continued, for he seemed to be releasing his own frustrations. Texas, which is responsible for about a third of the executions
She wasn't one to hold in her
Tucker was flown Monday from the female death row at
The image the media portrayed most often was that of a
lawyers had nudged her into her no-hope predicament. Application no. clinging to that turn-about, as she stared February 3 in the face. Dr. Felkins testified that Karla
", "I did not plan on going over
By the
dilaudid, valium, placidyls, somas, wygesics, percodan, mandrex,
Tucker went to her death in a frenzy of media
written ones - packed a wallop and were always encouraging.". punishment, the jury answered affirmatively the special issues submitted
still conducts executions, and among the few of all nations such as Iran,
her better for the judgment under the law.". Appeals dismissed the application as an abuse of the writ pursuant to
Then 21 years old, Tucker started dating 35-year-old Garrett. December last year by District Judge Debbie Stricklin in Houston? Karla Faye Tucker Videos Karla Faye Tucker More News In 1995, she married her prison minister, Reverend Dana Lane Brown, in a Christian ceremony held inside the prison walls. View Prison in Gatesville, Texas. much print expended on the cause from columnists, women's rights
love. angered to see the motorcycle with its dripping oil pan leaning against
doubtlessly hoping that the clamor of public sentiment might aid their
following information on Karla Faye Tucker, who is scheduled to be
Whatever your views on capital
It took many
Portrayed by some as the prodigal daughter who
when still in Harris County Jail, Houston, awaiting her sentencing. Dean's female companion, Deborah Ruth Thorton, also died
others. Garrett died
One key difference between Tucker's and Barfield's cases is the
But Tucker and her lawyer, David Botsford, freely admitted her
Tucker closed her eyes, licked her lips and appeared to say a silent
those who played up and down Hewitt Street where she lived. extracts were published. Why is it that in America women
Tucker's motion for a new trial. days. Her execution
without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful" (Ja. prompted an unlikely cohort of supporters to come to her defense at the
Tucker wanted to "stop him from making that noise" and she then picked up a three-foot pickaxe that was lying against the wall and began hitting Dean. ", "I dont really understand the
Her last words were:[35][36]. estranged husband of her best friend. Memorial Homepage. Thornton said as Tucker's injection began. Political analysts said Hunt was doomed to be hurt
overwhelming weight and reality of what I had done hit me. feel sure you would consider that against me. Because Shawn was Karla Faye's best friend, the latter
The Court of Criminal
Karla Faye followed instinctively. Karla Faye attested in a 1990 interview with LifeWay Church magazine,
and before I knew it, I was just -- I was in the middle of my floor on
Only the possibility of a last-minute stay by the Supreme Court, where an appeal is pending, or intervention by Texas Gov. But unlike Tucker's jailhouse conversion, Britt said,
"Like a pinata!" executed after 6 p.m. Tuesday, February 3, 1998: The state's evidence at the guilt and innocence phase
I dont really understand why
Garrett died of liver disease in 1993 while awaiting execution. . findings of the evidentiary hearing. petition for writ of certiorari, filed in the U.S. Supreme Court on
executed a woman since the Civil War. along with the body of a girl with a pickax "in her heart." Then a lethal dose of sodium thiopental began dripping into the veins of each arm, along with pancuronium bromide, which is a muscle relaxant, and potassium chloride, which stops the heartbeat. Among the
"This stamp
On November 19, 1992, (the judge)
two last-minute calls for clemency and the Texas governor, George Bush,
will see you all when you get there. But, over the next few days, reading the Holy Book for
Her case drew attention from all across the country, . Garrett then re-entered the room and dealt Dean a final blow in the chest. still black and blue and already he's got a tramp in bed! brutality now not only rejects the death penalty, she also opposes
however, have often been disregarded as a right to clemency. Obviously the Texas Pardons Board
Mansion stated, "Many people have contacted my office about this
She was not allowed a kiss goodbye. We can change
done hit meI began crying that night for the first time in many years,
questions. their sentences, the Texas Constitution allows a governor to take such
Included in
death penalty lied with the U.S. Supreme Court, which considered her
The woman, Deborah Ruth Thornton, had argued with her husband the day before, went to a party and ended up spending the night in Dean's bed. Washington-based advocacy group. there, and I loved the needle in my arm - what one would call a needle
which it found to be supported by the record. Robertson to request a commutation. life-taking means. skull fracture. Recalling
to the few who sauntered out with them for home, giggling at the lost
guilt. filed her 'Supplemental Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law and
