Donald Jones was executed at 12:07 a.m., April 27, 2005.

Case Facts: On March 6, 1993, Donald Jones went to his grandmother’s house around midnight to get some money to buy crack cocaine. When Jones arrived, the grandmother, Dorothy Knuckles, let him in, and they went to her bedroom on the second floor. While in the bedroom Jones asked the grandmother for money. She refused and started lecturing Jones about his drinking and use of cocaine.

Jones went downstairs to the kitchen, picked up a butcher block that contained knives, hid it behind him and went upstairs. His grandmother started lecturing him again, and Jones hit her several times with the butcher block while she screamed. Jones apparently became afraid that the neighbors might hear her screaming, picked up a knife that had fallen out of the butcher block and stabbed her until she stopped screaming and fell back onto her bed.

Jones took his grandmother’s car keys, money, and VCR, and he drove off in her car. Jones purchased some drugs, sold the VCR and rented out the car to get money to but drugs.

The grandmother’s body was discovered on March 8, 1993, by her son. On March 9, 1993, the police went to Jones’ place of work to question him. Jones was not under arrest at this time, and he agreed to follow the police to the homicide office. After some conversations at the office, Jones became a suspect and was informed of his Miranda rights. Jones then said, "It’s the monster inside of me." He explained that the monster inside him was the crack cocaine that had caused him to kill his grandmother. He gave an audiotape statement of the above facts on how he killed his grandmother.

Final Statement by Donald Jones: Praise God! Every day is a day to give the Lord thanks for all He's done! To my Beautiful Family, Friends, and all those whose been in prayer, in thought and support, I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. To my Family, you will never truely know how your love, prayers, and forgiveness has sustained me all these years, to all my friends and supporters, especially my Beautiful Angels at St. Louis University, your courage and conviction is inspiring, keep the sturggle alive. To my mother who truly has been hurt the most, your love and strength I carry with me always. Take care of my son. I"m finally free and I'm going home to grandmother now. I love you all and God Bless. Donnie

Missouri Death Row News

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"Activists weep as murderer dies; Blunt defends execution," by Tim O'Neil. (04/27/2005)

Bonne Terre, Mo. -- Covered to his neck by a sheet, Donald Jones looked toward his family through thick glass and tried to speak. The first of the lethal drugs left him motionless. Relatives could be heard weeping. He never moved again. Word of his death came over officers' radios in five minutes. On a grass field outside the prison, many in a crowd of 120 protesters held votive candles and prayed. College students huddled and hugged. A few wept.

Jones, 38, was pronounced dead at 12:07 a.m. Wednesday in the new death chamber at the state prison here, 60 miles south of St. Louis. He was condemned for murdering his grandmother, Dorothy Knuckles, in her home in St. Louis 12 years ago because she refused to give him money for drugs.

Jones was the 63rd man put to death in Missouri since 1989, when the state resumed carrying out the ultimate punishment under current U.S. Supreme Court rules. His case was unusual because his family fought for years to keep him from being executed for killing one of their own.

Many of the relatively large crowd of protesters were students from St. Louis University who were inspired by Jones' case to organize a group against executions. A few visited him during his final days. "We loved him. He was so sweet and gentle," said Anna Calhoun, a sophomore who saw him Monday. The murder "was a horrific mistake that he admitted to. This just caused more suffering for his family. There was no need for it."

The courts and Gov. Matt Blunt, reviewing the case and the brutality of the murder, were not so moved. The federal appeals court in St. Louis and the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Jones' last stand of appeals, and Blunt declined to use his power to reduce the sentence.

Shortly after Jones was pronounced dead, prison spokesman John Fougere read a statement from Blunt. "I carefully reviewed applications for clemency," the statement says in part. "Donald Jones was given several opportunities to talk about the heinous acts he committed before a jury of his peers and judges at every level, all of whom affirmed this just punishment."

Fougere also released copies of Jones' final statement, written in his own hand. "To my beautiful family, friends and all those whose (sic) been in prayer, in thought and support, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart," he wrote. "... especially my beautiful angels at St. Louis University, your courage and conviction is inspiring... "I'm finally free and I'm going home to grandmother now. I love you all and God bless. Donnie."

As protesters lingered outside in the 40-degree chill, the Rev. Jim Flanigan, a deacon at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Webster Groves, led the prayers. "Father, forgive Donald, give him a kindly welcome and cleanse him of all sins," Flanigan said.

