Charles Thacker

"This article is about the convicted murderer and rapist; for the computer pioneer, see Charles P. Thacker."

Charles Daniel Thacker (September 18, 1968 – November 9, 2005) was a murderer and serial rapist executed in the U.S. state of Texas. He was convicted of the April 7, 1993 attempted rape and murder of 26-year-old Karen Crawford in Houston, Texas.

Criminal record

Thacker, a native of Lorain County, Ohio, had a history of sexual assaults against women and girls. He molested a five-year-old girl that he babysat from 1985 to 1987. In 1987, he assaulted and robbed two women, and in September 1988 he received a 12 year sentence for sexual assault and robbery. He was paroled in 1992, but sexually assaulted a woman again in February 1993.

On the evening of April 7, 1993, Karen Crawford left her apartment to purchase dog food. Later a resident in the apartment complex noted that her keys were hanging in her mailbox, and informed the maintenance supervisor. He found that she was not in her apartment and that her car was near the mail room with her dog inside. He also discovered that the female bathroom was locked. When he banged on the door, he heard a man's voice who would not reply when asked why he was in there. Unable to force open the door, the maintenance supervisor called the apartment manager. She arrived with her husband. While the three were discussing their options, the bathroom door opened and Thacker came out, and sprayed the maintenance supervisor and manager's wife with mace. Inside the bathroom, Crawford was found facedown and unconscious on the floor. The maintenance supervisor attempted CPR because she was not breathing. She was taken to the hospital, but died two days later.

Trial and appeals

After Thacker escaped from the building, several people gave chase. Thacker was only able to evade capture until the next day when he was found by a police dog unit near the apartment building. Witnesses identified Thacker as the man who ran from the bathroom and a pubic hair found in his underpants that belonged to Crawford. He was indicted in April 1993, and found guilty of capital murder on May 4, 1994. Five days later he was sentenced to death after a separate penalty phase.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals upheld the conviction and sentence on September 18, 1996, after the automatic appeal that is required for all death sentences in Texas.

Thacker challenged his conviction on the grounds that the jury were confused as to whether Texas law requires intent for a capital murder conviction. In his rejected appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, it was acknowledged by the majority opinion that "concern [about the jury’s confusion] is not unfounded". His appeal was rejected on the grounds that Thacker did not object to a reply given to a question asked by the jury to the level of intent required. Nor did he object to the amount of instruction given to the jury on the issue. As such, the appeals court ruled that it could not be appealed at a federal level. Thacker's argument for appeal because of ineffectual counsel during the trial was rejected; under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, the federal appeals court must find that lower court decisions were "not only erroneous, but objectively unreasonable".

In October 2005, Thacker filed motions with the trial court asking for various items of evidence for DNA testing and new DNA testing. Both requests were denied. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied a request for a 120 day stay of execution or to commute the death sentence to one of life imprisonment.

Execution

Thacker was executed by lethal injection on November 9, 2005 and pronounced dead at 6:32 p.m. CST. During his final statement, he said::"Tell my family I love them. I am sorry for the things I have done. I know God will forgive me. I will miss you guys. I love you. I guess that's all."

He told his lawyer that the technicians had had trouble finding a vein in his arm.

For his final meal he ordered two double cheeseburgers, french fries with ketchup, onion rings, fajitas, two Mountain Dews, two Coca-Colas, two Dr Peppers, guacamole dip with tortilla chips, four slices of pepperoni pizza, one chocolate chip, two slices of double chocolate cake, and two pints of ice cream.

See also

* List of individuals executed in Texas
* Capital punishment in Texas
* Capital punishment in the United States

References

* [http://www.prodeathpenalty.com/Pending/05/nov05.htm November 2005 Executions] from ProDeathPenalty.com
* [http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=1465 Report] from the National Coalition for the Abolition of the Death Penalty
* [http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/statistics/deathrow/drowlist/thacker.jpgOffender Information] . "Texas Department of Criminal Justice". Retrieved on 2007-11-17.
* [http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/thackercharleslast.htm Last Statement] . "Texas Department of Criminal Justice". Retrieved on 2007-11-17.
* [http://www.oag.state.tx.us/oagnews/release.php?id=1236 Media advisory] from the Texas Attorney General
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