Texas Department of Criminal Justice

Texas Attorney General Media Advisory

AUSTIN - Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott offers the following information on 42-year-old Kevin Lee Zimmerman, who is scheduled to be executed after 6 p.m. on Wednesday, January 21, 2004.

FACTS OF THE CRIME

On October 23, 1987, Kevin Lee Zimmerman, George Weber, and Kay Gonzales, arrived at a Motel 6 in Beaumont, Texas. While at the motel, they met the victim, 33-year-old Leslie Gilbert Hooks, Jr., who was also staying at the motel. After having drinks with the group, Hooks suggested that they all go to the fair. All four people returned to the motel after going to the fair.

After some time, Gonzales went to the bathroom in Zimmerman's motel room and heard a struggle ensuing in the nearby bedroom. In that bedroom, Zimmerman and Weber, armed with knives, had attacked Hooks. The two men stabbed Hooks 31 times, after which Zimmerman took Hook's wallet and gave it to Weber. Then, Zimmerman, Weber, and Gonzales, left in their car to take Zimmerman to a hospital, where he received treatment for a knife wound.

Zimmerman was subsequently arrested and placed in jail. While in jail, Zimmerman wrote numerous letters to Weber and to the district attorney. At trial, the State introduced many pieces of correspondence which Zimmerman had written and signed. In one of these letters to the district attorney, Zimmerman wrote that he had decided to kill Hooks for his money. Zimmerman also stated in the letter that he was accidentally stabbed in the arm while killing Hooks.

The contents of this letter were corroborated by the testimony of Gonzales. According to her, Zimmerman and Hooks were arguing about an incident that had occurred at the fair. Suddenly, Zimmerman "picked up a knife and ... stabbed him [Hooks] in his shoulder." Gonzales then went into the bathroom and came back out, only to see both Zimmerman and Weber stabbing Hooks, who was yelling "Don't kill me."

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

In June 1990, a Jefferson County jury convicted Zimmerman of capital murder and assessed punishment of death. On April 7, 1993, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed Zimmerman's conviction and sentence. In October 1993, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari review, vacated the judgment, and remanded the case for further consideration in light of Johnson v. Texas, 509 U.S. 350 (1993). On remand, the Texas court again affirmed the conviction and sentence. Certiorari review and Zimmerman's request for rehearing were both denied by the Supreme Court.

In September 1995, Zimmerman filed a writ of habeas corpus petition in federal district court, which dismissed it without prejudice for failure to exhaust state remedies. Zimmerman then filed a state habeas petition which was denied by the Court of Criminal Appeals on March 17, 1999.

In November 1999, Zimmerman filed his second habeas corpus petition in federal district court, and collateral relief was ultimately denied on February 14, 2001. However, the court granted, in part, Zimmerman's subsequent application for a certificate of appealability (COA)on three claims on April 24, 2001.

In an August 2001 appeal, Zimmerman filed his brief addressing the three COA issues along with a motion asking the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to expand the issues on which COA was granted. The court granted Zimmerman's request to cover an additional issue on August 1, 2002. Following further briefing by both parties, the appeals court affirmed the district court's denial of habeas corpus relief on May 28, 2003. Zimmerman sought rehearing, which was denied on July 2, 2003. On July 10, 2003, a Jefferson County state district court judge set Zimmerman's execution for Wednesday December 10, 2003.

On September 30, 2003, Zimmerman petitioned the U.S.Supreme Court for certiorari review of the Fifth Circuit's denial of COA as to his second issue, and the Fifth Circuit's denial of habeas relief as to the others. This petition is still pending.

PRIOR CRIMINAL HISTORY

The evidence admitted during the punishment phase and derived from Zimmerman's penitentiary packet showed the following arrests:

September 1979 for two separate charges of endangering people through reckless operation of a motor vehicle.

January 28, 1980, in Louisiana for theft and forgery.

August 8, 1980, in Louisiana for possession of marijuana.

September 1980 for battery of a juvenile.

January 18, 1981, for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

October 1982 for criminal trespassing, carrying a concealed weapon (a knife), disturbing the peace, and threatening to do bodily injury to an elderly neighbor. woman;

January 24, 1983, for aggravated battery for stabbing a man who refused to turn over his car keys to enable Zimmerman to steal his car, as well as fleeing from officers, resisting an officer, and battery on a police officer.

August 30, 1985, in Louisiana for auto theft, resisting arrest, and possession of cocaine.

November 11, 1985, in Louisiana for possession of cocaine.

ProDeathPenalty.com

On October 23, 1987, Kevin Lee Zimmerman, George Weber, and Kay Gonzales, arrived at a Motel 6 in Beaumont, Texas. While at the motel, they met the victim, 33-year-old Leslie Gilbert Hooks, Jr., a resident of Suisan City, California who was also staying at the motel. After having drinks with the group, Hooks suggested that they all go to the fair. All four people returned to the motel after going to the fair. After some time, Gonzales went to the bathroom in Zimmerman's motel room and heard a struggle ensuing in the nearby bedroom. In that bedroom, Zimmerman and Weber, armed with knives, had attacked Hooks. The two men stabbed Hooks 31 times, after which Zimmerman took Hook's wallet and gave it to Weber. Then, Zimmerman, Weber, and Gonzales, left in their car to take Zimmerman to a hospital, where he received treatment for a knife wound.

