TEXAS: Longest-serving death row inmate heads to court

Exactly 29 years after he arrived on Texas death row, the state's longest-serving condemned prisoner was returning to court Thursday for a hearing to investigate whether his claims of mental retardation could allow his death sentence to be commuted.

Walter Bell, 50, was condemned for the 1974 slayings of a Port Arthur couple, Ferd and Irene Chisum, at their home.

Unlike convicted killer Kelsey Patterson, whose claims of mental illness failed to block his execution Tuesday in Huntsville, Bell's attorneys were pointing to numerous records from as far back as elementary school that show Bell with a history of mental retardation.

The U.S. Supreme Court 2 years ago ruled mentally retarded people may not be put to death. At least 3 Texas inmates facing imminent execution have had their punishments halted this year based on the high court's decision.

And last month, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Texas' highest criminal court, for the 1st time commuted a death sentence because the convict was deemed retarded.

State District Judge Charles Carver will consider evidence from Bell's hearing and send his conclusions to the Court of Criminal Appeals, which will decide whether to commute, overturn or affirm Bell's death sentence.

"Basically, it's a hearing to determine whether he has mental retardation and is ineligible for the death penalty," said William Christian III, Bell's attorney. "The records uniformly state he has retardation."

Rod Conerly, a prosecutor in Jefferson County, where Bell has been convicted and condemned in three separate trials related to the Port Arthur murders, doesn't believe the Supreme Court decision applies to Bell. He argues Bell planned to kill the Chisums, brought handcuffs and an extension cord to their home to restrain them and forced Chisum's wife to write him checks, showing a sophistication that is "indicative of someone who is not mentally retarded."

In 1974, Bell was convicted of killing Irene Chisum and given the death penalty. On appeal, the sentence was commuted to life. In 1982, he was convicted of Ferd Chisum's slaying. That conviction was overturned on appeal. Then in 1994, he was retried and condemned for Ferd Chisum's murder. It's that death sentence that's being challenged.

"He absolutely has benefited from changes in the law," Conerly said. "So who knows? We'll just play out the scene and see what happens."

Bell had been fired from his job at Ferd Chisum's appliance store and was arrested after he tried to cash checks written by Chisum's wife. Bell said the checks were given to him by friends and denied responsibility for beating, strangling and stabbing Chisum and raping and strangling his wife. Their bodies were found in a bathtub.

"Everything was framed up," he said of the charges against him.

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Death penalty opponents criticize execution in Texas

Death penalty opponents who drew hope from a rare recommendation of mercy from the Texas parole board criticized Gov. Rick Perry on Wednesday for allowing the lethal injection of a paranoid schizophrenic killer to go forward.

In the months and years before Kelsey Patterson was put to death inside a Texas prison, he refused to consult with his lawyer and wrote incoherent, jabbering letters to the courts.

During his trial for two murders, he frequently talked about "remote control devices" and "implants" that controlled him.

Earlier, on Sept. 25, 1992, after fatally shooting the businessman and his secretary, Patterson stripped off his clothes and walked in front of his house, where he was arrested.

Patterson was 1 of just 3 condemned murderers recommended for clemency by the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles since 1999. On Tuesday, Perry became the 1st Texas governor to reject such a recommendation since the death penalty was reinstated in 1982, and Patterson was put to death.

"He could have used this opportunity to educate the public about the issue of mental illness. Instead, he succumbed to the culture of fear and benign indifference," said David Elliot of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.

The Supreme Court ruled in 1986 that an inmate may not be executed if he doesn't know why he's on death row and the punishment he faces.

During his parole hearing, Patterson's lawyers argued that he was "completely dysfuntional" and should be spared. State attorneys argued he understood why he was on death row and knew he was facing execution.

In a statement Tuesday, Perry noted that state and federal courts had reviewed and rejected Patterson's appeals. "Death penalty decisions are never easy, and this one is particularly difficult, not only because of the brutal murder of two innocent victims of this crime, but also because of Mr. Patterson's mental and criminal history, including 2 prior charges of attempted murder," Perry said.

The governor's office declined further comment Wednesday.

Linda Garcia, a member of the parole board who voted to grant Patterson clemency, said she was "neither disappointed or surprised" by Perry's decision. She said Patterson's case was difficult.

"That's how the process works," Garcia said. "The final call has to be made by the person in the governor's office."

Since 1982, Texas has executed 322 inmates and has another 455 on death row. During that time, 22 cases have been commuted to life in prison with the board's recommendation. Many were commuted in 1982-83 and had been prosecuted before the death penalty was reinstated, board officials said.

Since 1999, the board has received 122 requests for clemency and only 3 have won the board's recommendation. All came this year. Perry became governor in 2000.

Earlier this year, the board recommended that Robert Smith be spared because he was deemed mentally retarded. Perry in March ordered Smith's sentence reduced to life, in accord with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling banning execution of retarded inmates.

The board has also recommended commuting the death sentence of Joe Lee Guy, but Perry has yet to act on that case. No execution date has been set.