But unless a last-minute commutation is granted by Texas' governor, Wood will be executed by lethal injection on Wednesday night for his role in a deadly robbery 20 years ago.
In 1996, a 22-year-old Wood waited in a pickup truck while his friend Daniel Reneau went inside a gas station in Kerrville, Texas, to steal the store's safe.
Reneau ended up killing the clerk during the robbery.Most states allow a distinction between accomplices and those who physically carryout the crime.
But in Texas, sitting in that truck and taking part in the robbery is enough to get Wood convicted of murder and onto death row.
Wood's attorney, Jared Tyler, has argued there should be a distinction. "It's rare, both in and outside of Texas, for a person to be sentenced to death based on a conviction under this kind of law," he said.
Reneau was a drifter who showed up in Kerrville during the summer of 1995. By November of that year, he met Wood through a friend, after couch-surfing and motel-hopping around town.
The pair eventually moved into a trailer together along with their girlfriends. Wood's girlfriend, Nadia Mireles, noticed Reneau engaging in "erratic and threatening" behavior once the foursome started living under one roof, court documents say. Reneau had started arming himself and committing crimes.
In December 1995, Wood and Reneau stole firearms and stored them in the trailer.
Then came the plan to steal the safe from the Texaco gas station after Wood and Reneau befriended the clerks who worked there.
Kris Keeran, the clerk Reneau would eventually shoot, allowed the two to hang around the store, scratching lottery tickets.
The three of them, along with the assistant manager, discussed "how to defraud the store of money," according to court documents.
Keeran later changed his mind about stealing from the store, the filing says,which frustrated Reneau.
Sitting in a borrowed pickup truck outside the gas station in the early morning of January 2, 1996, Wood waited for Reneau to steal the safe.
His defense attorneys have argued, numerous times, that Wood did not know Reneau was carrying a gun and would subsequently shoot Keeran.
Reneau was executed in 2002.
{CNN}
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please share your thoughts by clicking on POST A COMMENT link or posting in FACEBOOK COMMENT BOX above:
DISCLAIMER:
Opinions expressed in comments are strictly those of the comment writers alone and does not reflect or represent the views of PoliFocus.
Calling the CONTACTS on the comments is at your own risk, PoliFocus is not liable for any SCAM that may arise in the course of that.