Calvin Eugene King

Case identification

Calvin Eugene King

Timeline

• Feb. 25, 1994 — Calvin King and Leonard Johnson, Danyell Williams, and Carlette Gibbs met at Room 38 of the Cedar Sands Motel in Beaumont, Texas; the group spent the evening smoking crack cocaine in the room and King bought and sold crack during the evening.
• Just before dawn (following Feb. 25, 1994) — Billy Wayne Ezell went to Kenneth Goodwin's room; King knocked on Goodwin's door and asked Ezell to come upstairs; Ezell left for Room 38.
• Following the next morning (after Feb. 25, 1994) — Billy Wayne Ezell's body was discovered in Room 38 covered with a blanket and nude from the waist down; the room was in disarray; Ezell had sustained 37 major stab wounds and extensive head damage caused by a blunt object.
• June 22, 1995 — A jury found King guilty of the capital offense.
• June 23, 1995 — After a separate punishment hearing, the court assessed King's punishment at death.
• Sept. 24, 1997 — The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed King's conviction and sentence in a published opinion.
• March 16, 1998 — King filed a state application for writ of habeas corpus in the trial court.
• Feb. 17, 1999 — The Court of Criminal Appeals denied the state application in an unpublished order.
• Oct. 15, 1999 — King filed a federal habeas petition in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Texarkana Division.
• Feb. 6, 2001 — The federal district court denied habeas relief.
• May 11, 2001 — The federal district court denied King permission to appeal.
• Feb. 26, 2002 — The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit denied King permission to appeal.
• Sept. 23, 2002 — Texas Attorney General Media Advisory stated King was scheduled to be executed after 6 p.m. on Sept. 25, 2002.
• Sept. 25, 2002 — Calvin King was executed by lethal injection in Texas; he was pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m.

Background

Calvin King rented Room 38 of the Cedar Sands Motel in Beaumont, Texas, earlier in the day of Feb. 25, 1994. He spent the evening with Leonard Johnson, Danyell Williams, and Carlette Gibbs smoking crack cocaine in the room. King was also selling and buying crack throughout the course of the evening. Gibbs was pregnant at the time.

The offence

Victim and circumstances

Billy Wayne Ezell came to Room 38 several times to sell crack to the occupants. After Ezell was called by either Johnson or King, Ezell left Goodwin's room for Room 38 just before dawn. Ezell's body was later found in Room 38 lying face down, partially covered with a blanket and nude from the waist down. A broken lamp lay next to him, and the cord from the lamp was wrapped around his neck.

Injury details

Ezell sustained multiple blunt force injuries to both sides of his head and stabbing and cutting wounds to his head, face, throat, chest, and back. Two of the wounds severed his internal jugular vein and pulmonary artery. His diaphragm was also punctured. Additionally, both of his arms and hands had numerous defensive wounds. In all, Ezell suffered 37 major stab wounds and sustained extensive damage to the head caused by a blunt object. Dr. Elizabeth Peacock, who performed the autopsy, stated: "this is a case that we would commonly refer to as overkill."

Interaction with the money and confession statements

When Ezell came to the room, he took a large roll of money out of his pocket, which was seen by everyone in the room. After Ezell returned to Room 38, he sold King $60 worth of crack and left. When King and Johnson arrived at the home of Williams and Gibbs that morning, King had blood on his shirt. King produced a roll of money covered in blood. King washed the blood off the money and dried it in the oven.

King made admissions to friends present. He said: "I done kill and I'll kill again." He also said: "I'm the one kill him (sic). I'm the one that hit him over the head with a lamp, put a cord around his neck and slice (sic) his throat."

Billy Hickman testified that King and Johnson were watching a news report about the killing and King stated: "I done kill and I'll kill again."

Carlette Gibbs observed that King had a large amount of crack and that there was "money everywhere" drying. She testified that Johnson woke her up, crying and telling her he "didn't do it."

Investigation

Evidence included that the room was in disarray, as though a fight had occurred. Goodwin noticed Ezell's car was still in the parking lot and he was curious why Ezell would still be there. Goodwin's calls to Ezell's pager received no response. Goodwin knocked on the door of Room 38, but no one responded. After returning to his room, Goodwin saw a woman from the front office checking the rooms walking in the direction of Room 38.

