Roy and Bernalyn Dumas became mass murderer George Howard Putt's first victims on the
afternoon of August 14, 1969.
Five days after their deaths, Roy and Bernalyn Dumas were buried in Memphis'
National Cemetery. Roy's Bronze Star, a presidential citation, and other war honors
were displayed beside his casket.
Source: http://www.memphisinjurylawyerblog.com/www-memphisflyer-com_backissues_issue549_cvr549-htm_4eql54ks.pdf
Note: 'The past does hurt'
In 1973, George Howard Putt was sentenced to 497 years for a month-long killing spree in 1969 that took the lives of five Memphians.
By Lawrence Buser
July 9, 2003
ONLY, Tenn. - When serial killer George Howard Putt was sentenced to 497 years in prison in 1973, Michael Dumas thought he would never again have to worry about the man who murdered his parents.
But on Tuesday Dumas was at the Turney Center Industrial Prison here, 150 miles northeast of Memphis, urging the state parole board not to release Putt, who was convicted of three brutal killings and admitted to two others.
"When I found out about this hearing I was sort of speechless," said Dumas, who was 21 when he discovered his parents' bodies in 1969 in their apartment on South Cooper. "Few people know what went on. I did because I saw it. The judge made his sentences consecutive so I would not have to be here today.
"I'm trying to go forward, but it's hard to put George Howard Putt out of my mind. The past does hurt."
Putt, now 57, waived his appearance at the parole hearing and no one spoke on his behalf. After a 30-minute hearing the two members of the Tennessee Board of Probation and Parole who heard from Dumas denied parole for Putt because of the seriousness of the crimes.
Concurring votes from two of the five other board members would make the decision final.
Putt's next hearing will be in 30 years when he is 87.
"There are some offenders the public expects should never get out and Mr. Putt falls into that category," said parole board chairman Charles Traughber, who was joined by board member Sheila Holt Swearingen. "He was unmerciful on his victims."
Traughber explained that the parole hearing was actually the second for Putt, who was denied parole in 1993. He was told then he would be considered again in 10 years.
Traughber said the hearings were required because of a state court ruling in 1992 that made defendants sentenced to more than 50 years under an old law eligible for parole after serving 30 years regardless of their total sentence.
Putt's 29-day, one-man crime wave left the city gripped in fear as five people were stabbed or strangled and in some cases sexually mutilated.
The first victims were Roy Dumas, 58,a disabled military veteran, and Bernalyn Dumas, 46, a nurse, who were found bound and strangled on Aug. 14, 1969.
"I discovered the crime scene and death beds of my parents when they failed to show up at a birthday party in honor of my wife," Michael Dumas told the parole board in a letter earlier this year. "The murders were a mystery with no motives or clues, and I, my wife and unborn family lived in both grief and fear."
Eleven days later 80-year-old Leila Jackson was found strangled in her home at 21 N. Somerville, where Putt had earlier asked about renting a room.
Glenda Sue Harden, 21, a secretary, was abducted at knifepoint in her car downtown and her body was found the next day on Aug. 30 in a wooded area of Riverside Park. She was strangled and had been stabbed 14 times.
The last victim was Christine Pickens, 59, who was stabbed to death in her apartment at 41 N. Bellevue on Sept. 11. Neighbors and police were alerted by her screams, however, and Putt was captured after a footchase that ended near Madison and what is now Midtown Interstate 240.
Putt confessed in detail to all the killings. He was convicted and sentenced to death in 1970 for the Pickens murder, but the sentence was commuted to 99 years when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the death penalty unconstitutional.
Realizing parole would be possible, the state then in 1973 prosecuted Putt for the Dumas murders. He was convicted and sentenced to 199 years in prison for each murder.
Judge William H. Williams ordered the sentences to be served consecutively for a total of 497 years. Officially Putt's sentence expires March 1, 2437.
Behind bars Putt has worked a variety of jobs, including as an office technician, an athletic equipment custodian, an industrial cleaner, a utility worker and most recently a quality control technician in the prison's industries.
His custody level is listed as minimum restricted.
In the hearing Tuesday, Dumas, a mortgage analyst, was accompanied by his grown son, a friend and two ministers from Christ United Methodist Church.
"I'm not here to speak against George Howard Putt because I've prayed for him for 30 years," said Dumas, who voice was choked with emotion. "I certainly oppose parole for George Howard Putt, though I have forgiven him and placed the forgiveness of his sins at the cross of Jesus. I hope he seeks salvation."
afternoon of August 14, 1969.