Zimmerman was subsequently arrested and placed in jail. Leslie's body was found the next morning by a hotel maid. While in jail, Zimmerman wrote numerous letters to Weber and to the district attorney. At trial, the State introduced many pieces of correspondence which Zimmerman had written and signed. In one of these letters to the district attorney, Zimmerman wrote that he had decided to kill Hooks for his money. Zimmerman also stated in the letter that he was accidentally stabbed in the arm while killing Hooks. The contents of this letter were corroborated by the testimony of Gonzales. According to her, Zimmerman and Hooks were arguing about an incident that had occurred at the fair. Suddenly, Zimmerman "picked up a knife and ... stabbed him [Hooks] in his shoulder." Gonzales then went into the bathroom and came back out, only to see both Zimmerman and Weber stabbing Hooks, who was yelling "Don't kill me."

Zimmerman had been arrested many times including: September 1979 for two separate charges of endangering people through reckless operation of a motor vehicle; January 28, 1980, in Louisiana for theft and forgery; August 8, 1980, in Louisiana for possession of marijuana; September 1980 for battery of a juvenile; January 18, 1981, for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle; October 1982 for criminal trespassing, carrying a concealed weapon (a knife), disturbing the peace, and threatening to do bodily injury to an elderly neighbor woman; January 24, 1983, for aggravated battery for stabbing a man who refused to turn over his car keys to enable Zimmerman to steal his car, as well as fleeing from officers, resisting an officer, and battery on a police officer; August 30, 1985, in Louisiana for auto theft, resisting arrest, and possession of cocaine; November 11, 1985, in Louisiana for possession of cocaine.

UPDATE: Kevin Lee Zimmerman, from Lafayette Parish, was sentenced to death for a robbery-slaying in Beaumont 16 years ago. But Zimmerman received a reprieve from the U.S. Supreme Court 20 minutes before he could have been put to death Wednesday evening. "I'm disappointed," Zimmerman told Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokeswoman Michelle Lyons after he was told he would continue to live. "I was ready to go."

In a brief order, Justice Antonin Scalia stopped Zimmerman's punishment pending an additional order from him or the court. A couple hours earlier, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had rejected the suit that sought a halt to the use of pancuronium bromide - a drug that paralyzes muscles and is one of the 3 chemicals used in the procedure. According to attorneys for Zimmerman, the drug contributed to pain that amounted to an unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment for the inmate.

The legal action echoed a Tennessee death row inmate's suit, now on appeal, that cites an American Veterinary Medical Association condemnation of the drug. The lethal cocktail of pancuronium bromide; sodium thiopental, a barbiturate; and potassium chloride, which causes cardiac arrest, has been used in Texas since the state became the 1st in the nation in 1982 to adopt lethal injection as its execution method. "I'm obviously pleased," said Jim Marcus, executive director of the Texas Defenders Service, a legal group that represents death row inmates. "It's an important case and it deserves consideration. What this case boiled down to is whether death-sentenced inmates will have access to federal courts to raise civil rights violations." Marcus said while the court order did not specify why the execution was delayed, he can only assume the court wants more time to consider his lawsuit, which asks for inmate access to the courts to raise such civil rights challenges. "The court has that question under consideration in another case," Marcus said. "We sought a stay pending the outcome of that case."

Zimmerman, 42, was condemned for the 1987 fatal stabbing and robbery of Leslie Hooks Jr., 33, a Louisiana oilfield worker staying at a Beaumont motel. Hooks had been stabbed 31 times. In 1992, Zimmerman and 2 other inmates tried to escape from death row by sawing their way through a recreation yard fence. The break was thwarted when a guard opened fire on them.

UPDATE: Kevin Lee Zimmerman got a new execution date for a 1987 fatal stabbing and robbery at a Beaumont motel after a divided U.S. Supreme Court lifted a last-minute stay Monday that spared his life less than a week ago. Zimmerman, 42, of Lafayette Parish, La., was scheduled to die Dec. 10 for robbing Leslie Gilbert Hooks, Jr., 33, of Silsbee, and stabbing him 31 times. On Monday, Criminal District Judge Charles Carver set a new execution date of Jan. 21.

"From my point of view, I believe the man deserves to get exactly what my daddy did," said Kasheena Hooks, 19, of Fred, in a telephone interview. "The man knew his consequences when he did what he did, so now he needs to pay." Zimmerman's execution was halted 20 minutes before it could have been carried out when Justice Antonin Scalia issued a temporary stay to give the high court more time to consider Zimmerman's case. Attorneys for Zimmerman and other Texas death row inmates argued that the use of pancuronium bromide - a drug that paralyzes muscles - in executions is cruel and unusual punishment.

On Monday, the court decided 5-4 to vacate the temporary stay. The court's four more liberal members - Justices John Paul Stevens, David H. Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer - objected. The 4 said that the Zimmerman case should not be decided until the court rules next year in a separate case. The case involves an Alabama death row inmate who claims execution by lethal injection would be unconstitutionally cruel because of his medical condition, collapsed veins, according to The Associated Press. Texas, the 1st state to execute condemned inmates by injection, uses a combination of 3 drugs: pancuronium bromide, the barbiturate sodium thiopental and potassium chloride, which causes cardiac arrest.

