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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 9, 1998)
iday • February 9, 1998 The Battalion aggp mm I : : :ate execution planned this week JNTSVILLE (AP) — An East . . i laborer convicted of killing Op^'. people during a shooting ' i is scheduled this week for ttion that’s expected to gen- little of the worldwide com- on fhat marked Karla Faye 'rsr’s punishment, mdemned killer Steven Renfro that no appeals be pursued and le receive lethal injection Mon- ;ight for the Aug. 25, 1996 ram- that left his live-in girlfriend, an and an acquaintance dead and “ shall police officer wounded, don’t think it’s going to be any- ; like last Tuesday,” Texas De- nent of Criminal Justice ssperson Larry Fitzgerald said, le Tucker execution last week an estimated 1,200 singing, a! jngor cheering spectators and 200 reporters and photogra- to the grounds of the prison wntown Huntsville. |L^—icker, 38, convicted of a pickax |Jt)Siiltkin I louston in 1983 that left 5/^ people dead, became the first an executed in Texas since the War and the first in the nation ,! 1984. Her attractive looks and q -again Christian beliefs made media darling in television ap- 1 ances broadcast around the world.Harrison County District At torney Rick Berry said he watched news reports of the Tucker execu tion last week keeping in mind his case was six days away and next on the lethal injection schedule. In the history of crime scene in vestigations conducted by the Texas Department of Public Safety, only the Branch Davidian shootout at Waco and the Luby’s massacre in Killeen ri val the amount of gunfire, Berry said. After a night of what authorities called a drug-booze orgy, Renfro be came angry, put on camouflage cloth ing, darkened his face with shoe pol ish and armed himself with assault weapons and large-caliber pistols. At home he shot his girlfriend, Rhena Fultner, 36, and his aunt, Rose Rutledge, 66. Then he went to the nearby trailer home of an ac quaintance, George Counts, 40, against whom he had a grudge, and fatally shot him, firing more than 150 rounds at the mobile home. When police responding to re ports of gunfire arrived at the scene, he opened fire again, wounding Marshall Officer Dominic Pondant in the shoulder and turning his pa trol car “into Swiss cheese,” accord ing to Berry. Despite his wound, Pon dant was able to shoot Renfro in the ensuing battle in which police were outgunned by Renfro’s .45- and .50- caliber handguns and an AR-15 rifle and some 500 rounds of ammuni tion, including 300 rounds loaded. “I killed them all,” the wounded Renfro told officers who arrested him at the scene. Less than a year ago he was con victed of capital murder, ending his trial by telling the jury he should be put to death. “He felt he would kill people in the future, injure people,” Beny said. “I ar gued the wishes of Mr. Renfro didn’t matter. This case deserved the death penalty and that’s what the jury agreed on by returning that verdict.” Berry said after the trial, he and Renfro — high school classmates in Marshall — talked for a couple of hours about how fate had brought them back together. “He told me he wanted to go ahead and die, that he had done this horrible crime... that he wanted me to promise him to do whatever I could to make sure it moved as quickly and smoothly as I could,” Berry continued. “And if I would do that, he wouldn’t file any appeals and also would work toward has tening this process. “And so here we are.” mflicting testimony casts doubt on Zamora )RT WORTH (AP) — Unraveling a former Naval hipman’s youthful, innocent image, prosecutors called a parade of witnesses to recount how she them of helping to kill a girl who had a fling with B ioyfriend. \ rors even heard that, with a stone cold face, Diane j ora told her academy roommate that Adrianne s was a “tramp” who “deserved to die for taking 'sthing that did not belong to her.” ^ ■ it every tale Zamora’s friends retold was vastly dif- 120,*: it, raising the possibility that none of the eerie soap ; is the truth and casting doubt on a damning con- in she gave police. ■NNMnanaMMHMani /Ve’re going to show that the :ment Diane made to police d not have been accurate and (5 given under duress,” lead de- 3 attorney John Linebarger said veek. “She did not commit cap- ifnufder.” v/he confession is crucial for state rneys because they are prosecut- jora under the “law of par- ” a Texas statute that makes any implice to a crime guilty of the worst offense corn ed in its commission. oth si des agree that David Graham allegedly fired two shots at Jones. But prosecutors have used a confes- by Zamora and other evidence to show that she or- d the killing and helped by hitting her over the head, onically, Zamora’s credibility may have been shat- 1 because of the different stories her friends say old. fou can tell the truth 100 times, but you can’t tell ;ame lie twice,” said Bill Lane, a Fort Worth attor- :redited with creating the urban syndrome defense ag a capital murder trial. Ifie slaying was in retaliation for a sexual tryst Gra- “You can tell the truth 100 times, but you can’t tell the same lie twice.” Bill Lane attorney