Rickey Lynn Lewis had never set foot in France. Yet his ashes were buried today [Sept 27, 2013] in the French city of Montpellier (southern France). Rickey Lynn Lewis, an East Texas man convicted of killing a man and raping his fiancee in 1990, was executed in Huntsville, Texas on April 9, 2013 after spending 19 years on Texas death row.
Lewis was adopted by a French couple of anti-death penalty activists, in 2003. They stood by his side until the day of his execution by lethal injection in April 2013.
Last Words:
"Ms. Connie Hilton, I'm sorry for what happened to you. If I hadn't raped you, then you wouldn't have lived. If you look at the transcripts, I didn't kill Mr. Newman and I didn't rob your house. There are two people still alive. I was just there. When I saw you in the truck driving away, I could have killed you but I didn't. I'm not a killer. My momma was abused. I'm sorry for what you've gone through. It wasn't me that harmed and stole all of your stuff. If you look at the transcripts you will see. I ask the good Lord to forgive me." Lewis then thanked his friends for their love and support and asked them to "get the transcripts, let the truth come out so that I do not die in vain. I thank the Lord for the man I am today. I have done all I can do to better myself, to learn to read and write. Take me to my King. OK, let me rest." As the drug began taking effect, he said he could feel it "burning my arm. I feel it in my throat. I'm getting dizzy...."∼Age 50
Classification: Murderer
Characteristics: Rape - Robbery
Number of victims: 1
Date of murder: September 17, 1990
Date of arrest: 3 days after
Date of birth: July 21, 1963
Victim profile: George Ray Newman, 45
Method of murder: Shooting
Location: Smith County, Texas, USA
Status: Sentenced to death on May 6, 1994
Rickey Lynn Lewis, a man twice sentenced to die for capital murder, was issued a death warrant Wednesday to be carried out next month. The 43-year-old was set to be executed on Sept. 7, 2005, by 114th District Judge Cynthia Stevens Kent, who found that all of his state and federal appeals had been exhausted.
Lewis was convicted for the Sept. 17, 1990, murder of George Newman during a burglary at the victim's house. He was also found guilty of sexually assaulting Newman's common-law wife, Connie Hilton.
Lewis, clad in a bright yellow jail jumpsuit and shackles and flanked by deputies, was transported from death row to Smith County for the hearing, after which he was escorted back to prison.
The convict hung his head after the date was announced but moments later, was smiling and talking with his attorney. A handful of people for the victims, including Ms. Hilton, sat in the court's gallery.
Judge Kent ruled in February that Lewis was not mentally retarded, a claim he used to try to escape the death chamber. The Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, which ordered the trial judge to preside over the writ of habeas corpus hearing, agreed with her ruling and ordered her to set an execution date.
Lewis, who has been on death row for about a decade, was convicted and twice sentenced to die for the capital murder. The first Smith County jury selected convicted Lewis and sentenced him to death. But in 1996, the Court of Criminal Appeals remanded the punishment back to the trial court.
In 1997, another jury again sentenced him to the death penalty, finding that he committed the murder deliberately, that there was a high probability he would be a continuing threat to society and that there were no mitigating circumstances that warranted a life sentence rather that the death penalty.
Former 241st District Judge Diane DeVasto set Lewis' execution date for Aug. 7, 2003 but Lewis' attorneys claimed he was mentally retarded, a matter that was finally settled this year. The final judgment came down when the Court of Criminal Appeals' affirmed Judge Kent's finding that Lewis is not mentally retarded.
Defense attorneys tried to prove that Lewis was wrongly sentenced to death. Mental retardation experts hired by the state testified that he has learning disabilities but is not retarded; doctors hired by the defense disagreed.
In a mental retardation claim, the defense has the burden of proof. The three-pronged approach to diagnosing mental retardation includes below-average intellectual functioning usually denoted by an IQ score of 70 or less, manifestation of the disorder by age 18 and consideration of adaptive functioning, or how a person operates in daily life. If the judge had ruled that Lewis was retarded, his sentence would have automatically been commuted to life in prison.
In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court prohibited the execution of mentally retarded people. Judge Kent concluded that Lewis entered the home to burglarize it but was interrupted by the victims. He shot Newman and sexually assaulted, bit and hit Ms. Hilton, threatening to kill her. He also killed the couple's dog.
The defendant's late mother's testimony during trial indicated he was a "bright" child who began having problems when the family moved in with his father, who beat him and whom he later shot to protect his mother.
