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Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Executed Offenders (Jeffery Doughtie)

Texas Attorney General Media Advisory

AUSTIN - Texas Attorney General John Cornyn offers the following information on Jeffery Carlton Doughtie, who is scheduled to be executed after 6 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 16, 2001. Jeffery Carlton Doughtie was convicted on May 12, 1994 of the brutal beating deaths of Jerry and Sylvia Dean during the course of robbing their antique shop in Corpus Christi. A summary of the evidence presented at trial follows.

FACTS OF THE CRIME

Jerry and Sylvia Dean owned and operated an antique shop on South Staples in Corpus Christi. Jerry Dean was 80-years old at the time of his death, and his wife was 76. They had been married for 53 years.

In a written and signed confession, Doughtie stated the motive for the murders was money and drugs. After doing a cocaine "speed ball," on Aug. 2, 1993, Doughtie went to the Dean's antique store to talk to Sylvia, whom Doughtie referred to as Mrs. Golden. Doughtie had previously worked for Sylvia and frequently sold items he had stolen to the antique store. According to Doughtie's confession, Jerry was the only one at the store when he arrived. Doughtie asked Jerry if he had any money, and Jerry informed Doughtie that he would have to wait until Sylvia got back.

When Sylvia arrived, Doughtie told her he needed $30 to get to San Antonio. Sylvia refused, saying she did not have any money. After asking repeatedly, Doughtie left the store with an antique vase. After walking three or four blocks, Doughtie stated he felt he needed more cocaine or heroin. He discarded the vase in bushes, grabbed a piece of metal tubing, and went back to the antique store. Jerry and Sylvia were sitting in rocking chairs when Doughtie arrived. Doughtie confronted Sylvia, and she told Doughtie she had called the police about the vase. Doughtie threatened Sylvia with the metal tubing, then struck her on the head and turned and hit Jerry on the head several times with the tubing.

An hour later, a nurse shopping in the store next door walked into the antique shop and found the Deans lying on the floor in a pool of blood and moaning in agony. Jerry and Sylvia had been severally beaten and were covered in blood. Jerry died later that evening, and Sylvia died nearly a month later. Jerry had been struck three to five times on the head and his wife Sylvia had been hit five times on the head. The cause of death for both victims was blunt-force injuries to the head and brain.

Doughtie took Sylvia's wedding ring and a gold ring from Jerry. Doughtie also stole some money and rings from Sylvia's purse. When he left the antique shop, Doughtie discarded the metal tubing in a pile of trash. Doughtie traded the jewelry and money for cocaine and heroin. Two weeks later, after being stopped and questioned about a separate robbery, Doughtie confessed to the antique shop murders. Doughtie took investigators to the area where he discarded the vase and murder weapon, but the investigators where unable to recover either item.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

March 3, 1994 - Jeffrey Carlton Doughtie was indicted on two counts of capital murder in the 347th Judicial District Court of Nueces County.

May 12, 1994 - He was found guilty on both counts.

June 9, 1994 - Following a separate punishment hearing, Doughtie was sentenced to death.

April 3, 1996 - The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed Doughtie's conviction and sentence. Doughtie did not petition the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari.

Feb. 20, 1998 - The state habeas court (the 347th Judicial District Court of Nueces County) entered findings of fact and conclusion of law and recommended denying habeas corpus relief.

April 8, 1998 - The Court of Criminal Appeals denied relief based on the habeas court's findings and conclusions.

Sept. 8, 1998 - Doughtie filed an amended petition for federal habeas relief in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Corpus Christi Division. Before the state could file an answer to Doughtie's petition for federal habeas relief, he informed the federal district court that he wished to forego federal habeas review. Doughtie also asked that the trial court set an execution date.

Jan. 20, 1999 - A competency hearing was conducted, and the federal district court allowed Doughtie to withdraw his petition. That same day, the state district court set an execution date for March 25, 1999.

March 19, 1999 - The federal district court dismissed Doughtie's petition for federal habeas relief; however, Doughtie informed federal habeas counsel that he had second thoughts, and on the same day, the federal district court reinstated Doughtie's petition for federal habeas relief.

Jan. 25, 2000 - The federal district court denied Doughtie's petition for habeas relief.

April 18, 2000 - The federal district court denied Doughtie's motion for a certificate of appealability.

Nov. 14, 2000 - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit denied Doughtie's motion for certificate of appealability.

April 2, 2001 - Doughtie did not file a timely petition for a writ of certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court, and the U.S. Supreme Court denied Doughtie's motion to file a writ of certiorari out of time.

April 18, 2001 - The trial court scheduled Doughtie's execution for Aug. 16, 2001. Currently there is no litigation pending before any court.

