By Jalayne Robinson, LMSW
TDCAA Victim Services Director
As a very inexperienced and naïve victim assistance coordinator (VAC) in 1991, I learned that helping survivors in a capital murder case can be an extremely sensitive and years-long task. I am sharing my experience now so that other VACs and prosecutors who read this article might know what to expect if and when you are called upon to walk survivors of a deceased capital murder victim through the execution process.
During one of my very first weeks on the job, I received a voicemail from Kitty, the sister of the deceased victim, in the capital murder case against Michael Lynn Riley. Kitty did not leave a phone number and I had no idea how to return her call. I asked our office manager how to contact her, and she said, “Go look in the office file closet, up on the wall on the right, and you will see a piece of paper taped to the wall with her name, address, and phone number.” I thought this was quite weird, but I went to the file closet and found the paper on the wall. It said State vs. Michael Lynn Riley, and below that name there were two other people listed, along with their addresses and phone numbers. You see, the case had been going on for so long at that point (since 1986) and computer criminal database systems were so primitive—with no way to enter victim contact information—that this was the only way our office had to make sure everyone remembered and had access to the survivors’ names and addresses. A very manual system back in those days, to say the least!
I returned Kitty’s call and was very quickly introduced to some horrific details of a crime that was unimaginable to me. I listened to an incredibly sad and emotional woman on the other end of the line. I was told of the years of hurt and suffering she and her family had endured and how the two baby girls of the deceased were growing up without their mother. I learned that Brandy was 4 and Jennifer was only 1½ when their mother was killed.
Kitty told me that on February 1, 1986, 27-year-old Michael Lynn Riley went into the Shop-A-Minit convenience store in Quitman, which is in Wood County, and stabbed and killed her sister, the 23-year-old clerk, Wynona Lynn Harris. Riley stabbed her 31 times with a butcher knife and robbed the store of $1,110 (part of the money was later recovered in his overalls). Kitty told me Wynona knew Michael Lynn Riley because he lived near the convenience store and would frequent the store regularly. In small town Quitman in those days, everyone knew everyone, and people were very trusting of each other. It is not surprising that Wynona Harris would have welcomed Riley into the store and trusted he was just there shopping like any other day he had dropped in.
Riley was not a stranger to law enforcement. He had been arrested eight times with prior felony convictions and two prior prison sentences. In March 1977, he was sentenced to prison for two years and was released in 1978. In 1980 he received a nine-year sentence for burglary of a building, was paroled in 1983, and discharged from his sentence in July 1985. Seven months later he committed capital murder by robbing and killing Wynona Harris, and the State decided to seek the death penalty.[1]
My telephone call that day with Kitty would be the first of many conversations and meetings I would have with the Harris family over the next 18 years.
Riley’s trials
At the first trial in November 1986, Michael Lynn Riley was convicted by a jury and sentenced to death. Automatic appeals began and on November 10, 1993, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reversed his conviction and sentence for improperly excluding a potential juror because of her opposition to the death penalty, and the Court remanded the case back to district court.[2] With notification of this reversal, then-Wood County Criminal District Attorney Marcus D. Taylor decided to retry the case.
During the summer of 1995, literally hundreds of potential jurors were summoned for jury selection. The prosecution and defense were charged with selecting the most favorable people to hear a capital murder death penalty case. In such a case, the voir dire line of questioning is more intense than a regular voir dire. Potential jurors are questioned about their true feelings about the death penalty. It was weeks (I believe six weeks) of questioning people one at a time until 12 jurors were selected. On September 6, 1995, those jurors handed down a guilty verdict and after a separate punishment hearing, a death sentence was announced two days later.[3] Little did we know at the time that it would be another 14 years before the execution would take place.
The Harris family attended the trial but of course the victims’ two little daughters were still young and did not attend. I remember sitting with the family as they watched our DA Marcus Taylor demonstrate by using a mannequin how many strikes it would take to stab someone 31 times. As Mr. Taylor told the story of the murder, it was as if you were in the Shop-a-Minit. He was a great storyteller. I remember preparing the family for the details that would be presented during the trial and holding their hands as the details unfolded.
Keeping up with the family
Looking back on this case and of my career in the DA’s office, it is rewarding to remember the victim sensitivity Mr. Taylor expressed. He always relayed updates on this case to me, which enabled me to inform the Harris family of each hearing, motion, bench warrant, writ, etc. I still appreciate that Mr. Taylor could face the case head-on and was open to any questions the family might have had along the way.
Through the years, I discovered the Harris family really needed to hear from someone in our office every now and then. They needed reassurance that our prosecution team would continue to fight for justice. The family was great at keeping in touch with us when their phone numbers or addresses changed. Many times, I would be notified by our receptionist that Mr. Harris was at our front counter, just dropping by to talk to someone. If our DA was available, Mr. Taylor was always good to take a few minutes and update Mr. Harris with the latest on the case.
Mr. Taylor retired in December 2006 before Michael Lynn Riley was executed.