The shooting occurred when he was 10 years old, she said. Lewis' capital murder trial attorney, Jeff Baynham, sat in on the hearing Wednesday for Lewis' appellate attorney Mike Charlton, of New Mexico. District Attorney Matt Bingham, First Assistant DA April Sikes and Assistant DA Mike West represented the state.
Lewis was adopted by a French couple of anti-death penalty activists, in 2003. They stood by his side until the day of his execution by lethal injection in April 2013.
Last Words:
"Ms. Connie Hilton, I'm sorry for what happened to you. If I hadn't raped you, then you wouldn't have lived. If you look at the transcripts, I didn't kill Mr. Newman and I didn't rob your house. There are two people still alive. I was just there. When I saw you in the truck driving away, I could have killed you but I didn't. I'm not a killer. My momma was abused. I'm sorry for what you've gone through. It wasn't me that harmed and stole all of your stuff. If you look at the transcripts you will see. I ask the good Lord to forgive me." Lewis then thanked his friends for their love and support and asked them to "get the transcripts, let the truth come out so that I do not die in vain. I thank the Lord for the man I am today. I have done all I can do to better myself, to learn to read and write. Take me to my King. OK, let me rest." As the drug began taking effect, he said he could feel it "burning my arm. I feel it in my throat. I'm getting dizzy...."∼Age 50
Classification: Murderer
Characteristics: Rape - Robbery
Number of victims: 1
Date of murder: September 17, 1990
Date of arrest: 3 days after
Date of birth: July 21, 1963
Victim profile: George Ray Newman, 45
Method of murder: Shooting
Location: Smith County, Texas, USA
Status: Sentenced to death on May 6, 1994
Rickey Lynn Lewis, a man twice sentenced to die for capital murder, was issued a death warrant Wednesday to be carried out next month. The 43-year-old was set to be executed on Sept. 7, 2005, by 114th District Judge Cynthia Stevens Kent, who found that all of his state and federal appeals had been exhausted.
Lewis was convicted for the Sept. 17, 1990, murder of George Newman during a burglary at the victim's house. He was also found guilty of sexually assaulting Newman's common-law wife, Connie Hilton.
Lewis, clad in a bright yellow jail jumpsuit and shackles and flanked by deputies, was transported from death row to Smith County for the hearing, after which he was escorted back to prison.
The convict hung his head after the date was announced but moments later, was smiling and talking with his attorney. A handful of people for the victims, including Ms. Hilton, sat in the court's gallery.
Judge Kent ruled in February that Lewis was not mentally retarded, a claim he used to try to escape the death chamber. The Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, which ordered the trial judge to preside over the writ of habeas corpus hearing, agreed with her ruling and ordered her to set an execution date.
Lewis, who has been on death row for about a decade, was convicted and twice sentenced to die for the capital murder. The first Smith County jury selected convicted Lewis and sentenced him to death. But in 1996, the Court of Criminal Appeals remanded the punishment back to the trial court.
In 1997, another jury again sentenced him to the death penalty, finding that he committed the murder deliberately, that there was a high probability he would be a continuing threat to society and that there were no mitigating circumstances that warranted a life sentence rather that the death penalty.
Former 241st District Judge Diane DeVasto set Lewis' execution date for Aug. 7, 2003 but Lewis' attorneys claimed he was mentally retarded, a matter that was finally settled this year. The final judgment came down when the Court of Criminal Appeals' affirmed Judge Kent's finding that Lewis is not mentally retarded.
Defense attorneys tried to prove that Lewis was wrongly sentenced to death. Mental retardation experts hired by the state testified that he has learning disabilities but is not retarded; doctors hired by the defense disagreed.
In a mental retardation claim, the defense has the burden of proof. The three-pronged approach to diagnosing mental retardation includes below-average intellectual functioning usually denoted by an IQ score of 70 or less, manifestation of the disorder by age 18 and consideration of adaptive functioning, or how a person operates in daily life. If the judge had ruled that Lewis was retarded, his sentence would have automatically been commuted to life in prison.
In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court prohibited the execution of mentally retarded people. Judge Kent concluded that Lewis entered the home to burglarize it but was interrupted by the victims. He shot Newman and sexually assaulted, bit and hit Ms. Hilton, threatening to kill her. He also killed the couple's dog.
The defendant's late mother's testimony during trial indicated he was a "bright" child who began having problems when the family moved in with his father, who beat him and whom he later shot to protect his mother.
The shooting occurred when he was 10 years old, she said. Lewis' capital murder trial attorney, Jeff Baynham, sat in on the hearing Wednesday for Lewis' appellate attorney Mike Charlton, of New Mexico. District Attorney Matt Bingham, First Assistant DA April Sikes and Assistant DA Mike West represented the state.
