Summary:

Timothy Adams and Emma Adams were married in March of 2000. In July, Adams and Emma had a son, Tim. In February 2002, when Emma discovered that Adams was keeping a gun in their apartment, she decided to move out.

On Feb. 20, Emma and her child, Tim, returned to the apartment to remove some of her things. When Emma entered the apartment, she saw Adams with a gun in his hand and her other son, Andrew, 13, from a previous relationship. Emma put Tim down on the floor and asked Adams what was going on. Adams picked up Tim. Emma picked up the phone and called 9-1-1. Adams pointed his gun at Emma and fired a shot that grazed her back. Emma dropped the phone, and she and Andrew ran for the door. Minutes later, the police SWAT Team arrived.

After a standoff and several phone conversations to relatives, Adams surrendered. Police found Tim dead on the floor inside the apartment. The toddler died from two bullet wounds to his chest. The act was intended as retaliation against his wife because she was leaving him. Adams pled guilty to capital murder.

Citations:

Adams v. State, Not Reported in S.W.3d, 2004 WL 3093236 (Tex.Crim.App. 2004). (Direct Appeal)

Final/Special Meal:

Fried chicken, french fries, lemon cake, root beer and Sprite.

Last Words:

None

Adams, Timothy Wayne
Date of Birth: 08/22/1968
DR#: 999448
Date Received: 04/17/2003
Education: 12 years
Occupation: clerk, laborer
Date of Offense: 02/20/2002
County of Offense: Harris
Native County: Harris
Race: Black
Gender: Male
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Brown
Height: 5' 06"
Weight: 241

Prior Prison Record: None.

Summary of incident: On 02/20/2002, in Houston, Texas, Adams shot his 19 month old black male child twice in the chest, resulting in his death

Texas Attorney General

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Media Advisory: Timothy Adams scheduled for execution

AUSTIN – Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott offers the following information about Timothy Wayne Adams, who is scheduled to be executed after 6 p.m. on Tuesday, February 22, 2011. A Harris County court sentenced Adams to death in March 2003 for shooting and killing his nineteen-month-old son during a standoff with police.

FACTS OF THE CRIME

Timothy Adams and Emma Adams were married in March of 2000. In July, Adams and Emma had a son, Tim. On Friday, February 15, 2002, when Emma discovered that Adams was keeping a gun in their apartment, she decided to move out.

On Feb. 20, Emma and her child, Tim, returned to the apartment to remove some of her things. When Emma entered the apartment, she saw Adams with a gun in his hand and her other son, Andrew, 13, from a previous relationship. Emma put Tim down on the floor and asked Adams what was going on. Adams picked up Tim. Emma asked Adams why he was doing this, but he yelled and pointed the gun. She picked up the phone and called 9-1-1. Adams yelled at Emma to put the phone down, but she continued to talk with the 9-1-1 operator.

Adams pointed his gun at Emma and fired a shot that grazed her back. Emma dropped the phone, and she and Andrew ran for the door. Andrew returned a couple of minutes later and pounded on the door. He begged Adams to hand over Tim, but Adams did not answer the door. In the meantime, police officers, including a S.W.A.T team, were dispatched to the apartment complex. Adams could be seen looking out of the apartment window, holding Tim on one arm and a gun in the other hand. One witness standing outside of Adams’s apartment saw Adams hit Tim on the head with the butt of the gun.

Adams had numerous phone conversations with friends, relatives, co-workers, and police officers while in the apartment. A friend of Emma’s called Adams when she saw the coverage of the hostage stand-off on television. The friend said Adams stated that he had shot Tim twice in the chest and shot himself in the stomach. A member of the Houston police hostage negotiation team talked Adams into surrendering.

Police found Tim dead on the floor inside the apartment. He died from two bullet wounds to his chest.

EVIDENCE OF FUTURE DANGEROUSNESS

At the punishment stage of Adams’s trial, a police officer testified that Adams gave him a tape-recorded statement after his surrender. The tape was admitted into evidence and played for the jury. The officer allowed Adams to give a narrative of his version of what had happened.

Adams stated that when Emma picked up the phone to call 9-1-1, he “snapped” and shot at her. Adams said he later shot Tim twice in the chest as he was holding him. When the police officer asked Adams why he shot Tim, Adams explained: “My wife was hurtin’ me, she was keeping him away from me. I was gonna take him out and me too.”

Adams testified in the punishment phase of the trial that after he shot at Emma, he wanted to fire again but the gun jammed. By the time he managed to get it unjammed, Emma had run from the apartment and down the stairs. After Emma and Andrew fled the apartment and the police began to arrive outside, Adams decided to kill himself and Tim because otherwise he would go to prison and “Emma would be successful in separating me from him and not letting me love him and him love me.” He further explained, “She was not going to get a chance to hurt me or my son anymore, she wasn’t going to keep us apart, she wasn’t going to teach him not to love me, and me, I couldn’t love him.” Adams admitted that he shot Tim a second time when he did not die after the first shot.