Execution date is set
In March 2009, our district court judge set an execution date of May 19. In the weeks to come, our office received notification from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) that authorities there would like to send a packet of execution-related information to Wynona Harris’s kin. TDCJ asked if our office would assist in locating all the family members. With the notification in hand, and because I had never assisted a family through an execution, I phoned TDCJ’s Victim Services to check on the process. I also spoke to TDCJ’s Correctional Institution Division director.
During these phone calls, I was educated on what to expect so I could relay this information to the family. I learned that the packet of information would include notification of the execution date, a brochure outlining procedures, and a list to be completed and returned for the witnesses and support persons. At this point, I was relieved I had stayed in contact with the Harris family because it was not hard at all to contact them. I began calling the family members one-by-one explaining that an execution date had been set and that TDCJ would like to mail them a packet of information. I made sure to ask how to contact Wynona Harris’s two daughters because I knew they would be grown by now. I found their phone numbers and called them. These calls were only the start of many very emotional phone calls with Brandy and Jennifer.
Once the family received the packet of information, they requested an in-person meeting with me for assistance in completing the execution witness and support person list. We also worked on what Brandy and Jennifer might want to share at the press conference that would follow the execution. They were both young and nervous, so I composed a few things for them to potentially say at the press conference. The execution and support person list was submitted to TDCJ’s Correctional Institutional Division director for final approval.
The in-person meetings prior to the execution date helped our office understand how nice it would be if the county could offer assistance for victims and witnesses and an escort to the execution. The Harris family was a little nervous about driving alone to the prison unit in Huntsville. I put on my thinking cap and suggested that our office rent a van, and I offered to escort the family to Huntsville, about a 3½-hour drive from Quitman, to be a victim services support person during the process. The next question our DA, Jim Wheeler, had for me was how the county would pay for the rental van. The Wood County Crime Victim Services fund would provide for this expense. (More about this fund in the sidebar, below.) With approval from the DA and an accepted offer to transport the Harris family to the execution, I reserved the van.
Sidebar: Background of Wood County’s victim services fund
In 2000, while attending TDCAA’s Key Personnel-Victim Assistance Coordinator Conference, I heard a presentation from a VAC in the Smith County Criminal District Attorney’s Office about that county creating a fund for victim-related expenses. When I got back to our office, I advocated establishing such a fund in Wood County. I had worked in the DA’s office for 10 years at that point and understood the need for funds to pay for various victim-related expenses that the office budget might not otherwise cover. For example, during trial, some victims might not have presentable clothing to wear to testify. I remember numerous times bringing clothing from home (my own or my little girl’s clothes) so victims would have something appropriate to wear in court. I realized a victim services fund could help with these type of expenses—along with food for victims during trial, cemetery markers, and other special needs when no other resources were available.
In July 2001, the Wood County Commissioners Court passed a resolution to create a fund entitled “Wood County Crime Victim Services” (as authorized by §61.003 of the Government Code and §81.032 of the Local Government Code) where Wood County could receive funds and donations for victim assistance. The fund was designated as one of those to which jurors could donate their fees; other donors could also give money to the fund and receive an IRS tax deduction for such a donation. Restrictive donations of $2,500 or less were directed to the Wood County Treasurer for receipt. Donations over $2,500 required the commissioners court to accept them before a receipt was issued. Over the years, the fund received donations from local clubs, organizations, and churches. It was so helpful.
In execution rules set out by the Texas Board of Criminal Justice,[4] an execution viewing is limited to five witnesses if there is one victim, including close friends and surviving relatives, plus one bona-fide pastor or comparable religious official. The survivors choose whom they wish to participate in the viewing. If there are multiple victims, this number is increased to six. The family with the capital murder conviction has priority over the witness spots, with the remaining spots going to the other families. There are three support person slots per execution. In the Michael Lynn Riley execution, Wynona Harris was the only victim so five witnesses and three support persons were allowed.
In addition, there are five media spots available between the two very tiny standing-room only viewing rooms adjacent to the Texas execution chamber in Huntsville. One is for victim witnesses and the other viewing room is for offender witnesses. TDCJ reserves two of the media spots for the Associated Press and The Huntsville Item newspaper.[5]
The Harris family invited former DA Marcus Taylor to view the execution along with Mr. Harris, Wynona’s husband; Wynona’s two daughters; and one daughter’s husband. To me, the Harris family’s selection of Mr. Taylor was such a special gesture and true acknowledgment of his years of dedication in seeking justice for Wynona Lynn Harris.
I was selected by the family as a victim support person and would remain in the support room in the Huntsville Unit during the execution, as would Wood County Sheriff Bill Wansley. Sheriff Wansley was in law enforcement for many years in Quitman and was very familiar with Michael Lynn Riley. The victim support room is a separate room away from the execution viewing rooms, and it’s where victim witnesses and support persons are taken before going into the execution viewing room. TDCJ Victim Services Division staff accompanied the witnesses and support persons during the entire process, answering our questions and giving instructions.
