Arthur Paul Baird

People

• Arthur Paul Baird II — defendant (appellant); husband of Nadine Baird; son of Kathryn Baird and Arthur Paul Baird, I; maternal grandson of Noradean Fleming.
• Nadine Baird — victim; wife of Arthur Paul Baird II; about six months pregnant.
• Kathryn Baird — victim; mother of Arthur Paul Baird II.
• Arthur Paul Baird, I — victim; father of Arthur Paul Baird II.
• Noradean Fleming — Arthur Paul Baird II’s maternal grandmother; lived in another trailer on the property.
• Lemoyne Altic — Nadine Baird’s father-in-law; called the trailer.
• Margaret Altic — Nadine Baird’s mother-in-law; called the trailer.
• Laquita Anglin — Nadine Baird’s sister.
• Sarah Nagy — pro bono attorney for Arthur Paul Baird II.
• Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard — issued an Indiana Supreme Court order.
• Justice Robert D. Rucker — Indiana Supreme Court justice who sided with the unanimous court; wrote a statement.
• Justice Ted Boehm — Indiana Supreme Court justice whose prior writing was quoted.
• Mitch Daniels — Governor who commuted the death sentence.
• Parole Board — voted 3-1 to recommend that the execution proceed.
• Attorney for the state attorney general’s office — argued against clemency recommendation.
• Governor’s clemency order writers referenced — clemency rationale included jury views and life-without-parole option availability.

Timeline

• September 6, 1985 (between 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.) — Arthur Paul Baird II strangled Nadine Baird in a house trailer on a forty-acre farm near Darlington, Indiana.
• September 6, 1985 (around 6:00 p.m.) — Baird told Lemoyne and Margaret Altic that they would not be visiting because Nadine was sick.
• September 6, 1985 (around 10:00 p.m.) — Baird told Lemoyne and Margaret Altic that Nadine was still asleep.
• September 7, 1985 (about 7:00 a.m.) — Baird fed the chickens, received a haircut, and later stabbed Kathryn Baird and Arthur Paul Baird, I to death.
• September 8, 1985 (4:00 p.m.) — Baird was apprehended in Huntingburg while watching a softball game.
• March 13, 1987 — Jury recommended death for murders of Baird’s mother and father; against death for murder of Baird’s wife; court sentenced Baird to death and to prison terms for other convictions.
• Tuesday (Indiana Supreme Court order, year not stated in the record) — Indiana Supreme Court cited procedural reasons for rejecting Baird’s claim that he should not be executed due to grave mental illness in 1985; execution date set to Aug. 31.
• Aug. 31 (execution date set; year not stated in the record) — execution date set by Indiana Supreme Court.
• Monday (Gov. Mitch Daniels action, year not stated in the record) — Daniels commuted Baird’s death sentence to life in prison without possibility of parole.
• Last week (year not stated in the record) — Parole Board voted 3-1 to recommend that the execution proceed.
• Early Wednesday (year not stated in the record) — Daniels’ clemency prevented an execution scheduled early Wednesday.

Background

Arthur Paul Baird II and his wife Nadine lived in a house trailer on the forty-acre farm near Darlington, Indiana, that he jointly owned with his parents, Kathryn and Arthur Paul Baird, I. His parents lived in the farmhouse on the property, and his maternal grandmother Noradean Fleming lived in another trailer on the property.

The offence

Murder of Nadine Baird (feticide conviction also listed)

At approximately 4:00 or 5:00 p.m. on September 6, 1985, Arthur Paul Baird II and Nadine were getting ready to drive to Crawfordsville to go shopping. They planned to visit Nadine’s parents, Lemoyne and Margaret Altic, after shopping, as was their habit on Friday evenings.

Nadine was ready to leave before Arthur Paul Baird II. Due to the heat, she lay down on the bed and turned a portable fan on herself while she waited. After Arthur Paul Baird II finished getting ready, he walked back to the bedroom and strangled Nadine with his hands, then tied a plaid shirt around her neck.

Arthur Paul Baird II spent the rest of the night in the trailer watching television, writing notes, and periodically lying down next to Nadine’s body to hold her.

Murder of Kathryn Baird and Arthur Paul Baird, I

Arthur Paul Baird II went to his parents’ house at about 7:00 a.m. He found them already awake. He fed the chickens and brought the newspaper to his father. His mother gave him a haircut.

Arthur Paul Baird II then grabbed his mother from behind, covered her mouth with one hand, reached for a butcher knife, and stabbed her several times in the abdomen and throat as she struggled and screamed for help.

When she fell to the floor, he headed for the back door and met his father entering the house. Arthur Paul Baird II mentioned something about a disturbance, and before his father could react Arthur Paul Baird II stabbed him in the abdomen and throat as the victim attempted to fight him off.

Investigation

Arthur Paul Baird II was apprehended in Huntingburg, about two and one half hours from his home, at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 8, while watching a softball game.

Arthur Paul Baird II later claimed he believed he had solved the national debt, then $1.94 trillion, and that the federal government was to pay him $1 million for his advice. In reality, he was in debt and had just lost his job at R.R. Donnelley, a commercial printing company.

Arrest

Arthur Paul Baird II was arrested in Huntingburg, two hours away from his home, the next day after the stabbings.

Trial

Conviction details

Arthur Paul Baird II was convicted of three counts of murder and one count of feticide.

The conviction list included “Murder, Murder, Murder, Feticide (C Felony).”

Insanity defense

Arthur Paul Baird II raised an insanity defense.

A psychiatrist found Baird insane at the time of the crime, while three others said he was sane.

