Alvin Goodwin

Case information

Defendant: Alvin Goodwin Alvin Urial Goodwin III Status: Executed by lethal injection in Texas on January 18, 2001

The offence

Alvin Goodwin forced his way at gunpoint into the mobile home of James Douglas Tillerson and robbed and kidnapped Tillerson, taking him to the woods and shooting him. Tillerson was shot to death during a robbery.

Goodwin and his accomplice Billy Aitkens drove by Tillerson’s trailer between 8 and 10 p.m. on the night of Tillerson’s murder and discussed either getting a loan from Tillerson or robbing him. When Tillerson answered the door, Atkins ordered him to sit in a chair and demanded money. Tillerson said he did not have any money, but they ransacked the trailer anyway. They found no money but took other items and ordered Tillerson to his car. Atkins drove while Goodwin sat in the front seat pointing a .357 Magnum at Tillerson. They ordered Tillerson to get out and walk ahead of them into the woods. When they reached a dense area where they could not walk farther, Atkins attempted to shoot Tillerson but the gun did not discharge. Goodwin then raised his .357 Magnum, shot Tillerson, and Tillerson fell to the ground. Goodwin thought he had only grazed Tillerson and shot him again. When Goodwin saw blood coming out of Tillerson’s head, Goodwin and Atkins ran back to the car.

Victim

James Douglas Tillerson, 20-year-old acquaintance of Goodwin and Atkins. Tillerson died from a gunshot wound to the head, and a second wound was made by a bullet entering Tillerson’s right arm and exiting at the forearm.

Investigation

On December 1, 1986, Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputies received a report of a theft at Tillerson’s trailer house. Tillerson had not reported for work that morning and had not been seen since the previous Sunday.

On January 17, 1987, Tillerson’s body was discovered by trail-riders approximately two and one-half miles from his trailer at the edge of the woods near Fawnmist Road in Montgomery County. Police inspected the body’s clothing and tentatively identified the body as Tillerson. The Harris County Assistant Medical Examiner positively identified the body as Tillerson. The examination disclosed that Tillerson had been dead for approximately one month and had died from a gunshot wound to the head. A second wound had been made by a bullet entering Tillerson’s right arm, exiting at the forearm. A bullet was recovered from the body’s clothing and fragments of a bullet were later discovered in the immediate area where the body had been found.

Friends of Tillerson informed police that Tina Atkins, a friend of the victim, had told them that a VCR, bayonet, and several video tapes from Tillerson’s trailer were at the house where she lived with her father, Billy Dan Atkins, Sr. Tina Atkins named the titles of the video tapes corresponding to the titles missing from Tillerson’s trailer. Based on the information she provided, a search warrant was issued for the residence of Billy Dan Atkins, Sr. Billy Dan Atkins, Sr. informed police that he had retrieved the items from the car of his son, Billy Dan Atkins, Jr. (Atkins).

Further investigation revealed that Atkins, Goodwin, and others had been arrested in The Woodlands, Texas on December 4, 1986 for unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. After the arrest, Glenn Dierr stated during a police interview that he had been walking in the woods near Huntsville, Texas with Goodwin on December 5 when Goodwin showed him a fence post into which Goodwin claimed he had fired several rounds of a .357 magnum pistol. Goodwin told Dierr he had “blown someone away” with the weapon five weeks earlier and that the body was still in the woods.

Ballistics testing revealed that all of the projectiles and hulls recovered on or near Tillerson’s body were fired from a Smith & Wesson .357 magnum found with Atkins, Goodwin, Dierr, and Meadows at the time of their arrest in The Woodlands.

On January 20, 1987, Texas law enforcement officials were notified that Goodwin and Atkins had been arrested and were in custody in Burlington, Iowa. During an interview in Iowa on January 21, Texas officers told Goodwin that they had found the weapon used to kill Tillerson and that it was the same weapon taken from Atkins’s car on December 4, 1986. Goodwin then admitted having shot Tillerson and gave a videotaped confession. Goodwin waived extradition and was flown back to Montgomery County that evening, where he was interviewed by officers and later gave a written confession.