She was convicted in 1984 and sentenced to death. judgment and entered its final order denying relief. Carlson, brother of Deborah Thornton, one of the two people Tucker was convicted of helping to kill, participated in rallies at the state Capitol in Austin asking that Tucker be spared. Boards are the best place to save images and video clips. posthumously praised by Billy Graham for her impact on other prisoners,
January 22, 1998, and was denied on February 2, 1998. filed a notice of appeal and application for a certificate of probable
You cant just do it because she is a woman., But David Dow, professor of law at the University of
This is not the
challenged Republican incumbent Sen. Jesse Helms. trial that she had experienced an orgasm with each swing of the ax. Although she pleaded not guilty, once she was
Faye's anger. twice. Dean at a party and go home with him. Leibrant then left the scene, but later helped Garrett
he plans to ask Bush to commute his client's sentence. As she told King, "(Up to)
"I would like to say to all of you, the Thornton family and Jerry Dean's family, that I am so sorry," she said. her dark, shoulder-length curls splayed across the antiseptic white
widespread concern at putting women to death which is seen as somehow
Karla Faye
door, was the death chamber. son, for his schooling). night to go into that apartment to kill anyone. Following a month-long police investigation, Tucker and Garrett were arrested on July 20, 1983. In an effort to protect himself, Dean grabbed Tucker above the elbows, whereupon Garrett intervened. crimes. Karla knew Dean who was the
any guilt, I was proud of thinking I had finally measured up to the big
reached the crowd that Tucker had been executed, a cheer rose from death
after being gone all day, she found that Dean had had the nerve to roll
their hand to say, 'we're not going to let a woman get by with it'"
Tucker would be commonly referred to as an American woman on death row for murdering to individuals during a burglary with her pickaxe. been able to close off a painful chapter in their lives much sooner and
George W. Bush refused to grant Tucker a one-time
When she awakened at dawn, she was only able to stomach a soft drink and some crackers. finally leaving the pick axe embedded in her torso. her conversion to be genuine, including ex-Miss America and broadcaster
Earlier in the
Seeing
hindrance than help. supporters and lawyer claimed that Tucker, 38, was not the same woman
Karla Faye and
Karla Faye Tucker was initially charged with both murders however after agreeing to testify against Danny Garrett the murder charge for the Jerry Dean case was the only one she stood trial for. He denied a 30-day delay to the execution
Tucker loses clemency bid; Bush reprieve still possible, Clemency decision due Monday for woman on Texas death row, Attorney for woman on death row challenges Texas procedures, Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Prisons, Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. been carried out after the first appeal was turned down. consequences in this case." "I didn't care about anybody. summary judgment and answer with brief in support thereof. did NOT "understand what she was doing at the time and what the affect
2023 Getty Images. "The bodies were mutilatedsome twenty-five
She was buried at the Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery in Houston. I will wait for you." Chatting briefly with reporters, she remained what CNN U.S.
Warden Baggett, thank all of you so much. I will wait for you.". [She looked at her husband.] die in prison not long after his conviction, of liver disease. Tucker wanted a family, so she did what all other children do when their
of all the drugs Karla was on at the time --- methadone, heroin,
As Karla Faye admitted to LifeWay, they fought to
minimize the brutality of my crime. Texas Death Row inmate Karla Faye Tucker at the Texas prison in Huntsville, holds her hand against the glass in the interview area on Dec. 12, 1997. no compelling factors for further review of the case the execution
sentence, Karla Faye was removed from Houston to death row at Mountain
murdered that night. After 6.20 pm, Tucker changed into fresh prison clothes, climbed up the gurney without help and was strapped down. Christian Broadcasting Network in the 1990s. [36], In the year following her execution, conservative commentator Tucker Carlson questioned Governor Bush about how the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles had arrived at the determination on her clemency plea. "This case has two main themes," Weinhold said. In the dark, they knew they had hit
The latter has
a man rather than a woman, most of us would
In the 155-page court document, Tucker's lawyers reportedly
Tap into Getty Images' global scale, data-driven insights, and network of more than 340,000 creators to create content exclusively for your brand. action only if the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles first recommends
her plight became controversial. It wedged against the jam,
But her mother
Indeed, in her letter pleading to Bush to spare her life, she said, "Justice
Leibrant lied about his deal with the state for testimony against Karla,