Jones' relatives joined them outside and directed their emotions against Blunt. "The governor didn't listen to our voices. He didn't hear the family," said an uncle, Matthew Knuckles, of Rock Hill. "This was so senseless. I just watched my little nephew die."

Jones was the first to be executed in the new death chamber of the Eastern Diagnostic Reception and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre, which has replaced the old chamber at the Potosi Correctional Center, 15 miles away. Condemned prisoners still will be housed in Potosi and moved to Bonne Terre for execution.

The next person scheduled to be executed is Vernon Brown, also of St. Louis, who was sentenced to die for murdering a neighbor, Janet Perkins, 9, whom he lured into his apartment as she walked home from school in 1986. The execution date is May 18. He also faces a separate death sentence for strangling Synetta Ford, 19, in 1985.

ProDeathPenalty.Com

A Missouri inmate sentenced to death for fatally beating and stabbing his grandmother more than 30 times to get money for crack cocaine says that woman would not want him executed. Facing scheduled death by injection April 27, Donald Jones, 38, absorbed another legal setback this week, when the Missouri Supreme Court refused to intervene. Jones said he expected to take his case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Jones' family - including 2 uncles, the sons of slain Dorothy Knuckles - wants Gov. Matt Blunt to spare Jones' life and commute his sentence to a life term without parole, arguing that the murdered 68-year-old grandmother wouldn't seek vengeance against the grandson. "Just having their love and their forgiveness has been a tremendous comfort for me," Jones said Thursday by telephone from the maximum-security Potosi Correctional Center, insisting that "I can say most confidentally" Knuckles - a Christian - wouldn't be vengeful against the grandson who killed her. "My grandmother and my family were all raised in church, strong Christians," he said. "I know for a fact she wouldn't want this at all."

Jones said he hasn't circled his scheduled execution date on his calendar. "The 27th will be here when it gets here," he said. "The only thing I can control is today; that's always been my approach to the situation. "I have all the faith and know God can turn this around in no time." Blunt has said through a spokeswoman that he planned to review the case, having asked the state Board of Probation and Parole to offer a recommendation. Messages were left Friday with Blunt's office and with Jones' Columbia attorney.

Jones said he was high on PCP-laced crack cocaine when he went to his grandmother's St. Louis home in March 1993 to ask the woman for more money for drugs. When Knuckles lectured him about his abuse of drugs and refused to give him cash, Jones first beat her with a butcher's block of knives, then repeatedly stabbed her. Jones took the grandmother's videocassette recorder, some money and the keys to her car, then sold the VCR and rented out the vehicle to get 2 pieces of crack cocaine. Jones was arrested 3 days later. Jurors convicted him in June 1994 after just 3 hours of deliberations, recommending the death sentence for 1st-degree murder and a life term for armed criminal action. The next month, a judge condemned Jones despite pleas by his family - including the victim's sons - to spare Jones' life and order him imprisoned for life without parole.

National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty

Missouri - Donald Jones - April 27, 2005

The state of Missouri is scheduled to execute Donald Jones on April 27, 2005 for the March 1993 murder of Dorothy Knuckles in St. Louis County.

In the early morning hours of March 6, 1993, Jones arrived at the home of Knuckles, his grandmother, with the hope of obtaining money to fuel his addiction to crack-cocaine. Intensely frustrated by his grandmother’s unwillingness to provide him with money and her stern criticism of his drug and alcohol dependency, Jones hit her with a butcher block. He then proceeded to stab her with a knife from the block, in a frantic attempt to silence her screaming.

After scrounging up money around the home, Jones took his grandmother’s VCR and car. He was arrested three days later for the murder and provided police with an audiotape confession.

At trial, Jones pled not guilty to murder in the first degree and armed criminal action. He was found guilty on both counts and sentenced to death for the murder conviction and life in prison for the armed criminal action conviction. Jones received the death penalty for Dorothy Knuckle’s murder even though her family fervently objected to the imposition of the punishment.

Serious questions exist surrounding the trial judge’s ability to preside over Jones’ case with impartiality. The judge clearly possessed ill feelings towards one of Jones’ attorneys. Nevertheless, he refused to remove himself from the case. The judge’s possible bias against defense counsel may have prevented Jones from receiving a fair trial.

