TEXAS 9 Prisoners

[ScotKaren]

Last Execution of a Female: February 24, 2000

Basso, Suzanne Margaret: White; age 44 at crime and now age 51 (DOB: 5-15-1954); murder of white male (her boyfriend) age59 in Houston on 8-25-1998; sentenced on 9-1-1999.

Berry, Kenisha: Black; age 21 at crime and now age 32; murder of black male newborn (her son) in Beaumont on 11-?-1998; sentenced on 2-19-2004

Carty, Linda Anita: Black; age 42 at crime and now age 46 (DOB: 10-5-1958); kidnaping and murder of Latin female age 20 (and victimÕs infant son) in Houston on 5-16-2001; sentenced on 2-21-2002.

Henderson, Cathy Lynn: White; age 37 at crime and now age 48 (DOB: 12-27-1956); murder of white male age 3 months (she was babysitter) near Austin (Travis County) on 1-21-1994; sentenced on 5-25-1995.

Holberg, Brittany Marlowe: White; age 23 at crime and now age 32 (DOB: 1-7-1973); murder of white male age 80 in Amarillo on 11-13-1996; sentenced on 3-27-1998.

McCarthy, Kimberly Legayle: Black; age 36 at crime and now age 44; murder of white female age 71 in Lancaster (Dallas County) on 7-21-1997; sentenced on 12-?-1998; reversed in 2001; resentenced on 11-1-2002.

Newton, Francis Elaine: Black; age 21 at crime and now age 40 (DOB: 4-12-1965); murder of husband (black male age 23), son (black male age 7), and daughter (black female age 2) in Houston on 4-7-1987; sentenced on 11-17-1988. EXECUTED Sept. 14, 2005.

Routier, Darla Lynn: White; age 26 at crime and now age 35 (DOB: 1-4-1970); murder of white male age 5 (her son) in Rowlett (Dallas County) on 6-6-1996; sentenced on 2-4-1997.

Sheppard, Erica Yvonne: Black; age 19 at crime and now age 31 (DOB: 9-1-1973); murder of white (?) female age 43 in Houston on 6-30-1993; sentenced on 3-3-1995.

[ScotKaren]

crime.about.com/od/female_offenders/p/deathrow6.htm

Holberg robbed and murdered an 80-year-old white male in his home. The victim was struck with a hammer and stabbed nearly 60 times. The weapons used were: a paring knife, a butcher knife, a grapefruit knife, and a fork. A lamp pole had been shoved more than 5 inches down the victim's throat.
Source: Texas Department of Criminal Justice

[Karen]