Arrest

The record did not state specific arrest details.

Trial

Charges and court proceedings

King was indicted in the Criminal District Court of Jefferson County, Texas, for the capital offense of murdering Billy Wayne Ezell while in the course of committing and attempting to commit robbery. King pleaded not guilty. A jury found him guilty of the capital offense.

Verdict and punishment

On June 22, 1995, a jury found King guilty of the capital offense. After a separate punishment hearing, the court assessed King's punishment at death on June 23, 1995.

Trial evidence and witness testimony

The State presented that King and Johnson sent Williams and Gibbs home in a cab at about 4 a.m. telling them they were going to sell the crack they had just bought and that the women needed to leave. Kenneth Goodwin and Angelita Williams were staying in Room 26 of the Cedar Sands Motel, below and adjacent to Room 38. Goodwin was a friend of Johnson and Gibbs and knew King.

After being called by Johnson or King, Ezell came to Room 38 several times to sell crack, and at one point Ezell took Johnson to the store to buy beer and cigarettes and then returned to the room to sell the group crack. The sequence of testimony included that King later washed money covered in blood and dried it in an oven.

The record also included that King declined repeated requests for interviews with reporters in the weeks preceding his scheduled punishment.

Jury deliberation and verdict timing

A jury deliberated 30 minutes before deciding King was guilty. The jury deliberated just an hour before voting that he should go to death row.

Evidentiary appeal issue referenced during procedural history

Police Officer Leslie Apple testified that a woman at the crime scene, Angelita Williams, "stated…that a black male that she knew as King...possibly killed Billy." King appealed the inclusion of this testimony on hearsay grounds and on grounds it was opinion testimony with no factual basis. The appellate courts held it admissible as an excited utterance as a statement relating to the event made while Williams was under the stress of excitement. The record also stated King challenged whether Williams had a factual basis for her comment to Officer Apple.

Sentencing

On June 23, 1995, the court assessed King's punishment at death after a separate punishment hearing.

Appeals

Direct appeal

King's conviction and sentence were automatically appealed to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which affirmed in a published opinion on Sept. 24, 1997.

King did not petition the Supreme Court of the United States for writ of certiorari.

State habeas

King filed a state application for writ of habeas corpus in the trial court on March 16, 1998. The trial court entered findings of fact and conclusions of law recommending that King's application be denied. The Court of Criminal Appeals adopted the trial court's findings and conclusions and denied the application in an unpublished order on Feb. 17, 1999.

Federal habeas and later review attempts

King filed a federal habeas petition in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Texarkana Division, on Oct. 15, 1999. The federal district court denied habeas relief on Feb. 6, 2001 and denied King permission to appeal on May 11, 2001. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit denied King permission to appeal on Feb. 26, 2002. King then petitioned the United States Supreme Court for certiorari review, and the petition was pending.

Prior criminal history

During trial, the State proved that King had three prior convictions for theft and one for burglary of a habitation, all in Dallas County, Texas.

• On April 2, 1982, King received probation for his first theft offense.
• On July 30, 1982, King was convicted of his second theft offense, probation was revoked, and he was sentenced to 6 years imprisonment.
• Following his release on parole, King was convicted of his third theft offense and, on Aug. 20, 1986, was sentenced to 2 years imprisonment.
• On March 22, 1989, King was convicted of burglary of a habitation and sentenced as an habitual offender to 25 years imprisonment.

He was released after serving 4 years. Another account stated parole occurred in June 1984 after the 6-year sentence and parole occurred in April 1987 after the 2-year sentence, and that he was paroled in September 1993 after serving four years of the 25-year burglary sentence.

The record also included that King declined requests for interviews before his scheduled punishment.

Outcome

King was executed by lethal injection in Texas on September 25, 2002. He was pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m. In at least one account, he was pronounced dead 11 minutes after the fatal dose began at 6:09 p.m., and another account stated he was pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m. and that he gurgled and gasped twice as he lost consciousness.

Final meal and final words

Final Meal

Half of a fried chicken (cooked in garlic powder and red pepper), French fries, one Dr. Pepper, and hot sauce.

Final Words

King said: "I want to say God forgives as I forgive and God is the greatest. Thank you." In another account, King muttered: "Yes, I want to say God forgives as I forgive. God is the greatest. Thank you."