In the post conviction action that followed, Jones’ appellate counsel obtained affidavits from multiple psychologists and psychiatrists regarding Jones’ mental condition. An affidavit signed by Dr. Richard Wetzel stated that he conducted a neuropsychological examination of Jones. Wetzel found Jones to suffer from brain defects that reduced Jones’ ability to control his behavior. Dr. Rosalyn Schultz and Dr. Moisy Shopper both concluded in their affidavits that Jones might suffer from some form of dissociative disorder. And lastly, Dr. Robert Smith signed an affidavit in which he claimed that Jones’ drug and alcohol dependency might have impaired his ability to deliberate or plan the attack. Unfortunately, Jones’ attorneys submitted these affidavits after a hearing had already been denied on a claim that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to present mitigating evidence. As a result, they were excluded from consideration by the court. Had they been submitted prior to the ruling and taken into full consideration, these affidavits might have “lessened the degree of the offense, mitigated punishment, or both.”

The death penalty is never an acceptable recourse. It is particularly alarming in this case because the fairness of Jones’ trial has been put into question and potentially mitigating psychological and psychiatric evidence was not examined during the appeals process. The execution of Donald Jones should not proceed.

Please contact Governor Matt Blunt and urge him to halt this execution!

Springfield News-Leader

"Inmate executed for slaying his grandmother." (Associated Press April 27, 2005)

Bonne Terre, Mo — Over the past dozen years leading to his execution early this morning, Donald Jones had plenty of time for soul-searching about what he did to his grandmother, stabbing her more than 30 times because she wouldn't give him money for drugs. Images of the woman bloody and dead on her bed, eyes fixed and open, always haunted him.

But Jones said he eventually found peace, getting unwavering forgiveness from survivors of 68-year-old Dorothy Knuckles, whom they argued wouldn't want her grandson put to death. Hours before his execution, Jones declined a sedative routinely offered to condemned inmates in their final hours but rarely refused, a state Department of Corrections spokesman said.

Jones, 38, said he always loved his grandmother, blaming "the monster inside" him — the cocaine he says he didn't know was laced with PCP — for her death. As the nation's highest court and Missouri's highest officeholder refused to spare him, Jones had faith he'd rejoin his grandma.

Jones didn't go quietly. While strapped to the gurney, he mouthed inaudibly to his family, then toward the ceiling before losing consciousness as the first of three chemicals was pumped into his veins. Jones coughed four times and was dead within five minutes.

In his handwritten send-off that began with "Praise God!," Jones rejoiced: "I'm finally free and I'm going home to grandmother now."

Unified in support for Jones, Knuckles' survivors — Jones' relatives, too — left vacant the area designated for witnesses for the victim, instead sitting together to watch Jones die from the space set aside for the inmate's family. There, they quietly wept. "To my family, you will never truly know how your love, prayers and forgiveness has sustained me all these years," Jones wrote. "To my mother, who truly has been hurt the most, your love and strength I carry with me always."

Jones became the 63rd Missouri inmate put to death — all by injection — since the state resumed executions in 1989. He was the first executed at the 2-year-old, maximum-security prison in this eastern Missouri town, about 60 miles southwest of St. Louis.

Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt and the U.S. Supreme Court both refused to step in Tuesday on Jones' behalf, despite pleas by the victim's two sons — Jones' uncles — who said Knuckles wouldn't have sought vengeance. Blunt — for the second time in little more than a month — refused to grant Jones clemency despite a recommendation to do so by the state parole board. The Republican who took office in January voiced sympathy for family of the victim and killer, but he described the murder as "terrible" and the death sentence "the only appropriate punishment." "I pray that God will bless the soul and memory of Dorothy Knuckles," Blunt said in a statement read after Jones' death.

In his final hours, Jones told The Associated Press by telephone that Blunt's refusal of clemency "goes against everything meant to bring closure and justice to this family." "The irony of it is that if the people who are impacted the most — my family — can go through everything they did and still forgive me, love me and support me, how can the governor contradict that?" Jones said. "They can never, ever after this point come on TV saying `We're doing this for the victim's family.' "It's just unfortunate and sad that politics and this sentence find themselves intertwined."

Jones said he was high on PCP-laced crack cocaine when he went to Knuckles' St. Louis home in March 1993 to ask her for more money to buy drugs. When Knuckles lectured him about his abuse of drugs and refused to give him cash, Jones first beat her with a butcher's block of knives, then stabbed her repeatedly to silence her screams. Jones took the grandmother's videocassette recorder, some money and the keys to her car, then sold the VCR and rented out the vehicle to get two pieces of crack cocaine.

