Stanley Allison Baker

Case record: Stanley Allison Baker (Stanley Allison Baker, Jr.)

Timeline

• Sept. 28, 1994 — Stanley Allison Baker, Jr., killed Wayne Walters during the course of a robbery in which he obtained $40 to $50 and Walters' car.
• Oct. 27, 1994 — Stanley Allison Baker, Jr., was indicted in the 85th Judicial District Court of Brazos County, Texas, for the capital offense of the intentional murder of Wayne Walters while in the course of committing and attempting to commit robbery.
• July 21, 1995 — A jury found him guilty of capital murder.
• July 26, 1995 — Following a separate punishment hearing, the jury answered special issue number one affirmatively and special issue number two negatively; the trial court sentenced Baker to death.
• May 21, 1997 — Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed conviction and sentence on direct appeal.
• Sept. 10, 1997 — The Court of Criminal Appeals denied the motion for rehearing.
• April 1, 1998 — Baker filed an application for state writ of habeas corpus.
• Aug. 14, 1998 — The trial court conducted a hearing on the application.
• Sept. 29, 1998 — The trial court entered findings and conclusions recommending that relief be denied.
• Jan. 27, 1999 — The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied state habeas relief.
• March 17, 1999 — Baker filed an application for a federal writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division.
• Aug. 18, 1999 — Baker amended his federal writ application.
• March 13, 2000 — The district court granted the Director's motion for summary judgment.
• April 12, 2000 — Baker filed a request for a certificate of appealability and his notice of appeal.
• April 27, 2000 — The district court denied Baker's request for COA.
• June 18, 2001 — Baker filed a request for a certificate of appealability in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
• Oct. 19, 2001 — The Fifth Circuit denied COA.
• Jan. 22, 2002 — Baker filed a petition for writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court.
• March 25, 2002 — The Court denied certiorari.
• May 30, 2002 — Baker was executed by lethal injection in Texas; he was pronounced dead at 6:19 p.m.

The offence

On Sept. 28, 1994, Stanley Allison Baker, Jr., killed Wayne Walters during the course of a robbery in which he obtained $40 to $50 and Walters' car. Walters was the clerk in the adult video store that Baker robbed.

Baker took Walters' car keys without resistance and then shot him three times with a shotgun. The third shot, fired to the back of the head, was delivered as Walters lay face down on the floor. During the robbery, Baker split his lip and broke a tooth when the shotgun recoiled and hit him in the face.

Baker left blood, a tooth fragment, footprints and other physical evidence at the crime scene. He fled the scene in Walters' pickup truck, returned home, and loaded the stolen vehicle with his belongings.

Authorities found that Baker cleared the cash register of about $40 and that he fled in the victim’s pickup truck with the stolen cash and the truck.

Investigation and evidence

After Baker was arrested a couple of hours after the shooting, he was driving Walters' truck. Police found a variety of items inside the truck, including:

• the murder weapon
• ammunition
• a brass knuckled stiletto
• a bulletproof vest
• a garrote
• survival gear

Police also found a notebook in which Baker had penned his goals for the year, including: “30+ victims dead. 30+ armed robberies. Steal a lot of cars.”

Following his arrest, Baker told DPS troopers that he went to the video store with intent to rob it and kill anyone inside.

Arrest

Baker was apprehended in Bastrop, about 70 miles west of College Station, by a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper. Authorities believed he had blood on his shirt and a cut lip from the recoil of the shotgun. When taken into custody, the murder weapon and other items were recovered.

Trial

The case was heard in the 85th Judicial District Court of Brazos County, Texas.

• July 21, 1995 — The jury found Baker guilty of capital murder.
• July 26, 1995 — In the punishment phase, the jury answered special issue number one affirmatively and special issue number two negatively; the trial court sentenced Baker to death.

The prosecution presented evidence in the punishment phase that supported the jury’s finding that Baker would be a future danger to society. The prosecution also presented evidence of Baker’s weapons stash and writings, including documentary evidence detailing Baker’s animosity toward gays, blacks, and President Bill Clinton, and his plans to go on a murder spree akin to notorious serial killers including Charles Whitman, Steve Judy, Richard Speck, Richard Speck, Juan Gonzales, Wayne Nance, Michael Wayne Johnson, Teofilo Filo Medina, Patrick Sherrill, and Jerry McFadden.

Evidence also showed that Baker had been observed on several prior occasions carrying knives and rope and that he expressed his intent to use them on his enemies.

The court’s opinion on direct appeal described the evidence as viewed in a light most favorable to the jury’s findings, including that Baker intended to kill his former employer, pursued his plan, decided to steal a truck, went into the adult video store in College Station where Wayne Williams (identified in the opinion as the night clerk) was working alone, took keys, currency from the cash register, and the night’s receipts, then shot Williams three times, and fled in William’s vehicle before returning home and loading the stolen vehicle with his gear. The opinion also described the notebook entry: “30+ victims dead. 30+ armed robberies. Steal a lot of cars.”