Arrest and custody

Goodwin and Atkins were arrested in Iowa on separate charges more than a month after Tillerson’s murder. At the time of the arrest, Goodwin and another person had been caught breaking into several cars, houses and garages. Goodwin pointed a cocked and loaded pistol at one of the officers as he ran from Iowa police. The gun had been stolen from a house in Burlington, Iowa.

Goodwin burglarized a neighbor’s apartment in December of 1986, in Huntsville, Texas. Goodwin had a prior conviction for burglary of a motor vehicle.

People

Defendant

Alvin Goodwin (also described as Alvin Urial Goodwin III). Aged 37 at execution. Convicted and sentenced to death for the 1986 murder of James Douglas Tillerson.

Goodwin had previously been convicted of auto theft and served 10 months of a 5-year sentence. He was paroled in June 1983. In March 1985, he returned to prison as a parole violator with a new 2-year sentence for burglary from Walker County. He was released in May 1986. He was paroled from Auto Theft six months earlier.

Goodwin had also been convicted and sentenced for burglary of a motor vehicle prior to this case, including a previous conviction for burglary of a motor vehicle.

Accomplice

Billy Aitkens (also described as Billy Dan Aitkens Sr. and Billy Dan Aitkens Jr.). Aitkens received a life sentence.

Other named individuals

James Douglas Tillerson (victim). Tina Atkins (friend of the victim). Billy Dan Atkins, Sr. (Tina Atkins’s father). Billy Dan Atkins, Jr. (Atkins; accomplice). Glenn Dierr (stated that Goodwin showed him a fence post and claimed to have fired a .357 magnum; arrested on unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon). Fred Meadows (arrested with Goodwin, Atkins, Dierr). Delbert Burkett (cellmate; testified at sentencing). Deputy Daniel Torres (officer who stopped and detained the vehicle). Stanley Oldham (Texas Ranger). Tracy Peterson (Montgomery County Sheriff’s Detective). Mary Ann Turner (former assistant district attorney in Montgomery County who prosecuted Goodwin). Daniel Torres and Texas law enforcement officials conducted interviews leading to confessions.

Trial

A Texas jury found Goodwin guilty of the murder of James Douglas Tillerson and sentenced Goodwin to death. After hearing additional evidence relating to punishment, the jury affirmatively answered the two special issues presented under Article 37.071 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. The trial court imposed the death sentence.

At trial, the jury received an instruction regarding its duty to disregard illegally obtained evidence. The instruction stated:

You are instructed that our law provides that no evidence obtained from an accused in violation of the Constitution or laws of this state or of the United States nor evidence derived from the use of such evidence may be considered against him in his trial. A peace officer may stop and detain a person for any offense committed within his presence or within his view. Failure to signal a turn is an offense. A peace officer may also temporarily detain a person for the purpose of investigating possible criminal behavior when he has specific and articulable facts which, in light of his experience and personal knowledge taken together with rational inferences from those facts, would constitute a reasonable suspicion that some crime has been or is about to be committed. Where the facts relied upon by the police officer in temporarily detaining a person are as consistent with innocent activity as with criminal activity, a detention based on those facts is unlawful. You are therefore instructed that if you find from the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt, when Deputy Daniel Torres stopped and detained the vehicle and the occupants of the vehicle in which the defendant was a passenger that the driver failed to signal a turn, or that Deputy Torres, at the time of the stop and detention of the vehicle and its occupants, had specific and articulable facts which, in light of his experience and personal knowledge taken together with rational inferences from those facts, would constitute a reasonable suspicion that some crime had been or was about to be committed, then you may consider the weapons and other items seized from said vehicle, and any testimony relating to their seizure, testing by firearms examiners, or identification as the murder weapon. Unless you so find beyond a reasonable doubt, or if you have a reasonable doubt thereof, you will not consider for any purpose the weapons and other items seized from said vehicle, and any testimony relating to their seizure, testing by firearms examiners, or identification as the murder weapon.

Defense counsel requested that the words “and the confessions of the accused” be added at the end of the last two paragraphs on the ground that any illegality in the underlying search that uncovered the .357 magnum would have tainted Goodwin’s confessions. The trial court denied counsel’s request.

