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#Post#: 272--------------------------------------------------
~ Troy Clark, 26Sep18, (TX) ~
DIR By: BuzzC
Date: September 26, 2018, 2:15 am
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Man who tortured, drowned ex-roommate set to die Wednesday--
Wednesday, September 26, 2018
HUNTSVILLE, Texas – A Texas inmate who taunted a jury to
sentence him to death is scheduled to be executed Wednesday
evening for torturing and drowning an East Texas woman in his
bathtub and then stuffing her body into a barrel.
Troy Clark was condemned for the May 1998 slaying of a former
roommate, Christina Muse of Tyler. Authorities said that Clark,
a drug dealer, had worried that Muse, 20, would snitch on him.
The 51-year-old Clark would become the 17th inmate put to death
this year in the U.S. and the ninth given a lethal injection in
Texas, the nation's busiest capital punishment state. Clark's
the first of two inmates set to receive lethal injection this
week. Daniel Acker was scheduled to be executed Thursday for
fatally running over his girlfriend.
At least eight other Texas inmates have planned execution dates
in the coming months.
The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles has declined to recommend
a commutation of Clark's sentence. It wasn't immediately known
if he had other appeals pending. His appellate attorneys didn't
return calls and emails seeking comment.
Clark has argued his trial attorneys failed to present evidence
of his childhood, marked by physical and emotional abuse, which
might have convinced jurors to spare his life.
Appeals courts have previously ruled that because of the
overwhelming case against Clark, it's likely he still would have
been sentenced to death even if the jury had heard evidence of
his troubled childhood.
Prosecutors said Clark subdued Muse with a stun gun, bound her
with duct tape and left her in a closet for several hours while
he played video games and sold drugs to a customer.
Clark later moved Muse to a bathroom where he hit her with a
board and threatened his girlfriend, Tory Bush, into helping him
drown Muse in the tub. Muse's body was then stuffed into a
barrel with cement mix and lime before being dumped in a ravine.
Against the advice of his attorneys, Clark testified during his
trial's punishment phase, saying, "I really ain't got no story
to tell. It's just I want the death penalty."
Prosecutors also presented evidence Clark had committed two
other killings, including one that occurred after Muse's death
but prior to his arrest. The Smith County District Attorney's
Office, which prosecuted Clark, declined to comment.
Bobby Mims, one of Clark's trial attorneys, said Clark denied
killing Muse.
"But there was pretty strong evidence that he was guilty. Tory
Bush was pretty damning," Mims said. Bush, who testified against
Clark, was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Mims said he and his co-counsel were ineffective during the
punishment phase in presenting evidence of Clark's troubled
childhood, which included having a mother who was incarcerated
for most of his life and who introduced him to drugs.
Mims said when Clark's case was tried in 2000, most defense
attorneys didn't focus on presenting mitigating evidence of a
defendant's problematic life as part of their efforts to prevent
a death sentence.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has previously denied
Clark's appeals on this issue, saying in 2012 that Clark refused
to let his trial attorneys contact family as well as others to
testify on his behalf.
"At the punishment hearing, the prosecutors actually had one or
two of (Clark's) own relatives show up and they had indicated
they wanted him to get the death penalty. It was crazy," Mims
said.
Mims said he doesn't know if evidence of Clark's troubled life
would have made a difference with the jury.
"I hope he's made peace with his maker," Mims said.
HTML http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/09/26/man-who-tortured-drowned-ex-roommate-set-to-die-wednesday.html
8)
#Post#: 273--------------------------------------------------
Re: ~ Troy Clark, 26Sep18, (TX) ~
DIR By: BuzzC
Date: September 26, 2018, 7:32 pm
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Tyler man put to death in 1st of two Texas executions scheduled
in two nights--
Wednesday, September 26, 2018
[IMG]
HTML http://s.hdnux.com/photos/75/71/57/16227270/6/920x920.jpg[/img]
An East Texas man convicted of drowning his former housemate and
stuffing her body into a barrel of lime was put to death in the
first of two consecutive executions scheduled in the Lone Star
State.
Now, if Thursday's punishment goes through as planned, it'll be
the first time in six years that Texas has put to death two
prisoners in two nights, a grim milestone that comes amid a
slight uptick in executions here this year.
He was pronounced dead at 6:36 p.m., according to the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice.
8)
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