Texas Department of Criminal Justice

Texas Attorney General Media Advisory

AUSTIN – Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott offers the following information about Lonnie Wayne Pursley, who is scheduled to be executed after 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 3, 2005.

On January 20, 1999, Pursley was convicted and sentenced to death for the March 29, 1997, capital murder of Robert Cook in Polk County. A summary of the evidence presented at trial follows.

FACTS OF THE CRIME

On Good Friday, March 28, 1997, Robert Cook was driving to his home in Livingston, That same day, Lonnie Wayne Pursley, his wife, and their children were visiting family at their home in Shepherd. After getting into an argument with his wife, Pursley left the house on foot. Testimony at trial supported the prosecution’s theory that Cook must have stopped and offered Pursley a ride. After spending some time with Cook in his home, Pursley had Cook drive out into the woods where Pursley savagely beat Cook to death, took his rings and left the body. Pursley was later seen by several witnesses driving Pursley’s bloodstained car. Pursley used Cook’s rings to buy drugs and admitted to several people that he had beaten a person to death. DNA evidence and witnesses linked Pursley to the crime.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Aug. 7, 1997 — A Polk County grand jury indicted Pursley for capital murder.
Jan. 20, 1999 — A jury found Pursley guilty of capital murder, and the court later sentenced him to death.
July 31, 2000 — Concurrent with his direct appeal, Pursley filed an application for writ of habeas corpus in the state trial court.
Jan. 31, 2001 — The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed Pursley’s conviction and sentence.
June 27, 2001 — The Court of Criminal Appeals dismissed Pursley’s application for state habeas relief.
Aug. 10, 2001 — The trial court entered an order setting Pursley’s execution date for November 30, 2001.
Aug. 29, 2001 — Pursley filed a motion in federal district court seeking a stay of his execution.
Sep. 12, 2001 — The federal district court granted Pursley’s motion for stay.
June 27, 2002 — Pursley filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the federal district court.
Sep. 25, 2003 — The federal district court denied habeas relief.
Nov. 18, 2004 — The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied Pursley permission to appeal.
Jan. 11, 2005 — The trial court entered an order setting the execution date for May 3, 2005.
Feb. 16, 2005 — Pursley petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for certiorari review.
April 18, 2005 — The U.S. Supreme Court denied the petition for certiorari review.

PRIOR CRIMINAL HISTORY

Pursley has prior convictions for burglary of a habitation, theft by appropriation and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. #437783, 5 year sentence from San Jacinto County for 1 count of Burglary of a Habitation, 07/08/87 released on Parole, 12/21/90 returned from Parole with a new conviction; #571873 on a 10 year sentence from San Jacinto County for 1 count of Theft By Appropriation; 06/14/91 released on Parole; 08/24/92 returned from Parole with new conviction; #621739 on a 20 year sentence from Polk and San Jacinto County for 1 count of Burglary of a Habitation; 1 count of Burglary of a Vehicle and 1 count of Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle; 11/28/95 released on parole.

ProDeathPenalty.com

On March 29, 1997 Lonnie Pursley and a co-defendant murdered Robert Earl Cook, 47, inside the Deer County subdivision in Livingston, Texas. They took the victim into a wooded area where they beat him to death and robbed him. Pursley had received a five year sentence for burglary charge and was released on parole in 1987. He was returned to prison in 1990 on a ten year sentence for theft and was paroled six months later. Just over one year later he was returned to prison with a twenty year sentence for a burglary charge of which he served just over three years before being paroled again a year and a half before he murdered Robert Cook.

Texas Execution Information Center by David Carson.

Lonnie Wayne Pursley, 43, was executed by lethal injection on 3 May 2005 in Huntsville, Texas for the robbery and murder of a 47-year-old man.

Robert Cook had plans to spend time with his mother on 29 March 1997, but he failed to show up. When Cook failed to come home from work the next two nights, his mother called the police. Cook's niece and next-door neighbor, Sheila Dupree, told police in their investigation that on the night of 28 March, she observed a large man smoking a cigarette in the doorway of Cook's Livingston trailer home. She saw Cook sitting inside with an emotionless expression on his face. Dupree also observed that the following day, the gate on Cook's property was not closed properly, and his car was gone.

