Best Chron Eye of 2006?
Matt Bramanti was the first to alert us today to a new Chron Eye for the Death Row Killer Guy, the latest installment of the local Hearst daily's semi-regular effort to redeem death row killers awaiting execution.
The typical Chron Eye formula, readers may recall, has three parts: 1) reporter points out some "redeeming" quality of the death row killer guy; 2) reporter points out some bad aspect of the death row killer guy's childhood; and 3) reporter calls into question some aspect of the justice system's treatment of the death row killer guy (with a bonus if the HPD crime lab or Chron "bad guy" Chuck Rosenthal can somehow be criticized).
Today's Chron Eye goes for the hat trick. Here's the "redeeming" quality:
"I live every day with what happened, and I regret what happened," he said. "How much remorse does society want me to show?"
Hmm, three brutal murders involving beatings with a meat hammer? Just a guess, but I'm thinking society feels like a lethal injection is just about right.
Here's the childhood angle:
Matchett was raised early on by his paternal grandparents in the East Texas town of Madisonville. His teenage mother lived in nearby Midway, and he rarely saw his father. After his mother, Annie Robinson, married, Matchett went to live with her in Grand Prairie near Dallas.
At 13, Matchett began to hang out on the streets and run errands for drug dealers and prostitutes. The bottom really fell out of his life when his 11-year-old sister was raped. Matchett said he blamed himself for not being around to protect her.
"It was the worst time of my life," Matchett said.
And finally, the reporter questions the criminal justice system:
Roy E. Greenwood, an Austin lawyer appointed to represent Matchett in the Huntsville cases, said he remains puzzled about Matchett's guilty plea. He said Matchett should have been able to argue in court that he killed Anderson in self-defense, but was prohibited by the plea.
"Why he (Davis) pled him guilty and blew off all these legal issues never made sense to me," Greenwood said. "You just don't give up with plea of guilty."
Matchett, whose federal and state appeals all were denied, also faulted his trial attorneys for not presenting mitigating evidence for jurors to consider a lesser punishment. He also claimed that court-appointed appellate attorneys botched his appeals.
There's an added celebrity bonus in this Chron Eye:
Anti-death penalty groups and activists, including French actress Bridget Bardot, have latched onto Matchett's case.
French actress? THAT is world class!
This death row killer guy is scheduled for departure from the living on Tuesday.
Thanks to Rosanna Ruiz for a top-notch edition of the Chron Eye for the Death Row Killer guy. That is probably the best one so far in 2006!
BLOGVERSATION: TBIFOC.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/11/06 09:46 PM | Houston Chronicle | Print | Comments (4)
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