prah trial lawyers verbally reprimanded by judge dtILLO (AP) — Oprah Win y’s trial continues into its fourth ek on Mon- f with wit- sses still on ! Stand for tas cattle- in, who ac- se the talk iw host of faming beef. The plain 's’ attorneys i expected to Winfrey 1 several ure witnesses to the stand dur- ; the next few days. The talk show host, her pro duction company and vegetari an activist Howard Lyman are being sued for more than $10.3 million over an April 1996 show that suggested U.S. cattle could spread mad cow disease to peo ple in the United States and make AIDS look like the com mon cold. The cattlemen contend Winfrey edited the show to eliminate pro beef statements in favor of more alarming statements by Lyman, a former rancher who said that feed ing ground-up cattle parts to cat tle in America — a practice that now is banned — could spread mad cow disease. Winfrey de clared: “It’s stopped me cold from eating another burger.” Winfrey testified for most of three days, charming the jury and occasionally growing frustrated by redundant questions. She has been attending every day of the tri al, which results in lines outside the courthouse from fans hoping to view the proceedings. The audience’s behavior was complemented by the judge as court wrapped up Friday, but she scolded lawyers for both sides, telling them one thing they’ve got to do differently this week: Stop making faces in front of the jury during testimony. so...you think you can perform better than freudian slip? msc variety show applications available now! ...this ain’t your high school’s talent sho show off your talent at msc v ariety show held parent’s weekend, april 17 applications now available in the msc student programs office for questions or more info call stacy wilson at 845-1515 Presented by: Quantum Cow Tutoring: 260-COWS 2~9pm Sun-Thu. Thep/ace you go to get the stuff you need to pass your classes! CHEMISTRY OR&AivrXC BXOLO&Y PSYCHOLOGY ACCOUNTING 101, 102 Packets: Old Tests & Notes: Lab Study Guide/Tests 227/228/222 & Labs: Old Tests & Notes: Lab Study Guide/Tests 113 & 114 Semester Study Packet: Old Tests, Study Notes! 201/202/218 Packets: Old Tests & Notes: Lab Study Guide/Tests 107 Semester Study Packet: Old Tests, Study Notes! 209 & 229 Semester Study Packet: Help w/B‘s Vid. & Fin. St. ORGANIC 227 ORGANIC 228 ham had with Jones while driving her home from a track meet. Based on Zamora’s statement, prosecutors have al leged the girl hid in the back of a car while her boyfriend drove Jones to a remote lake on December 1995. Zamora allegedly hit Jones over the head with a dumbbell after jumping out of the back seat, then or dered Graham to shoot her when she tried to flee. But Jennifer McKeamy, a roommate who offered details from a late-night dorm-room conversation, said Zamora told her she was driving the car the night of the slaying, with Graham in the front seat and Jones in the back. mmmmmmmmmmmmm Jay Guild, who became a romantic interest of Zamora’s at the academy, told jurors another version of the story. In Guild’s version, Zamora never mentioned hitting Jones with weights and said they were all driving in Graham’s truck. Besides a questionable confes sion, prosecution efforts may also be hindered by more testimony from Chief Tarrant County medical examiner Dr. Marc Krouse. Krouse said that, of the items admitted as evidence, the wound only could have been caused by the butt of the gun later used to shoot Jones. “That was a good day for the defense,” Lane said. “They only have to show that there is reasonable doubt that she ordered the killing or participated in the crime, but the less she did physically to commit the crime, the easier that might be. That makes the confession even more important.” But even if the jury decides Zamora told different stories in her confessions, Lane said the defense still has a tough road ahead. “The different stories and Krouse’s testimony are the best things the defense has going for it,” Lane said. You call that a ^ Think you know what kissing is all about? Your better half thinks you could learn a few Ik things? Come join us as our awn anthropolo- ^ gy professor, Dr. Vaughn Bryant, explores^, ^Mthe beginnings of human smooching. Origin W of the Kiss will take place on Tuesday, | February 10, at 7 PM inside MSC 212. Free >e given to ever to comes door for this prelude to r-x * Persons with disabilities please Call 845- ISIS to inform ns of voui- special needs. We request notification fhret: <3i working days prior to the event to enable us to assist you to the best’nf o«r abilities. Presented /\, S( grkat issi 4 WWW V,,©-® 1 * CAREER Company Advanced Micro Devices BP America Central Intelligence Agency DSC Communications Ethicon Fisher-Rosemount Systems EMC Freese & Nichols General Electric H.E.B. Grocery IBM Ingersoll-Rand M&M Mars Motorola NASA-JSC National Instruments Nortel RELTEC S&S Energy Systems, Inc. SMI-Texas Solar Turbine Sparry-Sun Sulzer Intermedics, Inc. Texas Instruments The Trane Company ABB Lummus Global ABB Vetco Gray Alcatel ARGO Cryovac Decibel Products Eastman Entergy Flowtronex International Fluor Daniel, Inc. 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