Mickey Wayne Davidson

Case record: Mickey Wayne Davidson

Background

Mickey Wayne Davidson was 38 years old and was of Smyth County. He pleaded guilty to murders committed in June 1990.

His wife was Doris Jane Davidson, age 36. Doris Davidson’s daughters were Mamie Darnell Clatterbuck (age 14) and Tammy Lynn Clatterbuck (age 13).

A note earlier in the day to the Governor said, "I do want the execution to proceed as scheduled."

A cousin, Barry Davidson, submitted a petition on Thursday morning saying the prisoner was mentally incompetent to waive appeals. That petition was rejected by a Federal district appeals court and finally the nation's highest court.

The offence

Mickey Wayne Davidson admitted bludgeoning his wife, Doris Jane Davidson, and her daughters Mamie Darnell Clatterbuck and Tammy Lynn Clatterbuck with a crowbar.

He said he murdered his Smyth County family because his wife decided to return to her former husband.

A statement to police a day after the three were killed at their home in Saltville said:

"I just couldn't stand to see her go back. I just couldn't stand to see them go back. So . . . I just took a crowbar and killed them, Doris and the two kids,'' Davidson said in a statement to police a day after the three were killed at their home in Saltville.

The murders were described as having involved broken marriage, child custody, and child support by the stepdaughters' father.

Investigation

The New York Times reported the execution took place after the Supreme Court rejected a final appeal.

CNN reported that Davidson became the 28th person to be executed in Virginia since the resumption of the death penalty in 1976 and that he was pronounced dead at 9:41 p.m. (0041 GMT) at the Greenville Correctional Center.

An additional narrative account described the execution process and included details of what the witness saw in the execution chamber.

Arrest

Mickey Wayne Davidson pleaded guilty to the 1990 crowbar slayings.

He alternated between seeking his execution and fighting to block it. He had changed his position frequently on whether to fight his execution, finally saying this summer that he deserved to die and would abandon efforts to escape the death penalty.

Davidson was almost executed in 1992 after asking his attorneys not to appeal his case. Three days before the execution date, he changed his mind and was granted a stay.

Trial

Mickey Wayne Davidson pleaded guilty to the 1990 crowbar slayings of his wife and stepdaughters.

He was sentenced by the courts to death in July 1991.

In June 1990, Davidson admitted to brutally and savagely killing his wife and two teenage stepdaughters with a crowbar.

Sentencing

Mickey Wayne Davidson was sentenced to death in July 1991.

Appeals

A cousin, Barry Davidson, submitted a petition saying the prisoner was mentally incompetent to waive appeals.

Barry Davidson unsuccessfully petitioned U.S. District Judge James Spencer to stay the execution, arguing that Davidson was not mentally competent.

The U.S. Supreme Court denied the appeal. The New York Times reported the Supreme Court rejected a final appeal.

CNN stated that the Supreme Court denied an appeal by a cousin of Davidson's at 9:22 p.m., and that the governor temporarily halted the execution to give the court time to rule.

All nine justices were involved in the decision. Although the court would not release a vote on its ruling, it noted that Justice John Paul Stevens wanted to stay the execution.

U.S. District Court Judge James Spencer denied Barry Davidson’s motion on Thursday afternoon, and the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond upheld Spencer’s decision Thursday evening. The U.S. Supreme Court then rejected the appeal.

Outcome

Mickey Wayne Davidson was executed by lethal injection.

He was strapped to a gurney and led by eight guards to the death chamber at the Greensville Correctional Center minutes after the Supreme Court rejected a final appeal.

He was pronounced dead at 9:41 p.m. (0041 GMT) at the Greenville Correctional Center, after a delay of 41 minutes due to an appeal by a relative.

A delay occurred before the execution and the execution was delayed for about 35 minutes.

Mickey Wayne Davidson’s final words were:

"I'll say my last words to the Lord," the inmate, Mickey Wayne Davidson, said on Thursday night after he was strapped to a gurney. "I guess that's all that really needs to be said."