Emma testified in the punishment phase of the trial that Adams was very suspicious and jealous and accused her of seeing other men. He told her he had followed her to see if she was meeting anyone. He once told her that he was hoping to catch her with another man so he could kill them “right then and there.” On the evening of Valentine’s Day 2001, Adams listened in on a phone conversation between Emma and a male co-worker. After the phone call, Adams screamed at Emma and beat her on her head with his fists. Emma also stated that at times Adams told her that if she ever left him, she would never see Tim again, and that “no man would ever raise his child and she wouldn’t raise him either.”

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

02/20/02 - Adams shot and killed his son.
05/01/02 - A Harris County grand jury indicted Adams for capital murder.
03/12/03 - A Harris County jury convicted Adams of capital murder.
03/18/03 - The 182nd District Court of Harris County sentenced Adams to death.
10/08/04 - Adams filed an original application for a state writ of habeas corpus.
11/17/04 - The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals upheld Adams’s conviction on automatic direct appeal
04/25/07 - The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied Adams’s request for habeas relief.
04/21/08 - Adams filed a petition for a federal writ of habeas corpus.
02/13/09 - A Houston U.S. district court denied habeas relief and issued final judgment
03/09/10 - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the denial of habeas relief.
10/04/10 - The Supreme Court denied Adams’s petition for certiorari review.
10/27/10 - Harris County District Court scheduled Adams’s execution for Tuesday, February 22, 2011.

Texas executes Houston man for killing his son

By Juan A. Lozano - The Houston Chronicle

February 22, 2011

HUNTSVILLE, Texas — A Houston man convicted for the 2002 fatal shooting of his 19-month old namesake son after an hours-long standoff with police was executed on Tuesday. Timothy Wayne Adams received a lethal injection for the death of his son, Timothy Jr., who was shot twice at close range by his father after the standoff at his family's apartment.

The execution took place about 35 minutes after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a final appeal from Adams. Adams, 42, declined to make a final statement, shaking his head no when asked if he had any final words.

Before the lethal drugs were administered, he mouthed some words to his parents and brother and sister, who witnessed the execution. Adams kept his gaze on his family members and never looked at Timothy Jr.'s mother and her family, who watched the execution from a different room than his relatives.

He let out a series of gasps after the lethal injection took effect. Ten minutes later, at 6:31 p.m. CST, he was pronounced dead. Adams' sister loudly sobbed and at one point had to be helped into a wheelchair. "He's going to sleep. He's going to a better place," said Wilma Adams, the condemned inmate's mother. Emma Adams, the toddler's mother, quietly sobbed during the execution. She and her family declined to speak with reporters afterward.

Timothy Adams was the second Texas prisoner put to death this year in the nation's busiest death penalty state.

Prosecutors said the toddler's slaying was intended as retaliation by Adams against his wife because she was leaving him. Defense attorneys argued the killing was an aberration in an otherwise law-abiding life. Adams' family had asked that his sentence be commuted to life in prison without parole.

Last week, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles rejected a request to recommend that Gov. Rick Perry commute the sentence to life in prison. It also turned down a request for a four-month execution delay.

Adams' lawyers had argued that his sentence was unconstitutional and that the instructions to his trial jury were flawed. They also contend that his clean prison record belied the jury's finding that Adams would be a future threat, one of the questions Texas jurors must decide when deliberating a death sentence. The defense attorneys in their appeal to the Supreme Court argued that a 2007 court ruling in Texas, which reduced a death sentence to life in prison for a mother convicted of killing her newborn infant son, should also apply to Adams. They argued that his stress and depression and lack of a prior criminal record were similar to the mother in that case.

Evidence showed Adams shot his son twice at close range. Harris County prosecutors said Adams shot his son a second time when the first shot didn't kill the toddler. "If you're capable of killing your own infant with a gun, you're capable of anything," said Lance Long, one of the prosecutors at trial.

Adams took his toddler son hostage after getting into an argument with his wife and her 15-year-old son, whom Adams had threatened with a gun. His wife and the children were moving out of the family's southwest Houston apartment after she had discovered Adams was keeping the gun in their home. After Adams' wife called 911, he fired at her but missed. His wife and the teen ran from the apartment without the toddler, who had run to his father earlier. During an hours-long standoff with SWAT officers, Adams held the child through a window to show he was fine. But after officers entered the apartment, they found the toddler dead with two bullet wounds to the chest.

A medical examiner testified the gun either had been close or against the baby's skin when the shots were fired. Both bullets went completely through his body. "I was gonna take me and my son out," Adams told detectives in a taped confession. Police had been called to the apartment repeatedly in the past but Adams never was arrested.

Robert Loper, one of Adams' trial lawyers, said Adams pleaded guilty to show he was taking responsibility for his actions. "Absolutely what he did was horrible," Loper said. "That was his son. . . . I'll argue for the rest of my life the jury made the wrong decision."

At least three other Texas death row inmates have execution dates scheduled for the coming months.

Man who killed toddler son to be executed today

By Michael Graczyk - ItemOnline.com

AP - February 22, 2011

HUNTSVILLE — Timothy Wayne Adams never denied fatally shooting his 19-month-old namesake son, leaving a Houston jury the task of considering only his punishment. Jurors rejected his lawyers' arguments eight years ago for a life prison term and decided Adams, 42, should die. The lethal injection, which would be the second in Texas this year, was set for Tuesday evening.

