Txexecutions.org

Donald Loren Aldrich, 39, was executed by lethal injection on 12 October 2004 in Huntsville, Texas for the kidnapping, robbery, and murder of a 23-year-old man.

On 30 November 1993, Aldrich, then 29, Henry Dunn, 19, and David McMillan, 17, drove to a Tyler city park that was known as a meeting place for homosexuals. At the park, Aldrich spotted Nicholus West, 23. He got out of their car and approached West, who was in his pickup. Aldrich pretended to be interested in West, and West invited Aldrich to join him. The two drove together to a nearby parking lot. Dunn and McMillan followed in their car.

Once in the parking lot, the three men brandished weapons at West and forced him into their car. With Dunn holding a gun on West, McMillan drove them to a clay pit about ten miles outside of town. Aldrich drove West's pickup. When they arrived, the trio walked West away from the road, into the pit. They made him remove his pants and shoes and stole his wallet. They then shot him 9 to 15 times with .357-caliber revolvers and left his body in the pit, face down. They then left the scene, with Aldrich driving West's truck and McMillan and Dunn in their car. West's body was discovered by dirt bikers two days later.

Aldrich was arrested a few days later on unrelated robbery charges. He confessed and told police that he and his accomplices went to the park on the night of West's murder with the intention of finding homosexuals to assault. He said that he disliked homosexuals because at age 9, he was raped by a gay cousin. Aldrich confessed to firing at least three of the fatal shots. Dunn was arrested in posession of West's pickup. He gave a videotaped confession in which he also admitted shooting West several times.

At the time of the murder, Aldrich was on parole for two prior felony convictions. He was paroled in 1990 after serving 6 months of a 10-year sentence for burglary. He was paroled in 1991 after serving 1 year of a 12-year sentence for robbery. (At the time, early release was common in Texas due to strict prison population caps imposed by U.S. District Judge William Wayne Justice.)

A jury convicted Aldrich of capital murder in August 1994 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in June 1996. All of his subsequent appeals in state and federal court were denied.

Henry Earl Dunn was also convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death. He was executed in February 2003. David Ray McMillan was convicted of aggravated robbery and aggravated kidnapping and received a life sentence.

In 2003, Smith County District Attorney Jack Skeen, whose office prosecuted all three defendants, said that they were members of a group called the "CB gang", so named because they became acquainted over citizen's band (CB) radios. The gang, supposedly led by Aldrich, carried out other attacks on homosexual men in the Tyler area over a period of months.

"To the West family, I would just like to apologize for your loss. I hope that you can forgive me," Aldrich said in his last statement. He also expressed love to his family and friends. He was pronounced dead at 6:18 p.m.

Second convict in Tyler gay slaying executed

AP - Tuesday, October 12, 2004

HUNTSVILLE, Texas – Condemned inmate Donald Aldrich was executed Tuesday for the abduction of a homosexual East Texas man who wound up victim of a gay-bashing murder.

In a brief final statement, Aldrich apologized to the family of his victim although none was present. "I hope that you can forgive me," he said. "To my family and loved ones and friends, I thank all of you for your support and I'm sorry for the pain and hurt I have caused you," Aldrich said. "I love you all and will see you on the other side." Aldrich closed his eyes and gasped slightly as the lethal drugs began taking effect. He was pronounced dead at 6:18 p.m., six minutes later.

Aldrich, 39, was the second man executed for his involvement in the fatal shooting of Nicholas West, 23, of Tyler, nearly 11 years ago. Henry Earl Dunn, 28, was put to death in February 2003. Each man blamed the other for West's slaying, but authorities contended both participated in the shooting.

Aldrich was the 16th convicted killer executed this year in Texas and third in eight days. Two more remain on the schedule for this month and five are set for November.

Aldrich and Dunn were members of what became known as the "CB gang," authorities said, so named because they first became acquainted over CB radios. For months the gang in which Aldrich was known as "Sundance" preyed on homosexuals in the Tyler area. A third member of the gang, David McMillan, who was 17 at the time, was convicted of aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery and received a life prison term.