Jurors convicted him in June 1994 and recommended the death sentence, which a judge imposed the next month despite pleas by his Knuckles' sons to spare Jones' life and order him imprisoned for life without parole. Jones declined a prosecutor's offer to waive seeking the death penalty in exchange for his pleading guilty to first-degree murder and agreeing to spend the rest of his life behind bars. Jones opted to take his chances with jurors, convinced the killing was a second-degree murder not punishable by execution but carrying the prospect that he one day would be free.

Columbia Missourian

"Missouri Death Row Inmate Executed For 1994 Murder Of Lemay Woman," by Ann Rubin. (3/16/2005 12:34:02 PM)

"Executions trigger protest; Despite calls for an end to the death penalty, Donald Jones was executed this morning," by Joe Meyer. (April 27, 2005)

The second execution in as many months, after more than a year without one, has some Columbia protestors discouraged about their attempts to end capital punishment in the state. Twenty people showed up at the Boone County Courthouse Tuesday afternoon to hold signs protesting the execution of a man who was convicted of killing his grandmother for drug money. It was one of many demonstrations scheduled around the state.

Donald Jones, 38, was executed early today at the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre. Jones was convicted of killing his grandmother, 68-year-old Dorothy Knuckles, in St. Louis in 1993.

The execution came a week after the Mid-Missouri Fellowship of Reconciliation announced that 50 local businesses had joined them in asking the Missouri General Assembly to consider placing a moratorium on capital punishment. Early Tuesday, Gov. Matt Blunt — for the second time in little more than a month — refused to grant clemency despite a recommendation to do so by the state parole board. The Republican expressed sympathy, but he described the murder as “terrible.”

Jones was the 63rd inmate put to death by the state since Missouri reinstated the death penalty in 1989, but only the second prisoner executed since 2003. On March 16, Stanley Hall was put to death for murdering a woman and throwing her into the Mississippi River in St. Louis in 1994. Another execution is scheduled for next month.

Jeff Stack, coordinator of the Mid-Missouri Fellowship of Reconciliation, said he is scared that the state is returning to the old way of handling executions. “This pace of once a month was sadly the norm a couple years ago,” Stack said. Protestor John Schuder said that though every execution saddens him, he will continue to show up and protest every one.

Tuesday was the first time Ivy White had joined the group to demonstrate. She said she hopes people driving and walking by gained a different perspective. “Maybe someone will have an ‘ah-ha’ moment,” White said. “That would be great.”

Jones’ family had hoped Blunt would commute the prisoner’s sentence to a life term without parole, arguing that Knuckles would not seek vengeance against her grandson. “We don’t have the death penalty so that families can feel a sense of vengeance,” Blunt said. “We have the death penalty because we believe as a society, we believe as a state and we believe as a people that some crimes are so horrific that the only appropriate punishment is the death penalty.”

Jones said he was high on PCP-laced crack cocaine when he went to his grandmother’s St. Louis home in March of 1993 to ask the woman for more money for drugs. After she refused, Jones first beat her with a butcher’s block of knives, then repeatedly stabbed her. Jones took the grandmother’s videocassette recorder, some money and the keys to her car, then sold the VCR and rented out the vehicle to get two pieces of crack cocaine.

MISSOURI EXECUTIONS

Missouri has executed 63 people, all by injection, since the death penalty was reinstated in 1989.

The state’s last execution was Stanley Hall, who had been convicted in the 1994 murder of a St. Louis woman, on March 16 at the Potosi Correctional Center.

This morning’s execution was the first in the new facility in Bonne Terre.

Vernon Brown, who was convicted of strangling a 9-year-old girl to death in 1986, is scheduled to be executed May 18.

Reuters News

"Missouri Executes Man Who Killed His Grandmother." (Wed Apr 27, 2005 02:00 AM ET)

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (Reuters) - The state of Missouri on Wednesday executed a man convicted of killing his grandmother because she would not give him money to buy crack cocaine. Donald Jones, 38, was pronounced dead at 12:07 a.m. CDT following an injection of lethal chemicals, officials at the state's new death chamber at the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre said.

In a final statement, Jones said: "To my family you will never truly know how your love, prayers and forgiveness have sustained me all these years. To my mother who truly has been hurt the most your love and strength I'll carry with me always. Take care of my son, I'm finally free and going home to grandmother now."

The death chamber at Bonne Terre, which is outfitted with one-way glass and separate viewing rooms for families of the victim and the condemned, replaces the facility at the nearby Potosi Correctional Center some 60 miles southwest of St. Louis.

