State & Local
Page 2 The Battalion Tuesday, August 31,1993
Wilkerson
excecuted for
mass killing
in Houston
The Associated Press
HUNTSVILLE - A man
convicted of capital murder
in what was considered the
worst single mass killing
ever in Houston was execut
ed early Tuesday.
Richard James Wilkerson,
29, was pronounced dead at
12:16 a.m., six minutes after
the lethal drugs began flow
ing into his arm.
'T'd just like to say I don't
hate nobody. What I did was
wrong. I just hope everybody
is satisfied with what's about
to happen," Wilkerson said
in a final statement.
Two sisters and a friend
watched him die. As they
sobbed, he told them he
loved them. Then he coughed
once and there was no fur
ther movement.
The slayings were so bru
tal that Houston police who
were summoned to the scene
still shudder at the memory
of the carnage.
"I remember more than
anything the blood, the copi
ous amounts of blood," says
J.C. Mosier, a former Hous
ton homicide officer. "It was
like a water leak in your
home with 2 inches of water
on the floor, only this was
blood. It was horrible. They
were just slaughtered."
Wilkerson's last hope of
halting the execution, the
sixth in six weeks in Texas
and the 13th this year, faded
when the U.S. Supreme
Court rejected his request for
a stay.
In an 8-0 vote at 8v20 p.m.
CDT Monday, the high court
denied Wilkerson's applica
tion for a stay and also a peti
tion to hear Wilkerson's ap
peal, said Kathy Arburg, a
court spokeswoman. Newly
appointed Justice Ruth Bader
Ginsburg did not take part in
the vote and no reason was
given.
Texas enacts tougher drunken driving penalties
The Associated Press
AUSTIN — Tougher drunken driving
penalties are taking effect in time for the
long Labor Day weekend, and officials
warned Monday that Texans who ignore
them will pay.
"For those who decide not to comply,
they're going to find a little extra bite in the
law," said Assistant Chief Virgil Walsmith
of the Texas Department of Public Safety's
traffic law enforcement division.
But he and other officials said their main
purpose is to deter drunken driving. During
the 1992 Labor Day holiday period, 13 of 22
motor vehicle deaths involved people dri
ving while intoxicated, according to the DPS.
"Our goal at the Department of Public
Safety for this weekend is not to see how
many citations we can issue, or how many
people we can arrest," Walsmith said.
"Our ultimate goal ... is to make sure
that folks get home safely. We're seeking
voluntary compliance."
Some legis
lation ap
proved this
year particu
larly targets
Texans who
aren't yet of
legal drinking
age.
For exam
ple, those un
der 21 arrest
ed for DWI
may have
their driver's
license sus
pended for up
to a year for refusing to take a breath alco
hol test, or registering an alcohol concentra
tion of 0.07 or greater.
Rep. Richard Raymond, who pushed
that penalty, said he expects it to be effec
tive because on teen-age boys' list of priori
ties, driving ranks up there with having a
girlfriend.
"If they think that you might take their
license away for a year, that's a big deal,"
said Raymond, D-Benavides.
He said the 0.07 limit was chosen, rather
than the 0.10 legal limit, because teen-agers
are more dangerous on the road at lower
levels of intoxication.
Under other laws that take effect
Wednesday, according to the Texas Depart
ment of Transportation:
— A judge who gives probation on a first-
offense DWI conviction must require 72
hours of continuous jail time. More jail time
is required for subsequent offenses.
— A driver's implied consent to take an
alcohol test applies not just on state roads
and highways but in other public places as
well. This can affect a driver who whips
into a parking lot or is driving on a beach.
— Minors caught in possession of alco
hol will have to pay a fine and attend an al
cohol awareness course on their first of
fense. Previously, they would just have to
do one of those.
— Offenders who receive probation fora
third DWI offense will have an ignition in
terlock device installed on their cars. The
devices are aimed at keeping drunk people
from starting their cars.
— Abusable glue, aerosol paint and oth
er substances have been added to the defin
ition of intoxication in the DWI statutes.
— Funding will be increased for the state
victims' compensation fund.
Dozen Branch Davidians
face federal charges, trial
The Associated Press
AUSTIN — If David Koresh's prophecy of Armageddon came true
April 19, he escaped the wrath he created on earth and slipped into an
other world.
But defense attorneys say 12 of his followers are being punished for
the messianic leader's actions.
The dozen Branch Davidians who survived the blaze that destroyed
the sect's rural compound outside Waco and killed Koresh and scores
of his followers face a trial date later this year on federal charges.