In a videotaped confession to police, Aldrich, considered leader of the cadre, said he didn't like homosexuals because at age 9 he had been raped by a gay cousin. Court records showed West, a medical clerk, was robbed Nov. 30, 1993, at a Tyler park known as a homosexual meeting place and then was taken to a remote area of Smith County where he was stripped, ordered to his knees and shot at least nine times.

In late appeals to the courts, Aldrich's attorneys didn't dispute his guilt but raised questions about the execution procedure and trial testimony. Defense lawyers asked the U.S. Supreme Court for an injunction to block the combination of drugs Texas prison officials use to put inmates to death, calling it "an unnecessarily cruel and outmoded means of lethal injection" that increases "the risk of torture in the execution process."

A federal district judge in Houston and the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans earlier rejected the request, saying Aldrich's lawyers didn't show any alternate execution method would be better. About an hour before Aldrich's scheduled execution time, the high court rejected the appeal without comment. In June, a similar appeal in another Texas case failed before the Supreme Court. Aldrich's lawyers, however, pointed out that unlike that case, their request was filed before Aldrich even had an execution date and their action shouldn't be dismissed as merely a delay tactic.

A second appeals attempt, this one in the state courts, focused on the reliability of trial testimony from psychologists who said Aldrich would continue to be a violent threat if he was allowed to live although neither psychologist ever met or examined him. The question of future danger is one Texas juries must consider when deciding whether a capital murder convict should be condemned. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rejected the argument.

At the time of his arrest for the slaying, Aldrich was on parole for a pair of convictions. One was for burglary in Smith County and the second for robbery in Dallas County. "If you take the position the death penalty is to deter people who don't have a conscience from continuing to perpetrate crimes and who have a past track record of criminal behavior, then he's your poster child," said David Dobbs, the former Smith County assistant district attorney who prosecuted Aldrich.

On a Danish Internet site devoted to condemned prisoners, Aldrich, an Oklahoma native who worked as a baker, acknowledged he was "part of a crime that ended in the death of a young man, but did not play a part in his death."

Man executed for gay-bashing murder in Tyler

October 13, 2004

Donald Aldrich was executed in the Texas death chamber Tuesday evening for the abduction and murder of an East Texas man who wound up a victim in a gay-bashing hate crime. Aldrich, 39, was the second man executed for his involvement in the fatal shooting of Nicholas West, 23, of Tyler, nearly 11 years ago. Henry Earl Dunn, 28, was put to death in February 2003. Each man blamed the other for West's slaying, but authorities contended both participated in the shooting.

In a last statement from death row, Aldrich addressed the victim's family, none of whom were present, and a few personal witnesses. "To the West family, I would just like to apologize for your loss," he said. "I hope that you can forgive me. To my family and loved ones and friends, I thank all of you for your support, and I'm sorry for the pain and hurt I caused you." In a nervous final word, he said, "All right warden."

The lethal dose was administered at 6:12 p.m., and Aldrich was pronounced dead at 6:18, after taking a few short breaths, a slight shaking of his head and a final deep breath. Aldrich was the 16th convicted killer executed this year in Texas and third in eight days. Two more remain on the schedule for this month and five are set for November.

Aldrich and Dunn were members of what became known as the "CB gang," authorities said, so named because they first became acquainted over CB radios. For months the gang in which Aldrich was known as "Sundance" preyed on homosexuals in the Tyler area. A third member of the gang, David McMillan, who was 17 at the time, was convicted of aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery and received a life prison term. In a videotaped confession to police, Aldrich, considered leader of the cadre, said he didn't like homosexuals because at age 9 he had been raped by a gay cousin.

Court records showed West, a medical clerk, was robbed Nov. 30, 1993, at a Tyler park known as a homosexual meeting place and then was taken to a remote area of Smith County where he was stripped, ordered to his knees and shot at least nine times.