Jury and court sentencing

The jury recommended death for the murder of his mother, Kathryn Baird, and for the murder of his father, Arthur Baird, but recommended against death for the murder of his wife, Nadine.

Sentencing

On March 13, 1987, the court sentenced Baird to 60 years for the murder of Nadine Baird and 8 years for feticide, to be served concurrently; the court sentenced Baird to Death for the murder of Kathryn Baird and Death for the murder of Arthur Baird.

Appeals

The Indiana Supreme Court cited procedural reasons for rejecting a death row inmate’s claim that he should not be executed because he was gravely mentally ill in 1985 when he strangled his pregnant wife and stabbed his parents to death.

The Indiana Supreme Court set an execution date of Aug. 31 for Arthur P. Baird.

Arthur P. Baird’s pro bono attorney, Sarah Nagy, said she would seek review by the U.S. Supreme Court to determine whether it was constitutional to execute someone who was mentally ill.

The Indiana Supreme Court’s reasoning included that Baird’s claim was flawed because it had not been raised in earlier reviews of the case. Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard stated that Baird had until Monday to bring new issues before the court.

Justice Robert D. Rucker sided with the unanimous court but indicated openness to hearing about Baird’s current mental state. Justice Rucker wrote:

“I continue to believe that a sentence of death is inappropriate for a person suffering a severe mental illness,” Rucker wrote. “Nowhere in his lengthy petition does Baird contend that he is now mentally ill.”

Baird v. State, 604 N.E.2d 1170, 1175076 (Ind. 1992) is listed.

Outcome

Execution-related procedural posture

The Indiana Supreme Court found Baird competent to be executed in a 3-2 ruling. The record also said that one psychiatrist found Baird insane at the time, while three said he was sane.

Commutation

Gov. Mitch Daniels commuted the death sentence of Arthur Baird II, who had been scheduled to be executed for killing his parents in 1985. The commutation changed Baird’s sentence to life in prison without possibility of parole.

The Parole Board voted 3-1 to recommend that the execution be carried out as scheduled early Wednesday.

Daniels acknowledged claims that Baird was mentally ill but emphasized other circumstances in the clemency order. The order included that life without parole in murder cases was not an option at the time of Baird’s sentencing and became an option in 1994.

Daniels wrote:

“All members of the jury whose views are known also indicated that, had life without parole been an alternative available to them, they would have imposed it instead of the death penalty,” Daniels wrote.

The order also stated:

“Courts recognized Mr. Baird as suffering from mental illness at the time he committed the murders, and Indiana Supreme Court Justice Ted Boehm recently wrote that Mr. Baird is ’insane in the ordinary sense of the word.’ It is difficult to find reasons not to agree,” Daniels said his statement.

Daniels further wrote:

“However, I reach today’s decision without substituting my judgment for others on the ambiguous issue of Mr. Baird’s degree of insanity,” Daniels said. “To me, it suffices to note that had the sentence of life without parole been available in 1987, the jury and the state would have imposed it with support of the victims’ families.”

Several people urged the Parole Board last week to recommend clemency, including Laquita Anglin, Nadine Baird’s sister. An attorney for the state attorney general’s office argued against clemency recommendation, stating that Baird had escalated stories about his mental illness and that every court in his case had upheld the death sentence.

Anglin said:

“That’s what I wanted, and that’s what my mom and dad wanted. Not to be put to death,” she said. “Just stay in prison where he’s at and just live out his life.”

Sarah Nagy said:

“I have a great deal of respect for Mitch Daniels and I had faith he would consider this case seriously,” she said. Nagy said she hoped the issue of mental illness in criminal cases would remain at the forefront.

Nagy said Baird claimed forces had manipulated his hands as he strangled his wife, and that he was being controlled by an outside force when he killed his parents the following day. He also said that he believed God would turn back time and bring his wife and parents back to life.

Aftermath

Prosecutors offered a plea agreement that included so many years in prison it effectively would have kept Baird behind bars for life. Daniels noted that Baird appeared ready to accept the agreement but suddenly reversed course and, apparently because of his delusional state, rejected the deal.

Other details

Aggravating and mitigating circumstances (as stated)

Aggravating circumstances were listed as “b(8) 3 murders.”

Mitigating circumstances listed included extreme mental and emotional disturbance, no criminal history, active in church, and employed; the record also stated that he provided for family, had an honorable discharge from military, and was a person of good character in community.

Communication with Nadine’s parents

The Altics called the trailer twice on the evening of September 6, 1985. They called around 6:00 p.m., after which Baird told them they would not be visiting because Nadine was sick. The Altics were worried because Nadine was about six months pregnant and they wanted to check on her, but Baird told them not to come over because she had gone to bed. The Altics called again at 10:00 p.m., and Baird told them Nadine was still asleep.

Arthur Paul Baird II told Nadine’s parents that they would stop by afterwards at his parents’ realtor’s office to close the deal on a 253 acre farm that they had been attempting to purchase for approximately a year. The record also said the calls were placed between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m. and again at 9:45 a.m., when Baird said he was about to awaken Nadine and they would come over after the closing.

Events leading to departure

After stabbing his mother and father, Arthur Paul Baird II went back to the trailer and gathered items which he then loaded in his parents’ car until the rear end nearly touched the ground.

He left in his mother’s loaded down car but turned around in a neighbor’s driveway to come back for a pair of pliers that he thought he might need to open canned food jars. He left again around 11:00 a.m., driving south toward Lagoda through Darlington and Crawfordsville and then on back roads to Huntingburg.

Presented dates and case identifier

The legal citation Baird v. 1992) was included in the record.