Zimmerman had said last Wednesday that he was disappointed by Scalia's stay. "I was ready to go," Zimmerman said, according to Associated Press reports. Zimmerman was one of three people charged in connection with Hooks' death. George Andre Weber was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 85 years in prison. He remains in state custody. Kaye Ellen Gonzales pleaded guilty to robbery in exchange for her testimony and was sentenced to 10 years probation.

Hooks, a construction worker, had just returned from a job in California and met the 3 people at a Beaumont motel. He was killed after they all returned from the South Texas State Fair. Kasheena Hooks said she, her brother and her sister have few memories of their father because they were so young when he died. Her last memory of him is a Christmas gathering when she was 3. "I remember sitting in his lap, and we was playing pattycake, and I remember he told me that he loved me, and we opened the presents together," she said. Their last family portrait was taken that day, she said. "Every Christmas is hard. Every holiday's hard. Every birthday's hard. Every day's hard," she said.

TheDeathouse.Com

"No More Disappointments for Zimmerman: He's Executed." (January 21, 2004)

HUNTSVILLE, Tex. - A man who admitted to participating in the robbery and fatal stabbing of an oil field worker in 1987 was executed Wednesday night after apologizing to the victim's family. Kevin Zimmerman, 42, was put to death by lethal injection at the prison here. He was the third condemned killer executed in Texas in 2004. Another execution is scheduled next week.

When Zimmerman's first scheduled execution was halted by a court in December 2003, Zimmerman said he was "disappointed" and "I was ready to go." However, on Wednesday night, Zimmerman wasn't disappointed. He wanted to executed, and was. Michelle Lyons, spokeswoman for the Texas Deparatment of Criminal Justice, said she talked to Zimmerman in the afternoon before his execution and she got the feeling he wanted to die.

As he lay on the execution gurney seconds from death, Zimmerman, with strong emotion in his voice, apologized to the victim's family and said the man he stabbed to death, Leslie Gilbert Hooks, "didn't deserve to die." "In the name of Jesus, I'm so sorry for the pain I caused y'all, Zimmerman told the witnesses, including members of Hooks' family, who had come to watch him die. "Gilbert (the victim) didn't deserve to die. I want you to known. I'm sorry." With that the lethal dose of chemicals began at 6:09 p.m. and Zimmerman was pronounced dead at 6:19 p.m. Zimmerman had spent his last hours with his spiritual advisors and requested a last meal that included a double meat cheesburger, almost-burned french fires, chocolate cake and milk, Lyons stated.

Drug Issue Rejected

Zimmerman's Dec. 10 execution was stopped by a court to review whether the use of a drug during executions - pancuronium bromide, which paralyzes muscles - was cruel and unusual punishment by causing suffering. But the U.S. Supreme Court, as it has done in similar cases, voted 5-4 to lift the stay of execution on Zimmerman. In the lethal injection process in Texas, three drugs are used to kill the condemned prisoner. One drug puts the condemned prisoner to sleep; the next, pancuronium bromide, paralyzes muscles; the third stops the condemned killer's heart. Zimmerman was disappointed that Texas didn't kill him on December 10. "I was ready to go," Zimmerman told a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. "The stay only means 18 more months of this crap."

Threat Drawn In Blood

The Associated Press reported that before Zimmerman was sent to death row, he wrote the judge at his trial a letter graphically describing how he was going to kill him. The AP reported that the letter contained a hand drawn picture of Zimmerman holding an ax. Zimmerman used his own blood to draw the picture, the AP quoted the judge in the trial as saying. Zimmerman was sent to death row for the October 1987 murder of Hooks, 33, in a Motel 6. Hooks was stabbed to death. Zimmerman was arrested after he went to a hospital for treatment of knife wounds.

Tries Escape From Death Row

Zimmerman and another man, George Weber were involved in the murder. The AP reported that Hooks, Weber, a woman and the victim had met at a fair and went back to the motel. The woman later testified that she saw Weber and Zimmerman stab Hooks. Weber received 91 years in prison. The AP also reported that in 1992, Zimmerman and two other condemned killers tried to escape death row by "sawing their way through a recreation yard fence."

Texas Execution Information Center by David Carson.

Kevin Zimmerman

Kevin Lee Zimmerman, 42, was executed by lethal injection on 21 January 2004 in Huntsville, Texas for the murder and robbery of a 33-year-old man.

On 23 October 1987, Zimmerman, then 26, arrived at a Beaumont motel with George Weber, 22, and Kaye Gonzales, 28. At the motel, they met Leslie Gilbert Hooks. Hooks had some drinks with the group, then they went together to the fair. After the fair, they returned to the motel. There, in Hooks' room, Zimmerman and Weber began stabbing Hooks. Zimmerman took Hooks' wallet and gave it to Weber. Next, Zimmerman, Weber, and Gonzales went to a hospital, where Zimmerman received treatment for a knife wound. Hooks died from 31 stab wounds.

Zimmerman was subsequently arrested and jailed. While in jail, he wrote numerous letters to Weber and to the district attorney. In these letters, Zimmerman admitted to killing and robbing Hooks and mentioned being stabbed in the arm while killing him.