Five days after their deaths, Roy and Bernalyn Dumas were buried in Memphis'
National Cemetery. Roy's Bronze Star, a presidential citation, and other war honors
were displayed beside his casket.
Source: http://www.memphisinjurylawyerblog.com/www-memphisflyer-com_backissues_issue549_cvr549-htm_4eql54ks.pdf
Note: 'The past does hurt'
In 1973, George Howard Putt was sentenced to 497 years for a month-long killing spree in 1969 that took the lives of five Memphians.
By Lawrence Buser
July 9, 2003
ONLY, Tenn. - When serial killer George Howard Putt was sentenced to 497 years in prison in 1973, Michael Dumas thought he would never again have to worry about the man who murdered his parents.
But on Tuesday Dumas was at the Turney Center Industrial Prison here, 150 miles northeast of Memphis, urging the state parole board not to release Putt, who was convicted of three brutal killings and admitted to two others.
"When I found out about this hearing I was sort of speechless," said Dumas, who was 21 when he discovered his parents' bodies in 1969 in their apartment on South Cooper. "Few people know what went on. I did because I saw it. The judge made his sentences consecutive so I would not have to be here today.
"I'm trying to go forward, but it's hard to put George Howard Putt out of my mind. The past does hurt."
Putt, now 57, waived his appearance at the parole hearing and no one spoke on his behalf. After a 30-minute hearing the two members of the Tennessee Board of Probation and Parole who heard from Dumas denied parole for Putt because of the seriousness of the crimes.
Concurring votes from two of the five other board members would make the decision final.
Putt's next hearing will be in 30 years when he is 87.
"There are some offenders the public expects should never get out and Mr. Putt falls into that category," said parole board chairman Charles Traughber, who was joined by board member Sheila Holt Swearingen. "He was unmerciful on his victims."
Traughber explained that the parole hearing was actually the second for Putt, who was denied parole in 1993. He was told then he would be considered again in 10 years.
Traughber said the hearings were required because of a state court ruling in 1992 that made defendants sentenced to more than 50 years under an old law eligible for parole after serving 30 years regardless of their total sentence.
Putt's 29-day, one-man crime wave left the city gripped in fear as five people were stabbed or strangled and in some cases sexually mutilated.
The first victims were Roy Dumas, 58,a disabled military veteran, and Bernalyn Dumas, 46, a nurse, who were found bound and strangled on Aug. 14, 1969.
"I discovered the crime scene and death beds of my parents when they failed to show up at a birthday party in honor of my wife," Michael Dumas told the parole board in a letter earlier this year. "The murders were a mystery with no motives or clues, and I, my wife and unborn family lived in both grief and fear."
Eleven days later 80-year-old Leila Jackson was found strangled in her home at 21 N. Somerville, where Putt had earlier asked about renting a room.
Glenda Sue Harden, 21, a secretary, was abducted at knifepoint in her car downtown and her body was found the next day on Aug. 30 in a wooded area of Riverside Park. She was strangled and had been stabbed 14 times.
The last victim was Christine Pickens, 59, who was stabbed to death in her apartment at 41 N. Bellevue on Sept. 11. Neighbors and police were alerted by her screams, however, and Putt was captured after a footchase that ended near Madison and what is now Midtown Interstate 240.
Putt confessed in detail to all the killings. He was convicted and sentenced to death in 1970 for the Pickens murder, but the sentence was commuted to 99 years when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the death penalty unconstitutional.
Realizing parole would be possible, the state then in 1973 prosecuted Putt for the Dumas murders. He was convicted and sentenced to 199 years in prison for each murder.
Judge William H. Williams ordered the sentences to be served consecutively for a total of 497 years. Officially Putt's sentence expires March 1, 2437.
Behind bars Putt has worked a variety of jobs, including as an office technician, an athletic equipment custodian, an industrial cleaner, a utility worker and most recently a quality control technician in the prison's industries.
His custody level is listed as minimum restricted.
In the hearing Tuesday, Dumas, a mortgage analyst, was accompanied by his grown son, a friend and two ministers from Christ United Methodist Church.
"I'm not here to speak against George Howard Putt because I've prayed for him for 30 years," said Dumas, who voice was choked with emotion. "I certainly oppose parole for George Howard Putt, though I have forgiven him and placed the forgiveness of his sins at the cross of Jesus. I hope he seeks salvation."