Adams' attorneys planned on filing an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday after last week both the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles rejected a request to recommend Gov. Rick Perry commute his sentence to life in prison and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals dismissed a request to review his case. The board also turned down a request for a four-month execution delay.

His lawyers have argued that Adams' sentence was unconstitutional and that the instructions to his trial jury were flawed. They also contend that his clean prison record belied the jurors' finding that Adams would be a future threat, one of the questions Texas jurors must decide when deliberating a death sentence.

Evidence showed Adams shot his son, Timothy Jr., twice at close range. Prosecutors said the slaying nine years ago this week was intended as retaliation against his wife because she was leaving him. Defense attorneys argued the killing was an aberration in an otherwise law-abiding life and that Adams also had intended to kill himself before friends and police talked him out of it.

Jane Waters, one of the Harris County prosecutors at the trial, said Adams told investigators that when the first shot didn't kill the child, he fired again. "It was awful," she recalled. "He said he fired a second time because he didn't want his son to think he had a bad daddy. "And I think that's where the jury said: 'OK. We can kill this guy.'"

Robert Loper, one of Adams' trial lawyers, said Adams pleaded guilty to show he was taking responsibility for his actions and hoped jurors would give him life in prison because he had no previous criminal record and wouldn't be a future danger. "Absolutely what he did was horrible," Loper said. "That was his son. ... I'll argue for the rest of my life the jury made the wrong decision."

In earlier court appeals, Adams contended his trial lawyers had been deficient and failed to adequately address prosecution evidence and testimony that he said unfairly labeled him a baby killer and abusive spouse.

He was arrested Feb. 20, 2002, after a SWAT standoff at the family's southwest Houston apartment. Police had been called there repeatedly in the past but Adams never was arrested.

Testimony showed his wife had moved out after discovering he was keeping a gun in the apartment. She wanted to remove some of her belongings and Adams agreed not to be present when she showed up. Her 15-year-old son arrived first but Adams was there, confronted him with the gun, accused him of stealing a video game and complained about the boy's mother. When his wife arrived, carrying 19-month-old Timothy Jr., he confronted her as she put down her child to help her older son. The little boy ran to his father.

Adams' wife grabbed a phone and called 911. He pointed the gun at her and fired, missed her, then tried firing again but the weapon jammed. She and her older son ran outside without the baby. Police eventually convinced Adams to surrender. During an hours-long standoff, he held the child through a window to show he was OK but officers entering the apartment found the toddler dead with two bullet wounds to the chest. When police recovered the note he'd written earlier, the slain child's blood was on it.

A medical examiner testified the gun either had been close or against the baby's skin when the shots were fired. Both bullets went completely through his body.

"My wife was hurtin' me," he told detectives in a taped confession. "She was keeping him away from me. ... My parents couldn't even see my son. "I was gonna take me and my son out." In the clemency petition, Adams' relatives and supporters said he accepted responsibility for "an unspeakable act."

Timothy Wayne Adams

ProDeathPenalty.com

Timothy Adams and Emma Turner were married in March of 2000. In July, Adams and Emma had a son, Tim. On Friday, February 15, 2002, when Emma discovered that Adams was keeping a gun in their apartment, she decided to move out. That morning Emma took Tim and her fifteen-year-old son from a previous relationship, Andrew, and moved in with her friend, Karen. Accompanied by a police officer, Emma retrieved some of her things from the apartment on Saturday while Adams was not there. Emma spoke with Adams on the phone on Sunday and informed him that she was moving out. Adams agreed that Emma could return to the apartment on Tuesday to get more of her belongings, and he agreed that he would not be there. After removing some of her property on Tuesday, Emma told Adams that she needed to return another time for more belongings. Adams agreed that she could return the following day, and he told her that he would not be there.

Emma made arrangements to meet her son Andrew at the apartment on Wednesday, February 20, after school. Andrew arrived at the apartment before Emma and Tim. Adams, who was already in the apartment, came up behind Andrew with a gun in his hand. Adams pointed the gun at Andrew and said, "I should shoot you now." Adams ordered Andrew to sit on the floor, and accused Andrew of stealing videotapes from him. Adams then angrily asked Andrew why Emma was "doing this" to him. Adams told Andrew that Emma was "going to pay." As they waited for Emma to arrive, Adams wrote her a note and read it aloud to Andrew. The first page of the note states: Look what you and your selfish pride did. You thought I was playing. Now you see I whaten. Don't ever tell me what I can't do with my own child. You wish you had let me spend time alone with my child now. You wish you had been calling our son Tim Jr. now. You wish you had not called me those names now. You wished you had washed my clothes and fixed me something to eat now. Page two of the note states: You will never forget this will you Bitch! You wish you had just been a wife now don't you. You should of never tried to take my son away from me. I told you Bitch! I hate you to! You should of loved your husband Bitch. Adams testified at punishment that he wrote the first page of the note while he and Andrew were waiting for Emma, and he wrote the second page after he killed Tim. There are blood smears on the second page of the note and the writing is less uniform than it appears on the first page.