Other witnesses reported seeing Pursley, then 35, driving a turquoise car matching the description of Cook's vehicle on 29 and 30 March. Several of these witnesses observed that the vehicle had blood on the inside and outside of it, and that Pursley had blood on his clothing.

On 6 April, a passer-by discovered Cook's body in a wooded area at the dead end of a dirt road, approximately 2½ miles from Cook's home. Cook had been beaten to death by blows to the chest and abdomen. Cook's car was discovered in a wooded area on 15 April. There was a large amount of blood spattered throughout it. Pursley was arrested on 20 April.

At the trial, witnesses testified that on the night of 28 March, Pursley and his family were visiting his in-laws' house in Shepherd. Pursley got into an argument with his wife and left the house on foot. Prosecutors surmised that Cook, who was driving home from work on US Highway 59, saw Pursley walking on the road and stopped to offer him a ride. Pursley's cousin, Richard Winfrey, testified that Pursley told him he had beaten someone to death in his car and had hidden the car in the woods off of a dirt road. Winfrey further testified that Pursley asked him for fake identification so he could leave the country. Prosecutors said that Pursley used some rings he took from the victim to buy drugs. The prosecution also presented evidence that Pursley's DNA was found on a cigarette but from the ashtray of Cook's car.

Pursley had numerous prior convictions for burglary and theft. He had been sent to prison three times from 1987 to 1992, each time being released on parole and committing new crimes while on parole. (At the time, early release was common in Texas due to strict prison population caps imposed by U.S. District Judge William Wayne Justice.) At the time of the murder, he was on parole after having served 3 years of a 20-year sentence for burglary.

A jury convicted Pursley of capital murder in January 1999 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in January 2001. All of his subsequent appeals in state and federal court were denied.

On an anti-death-penalty web site, Pursley claimed that the witnesses' testimony against him was perjured and that the evidence against him was "fabricated, botched, tainted, and yes, even planted!"

Shortly before being led into the death chamber, Pursley was handed a statement from his victim's relatives, in which they offered their forgiveness. "I received your poem, and I am very grateful for your forgiveness," Pursley said to Cook's relatives in his last statement. "I still want to ask you for it anyway. I have Jesus in my heart, and I am sorry for any pain I caused you all. Thank you for your forgiveness." Cook's sister, sobbing, replied, "We forgive you." Pursley also thanked his friends and expressed love to them. His daughter became so overwrought that she was escorted from the viewing chamber. The lethal injection was then begun, and Pursley was pronounced dead at 6:23 p.m.

National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty

Lonnie Pursley - Texas - May 3, 2005 6:00 p.m. CST

Lonnie Pursley, a white man, is scheduled to be executed by the state of Texas on May 3, 2005 for the March 1997 murder of Robert Earl Cook, a white man, in Deer County. It is alleged that Pursley beat Cook to death on March 28, 1997. At trial, Pursley was found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to death.

The death penalty is a draconian punitive measure that a has been shown to be overtly capricious and discriminatory, as well as prone to occasional error. Even in the absence of its conflict with morality and these critical flaws, capital punishment ceases to possess any type of substantive benefit over long-term incarceration that could be used to justify its use.

The problem at hand is far deeper than Pursley. Remedying the very ills that led Pursley to murder should be Texas’ primary concern, not extinguishing his life. Sending Pursley to death will not contribute to the resolution of these issues, nor will it in any way undo his criminal past. By taking the life of Pursley, Texas is merely contributing to a culture of violence that breeds the very type of behavior that it is seeking to prevent through Pursley’s execution. The vicious cycle must stop.

Please write to Gov. Rick Perry and request that he stop the execution of Lonnie Pursley.

