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Washington ReceivesLife In Prisonttv i \MM IA HIMtNi aJv m. 1 Jw.ird Washington, M,will k»c vcntciuoJ to life m prison tor the killing ot Juanita While on MaKh 2 I he punishmentwas handed down iate Mondav a!:cTikHn bv a urv in *4th State I hstnct C ourtJudge l*corgc -Mien ^enten^cd W ashington alter the jurv ^ould not agree unanimously on the question of the defendant being a continuous threat to evicts4flrWashington wav found guilts late I ridas afternoon of capital murder Die urs of six men and six women took almost four hours to find the defendant guilts of capital murder I ridas, each side, the state and defense, were given one hour and forts fisc minutes to argue for their case before the juryWitnesses ^ailed Mondas for the■''■T wpunishment phase included three for the state and four for the dcfen-sCRands I urnbough. Mcl ennanI ount Deputy Sheriff, testified for the state that he had taken the fingerprints of Washington againduring the weekend It was not pointed out why.Das id Morrison, Jr testified that Washington had burglari/ed hishomeJames Robinson, a former cellmate of W ashington testified the defendant had told him “he was going to kill the snitches.”The state produced records that indicated W ashington had two prior cons ictions. One in 1977 and another in 1982, neither of which were violent crimes. They were bothburglaries.The defense called Sam King, Jr. an employee with the State of Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to the stand King said Washington had been his part of his case load since January 22, 1986. At the time Washington was on parole from the Texas Department of Corrections.King said, “Washington had committed no acts of violence and was making a good adjustment to life outside prison.Asked if he would be a continuing threat to society, King answered, In my opinion I don’t• »believe he will, in relation to a^’o ofviolenceBrsant Burleson, who worked for the Surd ot parole^ from 19“* to |9*9 and as a private snvestigatoron tho case for the defense, alsotestified that he Jid not believeWashington would be a threat to society m regards to acts of violencc “Me committed none while 1was his ^ase officer,” Burleson toldthe juryCoy Jones. Mcl ennan County Deputy, testified that during the time Washington has been in ja.il. March P. 1986 to the present date,he has not had any disciplinarv a*, ttons against himRodney Steve Spence, Clifton, win of Juanita White and brother David Spence, who is on death row in Huntsville, took the stand for the defense, said he had been keeping up with the trial and that he wanted to see the right thing doneThe court had ruled that Spence could not be questioned about his feelings on the death penalty.But his appearance on behalf of the defense was noted by the state, when Assistant DA Karen .Amos asked Spence if he and his mother had ever discussed the death penalty and if their opinion was the same, to which Spence replied “yes.” Representing the state in the prosecution of Washington were Amos and Scott Peterson, assistant district attorneys.wRepresenting the defense were court appointed attorneys, Doug Honager, Ken Abies and Ken Crow.The trial which featured mostly jailhousc testimony, began November 30. Also questioned during the trial was deals made with the witnesses on the stand about pending cases.Several of the witnesses testified they had lied during the trial of Joe Sidney Williams, co-defendant in the case.No factual evidence, such as fingerprints, shoe prints, bite marks were ever introduced. However, he was known to be a friend of Williams and testimony from the stand was that he was in the area of N. 15th on March 1, 1987.With good time counted, Washington could serve only 20 years of the life sentence.
Newspaper Details
Waco Citizen
Waco, Texas, US
Tue, Dec 15, 1987
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Jared T.
NA, NA 22 Feb 2023
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