Kenneth Eugene Foster Jr. (born October 22, 1976) is a prisoner formerly on

death row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting Capital punishment, execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of ...

in Texas, convicted under the Texas law of parties. At 19 years old, he was convicted of murdering Michael LaHood Jr. on August 15, 1996 at 2:46 a.m., despite not firing a shot. He was driving with three friends (Julius Steen, Mauriceo Brown, and DeWayne Dillard) committing some robberies, when Mauriceo Brown allegedly exited the car, and shot and killed Michael LaHood Jr. Foster's conviction and execution were contested because he was convicted under the law of parties, not for physically committing the crime. While Texas law uses the phrase, "law of parties," this concept is simply a form of "felony murder," a ubiquitous legal standard well known in both common law and by statute. 43 of the 50 United States have some form of felony murder. Under felony murder, a person may be criminally liable if the accused causes the death of another person in the course of committing a separate felony. Of the 43 states with some form of felony murder, there are at least four approaches related to variables such as degree of negligence, proof of "malice," or in 28 states proof of a related death and the mere act of committing the separate felony are sufficient. Foster,

Texas Department of Criminal Justice The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is a department of the government of the U.S. state of Texas. The TDCJ is responsible for statewide criminal justice for adult offenders, including managing offenders in state prisons, state jails, ...

(TDCJ) death row #999232, was received on death row on July 1, 1997. He was initially located in the

Ellis Unit O. B. Ellis Unit (E1, previously Ellis I Unit) is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison located in unincorporated Walker County, Texas, north of Huntsville. The unit, with about of space, now houses up to 2,400 male prisoners.

, but was transferred to the

Allan B. Polunsky Unit Allan B. Polunsky Unit (TL, formerly the Terrell Unit) is a prison in West Livingston, unincorporated Polk County, Texas, United States, located approximately southwest of Livingston along Farm to Market Road 350. - Note the 2010 U.S. Cens ...

(formerly the Terrell Unit) in 1999. Texas Governor

Rick Perry James Richard Perry (born March 4, 1950) is an American politician who served as the 14th United States secretary of energy from 2017 to 2019 and as the 47th governor of Texas from 2000 to 2015. Perry also ran unsuccessfully for the Republica ...

commuted the death sentence to 40 years to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

only six hours before the execution was scheduled to take place on August 30, 2007. Foster will be eligible for parole in 2036. He is currently incarcerated at the Stiles Facility of the

and is assigned to the facility's administrative segregation. Mauriceo Brown, the man who pulled the trigger on Michael LaHood Jr., was executed on July 19, 2006.

References

External links

"Free Kenneth Foster" website

Kenneth Foster Interview, July 25, 2007
(Archive.org)
"Lone Star Statement - poem performed by Kenneth Foster on Death Row"
(Video)
"I Am a Killer" - Season 1, Episode 2 (Kenneth Foster) on Netflix
1976 births Living people American people convicted of murder American prisoners sentenced to death Place of birth missing (living people) People convicted of murder by Texas Prisoners sentenced to death by Texas Recipients of American gubernatorial clemency {{US-crime-bio-stub

See also

References

External links