Gov. Matt Blunt refused to grant clemency despite pleas to spare Jones' life from his family, including victim Dorothy Knuckles' son Matthew Knuckles, who is also Jones' uncle. "It was a violent crime, and we have capital punishment in our state because we believe some crimes are so horrific and so terrible that the only reasonable penalty ... is indeed the death penalty," Blunt said. It was the second time this year Blunt disagreed with recommendations to grant clemency from the state's Board of Probation and Parole.

Jones went to his grandmother's home in March 1993 to beg for money to buy drugs, but she refused, delivering a lecture that he said enraged him. He hit her in the head with a butcher block containing knives, then stabbed her to silence her screams. He stole money and her car, which he lent out in exchange for two rocks of crack cocaine.

He pleaded not guilty at his 1994 trial, hoping for a lesser conviction, but was sentenced to death.

Jones' was the 17th execution in the United States this year and the 961st since capital punishment was restored in 1976. He was the 63rd Missouri inmate put to death since the state resumed executions in 1989. His final meal consisted of chicken strips, coleslaw, two orders of fries, pizza and apple crisp with ice cream.

Kansas City Star

"Missouri inmate executed for slaying his grandmother," by Jim Suhr. (April 27, 2005)

BONNE TERRE, Mo. (Associated Press) - Over the past dozen years leading to his execution early Wednesday, Donald Jones had plenty of time for soul-searching about what he did to his grandmother, stabbing her more than 30 times because she wouldn't give him money for drugs. Images of the woman bloody and dead on her bed, eyes fixed and open, always haunted him.

But Jones said he eventually found peace, getting unwavering forgiveness from survivors of 68-year-old Dorothy Knuckles, whom they argued wouldn't want her grandson put to death. Hours before his execution, Jones declined a sedative routinely offered to condemned inmates in their final hours but rarely refused, a state Department of Corrections spokesman said.

Jones, 38, said he always loved his grandmother, blaming "the monster inside" him - the cocaine he says he didn't know was laced with PCP - for her death. As the nation's highest court and Missouri's highest officeholder refused to spare him, Jones had faith he'd rejoin his grandma.

Jones didn't go quietly. While strapped to the gurney, he mouthed inaudibly to his family, then toward the ceiling before losing consciousness as the first of three chemicals was pumped into his veins. Jones coughed four times and was dead within five minutes. In his handwritten send-off that began with "Praise God!," Jones rejoiced: "I'm finally free and I'm going home to grandmother now."

Unified in support for Jones, Knuckles' survivors - Jones' relatives, too - left vacant the area designated for witnesses for the victim, instead sitting together to watch Jones die from the space set aside for the inmate's family. There, they quietly wept. "To my family, you will never truly know how your love, prayers and forgiveness has sustained me all these years," Jones wrote. "To my mother, who truly has been hurt the most, your love and strength I carry with me always."

Jones became the 63rd Missouri inmate put to death - all by injection - since the state resumed executions in 1989. He was the first executed at the 2-year-old, maximum-security prison in this eastern Missouri town, about 60 miles southwest of St. Louis.

Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt and the U.S. Supreme Court both refused to step in Tuesday on Jones' behalf, despite pleas by the victim's two sons - Jones' uncles - who said Knuckles wouldn't have sought vengeance. Blunt - for the second time in little more than a month - refused to grant Jones clemency despite a recommendation to do so by the state parole board. The Republican who took office in January voiced sympathy for family of the victim and killer, but he described the murder as "terrible" and the death sentence "the only appropriate punishment." "I pray that God will bless the soul and memory of Dorothy Knuckles," Blunt said in a statement read after Jones' death.

In his final hours, Jones told The Associated Press by telephone that Blunt's refusal of clemency "goes against everything meant to bring closure and justice to this family." "The irony of it is that if the people who are impacted the most - my family - can go through everything they did and still forgive me, love me and support me, how can the governor contradict that?" Jones said. "They can never, ever after this point come on TV saying `We're doing this for the victim's family.' "It's just unfortunate and sad that politics and this sentence find themselves intertwined."

Jones said he was high on PCP-laced crack cocaine when he went to Knuckles' St. Louis home in March 1993 to ask her for more money to buy drugs. When Knuckles lectured him about his abuse of drugs and refused to give him cash, Jones first beat her with a butcher's block of knives, then stabbed her repeatedly to silence her screams. Jones took the grandmother's videocassette recorder, some money and the keys to her car, then sold the VCR and rented out the vehicle to get two pieces of crack cocaine.