TDCJ officials told us that Michael Lynn Riley’s family and witnesses would arrive at a different time, and TDCJ had careful procedures in place to keep victim and offender witnesses separated. Riley’s witnesses also had a separate execution viewing room and offender waiting room. We were never face-to-face with any of them.
Execution day
On the morning of May 19, 2009, the Harris family met at the Wood County Justice Center, and we set out for Huntsville in the rented minivan. Not long after we began our drive, I observed that no one was talking. Not a word. Silence. The further we drove, the more I began to realize their silence was screaming out that this was probably the hardest thing they had ever faced. It was heartbreaking. Absolutely the most solemn day of my life, but I felt honored they trusted me to support them during this time.
Execution witnesses and support personnel meet the afternoon of the execution with representatives from TDCJ’s Victim Services and are advised on what to expect. We were shown a video and given strict instructions for the day. For example, TDCJ has rules about modest dress along with closed-toe shoes, and they are very serious about enforcing them, too! The video and TDCJ representatives were very thorough and answered our questions. Executions take place at 6:00 p.m. on the execution date. We were advised that there are no guarantees the execution would take place because legal issues sometimes arise, and a stay could be granted at the last minute.
As 6 o’clock drew near, the family and Mr. Taylor were escorted to the execution room. Out the window of the victim support room (at a separate time from when the victim family and Mr. Taylor were escorted), I could see Michael Lynn Riley’s family members being escorted to their execution viewing room. The entire experience was very heart-wrenching. I had compassion for the family of Wynona Harris, but I also felt compassion for the family of Michael Lynn Riley—it was a real tug at my emotions. I could not imagine being in either of these family’s shoes. Michael Lynn Riley’s choices and actions caused so many people so much pain.
Twenty-three years after the murder, Michael Lynn Riley was put to death by lethal injection. He was pronounced dead at 6:18 p.m.
After the execution but before the family returned to the support room, information was relayed back to us in the support room of Riley’s final meal request and his final words. His final meal was two fried chicken quarters, two fried pork chops, a bowl of peaches, an order of French fries, and a salad. His final words were: “I know I hurt you very bad. I want you to know I’m sorry. I hope one day you can move on and, if not, I understand.” Riley also apologized to his mother (who was not present) for being “not the big son that you wanted me to be.” He then reminded friends who were watching that for years he has said he was ready to die. “To the fellows on the row, stay strong. Fleetwood is out of here,” he said, referring to his Death Row nickname.
Debriefing
Following the execution, the family was offered a time for debriefing. I can honestly say I was amazed at how well the family members handled their emotions. Again, a lot of silence and no outbursts. At that time, the family knew the next step was the press conference, so they held it together very well.
Press conference
After an execution and debriefing, time is set aside for a press conference. Led by prison officials, the family, myself, and Mr. Taylor walked across the street to the press conference. Reporters Michael Graczyk from the Associated Press and David Chenault from KMOO, the Wood County radio station, were present. At the press conference, Wynona’s older daughter, Brandy Oaks, said she accepted Riley’s apology. “This is a difficult day and there are no winners on either side,” she said. “Her [Wynona’s] spirit will live on in our hearts and in our lives.”
Her other daughter, Jennifer Bevill, remarked, “I think being here was something I needed. It’s the last chapter in the book. I can close it. It’s over for me, emotionally, I guess. It’s strange: It’s almost like I never had her to begin with.” Jennifer, after all, was only 1½ years old when her mother was killed. She said she had prayed “for forgiveness and love and mercy—forgiveness for this person that has done this to our family. In the long run, Jesus Christ is our shoulder to cry on when you don’t have anybody.”
Retired Wood County DA Marcus Tylor said, “For those people that may think death penalty cases don’t get proper examination, this is certainly evidence that’s not true. Michael Riley was locked up longer than the murder victim lived.”
In conclusion
Sharing this experience here has caused many of my feelings to resurface. I hope this article will be a reference if and when you are called upon to assist survivors through the execution process. As one of the most difficult job duties during my career, I can honestly reflect back with a sense of pride that I was selected by the Wood County DA’s Office to be the victim assistance coordinator for 23 years and that I was there to assist the Harris family when they really needed someone. We had other capital cases during my career at the DA’s office, but this was the only case where the State sought the death penalty.
If you have an execution pending, please reach out to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s Victim Services Division by phone at 800/848-4284 or by email at victim.svc@ tdcj.texas.gov for assistance.
Endnotes
[1] I relied on https://murderpedia.org/male.R/r1/riley-michael-lynn.htm and www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/ death/US/riley1164.htm to refresh my memory about some of the details of this case.
[2] Riley v. State, 889 S.W.2d 290 (Tex. Crim. App. 1993).
[3] Riley v. Cockrell, 339 F.3d 308 (5th Cir. 2003).
[4] www.tdcj.texas.gov/faq/victim_viewing_execution .html.
[5] Some of these rules may have changed since I was in Huntsville for Mr. Riley’s execution. See e.g., www.texastribune.org/2014/06/05/tdcjs-execution-narrow-witness-policy-leaves.