Adams watched out the window for Emma. When he saw her coming he hid behind the front door and opened it for her. When Emma came in, carrying the year-and-a-half-old Tim, she saw Andrew sitting on the floor and then saw Adams with a gun in his hand. She put Tim down on the floor and asked Adams what was going on. Adams picked up Tim. He told Emma that Andrew had confessed to stealing from him, and he yelled at Andrew to tell Emma the truth. Emma asked Adams why he was doing this, but he continued yelling and pointing the gun. She picked up the phone and called 911. Adams yelled at Emma to put the phone down, but she continued to talk with the 911 operator. Adams pointed his gun at her. Andrew attempted to jump between Emma and the gun.

As Adams fired a shot, Emma dropped the phone, and she and Andrew ran for the door. The bullet went through Emma's shirt and grazed her back. The gun jammed. Adams attempted to un-jam it as Emma and Andrew ran from the apartment. Andrew returned a couple of minutes later and pounded on the door. He begged Adams to hand over Tim, but Adams did not answer the door. In the meantime, police officers, including a S.W.A.T (special weapons and tactics) team, were dispatched to the apartment complex. Adams could be seen looking out of the apartment window, holding Tim on one arm and a gun in the other hand. One witness standing outside of Adams's apartment saw Adams hit Tim on the head with the butt of the gun. Adams had numerous phone conversations with friends, relatives, co-workers, and police officers while in the apartment. Adams told one police officer with whom he spoke that he wasn't giving himself up and that if anyone tried to enter the apartment, he would kill himself. He told this officer that he had already shot himself in the stomach. Adams told another officer on the phone that he hated his wife, that she mistreated him, and that she threatened to take his son away. He told this officer that he was considering suicide. Adams told another officer during a phone conversation that he would shoot anyone who came in the door. Emma's friend Karen called Adams when she saw the coverage of the hostage stand-off on television. Adams told her "he was going to make Emma hurt the rest of her days on the earth like she made him suffer." He also told her that he had shot Tim twice in the chest and shot himself in the stomach.

Houston Police Officer Gordon Michael Garrett, a volunteer member of the hostage negotiation team, was at the apartment complex talking to Adams's employer, Ms. Garcia, when she received a call on her cell phone from Adams at around 7:25 p.m. Ms. Garcia handed the phone to Officer Garrett. Adams told the officer that he had killed Tim an hour earlier. Officer Garrett talked Adams through a surrender plan, and twenty minutes later Adams surrendered. Tim was found dead on the floor inside the apartment. He died from two bullet wounds to his chest. The medical examiner testified that the muzzle of the gun had been placed loosely against the surface of the skin, either close to or touching the victim's body, when fired. Both bullets passed through the child's body and exited out his lower back.

At the punishment stage of trial, Sergeant James Lee Ramsey testified that Adams gave him a tape-recorded statement after his surrender. The tape was admitted into evidence and played for the jury. Sgt. Ramsey allowed Adams to give a narrative of his version of what had happened. Adams immediately began by complaining that Emma had "mentally abused" him, citing examples of this perceived mental abuse and mistreatment. He claimed that when he told Emma that Andrew was stealing from him, she called him a liar even though she knew he was telling the truth. He stated that Emma would not allow him to do "simple things" with Tim. Adams described an incident in which he was given a chair for Tim from a woman at work. Adams said Emma put toys in the chair so that Tim could not sit in it "just basically to be mean so he couldn't have the gift that I gave him." Adams stated that Emma was "mean and evil." He stated that "whatever I try to give my son, do for him and be there for him, she would not let him have it." Adams claimed that Emma would untruthfully tell others that he would not give her money for things such as diapers and food. He claimed "that was just her mean, evil way of being mean to me." Adams stated that he remained at work for hours after the time he was scheduled to get off because he did not want to go home and face the terrible treatment from Emma. He claimed the worst thing Emma did was to tell him that he could not be with Tim, that she "was gonna use the child to hurt [him]."

After allowing Adams to speak at length about the abuse he suffered from Emma, Sgt. Ramsey asked Adams to tell him what had happened that afternoon. Adams stated that he went home from work early that day so he could "catch 'em at home." He stated that he made Andrew confess to Emma that he had been stealing from Adams. He stated that when Emma picked up the phone and called the police like "she done many times," he "snapped" and shot at her. When Sgt. Ramsey asked him why he shot Tim, Adams explained: My wife was hurtin[g] me, she was keeping him away from me. I was gonna take him out and me too. Cause I didn't want him, gonna raise him to teach him don't love your Daddy, he was this and he was that. She was gonna do that. My parents couldn't even see my son, my Mother, my Daddy. She know what she done, she gonna sit up there and change it all around. She knows what she did. Adams stated that he shot Tim twice in the chest as he was holding him. Sgt. Ramsey then asked Adams if there was anything else he would like to say. Adams stated, "I could go on forever" and then continued to talk some more about Emma's "abusive behavior."

He stated that Emma would not open his card on Mother's Day, and made up an excuse not to go out with him on Mother's Day. She also did not buy him a birthday present and would not sing happy birthday to him. He complained that he rode the bus to work while Emma drove her Trooper. He cited these as examples of Emma's "just mentally abusing me in just all kind of ways." Sgt. Ramsey then stated to Adams, "Okay let me, let me get this straight. You, you shot your son because [Emma] wouldn't let you have your son. So you were just gonna take your son away from her, too, since you couldn't have him. Is that what you're trying to tell us?" Adams responded, "My wife got in my head. I was gonna take me and my son out."

