Judge Nixes Execution Date for Longest-Serving Texas Inmate
A state court judge has withdrawn the scheduled July 22 execution date for Lester Bower, Texas’ longest-serving death row inmate, in order to address Bower’s long-standing request for DNA testing of cigarette butts and hair strands found at the scene of the multiple murder of which he was convicted in 1984.
When he was found guilty of the 1983 execution-style slayings of four men in an airplane hangar in Grayson County, a state law, which has since been repealed, said that new evidence had to be introduced within 30 days of conviction to merit a new trial. Several years after Bower’s conviction, a woman came forward and implicated others in the murder, which she said occurred during a deadly drug deal. However, prosecutors—who oppose the DNA testing request—have never investigated her claims that four other identified suspects committed the crimes, according to WFAA-TV and the Associated Press.
Bower, now 60, is a college graduate who was working at the time as a chemical salesman, admitted he was at the hangar on the day of the murders, buying part of an ultralight plane for sale for $4,000. But he says he left before the murders happened. Authorities contended he killed to steal the plane, gunning down three additional men when they showed up unexpectedly.
The New Orleans-based 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals had previously rejected his claims of ineffective assistance of counsel and that the prosecution withheld evidence from the defense, the Herald Democrat reported in a 2007 article. A copy of the Aug. 16, 2007, 5th Circuit opinion (PDF) is provided by Findlaw.
Additional coverage:
Star-Telegram: “Witness says condemned Arlington man isn’t responsible for 1983 slayings”
Star-Telegram: “Judge stays Arlington man’s execution, plans hearings”
