- Michael Roy Toney
-
Michael Roy Toney (December 29, 1965- October 3, 2009) in 1999 was falsely charged and convicted for a bombing that killed two males and one female in Lake Worth, Texas in 1985. The incident also injured another male and female.[1] He was sentenced to the death penalty and served ten years on death row before being released on September 2, 2009, when the State of Texas dropped all charges against him. The conviction had been overturned earlier on December 17, 2008 by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.[2] He died in an auto accident near Rusk, Texas, just one month later on October 3, 2009.[3]
Contents
Early life
Toney grew up in Cottonwood, California, a small town in Shasta County about 90 miles (140 km) north of Sacramento. His father left the family early in his life, and his mother worked in local taverns. She would bring home a number of men who would beat her and her sons. To escape from this, Michael would often retreat to a shed. When Toney was 9 or 10 years old, one of her boyfriends strapped him to a chair, duct-taped his wrists down and set fire to his hands. When he was 15, another one of his mother's boyfriends attacked him with a fishing gaff and gouged a huge hole in his hip. He quit school before the 10th grade and left for Texas, settling down in Hurst-Euless, in the Bedford area of Tarrant County. He married a woman named Kim when he was 38 years old.[4] On the Saturday morning of October 3, 2009, Toney lost control of a pickup truck he was driving, causing it to roll over and ejecting Toney from the vehicle. There was no one else in the car.[5]
Case
On the evening of Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 1985, in the Hilltop Mobile Home Park between Lake Worth and Azle, Texas, three members of the Blount family were instantly killed by an explosion. Joe Blount, his daughter Angela, and Angela's cousin, Michael Columbus, were killed when a bomb that was in a briefcase exploded. The briefcase was reportedly found on or near the steps of their home. Joe Blount was a 44-year-old skilled mechanic. Angela Blount was only 15 years old and Michael Columbus was 18.[4]
Joe Blount, Angela Blount, Robert Blount, Michael Columbus, Susan Blount and Carl "Ray" Blount celebrated Thanksgiving together in the Blounts' trailer in the suburbs of Fort Worth. Robert was the son of Susan and Joe Blount. Carl "Ray" was the brother of Joe Blount. Michael Columbus was Carl's long-estranged son. After the family ate Thanksgiving dinner, Ray Blount went home around 5:00 p.m. Around 9:00 p.m., Susan Blount went to lie down for a nap. Joe Blount drove Robert, Angela and Michael to a convenience store about half a mile away from the park where they bought snacks and beer. Susan Blount soon heard a knock at the front door. She looked out the window but did not see anybody she returned to her nap. When the rest of family returned from the convenience store, they discovered a briefcase on the doorstep. The three teenagers were excited because they thought that the briefcase might have either money or jewels in it. After bringing the briefcase inside, Angela opened the latches and it exploded.[4]
Conviction
In June 1997, Toney was in jail awaiting a hearing for a burglary that happened in 1993. Here he was talking to Charles "Jack" Ferris in Parker County Jail in Weatherford, Texas. The two men began talking about the bombing. Ferris was then released from jail by telling the Parker County authorities that Toney had confessed to him. After Ferris told the authorities, the investigators questioned Toney's ex-wife. In the beginning, Ms. Toney told prosecutors, "Michael killing people in a bombing? You're nuts." But Ms. Toney decided to do some research on the case. When she realized what had taken place, she called federal agents and told her story. Soon after, Toney was indicted for capital murder.[4]
Months passed, and Ferris changed his story about Toney's alleged confession to the crime. Ferris explained how Toney had come up with the story in order to him out of jail earlier. He told investigators that "Toney and me made up the entire thing."[4]
Trial
The trial started in May 1999, in Fort Worth, Texas. Susan and Robert Blount gave their testimony as to what happened that day. Then the testimony from his ex-wife, his ex-best friend and another cellmate occurred. His ex-wife, Ms. Toney, said that she, Toney and his best friend Chris Meeks went to a propane shop that was adjacent to the Hilltop Mobile Home Park. She says that Toney got out of the truck with a briefcase and disappeared. She then said he returned without the briefcase and they then went to the Nature Center and stayed for several hours. Her testimony also included that Toney shot a beaver with a rifle while they were at the Nature Center.[4]
A cellmate of Michael Toney, Finis Blankenship, testified that Toney told him that he was paid $5,000 for the murders. Blankenship also said that the murders were part of a drug-related hit, but the bomb was put on the wrong doorstep. His testimony came in the second phase of the trial. This helped the jury decide whether Toney deserved to be executed. This testimony showed the jury that Toney had a motive for the crime. At the current time, Blankenship was facing two counts of indecency with a child and habitual-criminal charges, so he says that he agreed to testify against Toney in exchange for having the charges dropped. Blankenship now says that his testimony was a lie. Chris Meeks' testimony didn't coincide with all of Ms. Toney's testimony in many ways. Meeks changed his story four times. At first he told investigators that he knew nothing about the bombing as well as the grand jury. He also failed a polygraph test. In 2001, he signed an affidavit taking back the things he said during his testimony. He said, "My testimony about the events that happened on Thanksgiving day, 1985, may not have happened on that day."[4]
Alibi
- He said that he did not hear about the crime until 1997 (8 years after it occurred).
- He said that he had never been to the Hilltop Mobile Home Park and that he didn't he even know it existed until just prior to his trial.
- Ms. Toney and Mr. Meeks said that Toney was driving a truck on the night of the bombing. However, Toney said that he didn't buy the truck until December 13, 1985 (a month after the incident).[4]
Conviction overturned
The Tarrant County District Attorney's Office had withheld 14 pieces of evidence that were key to his defense. After this, Tarrant County prosecutors turned the case over to the Attorney General of Texas.[5]
References
See also
- List of revoked death sentences
- List of exonerated death row inmates
Categories:- 1965 births
- 2009 deaths
- American prisoners sentenced to death
- People from Shasta County, California
- Road accident deaths in Texas
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