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Conway given life for Orange killingCox News ServiceORANGE — Robert King “Bubba” Conway Jr., 20, was sentenced to life in prison Friday for the strangulation death last December of William Keisler Hoke, 71, a longtime service station owner in Orange.District Judge Pat Clark assessed the sentence after a six-man, six-woman jury spent a little more than an hour deliberating two questionsThey decided, yes, Conway did intend to commit the murder, but, no, they could not say there was a probability of his committing future violent acts that would represent a threat to societyHad they answered yes to the second question, Conway would have been sentenced to die by lethal injection.Conway, a Pinehurst resident, was found guilty Wednesday of beating Hoke, strangling him with a homemade garrote wire and robbing him of littlemore than $1,000.Security in the courtroom was beefed up before the jury announced its decision, with sheriff’s deputies taking seats on a bench in front of the Conway family while other officers, including Constable Jack Thompson and investigators Noe Martinez and Jim Reed with the county attorney’s office, were elsewhere in the courtroom.Conway was taken out of the courtroom soon after the decision was announced, but instead of his walking back to the jail, a car was there to transport him.Jurors deliberated Conway’s fate after listening to final arguments in the punishment phase from defense and prosecuting attorneys.County Attorney Stephen Howard, in arguing for the death penalty, remained low-key, telling jurors the case represented a tragedy for the Hoke and Conway families He said if jurors answered yes to both questions “itwon’t bring me any feelings of success 1 personally feel all life is sacred.’’He said jurors would have to base their decision on the law and evidence.He called Hoke’s killing an “extraor dinarily. brutal crime,’’ one a psychiatrist called “overkill.”Defense Attorney Jerry Pennington gave an emotional appeal to jurors, saying, “1 still have a love in my heart for a fellow human being, Robert Conway, and perhaps that will help me reach out to you.”Killing Conway, he said, would only mean that two would be dead instead of one, with even more people suffering the tragic loss of a family member
Newspaper Details
Port Arthur News
Port Arthur, Texas, US
Sat, Aug 02, 1986
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
Jared T.
NA, NA 22 Feb 2023
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