Reuters News

"Texas man apologizes for crime at execution." (Tue May 3, 2005 09:02 PM ET)

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (Reuters) - A Texas man apologized for the pain his crime caused his victim's family as he was executed on Tuesday for a 1997 murder. Lonnie Pursley, 43, thanked the family of victim Robert Earl Cook for a poem of forgiveness they sent him shortly before he received a lethal injection. "I received your poem and I am very grateful for your forgiveness. I still want to ask for it anyway," he said to witnesses while strapped to a gurney in the Texas death chamber. "I have Jesus in my heart and I am sorry for any pain I caused you."

The poem by Cook's nephew, Jamie Hollis, read in part, "A soul that is lost, pays no greater cost, than to leave this world, without being forgiven." "No, not by my family or me, for we forgive," it said.

Pursley was condemned for beating Cook to death near the east Texas town of Livingston on March 29, 1997, then taking his rings and trading them for drugs.

He was the sixth person put to death this year in Texas, which leads the nation in capital punishment. The state has four more executions scheduled this year. Texas has executed 342 people since resuming the death penalty in 1982 after the U.S. Supreme Court lifted a four-year national ban.

For his final meal, Pursley requested a cheeseburger, four fried pork chops, french fries, two dinner rolls, a piece of cheesecake and iced tea with sugar.

Dallas Morning News

"3-time parolee executed for fatal beating." (AP 07:11 PM CDT on Tuesday, May 3, 2005)

HUNTSVILLE – An apologetic convicted killer Lonnie Wayne Pursley was executed Tuesday for the robbery and fatal beating of an East Texas man while he was on parole for a third time. In a final statement, Pursley thanked relatives of his victim for a statement delivered to him shortly before he was taken to the death chamber in which they offered their forgiveness. "I'm very grateful for your forgiveness," he said. His victim's sister, between sobs, replied, "We forgive you." "I've got Jesus in my heart. I'm sorry for any pain I've caused," he said. Pursley, 43, then turned toward his own witnesses and expressed love to them. "I'm going to miss you all. Give everybody my love. I'll see you all on the other side," he said.

Pursley thanked fellow death row inmates for their support, adding, "I'm saved and I'm going home. OK? Y'all stay strong." He gasped and snored as the drugs took effect. Pursley was pronounced dead at 6:23 p.m. CDT, eight minutes after the drugs began flowing. His daughter, who was among the witnesses, became very emotional and was escorted from the chamber prematurely.

Pursley became the sixth Texas prisoner executed this year. Two more are scheduled to die later this month. The former cook and laborer was a ninth-grade dropout who authorities said used rings he took from the slaying victim, 47-year-old Robert Earl Cook, of Livingston, to buy drugs.

Cook's nephew, Jamie Hollis, said in the family statement that while they forgave Pursley and "cannot gain joy from another human being losing his life," it was more important that Pursley ask for forgiveness "from our Father in heaven that determines where we spend eternity."

The execution was carried out moments after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request by Pursley's attorneys to postpone the punishment. In their appeal, lawyers argued prosecutors improperly withheld from Pursley's trial attorneys information that the physician who performed the autopsy on Cook had been dismissed while working at the Harris County Medical Examiner's Office for sloppy performance and mismanaging of autopies. According to the appeal, the information was favorable to the defense and "could have been used to impeach her credibility and competence." The high court last month had refused to review Pursley's case.

Court documents indicated that in 1997 Cook was driving on U.S. Highway 59 near Shepherd, in San Jacinto County, where Pursley got into an argument with his wife while attending a gathering at his mother-in-law's house. Prosecutors speculated Pursley was walking along the highway and Cook, who was known to pick up hitchhikers, offered a ride. When Cook was missing after two days, his mother filed a police report. His badly beaten body was found about a week later in a wooded area at the end of a dead-end road about 21/2 miles from his trailer in Polk County. Nine days later, Cook's blood-spattered turquoise car was found in an adjacent San Jacinto County in a wooded area.

At Pursley's trial, witnesses testified they saw him driving a car matching the description of Cook's car, that the car had blood on the inside and outside, and that Pursley's clothes were bloody. A cousin testified that Pursley told him he was "pretty sure he had beaten someone to death in his car," according to court documents. DNA evidence found on a cigarette butt in the ashtray of Cook's car was used to link Pursley to the vehicle.