Kaye Gonzales testified that after the group returned from the fair, Zimmerman and Hooks began arguing about something that had happened at the fair. Suddenly, she testified, Zimmerman "picked up a knife and stabbed him in his shoulder." Gonzales testified that she then went into the bathroom, and when she came back out, both Zimmerman and Weber were stabbing Hooks, who was yelling, "Don't kill me."

Zimmerman had arrests in Louisiana for reckless driving, theft, forgery, possession of marijuana, battery, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, criminal trespassing, carrying a concealed weapon, disturbing the peace, threatening bodily injury, resisting arrest, fleeing from officers, auto theft, and possession of cocaine. He had at least one three-year prison sentence, but information on dates of incarceration and release were not available for this report.

A jury convicted Zimmerman of capital murder in June 1990 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in April 1993. Zimmerman was originally scheduled to be executed in October 1993, but the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay, vacated the guilty verdict, and remanded the case to the TCCA for further consideration. In June 1994, the TCCA affirmed the conviction and sentence again.

George Andre Weber was found guilty of murder and was sentenced to 85 years in prison. In 1995, he received an additional 6-year sentence for possession of a deadly weapon in prison. He remains in state custody as of this writing. Kaye Ellen Gonzales pleaded guilty to robbery in exchange for her testimony and was sentenced to 10 years' probation. She has had no other offenses.

In 1992, Zimmerman and two other death row prisoners were caught trying to saw their way through a recreation yard fence.

Zimmerman's second scheduled execution date came in December 2003. The U.S. Supreme Court, however, issued a stay again, in response to a lawsuit filed on behalf of Zimmerman and two other death row inmates. The lawsuit alleged that execution by lethal injection as practiced by the state of Texas constituted cruel and unusual punishment because one of the chemicals, pancuronium bromide, paralyzes the prisoner, preventing him from expressing pain.

When a prison official informed Zimmerman of the stay, he replied, I'm disappointed. I was ready to go. The stay only means 18 more months of this crap." Five days after issuing the stay, however, the Supreme Court decided not take Zimmerman's case, and his execution was rescheduled for January.

In the days leading up to his execution, Zimmerman complained about the final appeals process and the uncertainty of execution dates. His December stay, he wrote in a prepared statement, "was a spiritual and emotional drain." Nevertheless, Zimmerman allowed his lawyers to file appeals to attempt to halt his January execution.

"In the name of Jesus, I am so sorry for the pain I caused y'all," Zimmerman told his victim's family as he choked back tears, lying on the execution table. "I am sorry. Gilbert didn't deserve to die, and I want y'all to know I am sorry." Zimmerman prayed as the lethal injection was administered, stopping in mid-sentence as the drugs began to take effect. He was pronounced dead at 6:19 p.m.

The Lafayette Daily Advertiser

"Acadiana man faces execution." (January 20, 2004)

LAFAYETTE — On Wednesday, a Lafayette Parish man in a Texas prison is scheduled to be lethally injected with the same controversial drug that temporarily halted his original execution date last year. Kevin Lee Zimmerman, 42, of Lafayette Parish was scheduled to be executed Dec. 10, 2003, for the fatal stabbing and robbery of a California man inside a Beaumont, Texas, motel. That day, his final meal request of fried chicken and pork chops, french fries, scrambled eggs, a bottle of ketchup, lemon meringue pie or chocolate cake and a half-pint of milk was prepared. His family and friends traveled to Huntsville, Texas, for his final hours. Reportedly 20 minutes before he was scheduled to die, the U.S. Supreme Court stepped in, issuing a stay of execution in light of a lawsuit that challenged the use of a drug used to execute Texas prisoners. The stay came after the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals refused to rule on the lawsuit.

Zimmerman and another Texas death row inmate were listed on the lawsuit that called the use of pancuronium bromide — a drug that paralyzes muscles — cruel and unusual punishment. In Texas, the drug is part of the lethal cocktail of sodium thiopental, a barbiturate, and potassium chloride, which causes cardiac arrest, that the state uses to execute prisoners. Zimmerman heard the news as he waited in a holding cell and told a Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokeswoman that he was “disappointed.” “I was ready to go,” he told spokeswoman Michelle Lyons. “The stay only means 18 more months of this crap.”

But Zimmerman didn’t have to wait that long. Five days after the stay, the Supreme Court lifted it in a 5-4 vote and a state district judge set a new execution date for Jan. 21. The other death row inmate, Billy Frank Vickers, 58, was given a new date of Jan. 28. He is on death row for fatally shooting a North Texas grocery store owner during a robbery attempt 11 years ago.

In October 1987, Zimmerman was convicted of the stabbing death of Leslie Gilbert Hooks Jr., 33, of California. Hooks reportedly was stabbed more than 30 times. His body was found inside a room at a Motel 6 in Beaumont, Texas. Evidence found at the scene pointed to Zimmerman, who was 26 at the time.

Reuters News

"Texas Executes Third Inmate This Month." (Wed January 21, 2004 08:19 PM ET )

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (Reuters) - A man who murdered an oilfield worker in a 1987 robbery was put to death on Wednesday in the third execution this month in Texas. A sobbing Kevin Zimmerman, 42, apologized for the crime as he received a lethal injection while strapped to a gurney in the Texas death chamber. "In the name of Jesus, I am so sorry for the pain I caused you all," he told execution witnesses while choking back tears. "Gilbert didn't deserve to die and I want you all to know I am sorry."