Jurors convicted him in June 1994 and recommended the death sentence, which a judge imposed the next month despite pleas by his Knuckles' sons to spare Jones' life and order him imprisoned for life without parole. Jones declined a prosecutor's offer to waive seeking the death penalty in exchange for his pleading guilty to first-degree murder and agreeing to spend the rest of his life behind bars. Jones opted to take his chances with jurors, convinced the killing was a second-degree murder not punishable by execution but carrying the prospect that he one day would be free.

KSDK-TV

"Inmate Talks Before He's Executed For 1993 Murder Of His Grandmother," by Jeff Small. (updated: 4/27/2005 3:08:28 PM)

(KSDK) - A St. Louis man was executed early Wednesday morning, for the 1993 murder of his grandmother. Donald Jones stabbed the woman more than 30 times because she refused to give him money to buy drugs.

Two and a half hours before the execution, Donald Jones talked with NewsChannel 5. He said he was sorry for the murder he committed, and sorry for the pain his death would bring his family, "The last twelve years have been so tough for me. In spite of receiving God's forgiveness as well as my family's, I felt so totally unworthy of such love. Saying I'm sorry barely scratches the surface of what I've put them through. I just love them so much because from Day 1 they've been in my corner." To hear the entire interview, click on the video link to the right.

The legal appeals were exhausted earlier Tuesday, and Governor Matt Blunt refused to commute Jones's sentence to life in prison, despite that recommendation from state corrections officials. "The only thing I can say to (the governor) is 'Change your mind. Help us out. Change your mind.' That's the only thing I can say," according to Jones's uncle, Matthew Knuckles.

Donald Jones is the first inmate put to death at the new execution chamber in Bonne Terre. Corrections Department spokesman John Fougere explained the process Tuesday night, "Eventually he is moved into the execution room and placed on the gurney. And as soon as we get the word from the governor, and we also hear from the attorney general's office that there are no legal impediments, then we preceed."

Tuesday night, security was tight outside the already heavily guarded maximum security prison. Inside, there were last minute conversations with Matthew Knuckle's nephew, Donald Jones. "We let him talk. We just let him know that we love him. We told him to tell Mom hi," said Knuckles.

It was an emotional reminder about the 1993 murder of Dorothy Knuckles. She was beaten and stabbed by Donald Jones, who was her grandson. After the killing, Jones rented out his grandmother's car and used the payments to buy drugs. That death is now forgiven by family, "We've had enough grief," said Knuckles.

Springfield News-Leader

"St. Louis man awaiting execution; Victim's sons have pleaded for mercy for man who killed his grandmother for drug money," by Jim Suhr. (Associated Press April 24, 2005)

St. Louis — Never shy about speaking her mind, 68-year-old Dorothy Knuckles let grandson Donald Jones have it the night he came by her St. Louis home, high on crack cocaine dipped in PCP.

Jones calls it that "crazy night" in March 1993, the first time he ever asked for money from the grandmother who for years harped on him about his abuse of drugs and booze. Knowing what Jones wanted the cash for, Knuckles rebuffed him and lectured him some more. Jones got her money anyway — after beating her with a butcher block of knives, then stabbing her more than 30 times to silence her screams.

Despite pleas for mercy from Knuckles' sons — Jones' uncles — Jones was sentenced to death. And early Wednesday, barring intervention by Gov. Matt Blunt or the U.S. Supreme Court, Jones will become the first person put to death by injection in Missouri's new execution chamber at a prison in Bonne Terre.

Jones says his late grandmother, never vengeful, wouldn't want him to die. As Blunt and the Supreme Court weigh the matter, Jones thanks relatives for their unflinching backing. "Just having their love and their forgiveness has been a tremendous comfort for me," Jones said in a phone interview from the Potosi Correctional Center, home to Missouri's former death chamber. "My grandmother and my family were all raised in church, strong Christians. I know for a fact she wouldn't want this at all. But "in the end, God always has the last word."

Blunt expects the state Board of Probation and Parole to offer a recommendation Monday or Tuesday, "allowing time for the judicial process to carry through," spokeswoman Jessica Robinson said. "I hope it's very compelling to the governor's office that the victims don't want death" for Jones, said Bill Swift, a public defender in Columbia, serving as Jones' appellate attorney. "They always have felt very strongly that Donald Jones should not be executed. It would only cause more pain, anguish and dismay. Why would we want to do that to them?"

Jones could become the 63rd Missouri inmate to be put to death — all by injection — since the state reinstated the death penalty in 1989. "This is something we really weren't expecting to happen this soon," Jones said. "The only thing I can control is today; that's always been my approach to the situation."