Emma testified at punishment that Adams was very suspicious and jealous and accused her of seeing other men. He told her he had followed her to see if she was meeting anyone. He once told her that he was hoping to catch her with another man so he could kill them "right then and there." On the evening of Valentine's Day 2001, Adams listened in on a phone conversation between Emma and a male co-worker. After the phone call, Adams screamed at Emma and beat her on her head with his fists. Emma also stated that at times Adams told her that if she ever left him, she would never see Tim again, and that "no man would ever raise his child and she wouldn't raise him either." Emma said there was no food in the house, and Adams would not give her money for food and would get angry if she asked him for money.

Karen Farr testified at punishment that in the months before the offense, she talked often with both Emma and Adams, separately, about their marital problems. Adams told her about two movies he had watched in which the plot was that a man murdered his wife and did not get caught. Ms. Farr stated that Emma and the children often came to her house to eat because Emma said there was no food at her house.

Adams called numerous witnesses at punishment who testified that they knew Adams from work, that he was an excellent employee, a proud father, and a nice and caring person, that they were shocked to hear of the charges against him and they did not believe Adams would be a future danger.

The mother of Adams's fifteen-year-old son testified that she had known Adams for nineteen years, that she had lived with Adams for about a year after he returned from the service, that she was very surprised about the charges, and that she had never had any disagreements with Adams over their son.

Other punishment witnesses who testified for Adams included jail personnel, fellow inmates, a criminal justice professor, Adams's mother, and a forensic psychiatrist. Adams also testified on his own behalf. Adams testified that he purchased a handgun about month before the offense. He also put a rifle in "lay-away." He stated that he planned to use both weapons for hunting in the fall. Describing the events surrounding the offense, Adams stated that when Emma came home and he began yelling about what Andrew had stolen, Emma "did what she always did, she picked up the telephone to call the police." He explained that "Emma would always provoke me and try to get me into - you know, angry and into a rage then she would call the cops, so when she did that, to me she was doing it again, and I closed my eyes. I didn't want to shoot but I did want to shoot." Adams stated that after he shot at Emma, he wanted to fire again but the gun jammed. By the time he managed to get it un-jammed, Emma had run from the apartment and down the stairs. After Emma and Andrew fled the apartment and the police began to arrive outside, Adams decided to kill himself and Tim because otherwise he would go to prison and "Emma would be successful in separating me from him and not letting me love him and him love me." He further explained, "She was not going to get a chance to hurt me or my son anymore, she wasn't going to keep us apart, she wasn't going to teach him not to love me, and me, I couldn't love him."

On cross-examination Adams admitted that his gun was fully loaded with eleven bullets on the day of the offense. Adams also admitted that he took the gun to work with him on the day before and the day of the offense so that Emma would not remove it from the apartment. Adams agreed that his parents knew that his marriage was volatile and begged him not to keep the gun at the apartment. Adams denied purchasing the gun for the purpose of shooting Emma. He insisted that he bought it to use for deer hunting, even though he acknowledged that deer season was eight or nine months away at the time of the purchase. Adams admitted that he shot Tim a second time when he did not die after the first shot. He also agreed that after shooting Tim, he wrote the second page of the note to Emma.

Timothy Wayne Adams

Texexecutions.org

Timothy Wayne Adams, 42, was executed by lethal injection on 22 February 2011 in Huntsville, Texas for the murder of his 18-month-old son.

In February 2002, Timothy and Emma Adams were living in an apartment in Houston with their 18-month old son, Tim; and Andrew, Emma's 13-year old son from a previous relationship. On Friday, 15 February, Emma decided to move out after discovering that her husband was keeping a gun in the apartment. She took her children with her and moved in with a friend, Karen Farr. On Saturday, she went to the apartment with a police officer and retrieved some of her things. On Sunday, she spoke with Adams on the phone and informed him she was moving out. He agreed that she could return on Tuesday and get more of her belongings, and that he would not be there. After she did so, she told Adams that she needed to make another trip for her belongings. He told her she could return on Wednesday and agreed that he would not be there. Emma then made arrangements with Andrew to meet him at the apartment after school on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, 20 February, Andrew arrived at the apartment as planned. Adams then came up behind him, pointed a gun at him, and said, "I should shoot you now." He ordered Andrew to sit on the floor and accused him of stealing videotapes from him. Adams angrily asked Andrew why his wife was "doing this" to him and told him she was "going to pay." As they waited together for Emma to arrive, Adams wrote a note to her and read it aloud to Andrew. The note read: Look what you and your selfish pride did. You thought I was playing. Now you see I whaten. Don't ever tell me what I can't do with my own child. You wish you had let me spend time alone with my child now. You wish you had been calling our son Tim Jr. now. You wish you had not called me those names now. You wished you had washed my clothes and fixed me something to eat now.