Zimmerman came within 20 minutes of execution last month before his attorneys won a stay on grounds that lethal injection, the favored manner of execution in the United States, is cruel and unusual punishment. They argued that the recipient is paralyzed by the injection and unable to describe the pain they suffer before death. The stay was overturned and a new execution date set when the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the appeal.

Zimmerman was condemned for killing oilfield worker Leslie Gilbert Hooks in a Beaumont, Texas motel on Oct. 23, 1987. He confessed to stabbing Hooks 31 times so he could get his wallet. He was the 316th person to be put to death in Texas since the state resumed capital punishment in 1982 after the U.S. Supreme Court lifted a national ban on executions. Twelve more executions are already scheduled this year in Texas, which is the nation's leader in capital punishment.

For his final meal, Zimmerman requested a cheeseburger, French fries with ketchup, four half pints of milk and chocolate cake.

National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty

Kevin Zimmerman (TX) Dec. 21, 6:00 PM EST

The state of Texas is scheduled to execute Kevin Zimmerman, a white man, Dec 10 for the 1987 stabbing of Leslie Gilbert Hooks, Jr. in Jefferson County. Mr. Zimmerman has severe mental health issues; including paranoid personality disorder, trauma due to a skull fracture, an IQ that is close to mental retardation, and a history of child abuse, neglect and abandonment. Because Mr. Zimmerman did not receive adequate representation at trial, several key issues were never raised at trial.

One element that was never heard by the jury is Mr. Zimmerman’s mental health in conjunction with a self-defense claim. There was no investigation into the background of the victim, Mr. Hooks; however he was an extremely dangerous man. He was uncontrollably violent when intoxicated (as he was the night of his death) and had a history of instigating fights with strangers and loved ones. He once beat and kicked his pregnant wife so badly that she miscarried.

The history of the victim is relevant to the case: Mr. Hooks purportedly antagonized Mr. Zimmerman who “snapped” in self-defense. Mr. Zimmerman was so mentally ill that MMPI diagnostic tests indicated that he was incompetent to stand trial. However, his defense counsel never pursued this and Mr. Zimmerman was tried and found guilty. His defense counsel never requested Mr. Zimmerman’s mental health records.

In Pate v. Robinson, the U.S. Supreme Court held that Robinson was constitutionally entitled to a hearing on the issue of his competence to stand trial. After finding that there was sufficient evidence to support the need for a competency hearing, “The court’s failure to make such an inquiry thus deprived Robinson of his constitutional right to a fair trial.”

When the Supreme Court outlawed the execution of the mentally retarded in Atkins v. Virginia, Mr. Zimmerman’s lawyers appealed his case on those grounds. However, the state of Texas operates on an IQ only system. If the defendants IQ falls below 70 they are retarded, if the IQ is above 70 they are eligible for death. This does not take into account, however, the head injuries and psychological traumas that Mr. Zimmerman has suffered that prevent him from operating at a functional level.

Mr. Zimmerman should not be executed. There are questions as to whether this is even a capital case, issues surrounding mental illness and mental retardation, and gross inefficiency of counsel. It is a fact that the poor and the mentally ill are the majority on death row. Please contact Gov. Perry and urge him to commute Mr. Zimmerman’s sentence.

Longview News-Journal

"Inmate who received reprieve last month executed." (AP 1/22/04)

HUNTSVILLE (AP) — A contrite Kevin Lee Zimmerman was executed Wednesday for the 1987 robbery and murder of a Louisiana oilfield worker at a Beaumont motel. The execution occurred six weeks after he had made a similiar trip to the death house only to have his life spared within about 20 minutes of the scheduled execution.

After expressing love to relatives and friends, he looked at five members of victim Leslie Gilbert Hooks Jr.’s family and asked for their forgiveness. He was pronounced dead at 6:19 p.m.

“I really didn’t expect him to apologize, but I’m glad he did,” KaTreena Reed, 18, said after watching her father’s killer die.

Houston Chronicle

"Condemned inmate who received reprieve last month executed." (AP Jan. 21, 2004, 6:38PM)

HUNTSVILLE -- A contrite Kevin Lee Zimmerman was executed today for the 1987 robbery and murder of a Louisiana oilfield worker at a Beaumont motel. The execution occurred six weeks after he had made a similiar trip to the death house only to have his life spared within about 20 minutes of the scheduled execution.

After expressing love to relatives and friends, he looked at five members of victim Leslie Gilbert Hooks Jr.'s family and asked for their forgiveness. "In the name of Jesus, I'm so sorry for the pain I've caused y'all," he said, his voice choking as he tried to hold back sobs. "I'm sorry. Gilbert didn't deserve to die and I want you to know I'm sorry," he said. "I pray the good Lord will give y'all peace." After telling a warden he was ready, Zimmerman began praying and was stopped in mid-sentence by a gasp as the lethal drugs began taking effect. Ten minutes later, at 6:19 p.m., he was pronounced dead.