Rickey Lynn Lewis had never set foot in France. Yet his ashes were buried today [Sept 27, 2013] in the French city of Montpellier (southern France). Rickey Lynn Lewis, an East Texas man convicted of killing a man and raping his fiancee in 1990, was executed in Huntsville, Texas on April 9, 2013 after spending 19 years on Texas death row.
Lewis was adopted by a French couple of anti-death penalty activists, in 2003. They stood by his side until the day of his execution by lethal injection in April 2013.
Last Words:
"Ms. Connie Hilton, I'm sorry for what happened to you. If I hadn't raped you, then you wouldn't have lived. If you look at the transcripts, I didn't kill Mr. Newman and I didn't rob your house. There are two people still alive. I was just there. When I saw you in the truck driving away, I could have killed you but I didn't. I'm not a killer. My momma was abused. I'm sorry for what you've gone through. It wasn't me that harmed and stole all of your stuff. If you look at the transcripts you will see. I ask the good Lord to forgive me." Lewis then thanked his friends for their love and support and asked them to "get the transcripts, let the truth come out so that I do not die in vain. I thank the Lord for the man I am today. I have done all I can do to better myself, to learn to read and write. Take me to my King. OK, let me rest." As the drug began taking effect, he said he could feel it "burning my arm. I feel it in my throat. I'm getting dizzy...."∼Age 50
Classification: Murderer
Characteristics: Rape - Robbery
Number of victims: 1
Date of murder: September 17, 1990
Date of arrest: 3 days after
Date of birth: July 21, 1963
Victim profile: George Ray Newman, 45
Method of murder: Shooting
Location: Smith County, Texas, USA
Status: Sentenced to death on May 6, 1994
Rickey Lynn Lewis, a man twice sentenced to die for capital murder, was issued a death warrant Wednesday to be carried out next month. The 43-year-old was set to be executed on Sept. 7, 2005, by 114th District Judge Cynthia Stevens Kent, who found that all of his state and federal appeals had been exhausted.
Lewis was convicted for the Sept. 17, 1990, murder of George Newman during a burglary at the victim's house. He was also found guilty of sexually assaulting Newman's common-law wife, Connie Hilton.
Lewis, clad in a bright yellow jail jumpsuit and shackles and flanked by deputies, was transported from death row to Smith County for the hearing, after which he was escorted back to prison.
The convict hung his head after the date was announced but moments later, was smiling and talking with his attorney. A handful of people for the victims, including Ms. Hilton, sat in the court's gallery.
Judge Kent ruled in February that Lewis was not mentally retarded, a claim he used to try to escape the death chamber. The Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, which ordered the trial judge to preside over the writ of habeas corpus hearing, agreed with her ruling and ordered her to set an execution date.
Lewis, who has been on death row for about a decade, was convicted and twice sentenced to die for the capital murder. The first Smith County jury selected convicted Lewis and sentenced him to death. But in 1996, the Court of Criminal Appeals remanded the punishment back to the trial court.
In 1997, another jury again sentenced him to the death penalty, finding that he committed the murder deliberately, that there was a high probability he would be a continuing threat to society and that there were no mitigating circumstances that warranted a life sentence rather that the death penalty.
Former 241st District Judge Diane DeVasto set Lewis' execution date for Aug. 7, 2003 but Lewis' attorneys claimed he was mentally retarded, a matter that was finally settled this year. The final judgment came down when the Court of Criminal Appeals' affirmed Judge Kent's finding that Lewis is not mentally retarded.
Defense attorneys tried to prove that Lewis was wrongly sentenced to death. Mental retardation experts hired by the state testified that he has learning disabilities but is not retarded; doctors hired by the defense disagreed.
In a mental retardation claim, the defense has the burden of proof. The three-pronged approach to diagnosing mental retardation includes below-average intellectual functioning usually denoted by an IQ score of 70 or less, manifestation of the disorder by age 18 and consideration of adaptive functioning, or how a person operates in daily life. If the judge had ruled that Lewis was retarded, his sentence would have automatically been commuted to life in prison.
In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court prohibited the execution of mentally retarded people. Judge Kent concluded that Lewis entered the home to burglarize it but was interrupted by the victims. He shot Newman and sexually assaulted, bit and hit Ms. Hilton, threatening to kill her. He also killed the couple's dog.
The defendant's late mother's testimony during trial indicated he was a "bright" child who began having problems when the family moved in with his father, who beat him and whom he later shot to protect his mother.