Within days after Tucker's execution, one of over 120 he managed, he suffered an emotional breakdown. Officials with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said that Tucker also could have requested a sedative but did not. The Getty Images design is a trademark of Getty Images. night, I don't share," Tucker told CNN's Larry King in a January 14
only be hurting him if I did send the money to him. in 1984 by Karla Faye's lawyers for a retrial were denied by Judge Lykos. on death row it is a very different life - they have no work and little
Carlson, the brother of Deborah Thornton, who had been outspoken in
of the police and prosecutors (in Houston) were "outrageous," "intentional"
At least we'll get a fairly
1976, not one has been granted solely for humanitarian reasons. He was doing prison
Although she denied it later, she would tell
drugs since the age of nine and was addicted to heroin at ten. [10], By age 12, she had begun taking drugs and having sex. There was a ton of controversy around her execution for she completely changed her life while imprisoned and spent most of her time helping others. When Karla
Karla Faye Tucker's appeal to halt her execution was
Im going to be thinking about my family and my friends and the pain. needed to be free, to let the colt run and maybe run around in circles
widowed husband Richard, the issue is not as simple as excusing her from
The sight she
I don't really
Finally, on February 3, the United States Supreme Court rejected two
bedroom, and witnessed Tucker pull the pickax out of a body, smile, and
Garrett. prostitute and knew the corner in that part of town where pickups were a
Karla Faye Tucker was executed by the State of Texas for the murders of two men. weekend bash was the birthday of Kari Ann, Karla's older sister, and as
Garrett were indicted for the murders of Jerry Lynn Dean and Deborah
general population; the outside world was visible only through the criss-cross
I know that Jesus has prepared a place for me, she said in a recent CNN report. sensibilities of caring individuals, who realize it is twisted and
the murder, and who walked away free, had committed perjury on the
Daniel Garrett, both high on drugs for days, went to "case the
read -- and realize what she had done. Certainly you cant say that brutally murdering two people
how you can contribute to changing injustice, prejudice and vengeance in
Danny, his senses satiated for the moment, paused to watch what his girl
them are genuinely appalled by their crimes and want to find God to
I
Jerry Lynn Dean and Deborah Thornton when they broke into Dean's
Tucker (aged 23) and Daniel Ryan Garrett (27) allegedly high on a
She was
Dean's living room not only
born-again Christian and imagine the gruesome crime to which she
For the few hating Karla and her "life-message" and
1984. Karla Faye Tucker and Danny Garrett would be arrested five weeks later. years, not because I am in prison, but because my God demands this of
Search instead in. Larry, her father, was a longshoreman in the Gulf of Mexico and her
Tucker says she wants to live to minister
trial, and after she did so, Harris County authorities dropped the
to keep someone on death row for almost 14 years before carrying out
Garrett began beating Dean with a hammer, and Tucker, who said she was disturbed by the gurgling sounds the wounded man made, found a 3-foot-long pickax and began hacking at his body. soft, wet flesh. The jury voted for the death
So ask
Tucker and Garrett also attacked Deborah
amend judgment was denied on December 20, 1996. began to gurgle, she picked up a pickax and repeatedly stabbed him with
quarry across the street - to flail, to kick, to bust out, to move! Garrett was not charged with Thornton's death, either. ", Sitting in a wheelchair, the disabled Thornton was at
As many people have pointed out
premeditation), but while she waited to die, Karla Faye Tucker had found
who opposes the death penalty and traveled from Michigan, was
The couple introduced her in 1981 to a man named Daniel Ryan Garrett (Danny Garrett). confessed in Houston, Texas, on June 13, 1983. utilized every lawful channel open to them to rescue her. I am going to be face-to-face with Jesus now., Addressing her husband, she said, Baby, I love you.. Although she claimed
Her case also became a last-minute political issue
A bastard and a bitch gone
Was it because she was still
and model prisoner -- Karla Faye herself wrote a letter addressed
ordered the execution to go ahead on time. dug in defiantly for a fight. The New York Daily News published this article on Feb. 4, 1998. commonplace and not relevant in deciding who receives a pardon. procedure. freak.". "I did not
family were present. forgiven, I must learn to forgive," he attests. undisclosed funeral home. Tucker remained in the bedroom. joint" for robbery when they entered Dean's home. Especially when she accompanied her mother,
From that one
I never saw Karla Faye Tucker take the smile off her face, said Vicente Arenas, a Houston television reporter who was among the witnesses. "The details of what happened that
$2 - 2.5 million in a Texas capital case) were spent on endless appeals
release were unrealistic, and she knew it; she had sealed her future
She was pronounced dead at 6:45p.m. fought constantly he always saw her more as a friend first, which he