In a prepared statement, Zimmerman said his December ordeal "was a spiritual and emotional drain" and asked that "those who have the power to act" pass a law that bars setting execution dates until all appeals have been exhausted. "It is not fair for an inmate's life to be toyed with by the justice system," he said. "It is not fair nor is it responsible for the states to allow victim's families to be put through the same cruel stress again and again." He described himself as a born-again Christian who confessed his sins and repented.

Zimmerman, 42, from Lafayette Parish, La., was the third condemned inmate to die this year in Texas. Another lethal injection is set for next week, one of at least nine scheduled for the first quarter of the year in the nation's most active death penalty state. Zimmerman had expressed disappointment after a U.S. Supreme Court order Dec. 10 halted his punishment for the robbery and murder of the 33-year-old Louisiana oilfield worker who was stabbed 31 times. "I was ready to go," he said then, complaining the reprieve meant "18 more months of this crap."

Arriving Wednesday at the death house, his attitude remained much the same. "After 16 years, another stay is just more time," he said, saying he was not seeking a reprieve but wouldn't order attorneys to halt appeals because he was leaving it to "the will of God."

Click2Houston.Com

"Inmate Executed Who Had Been Reprieved; Zimmerman Called Ordeal A Spiritual And Emotional Drain." (AP January 21, 2004)

HUNTSVILLE, Texas -- A contrite Kevin Lee Zimmerman was executed Wednesday for the 1987 robbery and murder of a Louisiana oilfield worker at a Beaumont motel. The execution occurred six weeks after he had made a similar trip to the death house only to have his life spared within about 20 minutes of the scheduled execution.

After expressing love to relatives and friends, he looked at five members of victim Leslie Gilbert Hooks Jr.'s family and asked for their forgiveness. "In the name of Jesus, I'm so sorry for the pain I've caused y'all," he said, his voice choking as he tried to hold back sobs. "I'm sorry. Gilbert didn't deserve to die and I want you to know I'm sorry," he said. "I pray the good Lord will give y'all peace." After telling a warden he was ready, Zimmerman began praying and was stopped in mid-sentence by a gasp as the lethal drugs began taking effect. Ten minutes later, at 6:19 p.m., he was pronounced dead.

In a prepared statement, Zimmerman said his December ordeal "was a spiritual and emotional drain" and asked that "those who have the power to act" pass a law that bars setting execution dates until all appeals have been exhausted. "It is not fair for an inmate's life to be toyed with by the justice system," he said. "It is not fair nor is it responsible for the states to allow victim's families to be put through the same cruel stress again and again." He described himself as a born-again Christian who confessed his sins and repented.

Zimmerman, 42, from Lafayette Parish, La., was the third condemned inmate to die this year in Texas. Another lethal injection is set for next week, one of at least nine scheduled for the first quarter of the year in the nation's most active death penalty state. Zimmerman had expressed disappointment after a U.S. Supreme Court order Dec. 10 halted his punishment for the robbery and murder of the 33-year-old Louisiana oilfield worker who was stabbed 31 times. "I was ready to go," he said then, complaining the reprieve meant "18 more months of this crap."

Arriving Wednesday at the death house, his attitude remained much the same. "After 16 years, another stay is just more time," he said, saying he was not seeking a reprieve but wouldn't order attorneys to halt appeals because he was leaving it to "the will of God."

Zimmerman's execution was stopped after lawyers filed suit contending the combination of drugs used in lethal injections contributes to unconstitutional pain and suffering. The Supreme Court, however, five days later rejected an appeal in his case, clearing the way for state District Judge Charles Carver to quickly set a new death date. The same issue was included in another appeal in his case and the high court again ruled 5-4, rejecting the arguments in a ruling delivered about an hour before Zimmerman was scheduled to die. The arguments regarding pain and suffering, raised similarly in an Alabama case to be reviewed by the Supreme Court, outraged the relatives of Hooks, who was slain after meeting Zimmerman and two other people, George Weber and Kay Gonzales, at the Beaumont Motel 6.

"In the words of my sister, her late husband was 'slaughtered like a hog' by this ruthless, cold-hearted murderer, so why should Kevin Zimmerman be denied feeling just a tiny fraction of the pain that Gilbert suffered?" Steven Shaver, whose sister was married to Hooks, said in a statement on behalf of the family before the execution. Zimmerman attracted attention when he went to a hospital for treatment of knife wounds and was arrested after authorities were called to the motel where a maid discovered Hooks' body.

In a letter to a district attorney, Zimmerman said he killed Hooks for the oilfield worker's money. Gonzales testified she saw Zimmerman and Weber stabbing Hooks as he pleaded for his life. Weber received 91 years in prison. Zimmerman got the death penalty. In another letter, this one to the judge at his trial, Zimmerman in detail threatened to kill the judge and included a drawing of himself holding an ax. "But the most shocking thing of all was that he drew the picture using his own blood as the ink," state District Judge Larry Gist recalled.

The letter was used against Zimmerman as evidence in the punishment phase of his trial in Jefferson County, where a jury took only 15 minutes to decide he should be condemned. In 1992, Zimmerman and two other condemned inmates tried to escape from death row by sawing their way through a recreation yard fence. The escape attempt was halted when a guard opened fire on them.

