Elroy Chester

Elroy Chester (June 14, 1969 – June 12, 2013) was an inmate on Texas death row who was executed at the Huntsville Unit, Huntsville, Texas, two days before his 44th birthday.[1] He was convicted in 1998 of fatally shooting Willie Ryman III, a firefighter in Port Arthur, Texas. He did so after raping Ryman's two nieces.[2] He had confessed to four other killings,[3] and his DNA was linked to three rapes, including that of a ten-year-old girl.[1][2][4] After his arrest, he said that he had committed these offenses because he was out of his mind "with hate for white people" due to lingering resentment over an altercation that he had once gotten into with a white employee of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.[5] During his trial, Chester made multiple outbursts, threatened the lives of police officers, prison guards, and the families of jurors, and at one point declared, "If I hadn't shot my brother-in-law, I'd still be out there shooting white folks."[6] He was originally scheduled for execution on April 24, but, due to an error in the execution warrant, the date was pushed back.[7]

Elroy Chester
BornJune 14, 1969
Jefferson County, Texas
DiedJune 12, 2013 (aged 43)
Huntsville Unit, Huntsville, Texas
Cause of deathExecuted by lethal injection
Criminal penaltyDeath (September 26, 1998)
Details
Victims1-5
CountryUnited States

The Texas court system ruled that Chester was legally competent to be executed,[7] despite scoring below 70 on IQ tests and being previously placed in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's Mentally Retarded Offenders Program.[8] In the prosecution's closing arguments, it was argued that his disability was not a sufficient reason to stay his execution.[8] Since Chester was capable of hiding facts and lying to protect his own interests, using masks and gloves, and cutting exterior telephone lines before entering homes to burglarize, he showed persuasively that he was capable of forethought, planning, and complex execution of purpose. Therefore, the court found the evidence insufficient to support the claim that Chester was mentally retarded.[2] In October 2012, the Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal from Chester.[4]

See also

References
  1. "Elroy Chester, Texas man who confessed to 5 killings, executed by lethal injection". cbsnews.com. CBS News. 13 June 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  2. Porter, Breck (2008). "Condemned Port Arthur Killer Waits for Execution Date". thepolicenews.net. Archive.is. Archived from the original on 9 December 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  3. Dilts, Elizabeth (13 May 2013). "Lawyers worry new measure of mental retardation could prompt more executions". newsandinsight.thomsonreuters.com. WebCite. Archived from the original on 9 June 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  4. "Elroy Chester, Texas Death Row Inmate, Gets Case Turned Away By Supreme Court". huffingtonpost.com. Internet Archive. 29 October 2012. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  5. "Elroy Chester executed for killing Port Arthur fireman". 12newsnow.com. Internet Archive. 12 June 2013. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  6. "Appeals court upholds death sentence for Port Arthur killer". chron.com. Houston Chronicle. 30 December 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  7. Smith, Jordan (7 June 2013). "Death Watch: Chester to die June 12". austinchronicle.com. The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  8. Smith, Jordan (19 April 2013). "Smart Enough to Die: In 2002, the Supreme Court banned the death penalty for mentally retarded defendants. Still, Texas finds a way". austinchronicle.com. The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
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