PRIOR CRIMINAL HISTORY

Extensive evidence of prior criminal convictions and history was presented during the punishment phase of Doughtie's capital murder trial. Specifically, Doughtie had prior convictions for furnishing a controlled substance to a prisoner and forgery. Evidence also established that Doughtie had committed several aggravated robberies and a burglary within a three-week period of the Dean murders. Finally, evidence established that Doughtie was responsible for the Aug. 22, 1993 capital murder of Marie Lozano in Corpus Christi.

Texas Execution Information Center by David Carson.

Jeffrey Carlton Doughtie, 39, was executed by lethal injection on 16 August in Huntsville, Texas for the robbery and murder of a store owner couple.

In August 1993, Doughtie, then 31, went into the antique store owned by Jerry Dean, 80, and his wife, Sylvia, 76. Doughtie had previously worked for the couple and had frequently sold items he had stolen to the store. On this day, Doughtie was high on a cocaine "speedball". He asked Jerry Dean if he had any money to lend him, and Dean informed Doughtie that he would have to wait for his wife to return.

When Sylvia Dean returned, Doughtie repeatedly asked her for $30. She refused, saying she did not have any money. Doughtie took a vase from the store, walked three or four blocks, and decided to go back to the store. He discarded the vase in some bushes, grabbed a piece of metal pipe, and went back. When he entered the store, Sylvia Dean told Doughtie she had called the police about the vase. He struck Sylvia first, then Jerry, on the head with the pipe several times. He took Sylvia's wedding ring, Jerry's gold ring, and some money and rings from Sylvia's purse. He discarded the pipe in a pile of trash, and fled. An hour later, a customer walked in and saw the Deans lying on the floor in a pool of blood and moaning in agony. Jerry Dean died later that evening. Sylvia Dean died about a month later.

Doughtie was stopped and questioned two weeks later about a separate robbery. He confessed to the antique shop murders and told police the reason he tried to borrow money and ended up robbing the Deans was so he could buy drugs.

Doughtie had an extensive criminal history including drugs, DWI, burglary, and robbery. He was also connected to a murder that occurred three weeks after the Deans. (Reports did not explain how this could be, if he was arrested two weeks after murdering the Deans.)

A jury convicted Jeffrey Doughtie of two counts of capital murder in May 1994 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed his conviction and sentence in April 1996. He waived and then reasserted some of his appeal rights, and filed one of his appeals after deadline. None of his appeals to state or federal court were granted.

On death row, Doughtie admitted he was responsible for the killings. "I walked into that store and beat two people to death with a pipe and that was the lowest point of my life," Doughtie said. "It was a spur-of-the-moment thing. The sick thing is that I didn't walk out of there thinking, 'There are two people inside bleeding to death. I was thinking, 'I'm going to get a good deal for this ring.' That's some sick (stuff)." He also said he was a changed person since entering prison. "I was a mess ... I just didn't have the sense to lay down and die."

Doughtie said that he wasn't afraid of being executed. "I wish those people hadn't died. But that gurney holds no fear for me -- I have a peace inside my heart." He continued, "to kill me isn't going to bring them back. I'm getting off easy -- they're the ones who had to suffer. Yes, I'm getting the ultimate punishment, but I got time to get it together, and I know where I'm going. The one thing we have on death row is that we know when, where and how (we're going to die). We have time to prepare for it. ... They are honestly not giving me the ultimate punishment, they're cutting me loose."

On the execution gurney, Doughtie questioned the point of executing him. "I don't think the world will be a better or safer place without me," he said. "You are not hurting me now. I have had time to get ready, to tell my family goodbye, to get my life where it needed to be." Referring to his $400-a-day drug habit that led to him murder Jerry and Sylvia Dean, he said "it started with a needle and it is ending with a needle." He then thanked his friends who were present and told the warden to proceed with the lethal injection. He was pronounced dead at 6:22 p.m.

ProDeathPenalty.Com

Convicted killer Jeffrey Carlton Doughtie in 1999 dropped his options for appeals and requested that he be executed. Doughtie, who said he wanted to be an example to kids of the results of drug use, told state District Judge Joaquin Villarreal III he was ready to die. "I'm not crazy," Doughtie said. "I want it done with." Susan Nix, great-niece of 2 of Doughtie's victims, said she was relieved and upset by his request. "His doing this grandstanding only causes more pain for our family," Nix said. "He's seeking glory. I am personally angry about his wanting to be a role model. I don't really think anyone who brutally kills three elderly people can ever be a role model," she said.

Doughtie waived his appeal options in federal court and then told Villarreal in state court that he appreciated the way the court has treated him. The judge then ordered a March 25, 1999 execution date. Doughtie promised when the Texas Supreme Court upheld his conviction in 1997 he would volunteer to be executed. The drug-addicted transient went on a crime spree in 1993 in Corpus Christi, first killing an elderly couple who sold antiques, then strangling and bludgeoning to death a 75-year-old woman. He was convicted of capital murder in both cases and was sentenced to die for the deaths of Jerry and Sylvia Dean, who owned Golden Antiques and Collectibles. A customer came into the store on Aug. 2, 1993, and found the couple unconscious and lying in pools of blood. Jerry Dean, 80, died hours after the attack. His wife, Sylvia, 75, lingered in a coma for 25 days before she died.

