Citations:
Fox v. State, 779 P.2d 562 (Okl. Cr. 1989).
Fox v. State, 880 P.2d 383 (Okl. Cr. 1994).
Fox v. Ward, 200 F.3d 1286 (10th Cir. 2000).

Internet Sources:

Oklahoma Department of Corrections

Oklahoma Attorney General

10-10-2000 - W.A. Drew Edmondson, Attorney General - Execution Date Requested For Fox/Fowler

Attorney General Drew Edmondson today requested an execution date for the two men convicted of murdering three employees of an Edmond grocery store more than 15 years ago. Billy Ray Fox and Mark Andrew Fowler were sentenced to die for the July 3, 1985, murders of John Barrier, 27, Chumpon Chaowasin, 44, and Rick Cast, 33, during an early morning robbery of the Wynn's IGA grocery store where the victims worked. Chaowasin and Cast were murdered execution style, each dying from single gunshot wounds to the head. Barrier was stabbed nine times in the neck, chest, back and side and was bludgeoned on the back of the head with a shotgun. Fox, who was 19 at the time of the crime, and Fowler, who was 20, took $1,200 in cash and $1,500 in checks from the store. They were tried together in Oklahoma County District Court, convicted of the crime May 15, 1986, and sentenced to death June 20, 1986.

The United States Supreme Court today refused to hear the appeals of Fox, 35, and Fowler, 35, prompting Edmondson to ask the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals to set an execution date. In his requests, Edmondson asked the court to schedule both executions on the same day. "The execution of a killer is a difficult time for the victim's family and friends because the painful memories of the murder are brought to the surface," said Edmondson. "We have a rare situation where the co-defendants' appeals have run out on the same day, and we hope that setting the executions together will save the victims' families from having to endure this trauma twice."

Edmondson said it is the practice of his office, before an execution date is requested, to examine each case to determine if the testing of DNA evidence should occur. "We have determined, after a thorough review, that DNA testing would be of no value in this case, and would have no relevance as to the actual innocence of Fox or Fowler," said Edmondson. "I see nothing that should stand in the way of these executions being carried out. Although justice has been more than 15 years in coming, today's denial brings the killers closer to receiving the punishment given them by a jury of their peers."

Death Penalty Institute of Oklahoma

Billy Ray Fox, 35, was executed via lethal injection at Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. He was pronounced dead at 9:06pm. Fox, along with his co-defendant Mark Fowler, was sentenced to death for the 1985 murders of John Barrier, 27, Rick Cast, 33, and Chumpon Chaowasin, 44, night employees of Wynn's IGA in Edmond. Fowler was executed on Tuesday, January 23. Fox did not request a clemency hearing. (Since the death penalty was reinstated in Oklahoma in 1977, no inmate has ever received a vote in favor of clemency from the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board.)

Vigils were held at no less than 15 locations around the state. Thirty-two people took part in the vigil outside the gates of the penitentiary.

ProDeathPenalty.Com

Billy Ray Fox was convicted in 1986 for the 1985 execution-style murders of three Edmond employees of a Wynn's IGA in Oklahoma County. Fox had worked at the store and was fired shortly before the robbery. He and his accomplice, Mark Andrew Fowler, herded night manager Rick Cast and employees Chumpon Chaowasin and John Barrier into a back room, where they were shot, clubbed and stabbed. Fox and Fowler were tried together, and both received death sentences.

The Lamp of Hope (Associated Press & Rick Halperin)

January 25, 2001 OKLAHOMA - A man who orchestrated a murderous robbery at an Edmond grocery store where he once worked followed his accomplice into the death chamber Thursday night. Billy Ray Fox, 35, was executed by injection for the July 3, 1985, murders of 3 night employees at Wynn's IGA. He was pronounced dead at 9:06 p.m. Mark Andrew Fowler, who helped carry out the murders, was executed Tuesday night at Oklahoma State Penitentiary.

Acquaintances said that 2 days before the murders, Fox approached Fowler about robbing the grocery store, to which he still had keys to the door, the cash register and a safe. Armed with shotguns they took from their roommates, the 2 shot to death Chaowasin and Cast. Barrier was stabbed 9 times and bludgeoned with a shotgun. A 16-year-old girl who worked at the store found the bodies of the victims lying side-by-side in a large pool of blood in a back room of the store. Fox and Fowler got away with $1,200 in cash. The afternoon following the murder, Fowler paid off some debts and threw a party for some friends, serving steaks and food he took from the store. Fox bought clothes and jewelry at an Oklahoma City mall. Both were arrested that night.

Fox spent the hours before his execution visiting with family members through thick glass. Fox went on a weeklong hunger strike earlier this month to protest the death penalty, Corrections Department spokesman Jerry Massie said. 3 of Cast's family members were at the prison to witness the execution, along with Barrier's sister, Linda Barrier, her friend and 3 Edmond police officers. The same family members watched Fowler die Tuesday. Cast's brother, Frank Cast, called Fowler and Fox "mad dogs" and said their execution was the end of 15 1/2 years of grief and pain. "I request all people of good conscience to pray for the souls of the 3 victims and deceased members of all the families of this tragedy, as well as pray that the souls of these 2 killers be sent directly to Hell," Cast wrote in a statement.

