Jeff Wood (prisoner)

Jeffery Lee Wood (born August 19, 1973) was scheduled to be executed by the state of Texas on August 21, 2008. Similar to Kenneth Foster,[1] Wood's execution stems from Texas's Law of Parties, a subset of the Felony-Murder doctrine.[2]

On January 2, 1996, Wood and Daniel Earl Reneau, parked outside a gas station. While Wood waited outside, Reneau entered the station and pointed a .22 caliber handgun at clerk Kris Keeran. When Keeran did not respond to Reneau's requests, Reneau shot the clerk, killing him almost instantly. Hearing the gunshot, Wood entered the gas station and found the clerk on the floor behind the counter. Wood then ran to the back, where he stole the surveillance video and fled from the scene with his accomplice. According to ABC News, Wood says he was forced by Reneau at gunpoint to take the surveillance video.[3] He then destroyed the video after showing it to his brother and telling him that he and Reneau had carried out the robbery and murder.

Wood was convicted and sentenced to be executed although he was not present in the store during the killing (he was outside), and claims that he was not aware that Reneau was going to use force. Additionally, Wood has a history of mental illness and was initially not mentally fit to stand trial.

The victim's father, Charles Keeran, has said he would like to see Wood live the rest of his life in prison instead of being executed. “The death penalty, to me, is the easy way out,” he said. “If you had to be down there and get up every morning, as hot and humid as it is, knowing that you are going to spend the rest of your life locked up under those conditions, that's punishment. That's what I think my son would want for him.”.[4]

A group of Texas legislators sent a letter to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles urging clemency for Wood.[5]

On August 19, 2008, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles voted 7–0 against clemency for Wood. The governor of Texas can only grant one 30-day stay of execution without a recommendation from the board for a longer stay.[6]

Five and one half hours before Wood's scheduled execution, a federal judge in San Antonio issued a stay of execution to allow a hearing to determine whether Wood was mentally competent.[7]

References

  1. ↑ In Rare Move, Texas Gov. Commutes Inmate's Death Sentence, http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=3541391
  2. ↑ What'S Wrong With The Felony Murder Rule
  3. ↑ Texas Man Who Didn't Kill May Be Executed. Jeff Wood Didn't Kill Kris Keeran, but He Is Set to Be Executed for Keeran's Death, http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=5532710&page=1
  4. ↑ Inmate's supporters appeal to governor, San Antonio Express News, August 3, 2008, http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/politics/Inmates_supporters_appeal_to_governor.html
  5. ↑ http://stopexecutions.blogspot.com/2008/08/letter-from-texas-legislators-to-texas.html
  6. ↑ http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5953000.html
  7. ↑ Federal Judge, Chastising the Texas Courts, Orders a Stay of Execution, New York Times, August 21, 2008, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/22/us/22texas.html
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