Zimmerman v. Johnson U.S. Supreme Court (12/15/03)

Cite as: 540 U. S. ____ (2003)

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES

KEVIN L. ZIMMERMAN v. GARY JOHNSON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE, ET AL.

ON APPLICATION FOR STAY [December 15, 2003]

The application for stay of execution of sentence of death presented to J USTICE SCALIA and by him referred to the Court is denied. The temporary stay entered by JUSTICE SCALIA is vacated. JUSTICE STEVENS, with whom JUSTICE SOUTER, JUSTICE GINSBURG, and JUSTICE BREYER join, dissenting.

Applicant has filed an action pursuant to Rev. Stat. §1979, 42 U. S. C. §1983, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas in which he al- leges that Texas plans to put him to death by using a cruel and unusual method of execution. Applicant contends that the Texas Legislature has recently outlawed the use of the method for animal euthanasia because it is so ex- cruciatingly painful. Relying on Circuit precedent, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the dis- missal of the action on the procedural ground that §1983 is not an appropriate vehicle for challenges to the method of execution; applicant should have proceeded by applying for a writ of habeas corpus. See Martinez v. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, 292 F. 3d 417 (CA5), cert. denied, 535 U. S. 1091 (2002). The order did not question the merits of the underlying claim. Other Courts of Appeals disagree with the procedural ground of the decision, and we have granted certiorari to review that precise procedural issue in another case. Nelson v. Campbell, 540 U. S. ___ (2003).

STEVENS , J., dissenting - I would postpone review of this case until Nelson has been decided and stay applicant’s execution until that time. Accordingly, I respectfully dissent from the order vacating the stay of execution.

Zimmerman v. State, 881 S.W.2d 360 (Tex.Crim.App., Jun 01, 1994).

Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, En Banc.

Kevin Lee ZIMMERMAN, Appellant, v. The STATE of Texas, Appellee.

No. 71106 June 1, 1994.

Defendant was convicted in the Criminal District Court, Jefferson County, Larry Gist, J., of capital murder, and he appealed. The Court of Criminal Appeals, 860 S.W.2d 89, affirmed. On petition for writ of certiorari, the United States Supreme Court, U.S. , 114 S.Ct. 374, 126 L.Ed.2d 324, vacated and remanded. On remand, the Court of Criminal Appeals, Campbell, J., held that: (1) special additional instruction concerning defendant's youth was not warranted in penalty phase of capital murder trial for defendant who was 25 years old at time he committed murder, and (2) defendant's allegedly mitigating evidence did not require additional special instruction, especially absent showing that such evidence tended to excuse or explain murder at issue. Affirmed. Clinton, J., dissented. Maloney, J., concurred in the result.

OPINION ON REMAND FROM THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT

CAMPBELL, Judge.
On original submission, we affirmed the judgment of the trial court in this case. Zimmerman v. State, 860 S.W.2d 89 (Tex.Crim.App.1993). The United States Supreme Court subsequently granted appellant's petition for writ of certiorari, vacated our judgment, and remanded this case for further consideration in light of Johnson v. Texas, 509 U.S. 350, 113 S.Ct. 2658, 125 L.Ed.2d 290 (1993). We will again affirm.

Zimmerman v. State, 860 S.W.2d 89 (Tex.Crim.App., Apr 07, 1993).

Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, En Banc.

Kevin Lee ZIMMERMAN, Appellant, v. The STATE of Texas, Appellee.

No. 71106 April 7, 1993. Rehearing Denied June 9, 1993.

Defendant was convicted in the Criminal District Court, Jefferson County, Larry Gist, J., of capital murder, and he appealed. The Court of Criminal Appeals, Campbell, J., held that: (1) evidence was sufficient to support conviction; (2) defendant failed to preserve error stemming from trial court's refusal to grant defendant's challenges for cause of two venire members; (3) trial court did not abuse its discretion in granting state's challenge for cause of venire members who stated that they did not believe in capital punishment; (4) trial court properly sustained state's objection to defense counsel's explanation of presumption of innocence to member of venire; (5) letters were properly authenticated; (6) instruction on definition of deliberate was not erroneous; and (7) defendant was not entitled to additional instruction regarding mitigating evidence. Affirmed. Baird, J., filed concurring opinion in which Miller, J., joined. Overstreet and Maloney, JJ., concurred in result. Clinton, J., dissented.

After a trial held in May 1990, a Jefferson County jury found appellant, Kevin Lee Zimmerman, guilty of the October 23, 1987, capital slaying of L__ G__ H__ (hereinafter "the decedent"). The aggravating element of the murder was provided by appellant's commission of it while in the course of also committing robbery. [FN1] See Tex.Penal Code § 19.03(a)(2). At the punishment phase, the jury answered affirmatively the punishment issues set forth in Article 37.071(b) of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, [FN2] and appellant was sentenced to death. Direct appeal to this Court was then automatic under Article 37.071(h). [FN3] We will affirm.

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In point of error eight, appellant argues that the evidence at trial was insufficient to sustain his conviction. Appellant does not contest the sufficiency of the evidence to prove that a murder occurred. Appellant does, however, contend that the evidence is insufficient to prove that the killing of the decedent occurred in the course of the commission of a robbery.

