Amnesty International would respectfully remind you of several specific points which you failed to mention. Firstly, the United Nations Human Rights Committee, the expert body which oversees countries compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), as well as many other international experts, have stated that this US reservation to the ICCPR should be withdrawn as it is incompatible with the treaty and therefore invalid.

Secondly, 11 countries have expressly voiced their objections to the US reservation on the same grounds. Thirdly, the ban on the death penalty against child offenders is so widely agreed and adhered to that it is considered a principle of customary international law, binding on all countries regardless of which international treaties they have or have not ratified.

As you may recall, prior to the previous scheduled execution of Chris Thomas on 16 June 1999, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights appealed to you to stop the execution and "reaffirm the customary international law ban on the use of the death penalty on juvenile offenders". At the time, the High Commissioner was in Russia -- a country which had just announced a moratorium on the death penalty.

Only five countries outside the USA -- Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen -- are known to have executed child offenders in the past decade. One of them, Yemen, has since abolished this practice. In 1997 China, the country which accounts for the highest number of the world's executions each year, also outlawed the use of the death penalty against child offenders.

With the execution of Chris Thomas, Virginia has earned the ignominious distinction of joining the only three other jurisdictions in the world known to have executed more than one child offender in the past decade: Texas, Iran, and Pakistan.

If you allow the execution of Steve Roach tonight, Virginia will have accounted for half of the world total of executions of child offenders carried out since October 1997. That fact would undoubtedly further shame the state of Virginia, and the USA as a whole, on the world stage.

In your State of the Commonwealth address yesterday you said "I'm pleased to report to you that the state of the commonwealth is excellent, in fact, has never been better." You went on to say that "[t]he tourism initiatives that I have proposed will open the doors to our vast wealth of history, beauty and culture. And in doing so, we will reap tremendous economic benefits, and we will also tell our fellow citizens across America and people around the world the inspiring story of who we are and how we came to be Virginians."

In recent days, in national newspapers, and on radio and TV broadcasts across the globe, a very different aspect of Virginia's culture at the start of the 21st century has been shown. It is safe to say that what is happening in your state's lethal injection chamber is shocking very many people across a world in which almost no other country would allow such executions to proceed.

Amnesty International once again urges you to show the type of leadership required to bring your state into compliance with international law and standards of human decency recognized and practiced across the world. We urge you to use your power of executive clemency to commute the death sentence of Steve Roach.

Yours sincerely

Pierre Sané, Secretary General, Amnesty International

Yahoo! Group Stopkillingkids

A Call to Action For Douglas Christopher Thomas

Douglas Christopher Thomas, “Chris” was sentenced to death in 1991 for a crime he committed at the age of seventeen. If executed, Chris will be the second juvenile offender killed by the Commonwealth of Virginia since 1976.

Aside from the gross human rights violation the death-sentencing and execution of children represents, it sends a patently harmful message to America’s youth – the message that killing in some circumstances is the just thing to do, that violence can sometimes solve serious problems. It is time for our government – on both the state and national levels – to begin respecting the human rights of all children and to stop pitching vengeance as a solution to youth violence.

Worse than this policy itself, is its enactment without any input from the very people it effects most directly -- young people. Minors are denied the two rights which would give them some power to curb use of the juvenile death penalty – the right to vote for politicians who oppose it, and the right to sit on a jury to judge their peers for themselves. Given this exclusion from the political process, young people are forced to work for change from the outside.

The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty is calling on young people (ages 25 and under) from across the country to come to Richmond, VA on June 16th to meet with Governor James Gilmore. IF THE GOVERNOR WILL NOT LISTEN TO OUR DEMANDS, THEN WE WILL MAKE HIM AND THE REST OF THE COMMONWEALTH LISTEN THROUGH THE USE OF CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE!!! OUR VOICES WILL BE HEARD!!! If you're interested in joining us in Richmond, please contact Brian Henninger. Housing and food will be provided, you just have to get yourself there.

MORE BACKGROUND ON CHRIS THOMAS

The state of Virginia plans to execute its second juvenile offender since 1976 on June 16th. Douglas Christopher Thomas (“Chris”) was sentenced to death in 1991 for murdering his girlfriend’s parents, B.J. and Kathy Wiseman, when he was just seventeen.

Until the age of twelve, Chris lived with his maternal grandparents. His mother left him when he was two, and his father has only seen him twice -- once after he was born in the hospital and again in 1996 when he visited him on the row. While he lived with his grandparents, Chris was thought to be a happy and well-adjusted child.

An unfortunate string of deaths in the family destroyed the stability Chris enjoyed for twelve years of his life. Both of his grandparents and a close uncle passed away in 1985. Chris had to go live with his mother who flatly ignored him. He began acting out -- missing school, experimenting with drugs, committing petty offenses, etc. His grades fell drastically.

In the summer of 1990, Chris met and entered into a sexual relationship with Jessica Wiseman. Jessica was extremely important to Chris because she gave him what he craved most – attention. This emotional dependence allowed Jessica to manipulate Chris into doing what she wanted. After her parents tried to restrict her relationship with Chris, what Jessica wanted was to see them dead. The children devised a plan which had Chris shooting Jessica’s parents.

On the night of November 10, 1990, after smoking some pot, drinking some alcohol, and popping some Valium pills, Chris and Jessica carried out their terrible plan. Chris shot Jessica’s parents once each as they slept. Mr. Wiseman died immediately, his wife did not.

This is where the facts of the case are unclear, yet terribly important. After police questioning which took place without a parent or attorney present and while he was still high, Chris confessed to both murders. Since that time, however, Chris has retracted part of that confession, saying that it was Jessica who fired the second and fatal into her mother. Had evidence to this effect been presented at trial, the one aggravating factor in Chris’ case (the “vileness” of the second shot) would have evaporated, and the jury might have spared his life.

Setting aside the facts of Chris’ case, international law prohibits the death-sentencing and execution of juvenile offenders. Virginia will be committing an egregious human rights violation if it follows through with this execution.

Please write to Governor Gilmore. Tell him that we as a society need to stop sending our kids the message that hatred and violence and killing are justified in some situations.

To make matters worse, Chris’ mother was having having serious and tense relationship problems with her live-in lesbian lover. However, as soon as Chris moved into the unwholesome, tense, and dysfunctional household of his mother and her lesbian lover, he began to exhibit behavior patterns and problems that were in sharp contrast with his previous record.