Thomas Lee Ward
   HOME
*





Thomas Lee Ward
Thomas Lee Ward (c. 1936 – May 16, 1995) was an American murderer. He was tried, convicted, and executed by lethal injection in Louisiana for the murder of his stepfather-in-law Wilbert John Spencer. Overview On the night of June 22, 1983, Ward arrived by bus in New Orleans, Louisiana from California, where he had just been released from jail after serving 60 days for molesting his 10-year-old daughter. He went to the residence of Lydia and John Spencer, the mother and stepfather of his estranged wife, Linda. Ward's wife and children were also staying at the house. Ward was allowed into the house to visit his children. He asked and was allowed to bathe and freshen up. Ward learned that his wife had begun receiving welfare and the family was having some trouble with one of the daughters. Ward later claimed that this upset him, but rather than saying or doing anything rash, he left the house. He then went to a local bar where he drank vodka and beer and "hit up" with cocaine. Wa ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the crime of killing a person with malice aforethought or with recklessness manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life.") This state of mind may, depending upon the jurisdiction (area), jurisdiction, distinguish murder from other forms of unlawful homicide, such as manslaughter. Manslaughter is killing committed in the absence of Malice (law), ''malice'',This is "malice" in a technical legal sense, not the more usual English sense denoting an emotional state. See malice (law). brought about by reasonable Provocation (legal), provocation, or diminished capacity. Involuntary manslaughter, ''Involuntary'' manslaughter, where it is recognized, is a killing that lacks all but the most a ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Capital Punishment In The United States
In the United States, capital punishment is a legal penalty throughout the country at the federal level, in 27 states, and in American Samoa. It is also a legal penalty for some military offenses. Capital punishment has been abolished in 23 states and in the federal capital, Washington, D.C. Capital punishment is, in practice, only applied for aggravated murder. Although it is a legal penalty in 27 states, only 20 states have the ability to execute death sentences, with the other seven, as well as the federal government, being subject to different types of moratoriums. The existence of capital punishment in the United States can be traced to early colonial Virginia. However, the unique nature of capital punishment being removed and reinstated into law throughout American history at different points in time is related to and aligns with the United States' racial history and its enslavement then prejudice towards Black Americans''.'' Along with Japan, South Korea, Capital punish ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


American People Convicted Of Murder
American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, people who self-identify their ancestry as "American" ** American English, the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States ** Native Americans in the United States, indigenous peoples of the United States * American, something of, from, or related to the Americas, also known as "America" ** Indigenous peoples of the Americas * American (word), for analysis and history of the meanings in various contexts Organizations * American Airlines, U.S.-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas * American Athletic Conference, an American college athletic conference * American Recordings (record label), a record label previously known as Def American * American University, in Washington, D.C. Sports teams Soccer * ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

1995 Deaths
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake strikes Kobe, Japan, killing 5,000-6,000 people; The Unabomber Manifesto is published in several U.S. newspapers; Gravestones mark the victims of the Srebrenica massacre near the end of the Bosnian War; Windows 95 is launched by Microsoft for PC; The first exoplanet, 51 Pegasi b, is discovered; Space Shuttle Atlantis docks with the Space station Mir in a display of U.S.-Russian cooperation; The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City is bombed by domestic terrorists, killing 168., 300x300px, thumb rect 0 0 200 200 O. J. Simpson murder case rect 200 0 400 200 Kobe earthquake rect 400 0 600 200 Unabomber Manifesto rect 0 200 300 400 Oklahoma City bombing rect 300 200 600 400 Srebrenica massacre rect 0 400 200 600 Space Shuttle Atlant ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

