Internet Sources:

Capital Punishment in Missouri from Missouri.Net (James Hampton)

Case Facts:

On 8-3-92 at around 1:15 a.m. James Hampton, armed with a sawed off shotgun, broke into the residence of Ms. Frances Keaton in Warrenton, Missouri. He demanded $30,000 from Ms. Keaton and her fiance Mr. Allen Mulholland because he believed that Ms. Keaton had the money in a checking account for a real estate transaction. Hampton learned of the transaction through a real estate agent that he had been staying with after his release from a federal prison in Illinois. Hampton told the couple that he would take one of them hostage to ensure that he would get the money.

Hampton tied the couple up. Ms. Keaton stated that although she did not have the money she thought she might be able to raise $10,000 through her minister. Hampton released Ms. Keaton to get dressed. Ms. Keaton made an attempt to escape, but Hampton restrained her and threatened to kill her if she resisted again. Hampton then told the couple that he would kidnap Ms. Keaton and if Mr. Mulholland tried to contact the police he would kill Ms. Keaton. Hampton told the couple that he had a police scanner and would know if the police were looking for him and Ms. Keaton. Hampton left Mr. Mulholland tied up in the house.

Hampton and Ms. Keaton then got into her car and headed toward Callaway County, Missouri. Ms. Keaton called her minister via her cellular telephone but he told her he did not have the money. The minister called Ms. Keaton's son to alert him of his mother's predicament. The son then called his mother on her cellular telephone around 1:30 a.m. That was the last contact anyone had with Ms. Keaton.

At some point during their drive Hampton learned from his police scanner that the authorities were searching for Ms. Keaton. According to his trial testimony, Hampton decided to kill Ms. Keaton after learining that the police were looking for him. Hampton drove Ms. Keaton to the farm of the real estate agent from whom he had learned about Ms. Keaton. Hampton blindfolded Ms. Keaton and took her into a wooded area about one-half mile from the real estate agent's farm. He then killed Ms. Keaton by repeatedly striking her in the head with a hammer. He then buried her and burned all of her belongings.

The next morning Hampton returned to Warrenton to retrieve his car, but found that it had already been impounded by the police. Hampton fled the state and was later apprehended in New Jersey where he had been arrested and convicted of another murder. As he was about to be placed into custody Mr. Hampton shot himself in the head.

James Henry Hampton was born on 3-5-38 in Louisville, Kentucky.

PRIOR CRIMINAL RECORD - On 5-17-55 Hampton was arrested in Jefferson County, Kentucky for Attempted Operating a Motor Vehicle with out the Owner's Consent. He was sentenced to one year in the county jail. Execution of the sentence was suspended and he was placed on five years probation. - On 2-7-57 Hampton was arrested in Louisville, Kentucky for two counts of Burglary of a Dwelling. He was sentenced to two years in the Kentucky State Penitentiary and was discharged on 10-21-58. - On 12-2-60 Hampton was arrested in Frankfort, Kentucky for Armed Robbery and Operating a Motor Vehicle with out the Owner's Consent. He was sentenced to six years in the Kentucky State Penitentiary and was released on 12-2-65. - On 3-10-66 Hampton was arrested in Louisville, Kentucky for two counts of Attempted Burglary. He was fined $200. - On 4-9-66 Hampton was arrested in Clayton, Missouri for Burglary and Stealing. He was sentenced to three years in the Missouri Department of Corrections on each count to be served concurrently. He was discharged on 1-26-68. - On 3-12-70 Hampton was arrested in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma for Burglary and Stealing. He was sentenced to five years in the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. He was discharged on 3-14-80. - On 3-13-70 Hampton was arrested in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma for Interstate Transportation of Counterfeit Securities. He was sentenced to ten years in the Federal Bureau of Prisons. He was released to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections on 3-25-77. - On 12-81 Hampton was arrested in Portland, Oregon for Distribution of Heroin and Conspiracy to Distribute Heroin. He was sentenced to ten years in the Federal Bureau of Prisons. He was paroled on 10-4-85. - On 1-11-86 Hampton was arrested in Portland Oregon for Assault Fourth Degree and Recklessly Endangerment. He was sentenced to five years in the Oregon Department of Corrections. - On 12-19-92 Hampton was arrested in West Orange, New Jersey for Homicide. He was sentenced to a life sentence without parole. - On 3-18-95 Hampton was returned to Fulton, Missouri where he was charged with Murder First Degree. Hampton was sentenced to death on September 16, 1996.