At sentencing, Delbert Burkett testified that Goodwin bragged about the murder of Tillerson and showed no remorse.

Burkett testified during cross-examination outside the presence of the jury, stating:

Q: And, then you got five years on a controlled substance out of Montgomery County?
A: Yes, sir.
...
Q: Had you already spoken to the authorities about what you knew that Goodwin had said when you plead for the five years?
A: No.
Q: Was there any arrangement or deal at all where your sentence would be cut or you would not be enhanced if you testified against Goodwin?
Q: No, sir. The first I found out about it was when I was bench-warranted back here on July the 1st.

On direct examination by the state before the jury, Burkett testified:

Q: When did you receive your last conviction?
A: This one now? April of this year.
...
Q: At that time had I ever talked to you?
A: No, ma’am.
Q: Had anyone ever talked to you about Alvin Goodwin?
Q: Was there any promises made at that time concerning testimony against Alvin Goodwin at the time you pled?
Q: When did you first become aware that we were aware that you might have some testimony concerning Alvin Goodwin?
A: July the 1st.
Q: And, were you bench-warranted back to Montgomery County for that purpose?
A: Yes, ma’am.
Q: At the time you were bench-warranted, did you have any idea why you were being bench-warranted?
A: Not until I got here and I seen Guy Williams and he told me why.

Inmate Delbert Burkett testified that while he and Goodwin were being held together in the Montgomery County Jail in January of 1987, an article about the Tillerson murder appeared in the paper. Goodwin read the article and passed the paper to other inmates, saying he had gone to Tillerson’s trailer to steal a government check. Goodwin said that he and an accomplice entered the trailer with guns, forced Tillerson to sit on the couch while they removed objects from the trailer, then took Tillerson into the woods. There, Goodwin shot Tillerson in the arm. Tillerson fell to the ground pleading and screaming. Goodwin said that he “was tired of him screaming and sniveling,” so he shot Tillerson in the head with a .357 pistol. After shooting him, Goodwin and the accomplice left Tillerson in the woods. Burkett heard Goodwin tell this story several different times.

Timeline

• Nov. 30, 1986 — Tillerson was shot to death during a robbery.
• December 1, 1986 — Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputies received a report of a theft at Tillerson’s trailer house.
• December 4, 1986 — Atkins, Goodwin, Glenn Dierr, and Fred Meadows were arrested in The Woodlands, Texas for unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.
• January 17, 1987 — Tillerson’s body was discovered by trail-riders approximately two and one-half miles from his trailer near Fawnmist Road in Montgomery County.
• January 20, 1987 — Texas law enforcement officials were notified that Goodwin and Atkins were in custody in Burlington, Iowa.
• January 21, 1987 — Texas officers interviewed Goodwin in Iowa; Goodwin gave a videotaped confession and waived extradition.
• July 30, 1987 — Following a jury trial, Goodwin was found guilty of capital murder.
• August 3, 1987 — The jury affirmatively answered the two special issues under Article 37.071; the trial court imposed the death sentence.
• October 24, 1990 — Goodwin’s conviction and sentence were automatically appealed to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which affirmed the conviction.
• June 28, 1991 — The United States Supreme Court denied certiorari review.
• November 6, 1991 — Goodwin filed a petition for state writ of habeas corpus.
• June 25, 1993 — The state convicting court recommended that habeas relief under Article 11.07 be denied.
• June 29, 1994 — The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied state habeas relief.
• November 4, 1994 — Goodwin filed a second application for state habeas relief.
• December 8, 1994 — The state convicting court recommended the subsequent writ also be denied.
• January 27, 1995 — The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied relief on Goodwin’s second state petition.
• March 6, 1995 — Goodwin’s federal petition for writ of habeas corpus was denied.
• December 23, 1997 — The Fifth Circuit vacated the district court’s judgment denying habeas relief on Goodwin’s Fifth Amendment claim and remanded for an evidentiary hearing; it affirmed other aspects.
• September 24, 1999 — The district court entered findings of fact.
• October 18, 1999 — The district court denied Goodwin’s petition for writ of habeas corpus but granted a certificate of probable cause.
• August 17, 2000 — The Fifth Circuit affirmed the federal district court’s order dismissing Goodwin’s federal petition for writ of habeas corpus.
• December 18, 2000 — Goodwin filed a petition for writ of certiorari, pending in the United States Supreme Court.
• January 18, 2001 — Goodwin was executed by lethal injection in Texas.

