Frank Basil McFarland

Overview

Frank Basil McFarland was executed by lethal injection in Texas on April 29, 1998. He was convicted by a Texas jury of capital murder and sentenced to death for stabbing Terry Hokanson while committing or attempting to commit aggravated sexual assault.

McFarland denied any involvement in the attack. His last statement was: "I owe no apologies for a crime I did not commit. Those who lied and fabricated evidence against me will have to answer for what they have done. I know in my heart what I did and I call upon the spirit of my ancestors and all of my people and I swear to them and now I am coming home."

Timeline

• February 1, 1988 — Terry Hokanson, a shoeshine girl at a topless bar, was attacked and stabbed in connection with the aggravated sexual assault.
• October 26, 1989 — Trial commenced in Tarrant County, Texas.
• November 13, 1989 — Verdict returned.
• November 15, 1989 — Sentencing date; jury decided.
• November 27, 1989 — Sentence passed.
• November 13, 1991 — Defendant’s appellate brief filed.
• September 23, 1992 — Opinion issued in the direct appeal (Clinton J dissents; Baird J not participating).
• June 7, 1993 — Petition for writ of certiorari denied.
• November 15, 1995 — Denied first state writ of habeas corpus; April 29, 1996 — denied; the second writ decision is described as denied.
• February 13, 1996 — Filed and placed on docket; denied April 29, 1996.
• April 3, 1996 — Habeas petition filed in the district court (as described in the Fifth Circuit decision).
• June 7, 1997 — AEDPA effective date is referenced as April 24, 1996 in the Fifth Circuit decision context; execution stay order and appointment of habeas counsel are referenced without a specific date here.
• February 13, 1998 — Fifth Circuit record context: the appeal seeking a certificate of probable cause or certificate of appealability.
• April 29, 1998 — Execution carried out.

The offence

On February 1, 1988, Terry Hokanson was killed by repeated stabbing in the course of committing or attempting to commit aggravated sexual assault.

McFarland met Hokanson at a topless bar identified in the record as the now-defunct Centerfold Club in Arlington, where she worked as a shoeshine valet. Evidence at trial indicated that McFarland met Hokanson on Feb. 1, 1988, and the pair went out dancing that evening.

Later, Hokanson was found severely wounded. She was initially alive and told police that two men had attacked her. She was found by teen-agers as she staggered from behind a church in Hurst, a suburb northeast of Fort Worth.

McFarland and his co-defendant Michael Wilson took Hokanson in McFarland’s truck to Hurst Park, where she was raped and stabbed 43 times and then left to die behind a church under construction.

People

• Frank Basil McFarland — defendant; executed in Texas on April 29, 1998.
• Terry Hokanson — victim; 26-year-old Arlington woman.
• Michael Wilson — McFarland’s co-defendant; later murdered before McFarland’s trial.
• Rachel Revill — Wilson’s girlfriend; described as an illegal immigrant; gave testimony about Wilson’s statements after the crime.
• Mark Noblett — acquaintance of Wilson and McFarland; testified for the State; described as a police informant.
• Joann Alexander — waitress who later introduced McFarland and Wilson to Hokanson.
• Clair Theodore and Ken Dies — assistant U.S. attorneys, Southern District of Texas, listed as prosecutors.
• Hon. Tolly Wilson and Sharen Wilson — defense attorneys listed.
• Hon. Don Leonard — trial judge; Criminal District Court #3, Tarrant County.
• Angela Autrey — witness who saw the victim leave the club with two men (as described in the trial evidence section).
• Cheryl Kepp — owner of the club; saw the victim leave with two men; one was described as Timothy Todd Tickle.
• Warren, Mires and Rich — three boys who saw a white car with red roof drive away and then saw the victim before she died (as described in the trial evidence section).
• Timothy Todd Tickle — named as one of the two men seen with the victim in club-owner testimony; later testified he did not know the victim but was at the club on the night of the murder.
• Officer Craig Teague — mentioned in connection with the review of Revill’s status as an illegal immigrant.
• Detectives Blue and Teague — involved in a telephone conference with Revill prior to Wilson’s funeral.
• Officer Rainey — investigating officer who happened upon the scene and interviewed the dying victim; later provided hypnotically-enhanced testimony over objection.
• Melvin Butler — testified for the State that McFarland told him he had killed before.
• Danny D. Burns — habeas writ attorney listed.
• Tim Curry, C. Chris Marshall, and Edward L. Wilkinson — State’s appellate reply attorneys named.
• Jack V. Strickland and Michael Logan Ware — defense attorneys named for appellate matters.
• Larry York and Jennie Noblett — mentioned as witnesses discussed in ineffective assistance arguments; not called to testify as described.
• Rev. Jon Paul Sydnor — speaker attributed to quoted commentary in the narrative material; not part of the legal proceeding sections beyond that attribution.
• Kenneth Dies — handled the case and was quoted about the execution.
• Governor George W. Bush — signed a death warrant is referenced in the narrative material.