Pursley, who declined to speak with reporters on death row, said on a prison pen pal Web site that the case and testimony against him were false. "Most of the evidence used against me was fabricated, botched, tainted, and yes, even planted!" he wrote.

At his trial, however, he refused to cooperate with his lawyers and turned down an offer of a life prison term in exchange for a guilty plea. Polk County jurors who decided he should be put to death heard of his previous convictions for burglary and theft, his three prison terms and paroles and "determined there would be no more victims," his defense attorney, Stephen Taylor, said. "It made a lot of difference with the jury," he said of Pursley's record.

Pursley's repeated paroles, despite increasingly longer sentences, were attributed in part to bed shortages and court-imposed population limits at Texas prisons before a billion-dollar construction program eased the crowding problems.

Charisma.Now

"Victim's Relatives Forgive Remorseful Convicted Killer Before Execution." (May 10, 2005)

An apologetic convicted killer received forgiveness from his victim's relatives just before he was recently executed for the robbery and fatal beating of a Texas man. In his final statement a week ago, Lonnie Wayne Pursley thanked the family of Robert Earl Cook of Livingston for a statement delivered to him shortly before he was taken to the death chamber in Huntsville, Texas, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

"I received your poem and I am very grateful for your forgiveness. I still want to ask for it anyway. I have Jesus in my heart and I am sorry for any pain I caused you all. Thank you for your forgiveness," he said, "The Huntsville Item" reported.

Cook's sister, between sobs, replied: "We forgive you." Pursley, 43, then turned toward his own witnesses and expressed love to them. Pursley also thanked fellow death row inmates for their support. "I am going to miss you all. I love you all. Give everybody my love, OK? ... I will see you all on the other side," Pursley said. "I am saved and I am going home, OK? You all stay strong. You all stay strong."

Pursley was sent to death row in 1999 for the March 1997 robbery and fatal beating of Cook, 47, while he was on parole for a third time. Cook's nephew, Jamie Hollis, said in the family statement that while they forgave Pursley and "cannot gain joy from another human being losing his life," it was more important that Pursley ask for forgiveness "from our Father in heaven that determines where we spend eternity."

The execution was carried out moments after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request by Pursley's attorneys to postpone the punishment, the AP reported.

Denton Record Chronicle

"Man set to die for 1997 murder; Repeat offender was paroled three times before arrest in case." (11:16 PM CDT on Monday, May 2, 2005 Associated Press)

HUNTSVILLE, Texas – Lonnie Wayne Pursley kept going to prison for longer and longer terms but also kept getting paroled because of a shortage of prison space in Texas in the 1990s. Then, in 1999, a jury in Polk County convicted him of capital murder and sentenced him to death for the fatal beating and robbery of a 47-year-old East Texas man. Mr. Pursley, 43, is scheduled to receive lethal injection tonight. He would be the sixth Texas prisoner executed this year. The U.S. Supreme Court last month refused to review his case. Attorneys trying to halt Mr. Pursley's punishment were back in the courts, challenging the trial testimony of a medical examiner.

Mr. Pursley, a Houston native who grew up in Coldspring in San Jacinto County, was on parole for a third time when he was arrested, tried and condemned for the death of Robert Earl Cook of Livingston. Court documents indicated that Mr. Cook was driving on U.S. Highway 59 near Shepherd, in San Jacinto County, where Mr. Pursley had gotten into an argument with his wife while attending a gathering at his mother-in-law's house. Prosecutors speculated that Mr. Pursley was walking along the highway and Mr. Cook, who was known to pick up hitchhikers, offered him a ride. Both wound up at Mr. Cook's trailer home March 28, 1997, and at some point the pair drove into the woods in the northeast part of Polk County where Mr. Cook was beaten to death and robbed of his rings. Witnesses told authorities they saw Mr. Pursley driving Mr. Cook's car later and that he traded the rings for drugs.