Legal Chronology

1992
08/03 - Frances Keaton is abducted from her home.
08/15 - Ms. Keaton's body is found on a farm in Callaway County, Missouri.
12/19 - James Hampton is arrested in West Orange, New Jersey for murder.

1996
07/29 - Hampton goes on trail for Murder 1st Degree in Circuit Court of Callaway County.
08/02 - He is found guilty by a jury and they recommend a sentence of death.
09/16 - Hampton is sentenced to death.

1997
12/23 - The Missouri Supreme Court affirms Hampton's conviction and sentence.

1998
04/27 - Hampton files a motion for post-conviction relief in Circuit court of Callaway County.

1999
01/26 - Circuit Court of Callaway County dismisses the motion for post-conviction relief.

2000
01/11 - The Missouri Supreme Court dismisses the appeal from the dismissal of the post-conviction relief motion.
02/23 - The Missouri Supreme Court sets March 22, 2000, as the date for Hampton's execution.

ProDeathPenalty.Com

James Hampton was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1992 murder of Frances Keaton. At approximately 9:00 p.m. on the evening of August 2, 1992, Hampton parked a green Pontiac Bonneville in the lot of Fellowship Baptist Church in Warrenton, Missouri. Hampton told passersby that he was having car trouble, but declined offers of assistance, saying that he had a bicycle. Leaving a note on his windshield that read: "Car trouble. Gone for help. S.G. Gambosi," Hampton rode the bicycle about three miles to the neighborhood where Frances Keaton, a 58-year old hairdresser lived. Hampton knew, through his acquaintance with Frances Keaton's realtor-- that Frances and her fiancée, Allen Mulholland, had access to a checking account containing at least $30,000. Using a copy of Frances' house key provided to him by the realtor, Hampton entered her house dressed in dark clothing, wearing a stocking cap over his face, and carrying a sawed-off shotgun. Some time after 10 p.m., Hampton awoke Frances and Allen Mulholland, who were asleep in their bedroom, and told them: "I've come here to rob you." After binding their hands and feet, Hampton demanded $30,000 from them. They replied that they didn't have that much money, but Frances said she thought that she could get $10,000 from her pastor. Hampton untied her and allowed her to get dressed. When she attempted to escape, Hampton overpowered her, and eventually placed a coat hanger around her neck and threatened to kill her if she again resisted him. Hampton told Allen Mulholland that he had a police scanner and that, if the police learned of the kidnapping, he would kill Frances. Hampton then took Frances outside to her car and drove her towards the realtor's farm in Callaway County.

While they were driving, at 1:15 a.m. on August 3, Hampton had Frances call her pastor on Allen Mulholland's cellular phone and ask him if he could provide her with $10,000 cash by nine o'clock that morning. The pastor called her back on the cellular phone, but all contact with Frances was lost at 2:24 a.m. At some point during the drive, Hampton learned from his police scanner that law enforcement authorities had been alerted to the kidnapping. According to his own testimony, Hampton had decided in advance to kill his hostage if police learned of the kidnapping before he received the ransom. Carrying through with his plan, Hampton bound and blindfolded Frances and took her to a wooded area one half mile from the realtor's farm. Once there, he killed Frances with several hammer blows to her head and then buried her body.

