Executed by the state of Louisiana in June 1987 after being convicted in the July 1980 rape and murder of 23-year-old JoAnn Wilson of Bossier City. Despite his conviction and execution, however, his case is cited by investigative reports as one of several where doubts about his actual guilt or innocence remain and may never be satisfied. The victim was white and there was an all-white jury, and one federal judge who stayed his death sentence, only to be overturned, noted the inept initial defense he had been afforded. Despite nine stays of execution and both witnesses against him recanting, he went to the electric chair protesting his innocence.
Executed by the state of Louisiana in June 1987 after being convicted in the July 1980 rape and murder of 23-year-old JoAnn Wilson of Bossier City. Despite his conviction and execution, however, his case is cited by investigative reports as one of several where doubts about his actual guilt or innocence remain and may never be satisfied. The victim was white and there was an all-white jury, and one federal judge who stayed his death sentence, only to be overturned, noted the inept initial defense he had been afforded. Despite nine stays of execution and both witnesses against him recanting, he went to the electric chair protesting his innocence.
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