Two preachers, Bob and Sarah West of Heartbeat Prison Ministries in Roanoke, said they were Davidson's only visitors Thursday. They talked with Davidson and planned to give him communion. Sarah West said:

"He's accepted it. He's ready to go,'' Sarah West said.

In a notarized affidavit faxed to Gov. George Allen about 1 1/2 hours before the execution, Davidson wrote:

"I do want the execution to proceed as scheduled.''

In his affidavit to Allen, Mickey Davidson said he wanted the appeals to be stopped and specified he had not authorized any lawyer to appeal on his behalf.

Aftermath

The New York Times reported that the man who killed his wife and two stepdaughters with a crowbar went quietly to his death, staring at the ceiling as he was executed by injection.

CNN reported that Virginia Gov. George Allen waited until the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Barry Davidson’s last-minute appeal for his cousin’s life before proceeding with the execution.

CNN reported that the execution made Davidson the 28th person executed in Virginia and the 302nd executed in the country since 1976, and that he was the 45th person executed in the United States so far this year.

An Eye For An Eye, A Tooth For A Tooth account described witnessing the execution chamber procedures, including placing intravenous (IV) needles into Mr. Davidson's arms, drawing a curtain across in front of the gurney, and administering three drugs: one put the condemned to sleep, the second deadened the muscles, and the third stopped the heart. It stated that an EKG attached to the condemned was used for physician certification that death had occurred, and that electric chair equipment was present though not visible beyond legs and part of the frame.

The witness account included the following sequence description: drugs were administered while the condemned breathed heavily with every breath, the chest movements became shallower, then there was no movement in his chest, and death was then known.

The witness account included these observations:

• An EKG was attached to the condemned so that the attending physician could certify that death had occurred.
• "Three drugs were administered: one puts the condemned to sleep; the second deadens the muscles and third stops the heart."
• The witness described the clock reading 9:42 p.m. after having entered the chamber earlier.
• The execution was carried out and witnesses were directed to leave.
• After exiting the prison grounds, members of the Rapid Deployment Force were standing at "Attention".

Timeline

• June 1990 — Mickey Wayne Davidson admitted bludgeoning his wife, Doris Jane Davidson, and her daughters Mamie Darnell Clatterbuck and Tammy Lynn Clatterbuck with a crowbar.
• July 1991 — Mickey Wayne Davidson was sentenced to death.
• Thursday — Barry Davidson unsuccessfully petitioned for a stay based on claims that Mickey Wayne Davidson was not mentally competent to waive appeals; U.S. District Court Judge James Spencer denied the motion; the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond upheld the decision; the U.S.
• October 19, 1995 — Mickey Wayne Davidson was executed by lethal injection in Virginia.

Other details

Mickey Wayne Davidson sent a note earlier in the day to the Governor stating, "I do want the execution to proceed as scheduled."

Ken Stroupe, an Allen spokesman, said the U.S. Supreme Court denied an appeal by a cousin of Davidson's at 9:22 p.m.

The CNN report described Davidson dying at 9:41 p.m. from an injection of lethal drugs at the Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt.

A narrative account described the execution chamber and the positioning of witnesses, including that no member of the condemned's family would be attending and that witnesses were seated behind a glass enclosure.

The narrative account included specific details about electric chair equipment voltage and timing, stating it was designed to deliver approximately 1,825 volts at approximately 7.5 amps for 30 seconds, then 240 volts at approximately 1.5 amps for 60 seconds, with a five-second pause and total equipment operation of three minutes.

The narrative account also included a comment on pronouncing death for an inmate who was electrocuted versus using an EKG, stating: "To pronounce death to an inmate who was electrocuted, the attending physician has to listen to the inmate's heart with a stethoscope in lieu of an EKG."

The narrative account included the witness description: "I could not help but think how long the trip back home would be."

The witness account included the statement: "Justice was done in the Commonwealth of Virginia."