The morning after killing Frances, Hampton drove her car back to Warrenton, and attempted to retrieve the green Pontiac he had left at the Fellowship Baptist Church. He abandoned his attempt when he saw that police were keeping the car under surveillance. Late that night, after police had impounded the car, he was apprehended attempting to enter the locked impound lot, but gave an alias and was released. On Sept. 16, 1992, he killed Christine Schurman, 48, of Wantage Township, whose body was found by her husband, Dr. Alan Schurman. She died of a single bullet wound to the head, also after a failed kidnapping attempt. Hampton was finally captured on Dec. 19, 1992, one day after he was featured on the television show "America's Most Wanted." A New Jersey pastor recognized Hampton from the television program and alerted police. As he was about to be taken into custody, Hampton shot himself in the head, injuring his brain's frontal lobes. Hampton has dropped his appeals, stating that he does not want to live his life out in prison or wait 15 years for his execution to take place.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"Murderer Forgoes His Last Chance for Some Redemption," by Bill McClellan. (March 24, 2000)

Killer without a conscience - Jim Hampton got his wish and was executed early Wednesday morning. His final words were, "Take the phone off the hook." Apparently, he wanted to make sure there would be no last-second phone call from the governor. He need not have worried. Despite the efforts of death penalty opponents who argued that Hampton was incompetent to decide his own fate -- I guess they had to argue something -- there was no way the governor was going to spare Hampton's life.

He had been given the death penalty for the 1992 murder of Frances Keaton, a 58-year-old beautician who worked in Florissant and lived in Warrenton. Her two children, both adults, attended the execution. "He got off easy," said LaVon Bowlin, Keaton's daughter. "It was like he just went to sleep." Keaton's death had not been so peaceful. Hampton beat her to death with a hammer. It was part of a kidnapping for ransom plan that went bad. Also in attendance at the execution was a daughter of Christine Schurman, a New Jersey woman who was murdered by Hampton. He shot her after another botched kidnapping attempt.

I visited Hampton a few days before his execution, and I asked if he felt any remorse for either of the murders. He seemed to think the question was off-base. He said he had not intended to kill anybody. Instead, he had decided that if his plans went bad, the people would have to die. The plans went bad. The people had to die. Why would he feel remorse? I left the interview thinking that Hampton was a bad man. Way to go, Dr. Freud, you might be saying to yourself. How astute. What an unlikely observation. For me, though, it was unlikely. I've talked to a lot of guys in prison, and I almost always have some sympathy for them. You don't have to be a bad person to do a bad thing. That's the way I look at it.

But Hampton struck me as just plain bad. I asked him if he had committed any murders other than the two for which he had been convicted. Yes, he said. There had been six others during his long career as a criminal. Hampton, you may remember, was 62 years old. I asked about these other murders. Were they fellow criminals? Killed when drug deals went bad, or something along those lines? Or were they like the two women we know about -- innocent citizens? More like that, said Hampton. They were people who maybe saw something they shouldn't have seen, or heard something they shouldn't have heard. For whatever reason, I thought they were a threat to my personal freedom, he said. More than that he wouldn't say. With a fellow like Hampton, it's impossible to know what to believe. But still, he was a career criminal, a drifter, an amoral man. Other murders were possible, maybe even likely.

I talked to Hampton one last time on the phone. You've got a chance to do something good, something right, at the very end of your life, I said. Write me a letter about the other six murders. Put in enough details so we'll know you did them. Mail it to me, and I'll get it after your execution. Why would I do that? asked Hampton. Because there's a chance that somebody is doing time for a murder you committed, I said.

That's very possible, Hampton said. But I'm not going to do it. If I were to write a letter, the state could get ahold of it before I'm killed. If I admit to some other murders, those jurisdictions will want to talk to me, and my execution could be put on hold. I don't want to take that chance, he concluded. And so he died -- went to sleep, as LaVon Bowling described it -- without taking advantage of an opportunity to do, at long last, a good thing.

ABCNews.Com

"Execution in Missouri; 2-Time Killer Spent Just 4 Years on Death Row."

P O T O S I, Mo., March 22 (AP) — James Henry Hampton, a two-time killer who has spent most of his life in prison, was executed early this morning after serving only four years on death row. Hampton, 62, was the first Missouri inmate put to death by injection this year at the state prison in Potosi, and the 42nd since the death penalty was reinstated in 1989. Hampton maintained since his 1996 conviction that he wanted to be executed rather than grow old in prison. He refused to make court appeals and did not seek clemency from Gov. Mel Carnahan. However, a group of death penalty opponents, led by the Missouri Catholic Conference, sought clemency for him. Carnahan denied their request about 10:15 p.m. Tuesday. “The governor saw no reason to commute the sentence,” spokesman Jerry Nachtigal said.