Jones wouldn't be staring down the death chamber had he accepted a prosecutor's offer by pleading guilty to first-degree murder and agreeing to spend the rest of his life behind bars, the death penalty off the table. But Jones opted to take his chances with jurors, thinking the killing was a second-degree murder not punishable by execution — but carrying the prospect that Jones one day would be free. "In a lot of ways, I still feel what we did was good," Jones said. "I don't think any of us wanted this result, but that's done. I've spent the last 12 years wishing and just hoping, want-ing so badly to undo what I can't undo. I've struggled the last 12 years forgiving myself."

After just three hours of deliberations, Jones was convicted in June 1994 of first-degree murder and armed criminal action. He was sentenced to death despite pleas by his family — including the victim's sons — to spare him. A prosecutor countered that the victim's family "cannot be objective and nobody expects them to be," and that "if the killer of Dorothy Knuckles was a stranger they'd be sitting on this side of the courtroom."

Jones v. State, 865 S.W.2d 758 (Mo. App. E.D. 1993) (Postconviction).

Defendant was convicted in the Circuit Court, St. Louis City, Charles D. Kitchin, J., of murder in the first degree and armed criminal action. Defendant subsequently filed motion for postconviction relief. The Circuit Court, St. Louis City, John J. Riley, J., overruled motion. Defendant brought consolidated appeal. The Supreme Court, Wolff, J., held that: (1) trial judge's alleged animosity toward defense attorney did not warrant his disqualification; (2) trial counsel was not ineffective; (3) instruction allowing jury to consider evidence of mental disease or defect did not relieve state of its burden of proof; (4) death scrupled venirepersons were properly removed; (5) defendant was not entitled to voluntary manslaughter instruction; and (6) evidence supported jury's finding of statutory aggravating circumstances. Affirmed.

WOLFF, Judge.
Donald Jones was convicted of murder in the first degree and armed criminal action. He was sentenced to death on the murder charge and to life in prison on the armed criminal action charge. Jones filed a motion for post-conviction relief pursuant to Rule 29.15 which was overruled. In a consolidated appeal to this Court, Jones raises twenty-one points of error. We affirm.

On March 6, 1993, appellant, Donald Jones, went to his grandmother's house around midnight to get some money to buy crack cocaine. When Jones arrived, the grandmother, Dorothy Knuckles, let him in, and they went to her bedroom on the second floor. While in the bedroom Jones asked the grandmother for money. She refused and started lecturing Jones about his drinking and use of cocaine.

Jones went downstairs to the kitchen, picked up a butcher block that contained knives, hid it behind him and went upstairs. His grandmother started lecturing him again, and Jones hit her several times with the butcher block while she screamed. Jones apparently became afraid that the neighbors might hear her screaming, picked up a knife that had fallen out of the butcher block and stabbed her until she stopped screaming and fell back onto her bed.

Jones took his grandmother's car keys, money, and VCR, and he drove off in her car. Jones purchased some drugs, sold the VCR and rented out the car to get money to buy drugs. The grandmother's body was discovered on March 8, 1993, by her son. On March 9, 1993, the police went to Jones' place of work to question him. Jones was not under arrest at this time, and he agreed to follow the police to the homicide office. After some conversations at the office, Jones became a suspect and was informed of his Miranda rights. Jones then said, "It's the monster inside of me." He explained that the monster inside him was the crack cocaine that had caused him to kill his grandmother. He gave an audiotape statement of the above facts on how he killed his grandmother.

Jones was charged by indictment with murder in the first degree, robbery in the first degree, and two counts of armed criminal action. The case went to trial on two charges: murder in the first degree and one count of armed criminal action. The jury returned guilty verdicts on both counts and recommended death for murder and life in prison for armed criminal action, which the court imposed. Jones filed a motion to vacate, set aside, or correct the sentence or judgment of the trial court pursuant to Rule 29.15. The motion was overruled.