Mr. Pursley, who declined to speak with reporters, said on a prison pen pal Web site that the case and testimony against him were false. "Most of the evidence used against me was fabricated, botched, tainted, and yes, even planted!" he wrote. "There was not anything planted," Polk County Sheriff Kenneth Hammack, who was a Texas Ranger at the time and investigated the slaying, said last week. Mr. Pursley turned himself in after a warrant had been issued for his arrest.

Stephen Taylor, one of Mr. Pursley's trial lawyers, said his client was less than cooperative in helping develop a defense. "He wouldn't tell us anything," Mr. Taylor said. "He never told us how they got together, what happened, anything. We don't know what happened to trigger the incident, how they happened to get to the victim's residence, if he was at the victim's residence and how he came into possession of the victim's car. ... It was very difficult."

In 1987, Mr. Pursley received five years in prison for burglary and was paroled three years later. Within six months he wound up back behind bars with a 10-year term for theft but was paroled after 14 months. The following year, he picked up a 20-year term for burglary but was out in 3 ½ years. Sixteen months later, Mr. Cook was killed. Because of bed shortages and court-imposed population limits, Texas corrections officials in the late 1980s and into the 1990s were forced to release convicts early.

Ft. Worth Star Telegram

"43-year-old is executed for robbery and slaying," by Michael Graczyk. (AP Wed, May. 04, 2005)

HUNTSVILLE - Not long after his victim's relatives forgave him, an apologetic Lonnie Wayne Pursley was executed Tuesday for the robbery and fatal beating of an East Texas man. In his final statement, Pursley thanked the family of Robert Earl Cook of Livingston for a statement delivered to him shortly before he was taken to the death chamber.

"I'm very grateful for your forgiveness," he said. Cook's sister, between sobs, replied, "We forgive you." "I've got Jesus in my heart. I'm sorry for any pain I've caused," he said. Pursley, 43, then turned toward his own witnesses and expressed love to them. Pursley thanked fellow Death Row inmates for their support. Pursley was pronounced dead at 6:23 p.m. Pursley became the sixth Texas prisoner executed this year. Two more are to die this month.

Cook's nephew, Jamie Hollis, said in the relatives' statement that while they forgave Pursley and "cannot gain joy from another human being losing his life," it was more important that Pursley ask for forgiveness "from our Father in heaven that determines where we spend eternity."

Court documents indicate that in 1997 Cook was driving on U.S. 59 near Shepherd, in San Jacinto County, and gave a ride to Pursley, who had left a gathering at his mother-in-law's house after getting into an argument with his wife. Cook's badly beaten body was found about a week later in a wooded area at the end of a dead-end road about 2 1/2 miles from his home in Polk County. Nine days later, Cook's blood-spattered turquoise car was found in adjacent San Jacinto County.

At Pursley's trial, witnesses testified they saw him driving a car matching Cook's, that the car had blood on the inside and outside and that Pursley's clothes were bloody. DNA evidence on a cigarette butt in the ashtray of Cook's car was used to link Pursley to the vehicle.

Huntsville Item

"Three-time parolee set to die." (AP May 2, 2005)

HUNTSVILLE - Lonnie Wayne Pursley kept going to prison for longer and longer terms but also kept getting paroled thanks to a shortage of prison space in Texas in the 1990s. A jury in Polk County ensured he wouldn't get out again when they convicted him in 1999 of capital murder and sentenced him to death for the fatal beating and robbery of a 47-year-old East Texas man.

Pursley, 43, is scheduled to receive lethal injection tonight. He would be the sixth Texas prisoner executed this year. The U.S. Supreme Court last month refused to review his case. Attorneys trying to halt Pursley's punishment were back in the courts, challenging the trial testimony of a medical examiner.