The shooting occurred when he was 10 years old, she said. Lewis' capital murder trial attorney, Jeff Baynham, sat in on the hearing Wednesday for Lewis' appellate attorney Mike Charlton, of New Mexico. District Attorney Matt Bingham, First Assistant DA April Sikes and Assistant DA Mike West represented the state.
Lewis was adopted by a French couple of anti-death penalty activists, in 2003. They stood by his side until the day of his execution by lethal injection in April 2013.
Last Words:
"Ms. Connie Hilton, I'm sorry for what happened to you. If I hadn't raped you, then you wouldn't have lived. If you look at the transcripts, I didn't kill Mr. Newman and I didn't rob your house. There are two people still alive. I was just there. When I saw you in the truck driving away, I could have killed you but I didn't. I'm not a killer. My momma was abused. I'm sorry for what you've gone through. It wasn't me that harmed and stole all of your stuff. If you look at the transcripts you will see. I ask the good Lord to forgive me." Lewis then thanked his friends for their love and support and asked them to "get the transcripts, let the truth come out so that I do not die in vain. I thank the Lord for the man I am today. I have done all I can do to better myself, to learn to read and write. Take me to my King. OK, let me rest." As the drug began taking effect, he said he could feel it "burning my arm. I feel it in my throat. I'm getting dizzy...."∼Age 50
Classification: Murderer
Characteristics: Rape - Robbery
Number of victims: 1
Date of murder: September 17, 1990
Date of arrest: 3 days after
Date of birth: July 21, 1963
Victim profile: George Ray Newman, 45
Method of murder: Shooting
Location: Smith County, Texas, USA
Status: Sentenced to death on May 6, 1994
Rickey Lynn Lewis, a man twice sentenced to die for capital murder, was issued a death warrant Wednesday to be carried out next month. The 43-year-old was set to be executed on Sept. 7, 2005, by 114th District Judge Cynthia Stevens Kent, who found that all of his state and federal appeals had been exhausted.
Lewis was convicted for the Sept. 17, 1990, murder of George Newman during a burglary at the victim's house. He was also found guilty of sexually assaulting Newman's common-law wife, Connie Hilton.
Lewis, clad in a bright yellow jail jumpsuit and shackles and flanked by deputies, was transported from death row to Smith County for the hearing, after which he was escorted back to prison.
The convict hung his head after the date was announced but moments later, was smiling and talking with his attorney. A handful of people for the victims, including Ms. Hilton, sat in the court's gallery.
Judge Kent ruled in February that Lewis was not mentally retarded, a claim he used to try to escape the death chamber. The Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, which ordered the trial judge to preside over the writ of habeas corpus hearing, agreed with her ruling and ordered her to set an execution date.
Lewis, who has been on death row for about a decade, was convicted and twice sentenced to die for the capital murder. The first Smith County jury selected convicted Lewis and sentenced him to death. But in 1996, the Court of Criminal Appeals remanded the punishment back to the trial court.
In 1997, another jury again sentenced him to the death penalty, finding that he committed the murder deliberately, that there was a high probability he would be a continuing threat to society and that there were no mitigating circumstances that warranted a life sentence rather that the death penalty.
Former 241st District Judge Diane DeVasto set Lewis' execution date for Aug. 7, 2003 but Lewis' attorneys claimed he was mentally retarded, a matter that was finally settled this year. The final judgment came down when the Court of Criminal Appeals' affirmed Judge Kent's finding that Lewis is not mentally retarded.
Defense attorneys tried to prove that Lewis was wrongly sentenced to death. Mental retardation experts hired by the state testified that he has learning disabilities but is not retarded; doctors hired by the defense disagreed.
In a mental retardation claim, the defense has the burden of proof. The three-pronged approach to diagnosing mental retardation includes below-average intellectual functioning usually denoted by an IQ score of 70 or less, manifestation of the disorder by age 18 and consideration of adaptive functioning, or how a person operates in daily life. If the judge had ruled that Lewis was retarded, his sentence would have automatically been commuted to life in prison.
In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court prohibited the execution of mentally retarded people. Judge Kent concluded that Lewis entered the home to burglarize it but was interrupted by the victims. He shot Newman and sexually assaulted, bit and hit Ms. Hilton, threatening to kill her. He also killed the couple's dog.
The defendant's late mother's testimony during trial indicated he was a "bright" child who began having problems when the family moved in with his father, who beat him and whom he later shot to protect his mother.
The shooting occurred when he was 10 years old, she said. Lewis' capital murder trial attorney, Jeff Baynham, sat in on the hearing Wednesday for Lewis' appellate attorney Mike Charlton, of New Mexico. District Attorney Matt Bingham, First Assistant DA April Sikes and Assistant DA Mike West represented the state.
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