crime.about.com/od/female_offenders/a/call_yates.htm

Call from Yates to Police above


Profile of Andrea Yates

Education and Achievements: Andrea (Kennedy) Yates was born on July 2, 1964 in Houston, Tex. She graduated from Milby High School in Houston in 1982. She was the class valedictorian, captain of the swim team and an officer in the National Honor Society. She completed a two-year pre-nursing program at the University of Houston and then graduated in 1986 from the University of Texas School of Nursing in Houston. She worked as a registered nurse at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center from 1986 until 1994.
Andrea Meets Rusty Yates: Andrea and Rusty Yates, both 25, met at their apartment complex in Houston. Andrea, who was usually reserved, initiated the conversation. Andrea had never dated anyone until she turned 23 and prior to meeting Rusty she was healing from a broken relationship. They eventually moved in together and spent much of their time involved in religious study and prayer. They were married on April 17, 1993. They shared with their guests that they planned on having as many children as nature provided.
Andrea Called Herself "Fertile Myrtle": In their eight years of marriage, the Yates had five children; four boys and one girl. Andrea stopped jogging and swimming when she became pregnant with her second child. Friends say that she became reclusive. The decision to home-school the children seemed to feed her isolation.
The Yates Children:
Feb. 26, 1994 – Noah Yates, Dec. 12, 1995 - John Yates, Sept. 13, 1997 - Paul Yates, Feb. 15, 1999 - Luke Yates, and on Nov. 30, 2000 - Mary Yates was the last child to be born.
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Their Living Conditions: Rusty accepted work in Florida in 1996 and the family moved into a 38-foot travel trailer in Seminole, FL While in Florida, Andrea got pregnant, but miscarried. In 1997 they returned to Houston and lived in their trailer because Rusty wanted to "live light." The next year. Rusty decided to purchase a 350-square-foot, renovated bus which became their permanent home. Luke was born bringing the number of children to four. Living conditions were cramped and Andrea's insanity began to surface.
Michael Woroniecki: Michael Woroniecki was a traveling minister from whom Rusty purchased their bus and whose religious views had influenced both Rusty and Andrea. Rusty only agreed with some of Woroniecki's ideas but Andrea embraced the extremist sermons. He preached, "the role of women is derived from the sin of Eve and that bad mothers who are going to hell create bad children who will go to hell." Andrea was so totally captivated by Woroniecki that Rusty and Andrea's family grew concerned.
Andrea’s First Suicide Attempt : On June 16 1999, Andrea called Rusty and begged him to come home. He found her shaking involuntarily and chewing on her fingers. The next day, she was hospitalized after she tried to commit suicide by taking an overdose of pills. She was transferred to the Methodist Hospital psychiatric unit and diagnosed with a major depressive disorder. The medical staff described Andrea as evasive in discussing her problems. However, on June 24 she was prescribed an antidepressant and released.
Spiraling Downward: Once home, Andrea did not take the medication and as a result she began to self mutilate and refused to feed her children because she felt they were eating too much. She thought there were video cameras in the ceilings and said that the characters on television were talking to her and the children. She told Rusty about the hallucinations, yet neither of them informed Andrea's psychiatrist, Dr. Starbranch. On July 20, Andrea put a knife to her neck and begged her husband to let her die.
Warned About the Risks of Having More Babies : Andrea was again hospitalized and stayed in a catatonic state for 10 days. After being treated with an injection of different drugs that included Haldol, an anti-psychotic drug, her condition immediately improved. Rusty was optimistic about the drug therapy because Andrea appeared more like the person he first met. Dr. Starbranch warned the Yates that having another baby might bring on more episodes of psychotic behavior. Andrea was placed on out-patient care and prescribed Haldol.
New Hopes for the Future : Andrea's family urged Rusty to buy a home instead of returning Andrea to the cramped space of the bus. He purchased a nice home in a peaceful neighborhood. Once in her new home, Andrea's condition improved to the point that she returned to past activities like swimming, cooking and some socializing. She was also interacting well with her children. She expressed to Rusty that she had strong hopes for the future but still viewed her life on the bus as her failure.
The Tragic End: In March of 2000, Andrea, on Rusty's urging, became pregnant and stopped taking the Haldol. On November 30, 2000, Mary was born. Andrea was coping but on March 12, her father died and immediately her mental state digressed. She stopped talking, refused liquids, mutilated herself, and would not feed Mary. She also frantically read the Bible.
By the end of March Andrea returned to a different hospital. Her psychiatrist, Dr. Mohammed Saeed, treated her briefly with Haldol but discontinued it, saying that she did not did not seem psychotic. Andrea was released only to return again in May. She was released in 10 days and in her last follow-up visit with Saeed, she was told to think positive thoughts and to see a psychologist.

Two days later, Rusty left for work and before his mother arrived to help, Andrea began to put into action the thoughts that had consumed her for two years.

Andrea filled the tub with water and beginning with Paul, she systematically drowned the three youngest boys, then placed them on her bed and covered them. Mary was left floating in the tub. The last child alive was the first born, seven-year-old Noah. He asked his mother what was wrong with Mary, then turned and ran away. Andrea caught up with him and as he screamed, she dragged him and forced him into the tub next to Mary's floating body. He fought desperately, coming up for air twice, but Andrea held him down until he was dead. Leaving Noah in the tub, she brought Mary to the bed and laid her in the arms of her brothers.

During Andrea's confession she explained her actions by saying that she wasn't a good mother and that the children were "not developing correctly" and she needed to be punished.

Her controversial trial lasted three weeks. The jury found Andrea guilty of capital murder, but rather then recommending the death penalty, they vorted for life in prison. At the age of 77, in the year 2041, Andrea will be eligible for parole.