Pursley, a Houston native who grew up in Coldspring in San Jacinto County, was on parole for a third time when he was arrested, tried and condemned for the death of Robert Earl Cook, of Livingston. Court documents indicated Cook was driving on U.S. Highway 59 near Shepherd, in San Jacinto County, where Pursley had gotten into an argument with his wife while attending a gathering at his mother-in-law's house. Prosecutors speculated Pursley was walking along the highway and Cook, who was known to pick up hitchhikers, offered Pursley a ride. Somehow both wound up at Cook's trailer home March 28, 1997, and at some point the pair drove into the woods in the northeast part of Polk County where Cook was beaten to death and robbed of his rings. Witnesses told authorities they saw Pursley driving Cook's car later and that he traded the rings for drugs.

Pursley, who declined to speak with reporters on death row, said on a prison pen pal Web site that the case and testimony against him were false. "Most of the evidence used against me was fabricated, botched, tainted, and yes, even planted!" he wrote. "There was not anything planted," Polk County Sheriff Kenneth Hammack, who was a Texas Ranger at the time and investigated the slaying, said last week. Pursley turned himself in after a warrant had been issued for his arrest.

Stephen Taylor, one of Pursley's trial lawyers, said his client was less than cooperative in helping develop a defense. "He wouldn't tell us anything," Taylor said. "He never told us how they got together, what happened, anything. We don't know what happened to trigger the incident, how they happened to get to the victim's residence, if he was at the victim's residence and how he came into possession of the victim's car. "We did the very best we could do. It was very difficult."

About a week after Cook's mother filed a missing person report, a passer-by found his decomposing body in a wooded area at the end of a dead-end dirt road about 2 1/2 miles from his home. Nine days later, Cook's car was found abandoned in a wooded area in neighboring San Jacinto County, where Pursley was well known to authorities.

"Lonnie's just one of those souls that got involved in drugs and totally devastated his life and went downhill," San Jacinto County Sheriff Lacy Rogers said. DNA evidence found 18 months later on a cigarette butt in the ashtray of Cook's car was used to link Pursley to the vehicle, according to court documents.

In 1987, Pursley received five years in prison for burglary and was paroled three years later. Within six months he wound up back behind bars with a 10-year term for theft but was paroled after 14 months. The following year, he picked up a 20-year term for burglary but was out in 3 1/2 years. Sixteen months later, Cook was killed. Because of bed shortages and court-imposed population limits, Texas corrections officials in the late 1980s and into the 1990s were forced to release convicts early until new prisons were built that eased the problem. "It's not our decision who stays in or who gets out," Rogers said. "It happens a lot. During most of those times, it was overcrowding there."

At least three other Texas inmates have execution dates for later this month.

New Criminologist Online

"Coming Execution - Lonnie Wayne Pursley - Texas" (Published on 30 April 2005)

On 03/29/97 the Lonnie Pursley and a co-defendant murdered Robert Earl Cook, a 47-year old white male inside the Deer County Subdivision in Livingston, Texas. They took the victim into a wooded area where they beat him to death and robbed him.

Pursley was an habitual criminal who had served 5-year sentence from San Jacinto County for 1 count of Burglary of a Habitation, 07/08/87 released on Parole, 12/21/90 returned from Parole with a new conviction; #571873 on a 10 year sentence from San Jacinto County for 1 count of Theft By Appropriation; 06/14/91 released on Parole; 08/24/92 returned from Parole with new conviction; #621739 on a 20 year sentence from Polk and San Jacinto County for 1 count of Burglary of a Habitation; 1 count of Burglary of a Vehicle and 1 count of Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle; 11/28/95 released on parole.

Pursley, 44, had been on Death Row for just six years and he is due to be executed, by lethal injection, on 3 May 2005.

During his time he spent much time advertising for pen pals: “Hello! My name is Lonnie. I am currently on Texas' infamous Death Row. I was arrested on April 20, 1997 when I turned myself over to the authorities after finding that there was a warrant for arrest on the charge of Capital Murder. Family members are no longer supporting me, nor are they keeping in contact with me. I would like to find someone to correspond with. Please be patient with me, as I am not financially stable. There are things in here that are very much needed to get by, such as: hygiene items, writing supplies, and stamps. Any and all help will be greatly appreciated. I was born in Houston, Texas on September 17, 1961. I was raised in a small East Texas town called Coldsprings. I'm 5'9" tall, 230 pounds, with blue eyes and dusty blond hair. My interests are rodeo - both watching and participating when I had the chance to, playing handball and lifting weights. I also like to do artwork. RACE, SEX, AGE - none of these matter. I hope to hear from you soon. THANKS! I remain.”