In late appeals to the courts, Aldrich's attorneys didn't dispute his guilt but raised questions about the execution procedure and trial testimony. Defense lawyers asked the U.S. Supreme Court for an injunction to block the combination of drugs Texas prison officials use to put inmates to death, calling it "an unnecessarily cruel and outmoded means of lethal injection" that increases "the risk of torture in the execution process."

A federal district judge in Houston and the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans earlier rejected the request, saying Aldrich's lawyers didn't show any alternate execution method would be better. In June, a similar appeal in another Texas case failed before the Supreme Court. Aldrich's lawyers, however, pointed out that unlike that case, their request was filed before Aldrich even had an execution date and their action shouldn't be dismissed as merely a delay tactic.

A second appeals attempt, this one in the state courts, focused on the reliability of trial testimony from psychologists who said Aldrich would continue to be a violent threat if he was allowed to live although neither psychologist ever met or examined him. The question of future danger is one Texas juries must consider when deciding whether a capital murder convict should be condemned. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rejected the argument.

At the time of his arrest for the slaying, Aldrich was on parole for a pair of convictions. One was for burglary in Smith County and the second for robbery in Dallas County.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Second convict in Tyler gay slaying executed

AP - Tuesday, October 12, 2004

HUNTSVILLE, Texas - Condemned inmate Donald Aldrich was executed Tuesday for the abduction of a homosexual East Texas man who wound up victim of a gay-bashing murder.

In a brief final statement, Aldrich apologized to the family of his victim although none was present. "I hope that you can forgive me," he said. "To my family and loved ones and friends, I thank all of you for your support and I'm sorry for the pain and hurt I have caused you," Aldrich said. "I love you all and will see you on the other side." Aldrich closed his eyes and gasped slightly as the lethal drugs began taking effect. He was pronounced dead at 6:18 p.m., six minutes later.

Aldrich, 39, was the second man executed for his involvement in the fatal shooting of Nicholas West, 23, of Tyler, nearly 11 years ago. Henry Earl Dunn, 28, was put to death in February 2003. Each man blamed the other for West's slaying, but authorities contended both participated in the shooting.

Aldrich was the 16th convicted killer executed this year in Texas and third in eight days. Two more remain on the schedule for this month and five are set for November.

Aldrich and Dunn were members of what became known as the "CB gang," authorities said, so named because they first became acquainted over CB radios. For months the gang in which Aldrich was known as "Sundance" preyed on homosexuals in the Tyler area. A third member of the gang, David McMillan, who was 17 at the time, was convicted of aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery and received a life prison term.

In a videotaped confession to police, Aldrich, considered leader of the cadre, said he didn't like homosexuals because at age 9 he had been raped by a gay cousin. Court records showed West, a medical clerk, was robbed Nov. 30, 1993, at a Tyler park known as a homosexual meeting place and then was taken to a remote area of Smith County where he was stripped, ordered to his knees and shot at least nine times.

In late appeals to the courts, Aldrich's attorneys didn't dispute his guilt but raised questions about the execution procedure and trial testimony. Defense lawyers asked the U.S. Supreme Court for an injunction to block the combination of drugs Texas prison officials use to put inmates to death, calling it "an unnecessarily cruel and outmoded means of lethal injection" that increases "the risk of torture in the execution process."

A federal district judge in Houston and the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans earlier rejected the request, saying Aldrich's lawyers didn't show any alternate execution method would be better. About an hour before Aldrich's scheduled execution time, the high court rejected the appeal without comment. In June, a similar appeal in another Texas case failed before the Supreme Court. Aldrich's lawyers, however, pointed out that unlike that case, their request was filed before Aldrich even had an execution date and their action shouldn't be dismissed as merely a delay tactic.

A second appeals attempt, this one in the state courts, focused on the reliability of trial testimony from psychologists who said Aldrich would continue to be a violent threat if he was allowed to live although neither psychologist ever met or examined him. The question of future danger is one Texas juries must consider when deciding whether a capital murder convict should be condemned. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rejected the argument.