[ScotKaren]

crime.about.com/od/female_offenders/p/deathrow4.htm

Crime Committed: On May 16, 2001 Carty and three co-defendants invaded the home of a 25 year old female. The victim and her three day old baby were kidnapped and two other victims were beaten, duct taped, and left in the residence. The 25 year old female was hog-tied with duct tape, a bag was taped over her head, and she was placed in the trunk of a car. This victim died from suffocation.
Source: Texas Department of Criminal Justice

[ScotKaren]

'I'm not afraid of dying. I'm just angry'

Two years ago, Linda Carty was sentenced to death for her part in the kidnap and murder of a young woman. But British lawyers believe her conviction is unsafe and are mounting an appeal. Alex Hannaford talks to her on death row

Monday July 26, 2004
The Guardian


Forty miles north-west of Waco, somewhere between the two large Texas cities of Dallas and Austin, Highway 36 gets lost in the scenic hill country. There's the occasional Baptist church, a company selling "new and used trailer homes", and miles upon miles of fenced-off ranch land. The road eventually passes directly through Fort Hood, the biggest military base in the US and home to the largest troop of soldiers currently serving in Iraq. Soon afterwards you suddenly find yourself surrounded by high barbed-wire fences and watchtowers. Signs at the side of the road announce your arrival at the Dr Lane Murray Unit, the Hughes Unit and the Woodman Unit - three large penal establishments. Tucked away off an adjoining road and unsignposted from the main highway is the Mountain View Unit - otherwise known as "women's death row".
For the past two years, a 45-year-old British woman, Linda Carty, has been an inmate at Mountain View. She was arrested in 2001, and later sentenced to death by lethal injection for her part in the kidnapping and murder of 25-year-old Joana Rodriguez.
Three men had broken into Rodriguez's apartment and assaulted the woman's partner, Raymundo Cabrera. Rodriguez and her three-day-old baby Ray were then abducted, but the child was later found unharmed on the back seat of a car. His mother had suffocated after being hogtied with duct tape and left in the boot of the car with a plastic bag taped over her head. Although two eyewitnesses testified that they saw four men enter Rodriguez's apartment, and although there was no forensic evidence to link Carty to the crime, the prosecution alleged that she had killed the younger woman because she wanted to pass the baby off as her own after several miscarriages.

Carty has always denied any involvement, and, following her conviction in February 2002, is appealing. According to her legal team, this first appeal - a habeas corpus petition, at which new evidence may be introduced - is the most important. The appeal was initially due to take place late last year, but when it was discovered that Carty is British - she was born on the Caribbean island of St Kitts, then a British colony - her lawyers were given more time.

Carty's case has been taken up by Clive Stafford Smith, the British lawyer who has represented more than 200 people on death row and is currently among the lawyers representing British detainees at Guantanamo Bay. Stafford Smith believes Carty's conviction is unsafe and rests on the evidence of three career criminals who bore her a grudge; he also believes that the defence during her original trial was inadequate.

"Up until this point, no investigation had been done on her case of any meaningful nature," he says. "There are various appeals but if you screw up the first one you don't get another chance in real terms because it all becomes procedural. In Texas they just speed you on through to the death chamber." Stafford Smith now has until November 1 to mount an appeal.

In March this year, Stafford Smith, Vera Baird QC and Carty's 24-year-old daughter Jovelle Joubert gave a press briefing at the House of Commons, in which they called for parliamentary support.

Meanwhile, from behind bullet-proof glass at Mountain View's visitor room, Carty can only sit and hope. She looks surprisingly well for someone who has spent the past two years in one of the toughest penal systems in the country. Her hair is tied back and she has been allowed to wear some make-up. She also manages to smile, despite the fact that the unit warden is present throughout our interview, sitting a few feet away at the end of the empty room.

"When I was first arrested I said to myself it would all be over within 30 minutes - they had clearly made a mistake," she says. "I was interviewed for eight hours, six of those with no counsel present. I had a court-appointed attorney eventually but wasn't allowed home from the police station. I didn't really know I was being viewed as a suspect at first. I had no idea about the crime and didn't even know who the victim was."

Carty alleges that prosecution lawyers built a case in which it appeared that the victim was her next-door-neighbour; Rodriguez was frequently referred to as her "neighbour". In truth, she says, Rodriguez lived on the same floor of an apartment complex but the two had never met. Her lawyers also believe that her three co-accused - Chris Robinson, Gerald Anderson and Carlos Williams - had a motive to frame her. All three were convicted of aggravated kidnap but after detectives agreed not to pursue murder charges against them, they testified that Carty was behind the scheme. The three men received prison terms, but none was sent to death row.

Twenty years previously, Carty had been recruited as a confidential informant by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in Houston. "Houston was being bombarded by Jamaican drug dealers at the time and the DEA needed someone of Caribbean background to work for them that no one would suspect," she explains. "A friend of mine at the Houston Police Department got me the job. It was interesting work and low-key for me but I had to take on the life of a drug dealer." At the same time she studied pharmacology at the University of Houston, and later worked part-time as a hairdresser.