So, if you intend to correspond with this lowlife, you had better be quick.

Canadian Coalition to Abolish Death Penalty

TEXECUTED MAY 3, 2005 - Lonnie Wayne Pursley

Lonnie Pursley, 43, thanked the family of victim Robert Earl Cook for a poem of forgiveness they sent him shortly before he received a lethal injection. "I received your poem and I am very grateful for your forgiveness. I still want to ask for it anyway," he said to witnesses while strapped to a gurney in the Texas death chamber. "I have Jesus in my heart and I am sorry for any pain I caused you." The poem by Cook's nephew, Jamie Hollis, read in part, "A soul that is lost, pays no greater cost, than to leave this world, without being forgiven." "No, not by my family or me, for we forgive," it said. "

Lonnie Wayne Pursley - Death Row, Texas

Address to Contact Prisoner : Lonnie Wayne Pursley #999294, Polunsky Unit 12-DA-09, 12002 FM 350, South Livingston, Texas 77351 USA.

What Happened ?
On April 20, 1997 after hearing that was a Capital Murder warrant for my arrest, I turned myself in to clear my name. I was held for nineteen months on the word of an ex felon and lifelong drug abuser. Meanwhile, The Polk County Sherriff's Department, along with the District Attorney's office, FABRICATED this case against me. The record will show that most of the witnesses' testimonty against me was perjured. It will also show that most of the evidence used against me was fabricated, botched, tainted, and yes, even planted ! Evidence! There was also evidence which was overlooked that may have exonerated me from the crime. I am indigent and depending upon Court Appointed attorneys who have been very ineffective. I could use any help available.

LONNIE'S PENPAL REQUEST :
Penpals : Hello! My name is Lonnie. I am currently on Texas' infamous Death Row. I was arrested on April 20, 1997 when I turned myself over to the authorities after finding that there was a warrant for arrest on the charge of Capital Murder. Family members are no longer supporting me, nor are they keeping in contact with me. I would like to find someone to correspond with. Please be patient with me, as I am not financially stable. There are things in here that are very much needed to get by, such as : hygiene items, writing supplies, and stamps. Any and all help will be greatly appreciated. I was born in Houston, Texas on September 17, 1961. I was raised in a small East Texas town called Coldsprings. I'm 5'9" tall, 230 pounds, with blue eyes and dusty blone hair. My interet are rodeo - both watching and participating when I had the chance to, playing handball and lifting weights. I also like to do art work. RACE, SEX, AGE - none of these matter. I hope to hear from you soon. THANKS! I remain, Lonnie Wayne Pursley

Pursley v. Dretke, 114 Fed.Appx. 630, Slip Copy, 2004 WL 2617939 (5th Cir. 2004)(Habeas)

Background: Defendant convicted of capital murder petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas denied the petition and the defendant's subsequent application for a certificate of appealability (COA).

Holdings: On the defendant's application for a COA, the Court of Appeals held that:
(1) alleged victim impact evidence presented at the guilt phase was not so unduly prejudicial that it rendered the trial fundamentally unfair, and
(2) order that defendant be restrained in shackles and handcuffs during voir dire, and exclusion of the defendant from individual voir dire, did not deny defendant his constitutional rights to a fair trial and a presumption of innocence. Application denied, and denial of habeas relief affirmed.