At the time of his arrest for the slaying, Aldrich was on parole for a pair of convictions. One was for burglary in Smith County and the second for robbery in Dallas County. "If you take the position the death penalty is to deter people who don't have a conscience from continuing to perpetrate crimes and who have a past track record of criminal behavior, then he's your poster child," said David Dobbs, the former Smith County assistant district attorney who prosecuted Aldrich.

On a Danish Internet site devoted to condemned prisoners, Aldrich, an Oklahoma native who worked as a baker, acknowledged he was "part of a crime that ended in the death of a young man, but did not play a part in his death."

Donald Loren Aldrich

39 year old Donald Loren Aldrich was the named leader of a group of three men who kidnapped, robbed and killed 23 year old Nicholas West of Tyler, because he was gay. The murder made national headlines and sparked several gay protests and rallies in East Texas. Tuesday night, Donald Aldrich was executed in Huntsville.

There weren't any relatives present, however there were four friends of Aldrich and his personal spiritual advisor to witness his death. On death row for 11 years now, Aldrich was served his last meal: chef salad with French/Ranch dressing, fried chicken breasts and legs, french fries, a cheeseburger, chocolate cake, deviled eggs, and biscuits with gravy. He was taken from his holding cell at 6 p.m. to the execution chambers. He then made his last statement.

He said, "To the West family, I would just like to apologize for your loss. I hope that you can forgive me. To my family and loved ones and friends, I thank all of you for all your support and love you've given me and I'm sorry for the pain and hurt I've caused you. Just know that I love you all and I will see you on the other side." Aldrich was pronounced dead at 6:18 p.m.

Outside the prison were several protestors, a religious group from Sam Houston State University, who come to every execution to protest the death penalty. Also present, a Jacksonville man who knew Nicholas West and supports the execution of Donald Aldrich. "This case is so unprecedented that if there was ever a case in the nation that deserved the death penalty, this one tonight really does," says Wesley Beard, who was in support of Aldrich's execution. "I'm not saying that his murder is justified or that what he did was right, I just don't believe that any human being on earth has the right to take the life of another one," says English Sylvester, a death penalty protester from Sam Houston State University. Aldrich was one of the three people involved in West's murder. Henry Dunn was executed in 2003. David McMillan is still serving a sentence of life in prison. Reporting: Braid Sharp bsharp@kltv.com

Texan Executed for Gay Man's Murder

Tuesday, October 12, 2004

The ringleader of a gay-bashing group was executed by lethal injection Tuesday evening after spending more than a decade on Texas' death row. Donald Aldrich, 39, was the instigator of a number of robberies and assaults on gay men in the fall of 1993 in Tyler, Texas.

Accompanied by teenage boys, Aldrich and his group were accused of preying on gay men over a period of months, later telling the police that gay men were easier to rob and less likely to report being victims of a crime.

On Nov. 30 of that year, Aldrich and two teens kidnapped 23-year-old medical clerk Nicholas West from a park known as a hangout for gay men. West was taken to a clay pit outside of town, where he was robbed. The three men, including Aldrich, 19-year-old Henry Dunn and 17-year-old David McMillan, then shot West over a dozen times, and may have tortured him. His body was discovered three days after friends grew worried by his absence.

Aldrich and Dunn received the death penalty, while McMillan was given a life sentence. Dunn was executed in February of 2003. Both Dunn and Aldrich claimed that the other man started the fatal gunfire.

Defense lawyers continued to make last-minute appeals to no avail as Aldrich's execution date neared. Some people have suggested that the combination of drugs used to execute death row inmates in Texas violates the Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. If administered incorrectly, an inmate may be paralyzed from one drug, but remain conscious and capable of feeling pain from the others. A death that looks peaceful may in fact be agonizing, critics say.

Further, Aldrich's lawyers argued that he had a perfect conduct record and has shown no sign of violence in 10 years. At his sentencing, the Associated Press reports, the court heard testimony from two psychiatrists who insisted Aldrich was too dangerous to live, despite the fact that they had never met or examined the convicted killer.