Her work for the DEA helped land seizures of thousands of dollars' worth of narcotics and saw the imprisonment of scores of dealers. Stafford Smith believes that her work may have helped convict someone who Robinson, Anderson and Williams had been working for. "My lawyers believe these three men may have been drug 'burros' or mules," she says. "It was too difficult just to kill me, so they hatched this plot."

Carty claims her supervisor at the DEA was aware of the link with Robinson, Anderson and Williams, but that this was overlooked by Houston homicide detectives. Her former supervisor is now first on Stafford Smith's list of people to interview. "That," says Carty, "is their smoking gun."

As for the plot to kidnap the baby for herself, Carty believes the theory came from a woman who took her to hospital after a miscarriage, and later told police she believed the desire for children could have been Carty's motive. "They said I had a miscarriage and that got altered to mean I desperately wanted another baby. That is asinine to me because women can have children at 42 years of age, and I wasn't planning on having any more kids anyway. I had become pregnant accidentally."

After the verdict was read out, Carty says she went numb. "I was devastated and started shouting, 'I'm not guilty - I wasn't even there', but at the same time part of me accepted it because I'm also a pragmatist. If you have ineffective counsel and the state presents its case you can't get mad at the jury for making a ruling or a judgment based on what they've heard. Nobody was there to plant any reasonable doubt. None of my witnesses had been contacted and my family wasn't even interviewed." There are two people - whose names Carty will not reveal - who can, she says, provide the alibi she so desperately needed at her original trial.

Her original state-appointed attorney, Jerry Guerinot, has 21 former clients on death row - more than any other lawyer in the entire country. The state prosecutors who sought her conviction were the same lawyers she had been working alongsideat the DEA for the past 20 years.

When the death sentence was imposed, Carty says it was like a sharp pain running through her body. "I felt an awful sense of loss, betrayed by a government I had worked for for 20 years. I put my life on the line for them and I couldn't understand why this was happening to me. I remember being driven in the van straight to the Mountain View facility here in Gatesville.

"The further we drove away from that courtroom, the more distant I felt inside, like I would be forgotten. I was scared - suddenly I was on the other side of the sphere - but I never lost hope. I was assigned to a single cell: inside was a bed, commode, sink, table and a stool. I was now officially a ward of the state. I sat in there and went through everything I'd done in my life, asking why I was there, why me. Then the tears started to fall."

The Texas department of criminal justice has to record the citizenship of every new inmate. When it was discovered that Carty was a British citizen, Stafford Smith took on her case and informed the British consulate.

"I knew sooner or later that having aggressive attorneys on my case would unearth the truth," she says, "and the British government has taken a pivotal role in pursuing justice for me."

Carty describes herself as a very religious person, but she believes that if somebody has committed a crime they should be held responsible. She doesn't, however, agree with the death penalty. "I think that here in Texas it is a machine where prosecutors can boost their egos and their careers. They will use anything at their disposal to get you here and that is a travesty that needs to be corrected. There are too many innocent people on death row and nobody gives them a chance and nobody cares."

When I ask how she is treated inside, Carty looks over at the prison warden, smiles, and says, 'Fine.' However, a German-based internet site that Carty has written for tells a different story. After complaining to the warden about non-delivery of her mail, Carty wrote: "One morning, an officer came to my cell after my shower and slammed the steel gate directly into my back, physically hurting my body. When I yelped from the excruciating pain ... I asked why she had hit me. She replied, 'Well I say you hit me first and I am wearing the grey, you're in white, and I don't see anyone else that will go against an officer.' When I looked in the mirror there was a large, ugly, red and bluish welt on my shoulder blade. I am tired of the abuses and targeted punishment.

"I'm not really afraid of dying," Carty says now. "I'm just pissed off that somebody decided I was guilty when I am not. Evidence was concealed and manufactured to put me here. And the only two people that could have cleared me were not contacted."

Carty's daughter Jovelle, who is studying political science at the University of Houston, tries to visit her mother every week along with her grandmother, Carty's mother. "I am in a cell on my own for 23 hours a day," she says. "We get one hour's recreation and the option to have a shower. I read a lot, mostly romance novels, but I'm more focused on trying to get home.

"They expect you to sit in here and not get emotional but this is a state that terminates your life, and mine was terminated on speculation. It is not something you can ever really adjust to."





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[lisauk]

RE: Andrea Yares: She has recentley been found NOT GUILTY by way of INSANITY and she has already been removed from prison and admitted to a High security hospital where she will be reviewed. If she proves to be no threat to herself or any other person over the following month she will then be transferred to low security hospital. It is however likely that she will be in this mental institution for the rest of her natural life.