Roy and Bernalyn Dumas became mass murderer George Howard Putt's first victims on the
afternoon of August 14, 1969.
Five days after their deaths, Roy and Bernalyn Dumas were buried in Memphis'
National Cemetery. Roy's Bronze Star, a presidential citation, and other war honors
were displayed beside his casket.
Source: http://www.memphisinjurylawyerblog.com/www-memphisflyer-com_backissues_issue549_cvr549-htm_4eql54ks.pdf
Note: 'The past does hurt'
In 1973, George Howard Putt was sentenced to 497 years for a month-long killing spree in 1969 that took the lives of five Memphians.
By Lawrence Buser
July 9, 2003
ONLY, Tenn. - When serial killer George Howard Putt was sentenced to 497 years in prison in 1973, Michael Dumas thought he would never again have to worry about the man who murdered his parents.
But on Tuesday Dumas was at the Turney Center Industrial Prison here, 150 miles northeast of Memphis, urging the state parole board not to release Putt, who was convicted of three brutal killings and admitted to two others.
"When I found out about this hearing I was sort of speechless," said Dumas, who was 21 when he discovered his parents' bodies in 1969 in their apartment on South Cooper. "Few people know what went on. I did because I saw it. The judge made his sentences consecutive so I would not have to be here today.
"I'm trying to go forward, but it's hard to put George Howard Putt out of my mind. The past does hurt."
Putt, now 57, waived his appearance at the parole hearing and no one spoke on his behalf. After a 30-minute hearing the two members of the Tennessee Board of Probation and Parole who heard from Dumas denied parole for Putt because of the seriousness of the crimes.
Concurring votes from two of the five other board members would make the decision final.
Putt's next hearing will be in 30 years when he is 87.
"There are some offenders the public expects should never get out and Mr. Putt falls into that category," said parole board chairman Charles Traughber, who was joined by board member Sheila Holt Swearingen. "He was unmerciful on his victims."
Traughber explained that the parole hearing was actually the second for Putt, who was denied parole in 1993. He was told then he would be considered again in 10 years.
Traughber said the hearings were required because of a state court ruling in 1992 that made defendants sentenced to more than 50 years under an old law eligible for parole after serving 30 years regardless of their total sentence.
Putt's 29-day, one-man crime wave left the city gripped in fear as five people were stabbed or strangled and in some cases sexually mutilated.
The first victims were Roy Dumas, 58,a disabled military veteran, and Bernalyn Dumas, 46, a nurse, who were found bound and strangled on Aug. 14, 1969.
"I discovered the crime scene and death beds of my parents when they failed to show up at a birthday party in honor of my wife," Michael Dumas told the parole board in a letter earlier this year. "The murders were a mystery with no motives or clues, and I, my wife and unborn family lived in both grief and fear."
Eleven days later 80-year-old Leila Jackson was found strangled in her home at 21 N. Somerville, where Putt had earlier asked about renting a room.
Glenda Sue Harden, 21, a secretary, was abducted at knifepoint in her car downtown and her body was found the next day on Aug. 30 in a wooded area of Riverside Park. She was strangled and had been stabbed 14 times.
The last victim was Christine Pickens, 59, who was stabbed to death in her apartment at 41 N. Bellevue on Sept. 11. Neighbors and police were alerted by her screams, however, and Putt was captured after a footchase that ended near Madison and what is now Midtown Interstate 240.
Putt confessed in detail to all the killings. He was convicted and sentenced to death in 1970 for the Pickens murder, but the sentence was commuted to 99 years when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the death penalty unconstitutional.
Realizing parole would be possible, the state then in 1973 prosecuted Putt for the Dumas murders. He was convicted and sentenced to 199 years in prison for each murder.
Judge William H. Williams ordered the sentences to be served consecutively for a total of 497 years. Officially Putt's sentence expires March 1, 2437.
Behind bars Putt has worked a variety of jobs, including as an office technician, an athletic equipment custodian, an industrial cleaner, a utility worker and most recently a quality control technician in the prison's industries.
His custody level is listed as minimum restricted.
In the hearing Tuesday, Dumas, a mortgage analyst, was accompanied by his grown son, a friend and two ministers from Christ United Methodist Church.
"I'm not here to speak against George Howard Putt because I've prayed for him for 30 years," said Dumas, who voice was choked with emotion. "I certainly oppose parole for George Howard Putt, though I have forgiven him and placed the forgiveness of his sins at the cross of Jesus. I hope he seeks salvation."
afternoon of August 14, 1969.
