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Thursday, January 18, 2007
Media Advisory: Ronald Chambers Scheduled For Execution
AUSTIN – Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott offers the following information about Ronald Curtis Chambers, who is scheduled to be executed after 6 p.m. Thursday, January 25, 2007. In 1992, Chambers was convicted and sentenced to death for the third time for the 1975 Dallas County capital murder of Mike McMahan. A summary of the evidence presented at trial follows.
FACTS OF THE CRIME
On the night of April 10, 1975, Chambers and codefendant Clarence Ray Williams kidnaped Mike McMahan and his date Deia Sutton from the parking lot of a Dallas nightclub. The kidnapers robbed the couple and took them to the levee on the Trinity River, where Chambers forced Sutton and McMahan from the car and ordered them down the embankment. Sutton saw Chambers with a shotgun and a pistol. then heard five gunshots and was struck in the back of the neck by a bullet and fell. McMahan was also struck and rolled down the hill. Chambers and Williams then retreated up the hill.
Unfortunately, McMahan called out to Deia to see if she was alright. Sutton heard Williams say, “Hey, man, they’re not dead,” and Chambers respond, “They gotta be dead. I shot 'em in the head.” Then both Williams and Chambers came back down the hill, where Chambers struck McMahan ten to twenty times in the head with the barrel of the shotgun, and ordered Williams to take the woman into the water. Williams pulled Deia to the water and attempted to choke and drown her. When Chambers finished beating McMahan, he walked toward Deia. As she begged him not to kill her, he raised his shotgun over his head and struck her three times. Chambers and Williams left both victims for dead, but Deia survived. McMahan died as a result of multiple blows to the head; he also suffered a punctured lung and two gunshot wounds.
PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Apr. 21, 1975 — A Dallas County grand jury indicted Chambers for capital murder in the death of Mike McMahan.
Dec. 18, 1975 — Judgment was entered after a jury found Chambers guilty of capital murder and following a separate punishment hearing, the court assessed a sentence of death.
May 24, 1978 — The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed Chambers’ conviction and sentence on direct appeal.
Dec. 5, 1984 — The Court of Criminal Appeals granted Chambers’ successive application for state habeas relief and set aside Chambers’ conviction based on the State’s failure to mirandize him before having him interviewed by a State psychiatrist.
Nov. 1, 1985 — Chambers was reindicted on capital murder charges.
Dec. 20, 1985 — Judgment was entered after a jury found Chambers guilty of capital murder and following a separate punishment hearing, the court assessed a sentence of death.
Oct. 25, 1989 — The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reversed Chambers’ second conviction for Batson v. Estelle error.
June 26, 1992 — Judgment was again entered after a jury found Chambers guilty of capital murder and following a separate punishment hearing, the court assessed a sentence of death.
June 28, 1995 — The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed Chambers’ conviction and sentence were affirmed on direct appeal.
Mar. 24, 1999 — The Court of Criminal Appeals denied Chambers’ application for state habeas relief and adopted the findings of the trial court.
Oct. 26, 1999 — Chambers filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in a U.S. district court.
Aug. 26, 2003 — The federal district court denied Chambers federal habeas relief.
Jul. 21, 2006 — The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court’s denial of relief.
Oct. 17, 2006 — Chambers petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for certiorari review. This action remains pending.
PRIOR CRIMINAL HISTORY
Chambers was nineteen at the time he committed the murder but did not have any prior convictions.
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