Investigation and forensic evidence

Police searched the area and found Hokanson’s purse, shoes, watch, and one earring in a pool of blood. There was a five hundred foot long trail of blood leading from her belongings to the spot where she was discovered.

Hair evidence: Special Agent Blythe of the FBI Microscopic Analysis Unit analyzed hair samples found in the victim’s hands and found that they were not consistent with the known hairs of Wilson/McFarland.

DNA evidence: Testimony indicated that DNA from semen found on the victim matched McFarland’s semen, but stated that 6% of the Caucasian population would also have the same characteristics.

Rabbit hair evidence: Evidence stated that McFarland had hair on the back seat of his car matching the rabbit hair coat worn by the victim; it also stated that McFarland’s girlfriend had a rabbit hair coat she had previously worn in the truck.

Officer Rainey provided hypnotically-enhanced testimony concerning his conversation with the victim shortly before her death. Under hypnosis, he recalled that it was "Centerfold" and that the victim said that she had first met her attackers that night.

Arrest

McFarland was arrested over a month after February 1, 1988, in connection with the crime against Terry Hokanson.

Trial

Charges and plea

McFarland was charged with capital murder under Texas law, identified in the record as capital murder - TX. Pen. Code. Ann. s.19.03(a)(2).

The plea was Not Guilty.

Verdict and decision-makers

The trial took place in Tarrant County, Texas, with trial judge Hon. Don Leonard, presiding in Criminal District Court #3, Tarrant County.

Trial commenced October 26, 1989, and the verdict was returned November 13, 1989. Sentencing occurred with the jury’s decision on November 15, 1989, and the sentence was passed November 27, 1989.

Prosecution and defense positions

Defense presented no testimony or evidence as described in the record.

The record described a possible accomplice confession issue involving Michael Wilson. The record stated:

• Before Wilson’s funeral, detectives Blue and Teague had a telephone conference with Revill during which she did not implicate Wilson or McFarland.
• Investigator Craig Teague admitted Revill’s status as an illegal immigrant was discussed when a videotape of her story re: Wilson’s alleged confession was made.
• An alleged confession by Wilson to Mark Leonard Noblett implicated McFarland in stabbing a woman in a church parking lot.
• Wilson’s girlfriend Rachel Revill testified about Wilson’s alleged confession.
• Mark Noblett testified against McFarland; Noblett was described as working as police informant in other cases.

Witness testimony and evidentiary disputes described in the record

The trial evidence section described a variety of witness accounts:

• Angela Autrey saw the victim leave the club with two men.
• Cheryl Kepp, owner of the club, saw the victim leave with two men, one identified as Timothy Todd Tickle.
• Warren, Mires and Rich saw a white car with red roof drive away and then saw the victim before she died.

The record described scientific and evidentiary disagreements:

• Hair in the victim’s hands was said to be inconsistent with Wilson or McFarland, according to FBI microscopic analysis.
• DNA from semen found on the victim was said to match McFarland, with the record noting a stated population frequency of 6% among Caucasians.
• Hair found in McFarland’s car was said to match rabbit hair from the victim’s coat; it also noted a rabbit hair coat in McFarland’s girlfriend’s possession.

The trial judge’s communications and procedural elements were not further detailed in the record beyond dates and personnel listed.

Sentencing

McFarland received a sentence of death following the jury’s decision.

In the narrative portion, the record states that he was condemned for the Feb. 1, 1988 death of Terri Lynn Hokanson, with the execution carried out after Governor George W. Bush signed McFarland’s death warrant.