"I think what's happening is they want all of the defendants and our
client in particular to serve David Koresh's time," said Terry Kirk, co
counsel for sect member Ruth Ottman Riddle, who survived the blaze
by jumping out a second-story window.
Riddle is one of Koresh's pupils charged with killing federal officers,
conspiracy to murder federal officers and possession of a firearm dur
ing the commission of a crime of violence.
The charges stem from the Feb. 28 federal raid of the group's Mount
Carmel fortress that left four federal agents and six Branch Davidians
dead and launched a 51-day standoff.
The stalemate ended April 19 when federal agents pumped tear gas
into the compound. A fire broke out and most of the Branch Davidian
members were killed, including 17 children.
On Monday, Riddle became the last of the sect members indicted on
Aug. 6 to receive a detention hearing.
U.S. District Judge Walter Smith was expected to set a November tri
al date in Waco for the defendants, who will be tried together.
The government intends to prove that Riddle and 11 other Branch
Davidians were sharpshooters who gunned down four special agents
of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and wounded 16 oth
ers during the botched raid.
Prosecutors have relied on hundreds of photographs, audio tapes
and videotapes compiled during and after the standoff to piece togeth
er a crime scene destroyed by the fire.
Government attorneys have refused to comment about their case.
See Cult/Page 3
What I wish I'd known
before I enrolled at Texas A&M ...
Compiled by Michelle Tremblay
The Battalion "I wish I would have truly understood how
much studying is required to succeed at A&M,
and that you have to be your own motivator."
— Jill Trotter, sophomore microbiology major
from Marble Falls
'"N
W
"If I would have known the
Aggie spirit and tradition were
so great I would have been pre
pared for it. I didn't expect it to
be so overwhelming."
— Gregg Blanchard, junior kinesiology
major from Spring
*
"I wish I would have known I
would love it here so I would not
have worried about the decision to
come to A & M."
— Sarah Lineberger, sophomore
agricultural development major
from College Station
"I anticipated a lot
of problems, but regis
tering was easier than
I expected. But catch
me in a month, and
then see..."
— Chad Bedwell,
transfer freshman bioengineering
major from Dallas
"How to respond to certain situations culturally. The norm is
different for me, and A&M is a different culture within a culture.
Before college, T thought to get my head submerged in books and
do nothing. But you are supposed to be learning how to communi
cate, the books are just a catalyst, you are the one to initiate it."
— Thaw Win, senior business major from Burma
St. Paul’s United Methodist Church
2506 Cavitt, Bryan 779-7608
„ (Between S. College and Texas)
Worship services
8:30 & 11:00 a.m.
Sunday School
9:45 a.m.
"Small enough to know you,
large enough to serve you."
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MW 4:10-5:25 p.m.
006 Zachry
Instructor: Dr. Mara Helmuth
Course Description:
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aesthetically and historically. _The rapid pace of technological development has spurred
diverse trends in musical style in the last 50 years. Musicians are exploring scientific views
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For more information, call 845-3355. j.n
The Battalion
CHRIS WHITLEY, Editor in chief
JULI PHILLIPS, Managing editor MARK EVANS, City editor
DAVE THOMAS, Night News editor ANAS BEN-MUSA, Agg/e//fe editor
BELINDA BLANCARTE, Night News editor MICHAEL PLUMER, Sports editor
MACK HARRISON, Opinion editor WILLIAM HARRISON, Sports editor
KYLE BURNETT, Photo editor
Staff Members
City desk — Jason Cox, April Arias, James Bernsen, Michele Brinkmann, Lisa Elliott, Cheryl
Heller, Jan Higginbotham, Jennifer Kiley, Mary Kujawa, Kevin Lindstrom, Jackie Mason, Kim
McGuire, Jennifer Mentlik, Carrie Miura, Stephanie Pattillo, Geneen Pipher, Melinda Rich,
Jennifer Smith and Michelle Tremblay
News desk - Robert Clark, Susan Owen, Jennifer Petteway, Khristy Rouw and Heather Winch
Photographers — Richard Dixon, Craig ^ox, Kevin Ivy, Billy Moran and Nicole Rohrman
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John Scroggs, Frank Stanford, Jason Sweeny, Robert Vasquez and Eliot Williams
Cartoonists — Jason Brown, Boomer Cardinale, Clifton Hashimoto, George Nasr, Gerardo
Quezada and Edward Zapeda
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The Battalion (USPS 045-360) is published daily, Monday through Friday during the fall and
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