Sentencing

After the jury affirmatively answered the two special issues under Article 37.071, the trial court imposed the death sentence.

A co-defendant, Billy Dan Aitkens, received a life sentence.

Appeals

• October 24, 1990 — Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed conviction.
• June 28, 1991 — United States Supreme Court denied certiorari.
• November 6, 1991 — State habeas petition filed.
• June 25, 1993 — State convicting court recommended denial.
• June 29, 1994 — Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied state habeas relief.
• November 4, 1994 — Second state habeas application filed.
• December 8, 1994 — State convicting court recommended denial.
• January 27, 1995 — Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied relief.
• March 6, 1995 — Federal petition denied.
• December 23, 1997 — Fifth Circuit vacated the district court’s denial of habeas relief on Goodwin’s Fifth Amendment claim and remanded for an evidentiary hearing; it affirmed in all other respects.
• August 17, 2000 — Fifth Circuit affirmed dismissal of Goodwin’s federal petition for writ of habeas corpus.
• December 18, 2000 — Petition for writ of certiorari filed and was pending in the United States Supreme Court prior to execution.

Federal appellate decision details (Fifth Circuit)

The Fifth Circuit case 132 F.3d 162 involved Alvin Urial Goodwin, III, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Gary L. Johnson, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Institutional Division, Respondent-Appellee. The appellate panel included KING, JOLLY and DeMOSS, Circuit Judges.

The Fifth Circuit:

• Affirmed the district court’s denial of habeas relief on the claim of ineffective assistance related to omitted state-law issue on direct appeal.
• Vacated that portion of the district court’s judgment denying habeas relief on Goodwin’s Fifth Amendment claim and remanded for an evidentiary hearing to resolve the fact issue about whether Goodwin invoked his Fifth Amendment right to counsel upon being taken to the Burlington police station.
• Affirmed the district court’s denial of relief on other claims, including withholding of exculpatory impeachment evidence and knowing use of perjured testimony by the prosecution, denial of funds for a rehabilitation expert, and the constitutionality challenge to Article 8.04(a) of the Texas Penal Code.

Verbatim confessions and quoted statements used in the record

Goodwin told the account as quoted by Delbert Burkett, including the line:

“was tired of him screaming and sniveling”

Outcome

Goodwin was executed by lethal injection in Texas on January 18, 2001. He was pronounced dead at 6:22 p.m. The execution process was described as beginning seven minutes before his death.

Goodwin said goodbye in Irish. His last words included:

• “Goodbye.” He also closed by saying “all right, warden.” He sputtered and grunted twice as he exhaled.

Texas Attorney General John Cornyn provided a media advisory stating Goodwin was scheduled to be executed after 6 p.m. on Thursday, January 18, 2001. The advisory stated Goodwin was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1986 murder of James Douglas Tillerson in Conroe, Montgomery County, Texas, and that Tillerson was shot to death on or about Nov. 30, 1986, during a robbery, with Goodwin admitting the murder in confessions to police. The advisory also included the described sequence of events in Goodwin’s confession between 8 and 10 p.m., including ransacking Tillerson’s trailer, forcing Tillerson to his car, pointing a .357 Magnum, ordering Tillerson into the woods, Atkins’s gun misfire, Goodwin’s shooting of Tillerson in the first shot and the second shot, and running back to the car after seeing blood.

Other details

Goodwin spoke in Irish at execution and translated “Goodbye.” He closed by saying “all right, warden.” Goodwin declined to speak with reporters in the weeks preceding his execution date. The Fifth Circuit decision included references to a certificate of probable cause and remand for an evidentiary hearing on the Fifth Amendment counsel-invocation issue. Goodwin’s conviction for capital murder required proof that he intentionally committed the murder in the course of committing or attempting to commit kidnapping, burglary, robbery, aggravated sexual assault, arson, or obstruction or retaliation.