Appeals

Direct appeal to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

McFarland’s direct appeal was decided by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

• Defendant’s appellate brief was filed Nov. 13, 1991.
• The opinion was issued September 23, 1992, by Campbell J., with Benavides JJ concurring; Clinton J dissented; Baird J not participating.
• The opinion citation given was McFarland v. State, 845 F.2d 824 (1992).

The grounds raised were described as: no innocence claim, but note failure to put on mitigating evidence.

Writ of habeas corpus (state)

A state writ of habeas corpus was filed.

A writ attorney was listed as Danny D. Burns, with address and telephone listed.

Grounds for alleged ineffective assistance of counsel were described as including:

• Prosecution’s suppression of exculpatory evidence and subordination of perjured testimony.
• Failure to preserve meritorious claim re: hearsay testimony.
• Failure to object to the State’s use of applicant’s post-arrest silence.
• Objection to State innuendo that McFarland was involved with Wilson’s murder.
• Possibility one of the State’s witnesses (“BAKER”) was offered deals by the State on his theft case in return for testimony.
• Prosecution did not make statements of Rich and Mires available to the defense (although a warrant was given).
• Police Officer Oringderff who took statements from the dying victim did not testify at trial even though he was available.
• Another witness (PARSONS) later identified the two men seen on the night of the murder and got his boss to card them; one was Timothy Todd Tickle.
• Meyers, a police officer on the crime scene, omitted to put in report boy’s apparent mention of “blue” car and said boys didn’t refer to white Thunderbird with red top.

The state writ judge listed was Don Leonard District #3, Tarrant County, TX, with a decision date listed as November 15, 1995 denying first writ of habeas corpus; then April 29, 1996 denying; the record also indicates a second writ was denied.

Federal proceedings and Fifth Circuit appeal

A United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit case is included, docketed as No. 96-10955.

• February 13, 1998 — the Fifth Circuit appeal is described in the record.
• The appeal sought a certificate of probable cause or, in the alternative, a certificate of appealability permitting appeal of the district court’s denial of a writ of habeas corpus and lifting of its stay of execution.
• The Fifth Circuit described that the district court declined to issue a certificate of probable cause and that McFarland filed a habeas petition on April 3, 1996.

The Fifth Circuit concluded:

• "we therefore deny his request for a CPC."
• It also states that "CERTIFICATE OF PROBABLE CAUSE DENIED." and "STAY OF EXECUTION VACATED."

Outcome

McFarland was executed by lethal injection in Texas on April 29, 1998.

In the narrative material, it is stated that McFarland was the 1st Texan in modern history to be executed for a murder committed in Northeast Tarrant County.

Last statement

McFarland’s last statement was: "I owe no apologies for a crime I did not commit. Frank Basil McFARLAND"

The narrative also reports that he finished his statement by saying "Loch sloy."

Other details

Defendant biographical and case identifiers

• Date of birth: October 7, 1963.
• Offender identifier: Frank Basil McFarland #963.
• Age at time of crime: 24.
• Age at time of execution: 34.
• TDCJ Number: 963.
• Criminal history: juvenile offense of sexual assault.
• Race of defendant: White.
• Jury racial makeup: listed as ? in the record.

Sentencing date references in multiple portions

The record lists:

• Sentencing Date: November 15, 1989 – Jury decided.

Co-defendant death

The record states that Michael Wilson was killed about a month after Terry Hokanson, and that Wilson was murdered before McFarland’s trial.

Witness credibility and procedural disputes described in the record

The record includes claims and discussions about:

• Testimony of Revill and Noblett and the alleged circumstances around their statements.
• Hypnosis used to enhance Officer Rainey’s recall.
• Suppression of witness statements from two boys who spoke with the victim before she died, and the circumstances described around discovery seven years later through a Freedom of Information request.
• Claims that DNA results and hair evidence did not match Wilson/McFarland for some hair samples, while semen DNA was stated to match McFarland with a stated population estimate.
• Claims that McFarland’s girlfriend owned a rabbit hair jacket, described as being brought out at sentencing.

Quoted statements attributed in the narrative portion

Kenneth Dies said: "It's too bad the system doesn't have an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth," "He should die by stab wounds 79 times. That young lady never had a chance."

Family members told reporters the term "Loch sloy" was a battle cry for the McFarland clan in Scotland, and McFarland had said he was framed, while prosecutors said the right man was punished.