[lisauk]

2nd August 2006

A court order was signed on the above date by the US District Judge, which VACATED the courts 2nd March 06 denial of Darlies Motion for reconsideration. In this new order the court GRANTED Darlies motion for reconsideration and also granted her motion for stay which was filed in feb 06.
No further action by the US court will be taken until the investigation into new evidence is completed at state level.
Darlie cannot be executed while a Federal Habeas Corpus is pending in a US court!

[judah cole]

admin said:

crime.about.com/od/female_offenders/p/deathrow6.htm

Holberg robbed and murdered an 80-year-old white male in his home. The victim was struck with a hammer and stabbed nearly 60 times. The weapons used were: a paring knife, a butcher knife, a grapefruit knife, and a fork. A lamp pole had been shoved more than 5 inches down the victim's throat.
Source: Texas Department of Criminal Justice

hi brittany holberg, my name is judah cole and i would like to be your pen-pal. I would like to get to know you, a simple gesture of friend ship so to speak. I am married, im 49 years old, i am a gemini and i do lack in social skills i suppose because i like my alone space more so than socializing in public! Its late so i will close in hopes that i will hear from you and know that i mean only kindness and comfort for you. until then...

Judah cole

[judahcole]

.

admin said:

crime.about.com/od/female_offenders/p/deathrow6.htm

Holberg robbed and murdered an 80-year-old white male in his home. The victim was struck with a hammer and stabbed nearly 60 times. The weapons used were: a paring knife, a butcher knife, a grapefruit knife, and a fork. A lamp pole had been shoved more than 5 inches down the victim's throat.
Source: Texas Department of Criminal Justice

hi brittany holberg, My name is judah cole and i have been trying for 2 hours to get my acdivation code correct so i could get this written to you! Anyways, I am in hopes we can be pen pals, friends in the making so to speak. I am 49 years old, married, and lack in social skills i suppose because i do prefer alone space over being in the public spot life! any way, i hope you will write me back, i would like to get to know you and mean you nothing but peace and much contentment. I hope to hear from you soon so until i do you will be in my prayers and thoughts.

judah cole

[judahcole]

.

admin said:

crime.about.com/od/female_offenders/p/deathrow6.htm

Holberg robbed and murdered an 80-year-old white male in his home. The victim was struck with a hammer and stabbed nearly 60 times. The weapons used were: a paring knife, a butcher knife, a grapefruit knife, and a fork. A lamp pole had been shoved more than 5 inches down the victim's throat.
Source: Texas Department of Criminal Justice

hi brittany holberg, My name is judah cole and i have been trying for 2 hours to get my acdivation code correct so i could get this written to you! Anyways, I am in hopes we can be pen pals, friends in the making so to speak. I am 49 years old, married, and lack in social skills i suppose because i do prefer alone space over being in the public spot life! any way, i hope you will write me back, i would like to get to know you and mean you nothing but peace and much contentment. I hope to hear from you soon so until i do you will be in my prayers and thoughts.

judah cole

[judahcole]

hello brittany I have not heard from you so here i am again to say hello. Christmas is done and gone for another year and i want you to know i thought of you many times thru out the holiday season. I would like to get to know who you are, maybe share some thoughts and interests. I dont have family and no real friends (by choice) so im pretty much by my self most days, except when my husband has days off from work. I honestly hope you are keeping your head above water, so to speak, and wish for you only peace and maybe some contentment from a concerned, new pen-pal!!!! I hope you write me and know you are thought of and your always in my prayers. until a later time..... judahcole

[judahcole]

admin said:

crime.about.com/od/female_offenders/p/deathrow6.htm

Holberg robbed and murdered an 80-year-old white male in his home. The victim was struck with a hammer and stabbed nearly 60 times. The weapons used were: a paring knife, a butcher knife, a grapefruit knife, and a fork. A lamp pole had been shoved more than 5 inches down the victim's throat.
Source: Texas Department of Criminal Justice

[judahcole]

admin said:

crime.about.com/od/female_offenders/p/deathrow6.htm

Holberg robbed and murdered an 80-year-old white male in his home. The victim was struck with a hammer and stabbed nearly 60 times. The weapons used were: a paring knife, a butcher knife, a grapefruit knife, and a fork. A lamp pole had been shoved more than 5 inches down the victim's throat.
Source: Texas Department of Criminal Justice