Last Meal: Doughnuts

Corrections department spokesman Tim Kniest said Hampton chose a dozen glazed doughnuts and two pints of milk for his last meal. Hampton admitted beating Frances Keaton to death with a hammer in 1992 after abducting her from her home in Warrenton. He then fled to New Jersey, where he killed another woman during another failed kidnapping attempt. As police moved in on Hampton in New Jersey, he stuck a gun beneath his chin and shot himself. The bullet exited through the front of Hampton’s brain. At his trial in 1996, neurologist Jonathan Pincus of Georgetown University testified that the brain wound affected Hampton’s judgment. Death penalty opponents blamed impaired judgment for Hampton’s desire to die. “Is it morally irresponsible for the state to execute someone when there is reasonable doubt that he can make good judgments,” said Rita Linhardt of the Missouri Catholic Conference. Hampton refused interview requests Tuesday by The Associated Press.

A Life of Crime

Hampton grew up one of 11 children in a poor family in the Louisville, Ky., area. He went to reform school at age 11 and spent his adult life in and out of prisons. Before his murder sentences, he served time in 25 different prisons for crimes ranging from burglary to assault to drug trafficking. During one stint in the federal prison in Marion, Ill., in the early 1970s, he befriended Gary Gilmore. Gilmore in 1976 would become the first American to be executed after a decade-long ban on the death penalty. Linhardt said the meeting had a strong effect on Hampton. “It’s like he’s almost wanting to be like Gilmore,” Linhardt said. Court records showed that Hampton parked his car at the parking lot of a Warrenton church on Aug. 2, 1992, then rode a bicycle the three miles to Keaton’s home. An acquaintance, a realtor who had worked with Keaton, told Hampton that Keaton had $30,000 in the bank. The realtor also gave Hampton a key to the home. Hampton entered with a sawed-off shotgun and demanded money from Keaton, a 58-year-old hairdresser, and her fiance, Allen Mulholland. He tied up Mulholland and abducted Keaton, taking her car and heading west on Interstate 70.

Death by Hammer

While driving, Hampton learned from a police scanner that law enforcement authorities had been alerted to the kidnapping. Hampton testified at his trial that he had decided in advance to kill his hostage if police learned of the kidnapping before he received his ransom. Hampton bound and blindfolded Keaton and took her to a wooded area of Callaway County. Once there, he killed her with several hammer blows to the head and then buried her body. Hampton drove back to Warrenton and attempted to retrieve his car. When he saw that police were keeping it under surveillance, he fled to New Jersey. On Sept. 16, 1992, he killed Christine Schurman, 48, of Wantage Township, whose body was found by her husband, Dr. Alan Schurman. She died of a single bullet wound to the head, also after a failed kidnapping attempt. Hampton was finally captured on Dec. 19, 1992, one day after he was featured on the television show America’s Most Wanted. A New Jersey pastor recognized Hampton from the television program and alerted police.

APBNews.Com

"Missouri Executes Killer Who Refused Appeals." (March 22, 2000)

POTOSI, Mo. (AP) -- A man convicted of killing two women was executed by injection early today after refusing for years to appeal his case amid claims that a gunshot wound had affected his judgment. James H. Hampton, 62, did not seek clemency from Gov. Mel Carnahan. As the first drug was administered, Hampton raised his head, looked around and coughed a few times. His last words: "Take the phone off the hook."

Hampton admitted beating Frances Keaton, 58, to death with a hammer in 1992 after abducting her from her home in Warrenton. He then fled to New Jersey, where he killed another woman, Christine Schurman, 48, during a kidnapping attempt. As police moved in on Hampton, he stuck a gun beneath his chin and shot himself. The bullet exited through the front of Hampton's brain. At his trial in 1996, a neurologist testified that the brain wound affected Hampton's judgment. Death penalty opponents blamed impaired judgment for Hampton's desire to die. Hampton went to reform school at age 11 and spent his adult life in and out of prisons. Before his murder sentences, he served time in 25 different prisons for crimes ranging from burglary to assault to drug trafficking.