Texas Prepares To Execute Gay Man's Killer

October 11, 2004

(Huntsville, Texas) Donald Aldrich is scheduled to die by lethal injection Tuesday evening in the Huntsville, Texas death chamber. Aldrich was one of three men convicted of the murder of Nicholas West. West was gunned down during an abduction and robbery near Tyler, Texas in 1993. The 23 year old medical clerk, was grabbed by three men in a gay cruising area. He was taken to a remote area of Smith County, was stripped, ordered to his knees and shot as many as 15 times. Police said West was targeted solely because he was gay.

Aldrich was believed to have been the ring leader and trigger man, something he has always denied. "I'm not totally innocent," Aldrich, 39, said on a Denmark-based Internet site devoted to condemned prisoners. "I was part of a crime that ended in the death of a young man, but did not play a part in his death." Henry Dunn Jr. was executed in February 2003. A third man, David Ray McMillan, who was 17 when the crime occurred, received a life prison term. During their trial Dunn and Aldrich each pointed the finger at the other. Police believe both were directly involved in West's killing.

"Aldrich is one of these guys who thinks he's smarter than anyone else," said David Dobbs, a former Smith County assistant district attorney who prosecuted the case. "He tried to spin it to police. Ballistic tests showed two guns were shot."

In appeals to the court to halt the lethal injection, Aldrich's attorneys were not disputing his guilt but raised questions about trial and execution procedures.

One appeal contended a pair of psychologists at Aldrich's trial testified he would continue to be a violent threat if he was allowed to live although neither psychologist ever met or examined Aldrich. The question of future danger is one Texas juries must consider when deciding whether a capital murder convict should be sentenced to death.

Aldrich's lawyers argued such testimony was unreliable and the result unconstitutional. They also pointed to Aldrich's record since he went to death row, noting that despite predictions he would be a continuing violent threat, over 10 years he had only one disciplinary infraction and that was for refusing a cell assignment because of cockroaches in the cell.

Aldrich was on parole after a pair of convictions, one for burglary in Smith County and a second for robbery in Dallas County, when he was arrested for the West slaying. Authorities believed Aldrich was the leader of what became known as the "CB gang," so named because they first became acquainted over CB radios. For months the gang in which Aldrich was known as "Sundance" preyed on homosexuals in the Tyler area. The attack on West was the third in a week involving homosexuals.

Donald Aldrich - Texas - October 12, 2004

The state of Texas is scheduled to execute Donald Aldrich for the 1993 robbery and murder of Nicholas West in Smith County. Aldrich, a white man, confessed to targeting West because he was gay. Aldrich, acting with David McMillan and Henry Dunn Jr., abducted West from a city park known as a hangout where gay men met. According to a plan carried out several times before, Aldrich took West to a remote area of Smith County where he met Dunn and McMillian. It was at this time that Aldrich and Dunn shot the victim several times, killing him.

Donald Aldrich was sentenced to death largely because the jury was fearful that he would pose a future threat to society or to other prisoners. The jury undoubtedly formed this decision after hearing the prosecutor’s psychiatric “expert” witness testimony stating that Aldrich is pathologically violent.

The facts simply do not support this claim. In a study done by the Texas Defender’s Service, predictions for future violent behavior of inmates in Texas were incorrect 95 percent of the time. Additionally Aldrich had no history of violence prior to the robbery and murder of West. He has been on death row for 10 years and has demonstrated no violent behavior. Aldrich has demonstrated that he can live peacefully in a structured environment.

The murder of Nicholas West was a tragedy made more alarming by the fact that it was a crime motivated by hate and discrimination towards West because he was gay. It is important to send a clear message that hate crime will not be tolerated by the state and that hate crime offenders will be prosecuted and punished. However, it is known that the death penalty does not deter crime in Texas or in any other state.

As someone who presided over many of Texas's executions, former Texas Attorney General Jim Mattox once remarked, "It is my own experience that those executed in Texas were not deterred by the existence of the death penalty law.”

Similarly, when the presidents of the top academic criminological societies in the United States were polled, 84 percent of these experts rejected the notion that research had demonstrated any deterrent effect from the death penalty.