1936 Births
Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII. * January 28 – Britain's King George V state funeral takes place in London and Windsor. He is buried at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle * February 4 – Radium E (bismuth-210) becomes the first radioactive element to be made synthetically. * February 6 – The 1936 Winter Olympics, IV Olympic Winter Games open in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. * February 10–February 19, 19 – Second Italo-Ethiopian War: Battle of Amba Aradam – Italian forces gain a decisive tactical victory, effectively neutralizing the army of the Ethiopian Empire. * February 16 – 1936 Spanish general election: The left-wing Popular Front (Spain), Popular Front coalition takes a majority. * February 26 – February 26 Inci ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Capital Punishment In Illinois
Capital punishment has been repealed in the U.S. state of Illinois since 2011. Illinois used death by hanging as a form of execution until 1928. The last person executed by this method was the public execution of Charles Birger the same year. After being struck down by ''Furman v. Georgia'' in 1972, the death penalty was reinstated in Illinois on July 1, 1974, but voided by the Supreme Court of Illinois in 1975. Illinois officially reinstated the death penalty on July 1, 1977. On September 8, 1983, the state adopted lethal injection as the default method of execution in Illinois, but the electric chair remained operational to replace lethal injection if needed. In 1994, the state executed serial killer John Wayne Gacy by lethal injection, who sexually assaulted, tortured and murdered at least 33 teenage boys and young men between 1972 and 1978 in Cook County (a part of metropolitan Chicago). The last man executed in Illinois was Ripper Crew member Andrew Kokoraleis in 1999. An ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Girvies Davis And Richard Holman
Girvies L. Davis (January 20, 1958 – May 17, 1995) and Richard "Ricky" Holman (born August 20, 1961) were American serial killers who killed at least four people during robberies in Illinois between 1978 and 1979. Davis, the older of the two, told an investigator that shooting witnesses was "easier" than wearing a mask. The two were nicknamed "The .22 Caliber Killers". Davis was executed in 1995, while Holman, too young to be executed, is serving a life sentence. Davis and Holman committed their crimes at the same time and in the same region as Andre Jones and Freddie Tiller. Consequently, all four men received extensive local media coverage. Early life Davis, one of eight children, grew up in poverty in East St. Louis. His 4th grade teacher, Annie Quinley Petchulat, described him as "a poor pathetic boy who just sat there and said nothing." Before the murders, Davis was known by the police as a small-time thief, a re-seller of stolen goods, and an alcoholic. Murders, ar ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Capital Punishment In Alabama
Capital punishment in Alabama is a legal penalty. The state has the highest per capita capital sentencing rate in the United States. In some years, its courts impose more death sentences than Texas, a state that has a population five times as large. However, Texas has a higher rate of executions both in absolute terms and per capita. Legal process When the prosecution seeks the death penalty, the sentence is decided by the jury and at least 10 jurors must concur. In case of a hung jury during the penalty phase of the trial, a retrial happens before another jury. Until 2017, Alabama was the only state which still allowed a judge to impose death against jury verdict in favor of life imprisonment. The power of clemency belongs to the Governor of Alabama. The method of execution is lethal injection, unless the condemned requests electrocution or nitrogen hypoxia. Nitrogen hypoxia was approved in 2018, but as of 2022 it had not yet been used. If the method selected by the offende ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Execution Of Antonio James
Antonio G. James (c. 1954 – March 1, 1996) was an American murderer. He was tried and executed in Louisiana for the murder of Henry Silver. James claims to have not been the murderer in the event and held that conviction to his death. This case is notable not for any unusual or intrinsic aspect, but for being one of the few such cases that ever comes to the attention of the general public. Like the case of Edward Earl Johnson whose last days on death row in Mississippi were filmed for the BBC in 1987 as ''Fourteen Days in May'', this case came to light precisely because it was so ordinary, and was seen to be so. To some it demonstrated the need for capital punishment to protect the public from such dangerous people. To others it demonstrated the inhumanity of death row. Whatever conclusions were reached, this case remains one of the few such cases in the public domain that does not involve a celebrity perpetrator or victim, and so reminds all concerned of nature of most capital cas ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Robert Sawyer (murderer)
Robert Wayne Sawyer (c. 1951 – March 5, 1993) was an American convicted murderer. He was tried, convicted, and executed by the state of Louisiana for the murder of Frances Arwood. He was the first inmate put to death by lethal injection in Louisiana. Allegations about Sawyer’s mental capacity were made after his conviction. Overview On September 28, 1979, Robert Sawyer, Frances Arwood, and Charles W. Lane were at Cynthia Shano's mother's house in Gretna, Louisiana. Arwood was Shano's sister in law, and was baby-sitting with Shano's two small children, who were also present. Sawyer lived at the residence with Shano. When Shano returned home at approximately 12:30 p.m., Sawyer, Lane, and Arwood were arguing. As the arguing continued, Sawyer pushed Arwood's head back against a sofa bed and hit her in the face. At this point, Lane also hit Arwood in the face with his fist. Sawyer then started hitting her in the chest. As Arwood tried to get up from the bed, Sawyer kicked her ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]