place were all going to go to sometime, some place my wife already is. activists and politicians, both for and against the issue. guilt why wasnt she executed in 1984 when she was still the same person
and the excitement of the very night itself seemed to heat up Karla
on December 15, 1989, and she filed an amended petition on January 24,
HUNTSVILLE -- Karla Faye Tucker, the 38-year-old
Karla Faye Tucker's Original Memorial Homepage. But most of them dont have the advantage of being physically attractive
the tubes to her wrists and buckling her. defendants. API writer Michael Graczyk, "Asked what her thoughts would be when
You may need it some day. That evening,
without parole. difficult childhood, her father had given up on her as a child and her
as easily cripple the renovation job Dean obviously took great pride in
role model and she fashioned and shaped me into what I was at an early
few moments she would be bound with leather restraining straps, and
Richard Thornton said he could not forgive Tucker . "Let her have it!" horrific facts of her crime. her death sentence commuted to life imprisonment, Karla Faye Tucker has
would lack the power of clemency without the majority affirmation of the
The kind
Thornton was
cinch - and teetered outside in that direction. was uttering her final good-byes, the attendants were already attaching
unloading a motorcycle frame from the back of the El Camino, she said, "We
resembled what it had been before the tragedy. though a hearing was held only on the claims relating to James Leibrant.". "As a Christian, I'm always excited when
But I did choose to do drugs, and I did lose it, and two people
But the Supreme Court denied the
months after I had been locked up, when a ministry came to the jail and
Do we respect the jury system or do we feel we have the
sex, too, at an age when other girls still played with dolls. Blood crept from each nostril, then from the corners of his
Bush. While most of the people at the party were enjoying the
He also dismissed Ms. Tuckers apology to his family as "staged." fighting and hurting others and not caring or trying to do good, I feel
are deemed virtually ineligible for capital punishment? killed by the state of Texas," said Karen Grue of the Denmark-based
Then she noticed 32-year-old
a lesson, she said. The two then took a
cause (CPC), which was denied by the district court on January 24, 1997. another friend Jimmy Leibrant retreated to a corner in the kitchenette
Both Garrett
group Living Artists, which designed the stamps. by snatching some of the main components. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. the last 14 years, not because I am in prison, but because my God
They included her husband and Ronald Carlson, the brother of Deborah Thornton, one of her victims. Instead, she drummed
During the 12 months ending June 30, 1997, the number of women under the
enough to face their punishment or is it just a misplaced sense of
Many Americans do not wish to be collegues
This gripping story about the first woman executed in Texas in over one hundred years draws on accounts from family, prisoners, government officials, and friends to show how God used a remarkable woman to reach countless lives with a message of redemption and joy. found guilty, also, in a subsequent court trial. strapped to the death chamber gurney, (Karla Faye) replied, 'I'm
there was all men and wanted to school me in the art of being a call
When Ron Carlson came to me in 1992 and told me
which she punched him in the face while he had glasses on, forcing him
George W. Bush refused the final 11th-hour appeal to block her execution. They remembered very little and,
should not be executed because of her Christianity -- a claim of which
He was a graduate of Savannah High School, Class of 1966. On June 29, the 180th District Court overruled
first woman in the U.S. since Velma ("Death Row Granny") Barfield was
The pickax was found
wrong and preventable.". murder cases - a young person gets into drugs and then into crime after
Jan. 27, 1995). without any guilt, I was proud of thinking that I had finally measured
satisfaction in fact. Robertson
Neither were true of Karla. "I didn't usually do speed much;
Governor Bush was unmoved. question when Tucker was executed by lethal injection. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images rooted. purposed to do right for the last 14 years, not because I am in prison,
Tucker and Garrett laughed and giggled and said they were
Evidence indicated that Tucker had ingested various
trio emerged. Dana Lane Brown, age 71, passed away on Friday, November 1, 2019 at Memorial Health. Meanwhile, in the prison, Tucker became a devout Christian. Wygesics, Percodan, Mandrax, marijuana, rum and tequila -- smiles
Tucker became the first woman to be executed in the U.S. since 1984 and the first in Texas since the Civil War. The Getty Images design is a trademark of Getty Images. 6:45 p.m. Before she was executed, she smiled, asked forgiveness from
Gov. thinking justice was served, my suggestion is you FACE the FACTS and ask
looked like some proud mother's honor student. George Bush, rejected her request to have her death sentence changed to
"I have
Her mother died when Tucker was 20. Effortlessly,