Eventually, Emma returned with Tim. When she entered the apartment, she saw Andrew sitting on the floor and saw Adams with the gun in his hand. She put Tim down on the floor and asked what was going on. Adams picked up Tim. He told Emma that Andrew had confessed to stealing from him and yelled at Andrew to tell her the truth. Emma asked Adams why he picked up the baby. In response, he yelled at her and pointed the gun. Emma then picked up the phone and called 9-1-1. Timothy yelled at Emma to put down the phone, but she continued to talk with the 9-1-1 operator. Adams then pointed the gun at her. Andrew attempted to jump in front of the gun. Adams fired. The bullet went through Emma's shirt and grazed her back. She and Andrew ran for the door and escaped.

A couple of minutes later, Andrew returned and pounded on the door, begging Adams to hand over Tim. Adams did not answer the door. Police officers, including a S.W.A.T. team, were sent to the apartment complex. Witnesses saw Adams looking out of the apartment window, holding Tim on one arm and a gun in the other hand. One witness saw Adams hit Tim on the back of the head with the butt of the gun.

During the standoff, Adams had numerous telephone conversations with friends, relatives, co-workers, and police officers. He told one police officer that he wasn't giving himself up and that had already shot himself in the stomach. He said he would kill himself if anyone tried to enter the apartment. He told another officer he would shoot anyone who came through the door. Emma's friend, Karen Farr, called when she saw the standoff on television. Adams told her he was "going to make Emma hurt the rest of her days on the earth, like she made him suffer." He told her he had shot Tim twice in the chest and shot himself in the stomach.

After shooting Tim, Adams continued his note to Emma on a second page: You will never forget this will you Bitch! You wish you had just been a wife now don't you. You should of never tried to take my son away from me. I told you Bitch! I hate you to! You should of loved your husband Bitch

Adams ultimately surrendered after talking to a member of the Houston police hostage negotiation team. The standoff lasted about 2½ hours in total. When police entered the apartment, they found Tim dead on the floor. He died from two bullet wounds in his chest. The medical examiner testified that the muzzle of the gun was touching the victim's skin when it was fired. Adams later testified that he shot Tim a second time because he did not die after the first shot.

In a lengthy recorded confession, Adams said Emma had "mentally abused" him. He said she was "mean and evil" and that "whatever I try to give my son, do for him, and be there fore him, she would not let him have it." Citing an example, he said a woman at work gave Tim a chair. Emma put toys in the chair so that Tim could not sit in it "just basically to be mean so he couldn't have the gift that I gave him." She untruthfully told others he didn't give her money for diapers and food, which "was just her mean, evil way of being mean to me." Adams also stated that she knew Andrew was stealing from him, but when he confronted her about it, she called him a liar.

"My wife was hurtin' me," Adams continued. "She was keeping him away from me. I was gonna take him out, and me too ... She was not going to get a chance to hurt me or my son anymore, she wasn't going to keep us apart, she wasn't going to teach him not to love me, and me, I couldn't love him." He said that after firing the first shot at Emma, he intended to fire the gun again, but it jammed, giving her time to escape. "I could go on forever," Adams said, continuing to talk more about Emma's "abusive behavior." His other complaints included that she did not open his Mother's Day card and made up an excuse not to go out with him on Mother's Day. She did not buy him a birthday present or sing "Happy Birthday" to him.

Emma Adams testified that her husband was suspicious and jealous and accused her of seeing other me. He told her that he had followed her to see if she was meeting anyone. He told her he was hoping to catch her with another man so he could kill both of them "right then and there." Adams also listened in on a phone conversation between Emma and a male co-worker. After the phone call, he screamed at her and beat her with his fists. Emma also testified that Adams had stated if she ever left him, she would never see Tim again.

Karen Farr testified that Emma and the children often came to her house to eat because Emma said there was no food at her house. She testified that Adams told her about two movies he had watched about a man who murdered his wife and did not get caught.

Andrew's mother testified that had known Adams for about nineteen years and had lived with him for about a year. She said they never had any disagreements about their son, and she was very surprised at the charges against him. Adams' co-workers also testified that he was an excellent employee and a proud father, and they were shocked to hear of the charges against him. Adams had no previous criminal record.

A jury convicted Adams of capital murder in March 2003 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in November 2004. All of his subsequent appeals in state and federal court were denied.

Adams' mother, brother, and sister attended his execution. Adams made no last statement, but before the lethal drugs were administered, he mouthed some words to his family. He did not look at the other witness room, from which Emma Adams and her family were watching. He was pronounced dead at 6:31 p.m.

Tim Adams' Case for Clemency

Standdown.typepad.com

Monday, February 07, 2011

"Clemency Papers Filed in Timothy Adams Case," is the title of Deb Courson's post at the Texas News Service, this morning. Attorneys for Texas death-row inmate Timothy Adams are set to file clemency papers in the case today.

Adams is scheduled to be executed on Feb. 22 for the shooting death of his 19-month-old son during a domestic dispute. The case triggered strong emotions because of the young age of the victim, and it is complicated by the fact that the family of the murderer is also among the family of the victim. Adams' relatives claim their voices were not heard in the sentencing decision.

Timothy's brother, Chadrick Adams, is a teacher in Houston who says they don't want to lose another family member because of the tragedy. "It is in our deepest hopes and prayers that the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole, and Gov. Rick Perry, will hear us now. Timothy committed a horrible act, but our grief will only be worsened if he is executed."