In a written confession, Doughtie said he beat the couple, whom he had known for several years, when they refused to loan him $30. He stole money and jewelry from the store, including Sylvia's wedding ring. He was also convicted for the Aug. 22, 1993, slaying of 75-year-old Maria Lozano, who was bludgeoned with a perfume bottle and strangled in her Corpus Christi home.

Last fall, Doughtie wrote a letter requesting an April execution, but said Wednesday he wanted to move up the date. "I have a friend in Germany. She's coming over and I'd just as soon get it over with," Doughtie said. Then, less than a week away from his scheduled execution, Doughtie asked for and received a delay in his execution. Susan Nix, great-niece of the Deans, said she had planned to attend Doughtie's execution in Huntsville and was disappointed with his decision. He is further hurting his victims' families, she said. "I am by no means surprised," she said. "I had a feeling this wouldn't take place this soon. He does seem to be on some self-satisfied glory trip." Nix said that when she was called to Spohn Memorial Hospital in 1993, she believed her aunt and uncle had been in a car accident. Sylvia Dean had poor eyesight and had been in minor accidents before, she said. At the hospital, she watched Jerry Dean die. Nix said her grief has since mellowed, but she is ready to see Doughtie pay the ultimate price for his crimes. "I've already made peace," she said. "But I saw the results of what he did to 2 very good people."

UPDATE: Convicted killer Jeffery Doughtie was executed Thursday for using a metal pipe to fatally beat an elderly couple at their Corpus Christi antiques shop after they refused to give him money to support his $400-a-day drug habit. "For about nine years, I've thought about the death penalty, if it's right or wrong. I don't have the answer. But I don't think this world is a safer place without me in it," Doughtie said while strapped to the gurney in the death chamber. He said the punishment should have been carried out much sooner. "Killing me now ain't hurting me. It gave me time to say goodbye to my family," he said. He looked toward some friends watching through a nearby window, expressed love and thanked them.

New Hampshire Coalition Against The Death Penalty

Convicted killer Jeffery Doughtie was executed Thursday for using a metal pipe to fatally beat an elderly couple at their Corpus Christi antiques shop after they refused to give him money to support his $400-a-day drug habit. "For about nine years, I've thought about the death penalty, if it's right or wrong. I don't have the answer. But I don't think this world is a safer place without me in it," Doughtie said while strapped to the gurney in the death chamber. The 39-year-old said the punishment should have been carried out much sooner.

"Killing me now ain't hurting me. It gave me time to say goodbye to my family," he said. Doughtie's execution attracted none of the attention that 24 hours earlier accompanied the scheduled punishment for another Texas death row inmate, Napoleon Beazley. Beazley, now 25, was 17 when he was arrested for killing the father of a federal appeals court judge in Tyler, and his punishment renewed the debate over the execution of offenders who were teen-agers at the time of their crime. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals stopped Beazley's execution less than four hours before it was set to take place.

Doughtie was looking for money for drugs when he walked into the antiques shop in 1993. He left when Jerry Dean, 80, and his wife, Sylvia, 76, refused him money but returned with a metal pipe. Both victims were bashed in the head as they sat in rocking chairs. The couple, married for some 50 years, had their rings taken. Investigators determined they were traded for cocaine and heroin.

www.DeathRowBook.com

Convicted killer Jeffery Doughtie was executed Aug. 16, 2001, for using a metal pipe to fatally beat an elderly couple at their Corpus Christi antiques shop after they refused to give him money to support his $400-a-day drug habit.

The drug-addicted transient went on a crime spree in 1993 in Corpus Christi, first killing an elderly couple who sold antiques, then strangling and bludgeoning to death a 75-year-old woman. He was convicted of capital murder in both cases and was sentenced to die for the deaths of Jerry and Sylvia Dean, who owned Golden Antiques and Collectibles. A customer came into the store on Aug. 2, 1993, and found the couple unconscious and lying in pools of blood. Jerry Dean, 80, died hours after the attack. His wife, Sylvia, 75, lingered in a coma for 25 days before she died.

In a written confession, Doughtie said he beat the couple, whom he had known for several years, when they refused to loan him $30. He stole money and jewelry from the store, including Sylvia's wedding ring. He was also convicted for the Aug. 22, 1993, slaying of 75-year-old Maria Lozano, who was bludgeoned with a perfume bottle and strangled in her Corpus Christi home.

"For about nine years, I've thought about the death penalty, if it's right or wrong. I don't have the answer. But I don't think this world is a safer place without me in it," Doughtie said while strapped to the gurney in the death chamber. He said the punishment should have been carried out much sooner. "Killing me now ain't hurting me. It gave me time to say goodbye to my family," he said. He looked toward some friends watching through a nearby window, expressed love and thanked them.