II. Prejudicial Penalty Argument

Jones contends that the trial court erred when it overruled defense counsel's penalty phase objection to the prosecutor's argument: that if a stranger had killed Dorothy Knuckles, then her family would have wanted the state to seek the death penalty. Jones contends the argument constituted speculation, asserted facts not in evidence, was improper, and was contrary to the family's beliefs and wishes. When the trial court allows argument over defense counsel's objection, rulings are reversible only for abuse of discretion where argument was plainly unwarranted. State v. Hall, 955 S.W.2d 198, 208 (Mo. banc 1997). Parties have a considerable latitude in arguing during the penalty phase of a first-degree murder case. Id. Moreover, a prosecutor may rebut defense counsel's argument if the defense counsel opens the door to an otherwise questionable line of argument. See State v. Kenley, 952 S.W.2d 250, 272 (Mo. banc 1997). In State v. Kenley, supra, the prosecutor rebutted defense counsel's argument that the defendant apologized to a prison librarian for taking her hostage by arguing the defendant apologized because he knew the hostage incident would surface at trial and made a similar comment about defendant's improved behavior while incarcerated. Id. The Court stated that the comments were not improper. Id. In fact, "[d]efense counsel opened the door to this argument by inferring that Kenley [defendant] apologized or decreased the number of conduct violations because he had turned over a new leaf." Id. The Court further stated that: "[i]t was reasonable for the prosecutor to counter this argument with the fact that Kenley had other potential motives for his behavior." Id.

In the case before us, the defense counsel made the following statement: His (Jones) family doesn't want him to die. His family wants him to live. They care about him and love him. Do you think that's what Dorothy Knuckles would want based on what you've heard about her. Do you think she would want you to take vengeance and kill her grandson.

The prosecutor in rebuttal made the following argument: Now let me say something about the Knuckles' family. If there were more families like the Knuckles' family in this country we wouldn't have the problems we have. But they are not objective. They cannot be objective and nobody expects them to be. If the killer of Dorothy Knuckles was a stranger they'd be sitting on this side of the courtroom. DEFENSE COUNSEL: Objection, Your Honor. That's total speculation. Improper. THE COURT: The objection's overruled. PROSECUTOR:--supporting us in asking for the death penalty. Families supporting us maybe even when it's - or asking us to do it even when it's not justified. Families cannot be objective. Nobody expects them to be. You know about the Knuckles' family, and the question becomes of that family why is he sitting here. Coming from that kind of family and that kind of background why is he sitting here. He could have been anything he wanted. That family would have done anything for him. Why is he sitting here. He's sitting here because one time he made a choice. He made a choice to turn his back on that family and abuse drugs....

The prosecutor's statement was not improper within the context in which it was made. It was in response to the defense counsel's suggestion that the family opposes the death penalty for Jones. The prosecutor offered a common sense reply that perhaps the family is biased because Jones is a family member. In this situation the defendant may not provoke a reply and then assert error. State v. Roll, 942 S.W.2d 370, 378 (Mo. banc 1997). Furthermore, State v. Storey, 901 S.W.2d 886 (Mo. banc 1995), is inapplicable in this instance because the contexts were different, the opinions were more personalized and not based on evidence presented, and the comment was not in response to the defense counsel's argument. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in overruling the defense counsel's objection.

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IV. Family Opposition to the Death Penalty

Jones asserts that the trial court erred when it imposed the death sentence contrary to the victim's family wishes because that action denied them of the right to be meaningfully heard at sentencing and was contrary to the policy of treating victims with fairness, compassion, dignity, respect and sensitivity, as guaranteed by article I, section 32 of the Missouri Constitution. Dorothy Knuckles' family urged that a death sentence not be imposed. Jones argues that this request was based on feelings that the family could not begin the healing process if Jones were sentenced to death, and that no retributive interest was served since the family did not want a death sentence.Article I, section 32(2) of the Missouri Constitution which governs crime victims rights, provides: "Upon request of the victim, the right to be informed of and heard at guilty pleas, bail hearings, sentencings, probation revocation hearings, and parole hearings, unless in the determination of the court the interests of justice requires otherwise...." Nothing in the above provision suggests that the trial court is required to follow the wishes of the victim's family members. The court heard the wishes of the family but was not bound by them.

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For all of the foregoing reasons, the judgment is affirmed.

Jones v. Luebbers, 359 F.3d 1005 (8th Cir. 2004) (Habeas)

Background: State prisoner convicted of murder and sentenced to death filed petition for writ of habeas corpus. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, Andrew W. Bogue, J., denied petition. Prisoner appealed.

Holdings: The Court of Appeals, Melloy, Circuit Judge, held that:
(1) prisoner fairly presented issue of state trial judge's bias to the state court in his state post-trial motion as a matter of federal law, and thus, it was not procedurally defaulted;
(2) state Supreme Court's determination that trial judge's expressions of anger and annoyance towards defense counsel did not rise to the level of judicial bias requiring judge's disqualification was reasonable determination of facts in light of evidence presented; and
(3) trial judge's failure to recuse himself from his own disqualification hearing did not violate clearly established federal due process law. Affirmed