Sentencing

Following the punishment hearing, the jury answered:

• special issue number one affirmatively
• special issue number two negatively

In accordance with Texas law, the trial court sentenced Baker to death.

Appeals

Baker’s direct appeal and subsequent appellate proceedings are summarized below in chronological order:

• May 21, 1997 — Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence.
• **Sept.

The case also proceeded through state and federal habeas corpus proceedings:

• April 1, 1998 — Application for state writ of habeas corpus.
• Aug. 14, 1998 — Hearing on the application.
• Sept. 29, 1998 — Findings and conclusions recommending that relief be denied.
• Jan. 27, 1999 — Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied state habeas relief.
• March 17, 1999 — Federal writ of habeas corpus filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division.
• Aug. 18, 1999 — Federal writ application amended.
• March 13, 2000 — District court granted the Director's motion for summary judgment.
• April 12, 2000 — Request for certificate of appealability and notice of appeal.
• April 27, 2000 — District court denied request for COA.
• June 18, 2001 — Request for certificate of appealability in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
• Oct. 19, 2001 — Fifth Circuit denied COA.
• Jan. 22, 2002 — Petition for writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court.
• March 25, 2002 — United States Supreme Court denied certiorari.

The direct appeal opinion referenced the case as Baker v. State, 956 S.W.2d 19 (Tex. Crim. App. 1997) (Direct Appeal) and reported that the Court:

• held that evidence in the punishment phase supported the jury’s finding that Baker would be a future danger to society;
• held that even if Baker’s statement to police should have been suppressed, he was not prejudiced by the trial court’s failure to do so;
• applied the Tucker/Elstad rule to a claim about honoring invocation of Miranda rights;
• held that a violation of Miranda requirements was not a violation of “Constitution or laws of the United States of America,” for purposes of Texas’s exclusionary rule; and
• held that Baker waived appellate review of his claim that the trial judge erred in not hearing his motion for new trial within the required 75 days.

The appellate outcome was affirmed.

Outcome

Baker’s conviction and sentence were affirmed on direct appeal, and relief was denied in state and federal habeas proceedings and on COA requests. The United States Supreme Court denied certiorari. Baker was executed by lethal injection in Texas on May 30, 2002.

Aftermath

Baker’s execution included a last meal and last words.

Last meal

Baker requested:

• Two 16 oz. ribeyes
• One lb. turkey breast (sliced thin)
• Twelve strips of bacon
• Two large hamburgers with mayo, onion, and lettuce
• Two large baked potatoes with butter, sour cream, cheese, and chives
• Four slices of cheese or one-half pound of grated cheddar cheese
• Chef salad with blue cheese dressing
• Two ears of corn on the cob
• One pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream
• Four vanilla Cokes or Mr. Pibb

Whether the request was granted in full was not made public.

Last words

Baker said at his execution: “Well, I don't have anything to say, so let's go.”

When warden Neill Hodges asked Baker if he was sure he had no last statement, Baker said: “I am just sorry about what I did to Mr. Peters,” calling his victim by the wrong name. “That's all.”

As the drugs began taking effect, he said: “My arm feels cold ... got some pain in my left arm. I guess that's the poison.”

He then coughed, gasped, and slightly wheezed. He was pronounced dead at 6:19 p.m.

Other details

Baker was sentenced to death for the capital murder of Wayne Walters during a robbery that occurred in Brazos County, Texas on Sept. 28, 1994.

At the time of the offence, Baker had no reported prior criminal arrests or convictions.

Police found a resignation letter from Baker’s home that was described as obscenity-filled.

The trial record included evidence that Baker had recently quit work as a stock clerk at a Winn-Dixie supermarket.

The prosecution claimed that Baker planned to kill the store manager and others after the video store robbery but changed his plans due to a chipped tooth and a bloody shirt.

Baker did not testify at his 1995 trial and said he was at a loss to explain what set him off: “I ask myself that, too,” he said.

In an interview on death row, Baker said: “I was really depressed all the time,” and “I just wanted it to end. It's weird the way it happened. It's like I went insane ... I'm just glad it's about over. I'm looking forward to the last meal, but not the part that comes after,” he laughed.

Baker was described as having been born in Paris, France, where his Army father was stationed. He grew up in San Antonio, spent four years in the Army, and moved to College Station. He joined the National Guard and spent two years taking classes at Blinn College. He said he wanted to be a history teacher.

A notebook entry attributed to Baker included: “30+ victims dead. 30+ armed robberies. Steal a lot of cars.”

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles refused to recommend commutation to life in prison and refused a reprieve request in a pair of 17-0 votes.

Baker had no witnesses and no witnesses from the victim’s family attended at the time reported around the execution.

The execution proceedings were reported as scheduled after 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 30, 2002.