The petitioner, Lonnie Pursley ("Pursley"), appeals from the district court's denial of his petition for habeas corpus and subsequent application for certificate of appealability ("COA"). Pursley's application for COA is DENIED.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On January 14, 1999, Lonnie Wayne Pursley was convicted of capital murder for the death of Robert Earl Cook ("Cook"). The evidence at trial established that on the night of March 28, 1997, Cook left work and drove down Highway 59 towards his trailer home near Livingston, Texas. The evidence further establishes that Cook was on Highway 59, probably at about the same time that Pursley was walking down that highway, after leaving from his in-law's house on foot following an argument with his wife. Cook's niece and next-door neighbor, Sheila Dupree, testified that later that night she observed a large man smoking a cigarette in the doorway of Cook's trailer home. Dupree stated that Cook sat inside with an emotionless expression on his face and that she could tell from looking at Cook that something was wrong. The following day, March 29, Dupree noticed that the gate on Cook's property was not shut properly and that Cook's car was gone. Although Cook had plans to spend time with his mother that day, he never showed up. When Cook still had not returned home by the evening of March 30, his mother contacted the police, who began searching for Cook the next day. Upon learning that Cook was missing, Dupree told the police about the man that she had seen standing in Cook's doorway.

Meanwhile, several of Pursley's friends and relatives saw Pursley driving a turquoise car matching the description of Cook's vehicle on the morning of March 29 and the following day. At least three of these witnesses noticed that the vehicle had blood on the inside and outside of it, and that Pursley had blood on his clothes. At least two witnesses later testified that Pursley had admitted to them that he had beaten someone and had left the victim to choke on his own blood. Pursley's cousin, Richard Winfrey, testified that on March 30, Pursley told him that he was pretty sure he had beaten someone to death in his car. Pursley told Winfrey that he had hidden the victim's car in some woods located off of a dirt road and asked him for fake identification so that he could leave the country.

On April 6, 1997, a passer-by discovered Cook's decomposing body lying face down in a wooded area at the end of a dead-end dirt road, approximately 2.5 miles from Cook's home. Trauma to the body indicated that Cook had been pummeled brutally in the chest and abdomen with the assailant's hands, feet, or with some other unknown object. On April 15, 1997, the police discovered Cook's car abandoned in a wooded area. There was a large amount of blood spattered throughout the vehicle. The only DNA evidence linking Pursley to the crime was on a cigarette butt found in the ashtray of the victim's vehicle eighteen months after the car was discovered by the police.

Pursley was arrested and charged by indictment for the murder and robbery of Cook. On January 14, 1997, the jury found Pursley guilty, and later answered Texas' capital murder special issues in a manner that required the trial court to sentence Pursley to death. Pursley's conviction and sentence were appealed automatically to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which affirmed on January 31, 2001, and denied rehearing on March 28, 2001. Pursley did not file a petition for writ of certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court. On July 31, 2001, Pursley filed a state application for post-conviction relief, which the Court of Criminal Appeals dismissed based on its determination that the trial court's conclusions were supported by the record. Ex Parte Pursley, No. 49, 634-01, slip. op. at 2 (Tx.Crim.App. June 27, 2001). Pursley filed a motion requesting that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reconsider its order dismissing his state habeas application. The Court of Criminal Appeals denied this request and the trial court set an execution date. On September 12, 2001, this Court granted Pursley's motion to stay his execution.

On June 27, 2002, Pursley filed his § 2254 petition for writ of habeas corpus in the federal district court. The district court rejected Pursley's four assignments of error and declined to grant Pursley's request for a COA. Pursley now seeks a COA from this Court on the following claims of error: (1) whether the district court erred in concluding that Pursley was not denied his Eighth Amendment and due process rights to a fair trial when victim impact evidence was presented by the state during the guilt-innocence phase; and (2) whether the district court erred in concluding that Pursley was not denied his federal constitutional rights to a fair trial and a presumption of innocence when the trial court ordered him to appear during voir dire in shackles and handcuffs, and further compounded the error when the trial court excluded him from being present during individual voir dire.

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Because Pursley has not made a substantial showing that he was been denied a constitutional right, or that reasonable jurists could debate whether his petition for habeas corpus should have been resolved differently, his request for a COA is DENIED; the order of the district court denying Pursley's petition for habeas corpus is hereby AFFIRMED.