Fox becomes the 6th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Oklahoma and the 36th overall since the state resumed capital punishmetn in 1990. Fox becomes the 9th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA and the 692nd overall since America resumed executions on January 17, 1977.

Shawnee Online

"Fox Executed for Murders," by Thomas Mullen.

McALESTER, Okla. (AP) -- A man who orchestrated a murderous robbery at an Edmond grocery store where he once worked followed his accomplice into the death chamber Thursday night. Billy Ray Fox, 35, was executed by injection for the July 3, 1985, murders of three night employees at Wynn's IGA. He was pronounced dead at 9:06 p.m. Mark Andrew Fowler, who helped carry out the murders, was executed Tuesday night at Oklahoma State Penitentiary.

When asked if he had last words, Fox said, "No." He smiled, keeping his lips closed. As the execution began, he lifted his head straight up and smiled at relatives. Seconds later, his eyes went glassy and looked to the ceiling and his head slowly fell.

Fox and Fowler were convicted of the murders of Chumpon Chaowasin, 44, Rick Cast, 33, and John Barrier, 27. Although Fowler, 35, claimed to be just a lookout, officials determined one man could not have committed the murders alone. Fox did not request a clemency hearing and filed no emergency appeals to try to halt his execution. Fox was the sixth inmate executed in Oklahoma this month, with four more scheduled to die in the next six weeks. It is the fastest execution pace in state history, and has drawn national attention from death penalty opponents. About three dozen people, including the Rev. Jesse Jackson, have been arrested in anti-death penalty demonstrations in Oklahoma in January.

Gordon Wynn, owner of Wynn's IGA, knew Fox and his three victims, each of whom was attending college at the University of Central Oklahoma when they were killed. "They were just great guys, going to college to try to make better lives for themselves," Wynn said of the victims. Wynn described Cast as a golfer and amateur photographer, while Barrier was an avid bowler. Chaowasin was a Taiwan native working toward a master's degree. Wynn also remembered Fox, a kid from a good family who worked his way up to assistant manager until his work began to slack. He was fired about six months before the robbery. "I don't know what happened, but he started messing up and we had to let him go," Wynn said.

Acquaintances said that two days before the murders, Fox approached Fowler about robbing the grocery store, to which he still had keys to the door, the cash register and a safe. Armed with shotguns they took from their roommates, the two shot to death Chaowasin and Cast. Barrier was stabbed nine times and bludgeoned with a shotgun. A 16-year-old girl who worked at the store found the bodies of the victims lying side-by-side in a large pool of blood in a back room of the store. Fox and Fowler got away with $1,200 in cash. The afternoon following the murder, Fowler paid off some debts and threw a party for some friends, serving steaks and food he took from the store. Fox bought clothes and jewelry at an Oklahoma City mall. Both were arrested that night.

Fox spent the hours before his execution visiting with family members through thick glass. Although he at first did not request a special last meal, he changed his mind and was served steak and chicken fajitas at noon. Fox went on a weeklong hunger strike earlier this month to protest the death penalty, Corrections Department spokesman Jerry Massie said.

Three of Cast's family members were at the prison to witness the execution, along with Barrier's sister, Linda Barrier, her friend and three Edmond police officers. The same family members watched Fowler die Tuesday. Cast's brother, Frank Cast, called Fowler and Fox "mad dogs" and said their execution was the end of 15 1/2 years of grief and pain. "I request all people of good conscience to pray for the souls of the three victims and deceased members of all the families of this tragedy, as well as pray that the souls of these two killers be sent directly to Hell," Cast wrote in a statement.

KKTV News - CBS

Second Of Murder Duo Executed

Oklahoma Puts Billy Ray Fox To Death For 1985 Triple Murder - Partner In Murder-Robbery Was Executed Tuesday - Sixth Execution This Month For Oklahoma

OKLAHOMA CITY, Jan. 25, 2001 (CBS) - Oklahoma Thursday conducted its second execution this week, putting to death the second member of a crime team convicted in three 1985 murders. Billy Ray Fox, 35, died by lethal injection for the slayings during the robbery of a grocery store. The victims were shot, clubbed and stabbed. His convicted partner in the crime, Mark Andrew Fowler, 35, was put to death Tuesday. Fox was the sixth inmate put to death by Oklahoma this month.

Prior to Fowler and Fox, Wanda Jean Allen was put to death on Jan. 11 for the 1988 murder of her lesbian lover. Eddie Leroy Trice, convicted of raping, beating to death, and robbing an 84-year-old woman in 1987, died Jan. 9. Floyd Allen Medlock was executed Jan. 16 for stabbing a 7-year-old to death and dumping her body in a trash bin in 1990. Dion Smallwood went to the death chamber on Jan. 18 for beating a 68-year-old woman with a croquet mallet, then burning her alive, in 1992. Oklahoma has one more execution planned for January: Loyd Winford Lafevers, 35, is to be executed on January 30 for the 1985 murder of 84-year-old Addie Hawley in Oklahoma City. She was kidnapped from her home, placed in a car trunk and taken to a remote area where she was raped, beaten and burned.

The state originally had eight scheduled in January, which would have set a state record and tied the record held by Texas, which put eight people to death in both May and June of 1997.