Five days after their deaths, Roy and Bernalyn Dumas were buried in Memphis'
National Cemetery. Roy's Bronze Star, a presidential citation, and other war honors
were displayed beside his casket.
Source: http://www.memphisinjurylawyerblog.com/www-memphisflyer-com_backissues_issue549_cvr549-htm_4eql54ks.pdf
Note: 'The past does hurt'
In 1973, George Howard Putt was sentenced to 497 years for a month-long killing spree in 1969 that took the lives of five Memphians.
By Lawrence Buser
July 9, 2003
ONLY, Tenn. - When serial killer George Howard Putt was sentenced to 497 years in prison in 1973, Michael Dumas thought he would never again have to worry about the man who murdered his parents.
But on Tuesday Dumas was at the Turney Center Industrial Prison here, 150 miles northeast of Memphis, urging the state parole board not to release Putt, who was convicted of three brutal killings and admitted to two others.
"When I found out about this hearing I was sort of speechless," said Dumas, who was 21 when he discovered his parents' bodies in 1969 in their apartment on South Cooper. "Few people know what went on. I did because I saw it. The judge made his sentences consecutive so I would not have to be here today.
"I'm trying to go forward, but it's hard to put George Howard Putt out of my mind. The past does hurt."
Putt, now 57, waived his appearance at the parole hearing and no one spoke on his behalf. After a 30-minute hearing the two members of the Tennessee Board of Probation and Parole who heard from Dumas denied parole for Putt because of the seriousness of the crimes.
Concurring votes from two of the five other board members would make the decision final.
Putt's next hearing will be in 30 years when he is 87.
"There are some offenders the public expects should never get out and Mr. Putt falls into that category," said parole board chairman Charles Traughber, who was joined by board member Sheila Holt Swearingen. "He was unmerciful on his victims."
Traughber explained that the parole hearing was actually the second for Putt, who was denied parole in 1993. He was told then he would be considered again in 10 years.
Traughber said the hearings were required because of a state court ruling in 1992 that made defendants sentenced to more than 50 years under an old law eligible for parole after serving 30 years regardless of their total sentence.
Putt's 29-day, one-man crime wave left the city gripped in fear as five people were stabbed or strangled and in some cases sexually mutilated.
The first victims were Roy Dumas, 58,a disabled military veteran, and Bernalyn Dumas, 46, a nurse, who were found bound and strangled on Aug. 14, 1969.
"I discovered the crime scene and death beds of my parents when they failed to show up at a birthday party in honor of my wife," Michael Dumas told the parole board in a letter earlier this year. "The murders were a mystery with no motives or clues, and I, my wife and unborn family lived in both grief and fear."
Eleven days later 80-year-old Leila Jackson was found strangled in her home at 21 N. Somerville, where Putt had earlier asked about renting a room.
Glenda Sue Harden, 21, a secretary, was abducted at knifepoint in her car downtown and her body was found the next day on Aug. 30 in a wooded area of Riverside Park. She was strangled and had been stabbed 14 times.
The last victim was Christine Pickens, 59, who was stabbed to death in her apartment at 41 N. Bellevue on Sept. 11. Neighbors and police were alerted by her screams, however, and Putt was captured after a footchase that ended near Madison and what is now Midtown Interstate 240.
Putt confessed in detail to all the killings. He was convicted and sentenced to death in 1970 for the Pickens murder, but the sentence was commuted to 99 years when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the death penalty unconstitutional.
Realizing parole would be possible, the state then in 1973 prosecuted Putt for the Dumas murders. He was convicted and sentenced to 199 years in prison for each murder.
Judge William H. Williams ordered the sentences to be served consecutively for a total of 497 years. Officially Putt's sentence expires March 1, 2437.
Behind bars Putt has worked a variety of jobs, including as an office technician, an athletic equipment custodian, an industrial cleaner, a utility worker and most recently a quality control technician in the prison's industries.
His custody level is listed as minimum restricted.
In the hearing Tuesday, Dumas, a mortgage analyst, was accompanied by his grown son, a friend and two ministers from Christ United Methodist Church.
"I'm not here to speak against George Howard Putt because I've prayed for him for 30 years," said Dumas, who voice was choked with emotion. "I certainly oppose parole for George Howard Putt, though I have forgiven him and placed the forgiveness of his sins at the cross of Jesus. I hope he seeks salvation."
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