The family wants to see Timothy serve life in prison with no chance of parole - a sentencing option that was not available during the trial. Surviving maternal family members said during the trial that they would live in fear if Timothy were to be released.

The clemency filing details Adams' Army career and the fact that he had no previous criminal record. The filing also includes sworn statements from three jurors who say they were not provided a complete picture of Adams' character and background. They want the sentence changed to life in prison without parole. The clemency petition, filed with the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, is in Adobe .pdf format.

"Victims, Jurors Urge Clemency for Tim Adams," is the news release issued by Tim Adams' attorneys. Here's the full text:

(Austin, Texas) Attorneys for Tim Adams filed a clemency petition today urging the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to vote to spare Mr. Adams’ life and to ask Governor Rick Perry to commute his death sentence to life in prison without parole. Mr. Adams is an army veteran with no criminal history, not even an arrest, until he snapped and killed his son while planning his suicide in 2002. His execution is scheduled for February 22.

“Our family lost one child. We can’t bear to lose another. After my grandson’s death, we lived through pain worse than anyone could imagine. Nothing good will come from executing my son Tim and causing us more anguish,” said Columbus Adams, Mr. Adams’ father and a 30 year veteran of the Houston Fire Department. “We pray that God will fill Governor Perry’s heart with compassion. If not for Tim, then at least for our family.”

Three jurors from Mr. Adams’ trial, Rebecca Hayes, Ngoc Duong, and Kathryn Starling, have come forward to request a commutation of Mr. Adams’ death sentence to one of life. They believe they were not presented at trial with a complete picture of Mr. Adams’ character and religious background.

Mr. Adams is loved and supported by members of his church, work supervisors, fellow soldiers from the military, and many others. For example:

•Mr. Adams was raised in a Christian home and was active member of New Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Houston. His Sunday school teacher, Verlene Edmond, remembers Mr. Adams as “quiet” and “polite” as a teenager and supports a commutation of Mr. Adams’ sentence.

•When Mr. Adams graduated from high school, he enlisted in the army and served his country. Mr. Adams’ friend Roger West, now a Sergeant First Class in the United States Army and Purple Heart recipient, said that he wishes he could have “a whole platoon of guys like Tim.” Mr. Adams was honorably discharged in 1989.

•Mr. Adams was always a hard worker who wanted to support his young family. He worked as a security guard at Greenway Plaza in Houston. He was such a good worker that he was quickly promoted to supervisor of all security shifts. Tim’s supervisor, Diane Garcia, received “many, many positive comments and feedback on Tim’s performance.”

•Mr. Adams was a role model to his younger siblings. Chadrick Adams, Mr. Adams’ brother, said his older brother taught him his work ethic and inspired him to earn a scholarship to and graduate from college. Chadrick Adams is a teacher in Houston. From the beginning, Mr. Adams accepted responsibility for what he did. He pleaded guilty in open court and before the jury, even though he was not offered anything in return for his plea.

Mr. Adams has spent his time on death row reflecting on what he did, seeking forgiveness from his family, friends and God, and deepening his faith in Jesus Christ. He has been a model prisoner without a single disciplinary write-up on his record – not even for a minor infraction – during his eight years in prison.

Mr. Adams is not a danger to anyone and never will be. If the Governor commutes his death sentence, he will spend the rest of his life in prison.

There is more on the case at the Timothy Wayne Adams website.

Timothy Wayne Adams Website

TimothyWayneAdams.com

Timothy Adams, who goes by Tim, is held in the highest regard by members of his church, by supervisors and fellow soldiers in the military, and by his work colleagues. He had no criminal record—nor had ever been arrested—prior to the tragic mistake for which he was sentenced to death.

Tim was born in Houston, Texas on August 22, 1968 to Columbus and Wilma Adams. Tim grew up in a religious home, and was active in his church and bible study. Tim’s Sunday school teacher, Verlene Edmond, remembers how “quiet” and “polite” Tim was as a sixteen-to-eighteen-year-old boy. For the first two years of Tim’s life, Tim’s father served in the Vietnam War with the 23rd infantry. After his return from the war, Tim’s father worked for the Houston Fire Department, attaining the position of fire marshal over the course of his thirty-plus year career. At home, Tim was a role model to his younger siblings, one of whom he inspired to graduate college and who currently works as a teacher in Houston.

After graduating high school, Tim enlisted in the army in 1986 and was stationed outside Nuremberg, Germany at Herzo Base. Roger West, a Sergeant in the US Army and Purple Heart recipient, wished he could have “a whole platoon of guys like Tim.” During his military service in Germany, Tim’s girlfriend Cynthia gave birth to his first son, Terell. After three years in the service, Tim was honorably discharged and returned home to his family. Although Cynthia and Tim parted ways, both Cynthia and Terell continue to support Tim.

Tim married Emma Adams in 2000, and his second son, Tim Jr., was born shortly thereafter. To better provide for his family, Tim began working for ACSS security as a security guard at Greenway Plaza in Houston. Because of his reliability and diligence in carrying out his work duties, he quickly became supervisor of all security shifts. Tim’s supervisor, Diane Garcia, received “many, many positive comments and feedback on Tim’s performance.”

