Governor Perry Takes Two Local Murderers Off Death Row

KBTV-4 Hometown News ^ | 06/22/05

[Zacs Mom]

Following an order from the US Supreme Court, Rick Perry issued 28 commutations that will require death row inmates who were 17 at the time they committed their crimes to serve life in prison.

[Zacs Mom]

Following an order from the US Supreme Court, Rick Perry issued 28 commutations that will require death row inmates who were 17 at the time they committed their crimes to serve life in prison. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles unanimously recommended the commutations after the court banned the execution of criminals that were younger than 18 when they committed their offense.

“While these individuals were convicted by juries of brutal murders and sentenced to die for their heinous crimes, I have no choice but to commute these sentences to life in prison as a result of the Supreme Court ruling,” Perry said.

“Last week I signed Senate Bill 60, which will give future juries the option of sentencing capital murderers to life without the possibility of parole. This new law will improve our criminal justice system because it gives jurors a new option to protect the public with the certainty a convicted killer will never roam our streets again.”

This includes the two men who are on death row for two separate murders in Jefferson County. John Dewberry (pictured, left) was 17-years-old when he murdered Elmer Rode at his home on December 25, 1994. Rode was tied up with a telephone cord and a belt inside his home on Adams Street in Beaumont. Dewberry then shot Rode in the back of the head and stole some VCR’s and Rode’s truck.

Whitney Reeves (pictured, right) was 17 when he murdered 40-year-old Jim Houk and his 14-year-old daughter, Alicia, with a 12 guage shotgun on August 20, 1999 in their Beaumont apartment.

[This Just In]

"This new law will improve our criminal justice system because it gives jurors a new option to protect the public with the certainty a convicted killer will never roam the streets again."

Well, death would certainly keep convicted killers from ever roaming the streets, or cause a tax burden.

[packrat35]

I think these find young outstanding young men (sarcasm a mile thick here)should be moved in with the supremes who made this outstanding (more sarcasm) decision.

[Tall_Texan]

Well, it was this or secede from the Union.