The State presented twelve witnesses and numerous pieces of physical evidence during the trial's guilt-innocence phase to prove appellant's guilt. Appellant presented three witnesses. Viewed in the light most favorable to the jury's verdict, the testimony adduced at trial established the following:

Appellant, George Weber, and Kay Gonzales, arrived at a Motel 6 in Beaumont on October 23, 1987. While at the motel, they met the decedent, who also was staying at the motel. After having some drinks, the decedent suggested that they all go to the fair. After returning from the fair, all four people returned to appellant's room. After a short time, the decedent and Kay Gonzales went to the decedent's room, and the decedent paid Gonzales to have sexual intercourse. Then, the decedent and Gonzales returned to the room where appellant and Weber were.

After some time, Gonzales went to the bathroom and heard a struggle ensuing in the nearby bedroom. In that room, appellant and Weber, armed with knives, attacked the decedent. After the two men stabbed the decedent 31 times, appellant took the decedent's wallet and gave it to Weber. Then, appellant, Weber, and Gonzales, left in their car to try and get appellant to a hospital. While the car broke down after only a short time, appellant did finally reach the hospital, where he received treatment for a knife wound.

Appellant was subsequently arrested and placed in jail. While in jail, appellant wrote numerous letters to Weber and to the district attorney. At trial, the State introduced many pieces of correspondence which appellant had written and signed. In one of these letters to the district attorney, appellant wrote that:

Mr. H__ [the decedent] never stabbed me and we never got into a fight. Mr. H__ had 4 or 5 hundred dolars (sic) on him and we were drinking so I decided to kill him and take his fucking money. When we got back to the room Mr. H__ did not leave because I took out my knife and opened it and started stabbing him an in the course of me stabbing him I accidentally got stabed (sic) in my arm. After he was dead and I robbed--I rolled him over took the money out of his front pocket and took his wallet. I told George Weber that if he ever said any thing I would kill him, too an we left. The car broke down on the side of the road I made George flag somebody down to take me to the hospital and he did. I through (sic) the knife in the ditch, kicked off my shoes and threw my wallet out. I don't know how much money there was but it was not much because G__ [the decedent] bought some jewlry (sic) for Kay at the fair but however much it was I gave it to George and told him to be cool and split, I would handle the rest.

The contents of this letter were corroborated by the testimony of Gonzales. According to her, appellant and the decedent were arguing about an incident that had occurred at the fair. Suddenly, appellant "picked up a knife and ... stabbed him [the decedent] in his shoulder." Gonzales then went into the bathroom and came back out, only to see both appellant and Weber stabbing the decedent, who was "yelling 'Don't kill me. Please don't let me die. Don't kill me. Please don't let me die.' " After the decedent stopped moving, appellant "went to get his tickets--wallet out of his pockets."

Appellant argues that this testimony proves "that the only taking of property described by this witness occurred AFTER the conclusion of the alleged murder, and not as a part and parcel thereof." Appellant also argues, based upon other testimony from Gonzales, that there was no robbery.

On cross-examination, Gonzales admitted that in exchange for her testimony, she pled guilty to second degree robbery. She stated, however, that she had in fact committed no robbery. According to appellant, "[t]he only conclusion to be drawn is that despite the fact that [Gonzales] pled guilty to robbery, her trial testimony indicated that there was in fact no robbery." Also, appellant argues that Weber's testimony that the decedent started the altercation, that appellant and Weber were acting in self-defense, and that there was no robbery, proves that the evidence was insufficient to support the conviction. In response, the State argues that the evidence was sufficient to show that appellant murdered the decedent in the course of committing a robbery because "[t]he mere fact that the wallet was not taken until after Weber and Appellant had finally succeeded in subduing the victim by stabbing him until he was dead does not mean that the killing was not in the course of committing a robbery."

To prove this offense, the State was required to show that appellant killed the decedent, and that prior to, or during the murder, appellant had the requisite intent to obtain or maintain control of the decedent's property. See Tex.Penal Code §§ 19.03(a)(2), 29.02, and 31.03. After reviewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, we conclude that appellant's arguments are without merit.

Concerning Gonzales' testimony, the fact that she pled guilty to a robbery that she claims she did not commit does not mean that no robbery occurred. At most, this testimony means only that she did not rob the decedent. It does not mean that appellant and Weber did not rob him.

Concerning Weber's testimony, which appellant's letter contradicts, the jurors were free to assign it as much or as little credibility as they desired. Moreover, appellant's letter contradicts his argument that the robbery was not "part and parcel of" the murder. In his letter, appellant specifically stated that he "decided to kill [the decedent] and take his fucking money." Finally, even if the facts showed that appellant robbed the decedent's body after he had already died, that would not be dispositive. If the State introduces evidence from which the jury could rationally conclude that appellant formed the intent to obtain or maintain control of the victim's property either before or during the commission of the murder, then the State "has proven that a murder occurred in the course of robbery, although the element of appropriation occurred after the murder." Nelson v. State, 848 S.W.2d 126, 132 (Tex.Cr.App.1992), rehearing denied, January 20, 1993. Since the jury could rationally conclude from the evidence that appellant had formed the requisite intent, we overrule appellant's point of error eight.

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The judgment of the trial court is AFFIRMED.