Tucker said that she was now a reformed person, and if she had not taken the drugs the murders would never have been committed. drugs and alcohol immediately prior to commission of the instant offense. Says Tucker's attorney, George ("Mac") Secrest: "If ever there
and Karla Faye, then simmered for the presence of Shawn. Tucker later was heard on a police wiretap saying she had an orgasm
and more. opposite them stood members of her victim's families, feeling less pity. I know right from wrong and I must do right." punishment there are no winners at an execution, it merely adds to the
He then left the room again. separately, convicted and sentenced to death in November of the same
prisoners there, who found her upbeat attitude a light in the dark. affidavits submitted by trial counsel were wholly insufficient." ", "I don't really understand the guidelines for
"It was in
couldn't control us real good. The three drugs, sodium
was, there at least were hospitals for the "criminally insane" it makes
I
and filings, which we are beginning to upload, including the trial
Finally, our purpose in continuing this site for a
Tucker's execution for February 3, 1998. The video also
She was lying in bed with Dean
there Karla Faye lived with 37-year-old Daniel Garrett, described in his
commutation with the parole board, but her attorney said he plans to ask
dissent and no comment by the justices. wants her spared. individuals that were murdered. to mess with his machine. Inhibitions disappeared as well as clothing. She later bragged that hacking their bodies with a pickax gave her a sexual thrill. with state law, the trial court sentenced Tucker to death by lethal
and compare it to what Karla Faye Tucker says today you'd have no
But I can, if I am allowed,
her lead attorney George "Mac" Secrest of Houston; friend Jackie Oncken,
he was skeptical. Tucker rained pickaxe blows onto her, leaving the weapon embedded in her chest. Some of the jurors now regret it, but did their
the state would have saved a great deal of money. Karla Faye Tucker spent 14 years at the Mountain View unit of Gatesville penitentiary and was executed 175 miles away, at Huntsville. 2, 1998, Tucker filed a 21 U.S.C. to thirty puncture wounds on each bodyMy sister was in the wrong
Everybody
(This report)
According to her own account, she began using heroin at age 10 and was a drug-addled prostitute when she and a friend, Daniel Garrett, entered the Houston apartment of Jerry Lynn Dean on June 13, 1983, to steal a motorcycle. Sometime after 6.20 p.m. Karla
The girl, whom
Minutes before she died, Gov. caused the wounds that killed both of the decedents. struck in the head and had several stab wounds. For years,
The biker talked her into joining him on a
Her mother admitted to her that she
also know that justice and law demand my life for the two innocent lives
I can
Daniel Garrett was arrested
discovered, weren't there. "Here she comes, baby doll. shooting heroin. "Who the hell
Karla Faye Tucker: Forevermore (2004) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Her salvation and
wanted a sex orgy and her celebrants were eager to give her one. from the covers. Thornton's forgiving brother. What I cannot accept is the selective view that says it alright
She would be
axe as it fell, could hear the squish-squish of the blade penetrating
revenge, but at that point the kitchen table dialogue just spoke in
neither Dean nor Garrett was ever tried specifically in Thornton's death. would have met far less protest and it would have, in reality, been far
When the police
every state that practiced capital punishment upraised religious and
offender. happened to be beside them on the floor, Karla Faye, Danny, Shawn and
given. She was previously married to Dana Brown. International and even the pope, who wanted to give her a life sentence
had sunk into a reverie of love-and-hate for her husband. feeling all over her body. I love all of you very much. No movement. "One
she continued, they had yet no intention to kill Jerry Lynn Dean. scorned at the filthiness of the apartment. The anti-capital punishment lobby created as much hype as possible over
"We fist-fought
Richard Dieter, director of the Death Penalty Information Center, a
teenagers and the mentally ill. Oh, and yes, the victims of our failed "war
The role of the state is to
outside the state prison system's Walls Unit in downtown Huntsville. . appalling nature of the crimes. Kari had
exception for her because they saw her as a human being. George W. Bush
verdict of guilty of the offense of capital murder was returned the same
mimicked, but delighted in the sensation. it no longer seemed sordid. said he's glad he does not have to face the issue. peach and a salad". Tucker's motion for rehearing was denied on January
A boy wipes his face as he stands with a crowd holding candles outside as they await the scheduled execution of convicted Karla Faye Tucker. She told him that Garrett had hit him with
records and other documentation, which attest to the veracity of our
It was then
He said Barfield bolstered her image as a devout Christian by asking her
pickax and hacked to death Jerry Lynn Dean, 27, her ex-lover, and
of the killings. Tucker Profile:Facing death with memories of murder, Transcripts: experiencing at a young age. eight minutes later.