Elroy Chester Explained

Elroy Chester
Birth Date:14 June 1969
Birth Place:Jefferson County, Texas, U.S.
Death Place:Huntsville Unit, Huntsville, Texas, U.S.
Cause:Execution by lethal injection
Penalty:Death (September 26, 1998)
Victims:5
Country:United States
Conviction:Capital murder
Criminal Status:Executed
Beginyear:1997
Endyear:1998
States:Texas

Elroy Chester (June 14, 1969 – June 12, 2013) was an American serial killer who committed five murders in Texas. He was convicted and sentenced to death for one of the murders, and was executed in 2013.

Crimes

Between 1997 and 1998, a series of burglaries and fatal shootings occurred in Port Arthur, Texas. In every case but one, the victims died in their homes during the night. The five people which Chester admitted to killing[1] were:

Later his DNA was linked to three rapes, including that of a ten-year-old girl. He also confessed to four non-fatal shootings.[3] After his arrest, he said that he had committed these offenses because he was out of his mind "with hate for white people" due to lingering resentment over an altercation that he had once gotten into with a white employee of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.[4]

Trial

During his trial, Chester made multiple outbursts, threatened the lives of police officers, prison guards, and the families of jurors, and at one point declared, "If I hadn't shot my brother-in-law, I'd still be out there shooting white folks."[5]

He was convicted of the murder of Willie Ryman III and the assault of the two nieces. It took the jury only minutes to agree on a death sentence for Chester after he told them he would kill a guard if he was not sentenced to death.

The Texas court system ruled that Chester was legally competent to be executed,[6] despite scoring below 70 on IQ tests[7] and being previously placed in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's Mentally Retarded Offenders Program.[8] In the prosecution's closing arguments, it was argued that his disability was not a sufficient reason to stay his execution.

Since Chester was capable of hiding facts and lying to protect his own interests, using masks and gloves, and cutting exterior telephone lines before entering homes to burglarize, he showed persuasively that he was capable of forethought, planning, and complex execution of purpose. Therefore, the court found the evidence insufficient to support the claim that Chester was mentally retarded.

In October 2012, the Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal from Chester.[9]

Execution

Chester was originally scheduled for execution on April 24, 2013, but, due to an error in the execution warrant, the date was pushed back.

He was executed on June 12, 2013, at the Huntsville Unit, Huntsville, Texas, two days before his 44th birthday.[10]

He is buried at Captain Joe Byrd Cemetery.

In media

In 2013 a full-length documentary titled Killing Time was made about him and his execution.

In 2018 the case was covered by Investigation Discovery show Murder by Numbers, episode named Clown Mask Murders.[11]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: June 13, 2013 . Elroy Chester, Texas man who confessed to 5 killings, executed by lethal injection . June 14, 2013 . CBS News.
  2. Web site: Porter . Breck . 2008 . Condemned Port Arthur Killer Waits for Execution Date . dead . https://archive.today/20131209162818/http://thepolicenews.net/default.aspx?act=newsletter.aspx&category=true%20stories&newsletterid=11837 . December 9, 2013 . October 15, 2018 . thepolicenews.net . Archive.is.
  3. Web site: Elroy Chester #1334 . 2022-04-11 . www.clarkprosecutor.org.
  4. Web site: Elroy Chester executed for killing Port Arthur fireman. Internet Archive. June 12, 2013. 12newsnow.com. June 13, 2013. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304191345/http://www.12newsnow.com/story/22575498/elroy-chester-executed-for-killing-port-arthur-fireman. March 4, 2016.
  5. Web site: Appeals court upholds death sentence for Port Arthur killer. Houston Chronicle. December 30, 2011. chron.com. February 10, 2019.
  6. Web site: Smith . Jordan . June 7, 2013 . Death Watch: Chester to die June 12 . June 9, 2013 . austinchronicle.com . The Austin Chronicle.
  7. Web site: Lawyers worry new measure of mental retardation could prompt more executions. Dilts. Elizabeth. WebCite. May 13, 2013. newsandinsight.thomsonreuters.com. June 9, 2013. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130609154730/http://newsandinsight.thomsonreuters.com/Legal/News/2013/05_-_May/Lawyers_worry_new_measure_of_mental_retardation_could_prompt_more_executions/. June 9, 2013.
  8. Web site: Smart Enough to Die: In 2002, the Supreme Court banned the death penalty for mentally retarded defendants. Still, Texas finds a way.. Smith. Jordan. The Austin Chronicle. April 19, 2013. austinchronicle.com. June 9, 2013.
  9. Web site: October 29, 2012 . Elroy Chester, Texas Death Row Inmate, Gets Case Turned Away By Supreme Court . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160305035913/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/29/elroy-chester-texas-death-row-supreme-court_n_2038869.html . March 5, 2016 . June 9, 2013 . huffingtonpost.com . Internet Archive.
  10. News: Graczyk . Michael . PA man gives last words before execution . Associated Press . Beaumont Enterprise . January 20, 2022 . January 20, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220120082711/https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/Elroy-Chester-executed-for-1998-Port-Arthur-4597279.php . dead .
  11. Web site: Watch Murder By Numbers Season 2 Prime Video. 2021-11-07. www.amazon.com.