Tim has spent his time on Texas’s death row trying to understand what caused his crime; seeking forgiveness from his family, friends and God; and deepening his relationship with Jesus Christ. He has been a model prisoner, without even a single disciplinary write-up on his record over the eight years he has been in prison.

Visit change.org and sign an online petition asking that Tim's sentence be commuted to life.

What the Victim's Family, Jurors & Community Members Say about Timothy Adams

“Our family lost one child. We can’t bear to lose another. After my grandson’s death, we lived through pain worse than anyone could imagine. Nothing good will come from executing my son Tim and causing us more anguish. We pray that God will fill Governor Perry’s heart with compassion. If not for Tim, then at least for our family.” Columbus Adams, Father of Tim Adams

"I love my grandson and not a day goes by that I am not thinking of him. Our immediate family lives with this daily. And his dad does too….I know that Timothy has done a terrible thing, but I still love my son very much. I am asking that Timothy’s life be saved.” Wilma Adams, Mother of Tim Adams

“Timothy’s crime was totally out of character, and did not reflect his true character or upbringing…Timothy was a loving father and provider for his family. He was able to teach me a work ethic that has transferred to my life as an educator of children…[Tim’s] church family, immediate family, and a host of other family and friends are pleading for Timothy to receive a reprieve on his sentence. Executing Timothy would be another loss to this family, which has already lost a grandson and nephew. To bear the loss of another family member would only cause more pain. His life still has value. Please hear my plea for my brother, Timothy Wayne Adams.” Chadrick Adams, Brother of Tim Adams, 5th Grade Math Teacher

“My brother was raised with a strong Christian background. He worked hard, sometimes holding two jobs. He served in the United States Army and was given an honorable discharge. It hurts to see my family go through this. We have suffered so much. But Timothy still has another son, Terell. We are asking that his sentence be commuted to life. We love Tim dearly." Stacey Adams, Sister of Tim Adams

"Timothy has always been supportive and, during the time we lived together after he returned from his tour of duty in the military, Timothy did everything he could to work toward building a life that included both me and our son, Terell. ... Terell loves his father to this day and, despite Timothy's incarceration and the awful acts he engaged in that led to his incarceration, Terell wants Timothy to remain in his life and be available to counsel and visit with Terell. It is my opinion that the jury should have been able to hear this directly from Terrell because I know these feelings of Terrell to be genuine and deep." Cynthia Brown, mother of Tim Adams's oldest child

"Since the trial, I have learned new information that would have made me fight for Adams’s life…It would have been nice to hear from Adams’s family members and friends, because it would have shown many of the jurors that he was not a monster, that he was a good human being, who had done something horribly wrong but completely out of character…I do not believe that Timothy Adams deserves to die for his crime." Juror Duong

“Through these past nine years, Timothy has openly taken total responsibility…Since we love the Lord and trust in his word, we have been grieving through this whole process, but thanks be to God, we do not approach this as one who has no hope…[We] have hope for [Timothy’s] extension of life…I am appealing to your inner hearts of love with compassion for all human life.” Reverend Kenneth Parker, Uncle of Tim Adams

“My Aunt Wilma and Uncle Columbus, cousins Stacey and Chad, and Tim’s son Terell, have dealt with the great loss of a grandson, nephew and brother, and losing Timothy would only cause them more heartache and pain….I am asking and pleading that the life of my dear cousin Timothy be spared.” Johniecia Fontenette, Cousin of Tim Adams

“I have known Timothy for over twenty years. I work closely with his father at New Pleasant Grove Baptist Church. Timothy was a working member of the church and served there for many years. He was a part of the Sunday School and BTV. He is still a member of the church. He’s always been charitable to others. Please take this in consideration of your judgment on behalf of Timothy.” Melvin Francis, Chairman of the Deacon Board, New Pleasant Grove Baptist Church

“I am asking that the Board of Pardons and Paroles consider the commutation of Timothy Wayne Adams’s death sentence to a life sentence. He was a faithful and studious young man in our church Sunday school department. He came from a Christian home with caring and supportive parents.” Reverend Kenneth R. Walker, Sr.

“I saw Timothy grow up here at our church from youth to adulthood. I was his Sunday school teacher. He was always eager to participate in class discussions. He was polite, very respectful, spoke in a kind, soft voice. ... Timothy made a mistake, but God still forgives us for mistakes. I support the commutation of Timothy Wayne Adams’s death sentence to a life sentence.” Verlene Edmond, Sunday School Teacher, New Pleasant Grove Baptist Church.

By Michael Graczyk - The Associated Press

Mar 9, 2010

Dallas - A federal court on Tuesday rejected the appeal of a Houston man sent to death row for the shooting death of his 19-month-old son.

The rejection from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals moved Timothy Wayne Adams a step closer to execution for the February 2002 slaying of his namesake son, Timothy Wayne Adams Jr.

In a brief order, the New Orleans-based court said Adams failed to show his constitutional rights were violated at his trial seven years ago in Houston.

Adams' appeals attorney did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press seeking comment.

He does not have an execution date.