Please take a moment to write Governor Perry, and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles by submitting the following letter or writing your own in the space below. Your message will then be faxed and emailed to Gov. Perry and the Board.

Licensed to Kill (1997)

Genre: Documentary
Starring: Donald Aldrich, Corey Burley, Raymond Childs, William Cross, Kenneth French
Director: Arthur Dong

Synopsis - Winner of both the Directors and Filmmakers Trophy awards at the Sundance Film Festival, 'Licensed to Kill' goes behind the media headlines of recent high-profile anti-gay murders to investigate their causes. Attacked by gay bashers in 1977, filmmaker Arthur Dong probes the hearts and minds of murderers convicted of killing gay men he faces them in one-on-one cell block interviews and asks them directly: 'Why did you do it?' Probing on-camera interviews with seven convicted killers behind bars propel the narrative drive of 'Licensed To Kill.' These inmates include a wide range of distinct profiles: a young man who claims he justifiably killed as protection from his victim's sexual advances - a defense known as 'homosexual panic'; a self-loathing, religious gay man who killed because of his own homosexual tendencies; a victim of child abuse who feared losing his manhood; an army sergeant angry over the gays in the military debate; and a self-described homeboy looking for easy prey.

Aldrich v. Dretke, 83 Fed. Appx. 11 (5th Cir. 2003)(Habeas).

Following affirmance, 928 S.W.2d 558, of his conviction of capital murder, state inmate, sentenced to death, petitioned for writ of habeas corpus. The United States District Court for the Western District of Texas denied the petition and refused to issue certificate of appealability (COA). Inmate appealed. Holding: The Court of Appeals held that no COA was warranted.

Donald Loren Aldrich ("Aldrich") filed an application for federal writ of habeas corpus in the Western District of Texas. On February 24, 2003, the district court entered a judgment denying his petition for writ of habeas corpus and refusing to issue a certificate of appealability ("COA"). Aldrich subsequently filed with this court seeking a COA. We deny his request.

Aldrich was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death on August 9, 1994 for the November 30, 1993 murder of Nicholas West. On November 30, 1993, Aldrich and two friends decided to go "queer-bashing," using procedures similar to those they had employed at least twice in the past to rob and assault persons they believed to be homosexual.

The three of them drove to Bergfeld Park, which they believed to be a homosexual meeting spot in Tyler, Texas, where they robbed Nicholas West at gunpoint. After robbing West of his money and vehicle, they forced him into their automobile and drove to a remote area of Smith County. They then forced the victim to walk up a hill, where Aldrich and another one of the assailants shot him at least nine times with two .357 handguns. Aldrich fired at least three shots into the victim.

After a change of venue from Smith County, Texas, to Kerr County, Texas, Aldrich was convicted of the murder of Nicholas West. Following a separate punishment hearing, the trial court sentenced Aldrich to death. Aldrich appealed to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which affirmed his conviction and sentence. See Aldrich v. State, 928 S.W.2d 558 (Tex.Crim.App.1996).

Aldrich then petitioned for state habeas relief, to no avail. Aldrich initiated federal habeas proceedings on June 16, 1998. On February 24, 2003, the district court entered a judgment denying Aldrich's petition for writ of habeas corpus and denying Aldrich a certificate of appealability. Aldrich timely appealed.

Aldrich v. State, 928 S.W.2d 558 (Tex.Crim.App. 1996) (Direct Appeal).

Defendant was convicted in the 241st District Court, Smith County, Joe D. Clayton, J. Defendant appealed. The Court of Criminal Appeals, Mansfield, J., held that: (1) defendant failed to make prima facie showing of violation of Sixth Amendment requirement that jury be drawn from fair cross-section of community, despite fact that veniremembers were not summoned from list of all those registered to vote and all those holding driver's licenses or personal identification cards or certificates as apparently required by statute; (2) jury panel was not selected in arbitrary and discriminatory manner so as to violate due process; and (3) governing statute did not preclude selection of veniremembers in manner done in present case. Points of error overruled. Clinton, J., dissented. Overstreet, J., dissented in part to unpublished portion of opinion and otherwise joined.