Glen Charles McGinnis

Case record: Glen Charles McGinnis

Status

Glen Charles McGinnis was executed by lethal injection in Texas on January 25, 2000.

Timeline

• August 1, 1990 — A customer entered Wilkins Dry Cleaners in Conroe, Texas and discovered the body of the clerk, Leta Wilkerson, lying face up on the floor, her eyes open and her body covered with blood; Wilkerson was shot once in the face and three times in the back, and about $140 was missing from the cash register.
• August 2, 1990 — Police arrested McGinnis at his aunt’s home, with $105 in his possession, for the capital murder of Leta Wilkerson.
• July 23, 1992 — A jury found McGinnis guilty of the capital offense.
• July 30, 1992 — The trial court assessed McGinnis’s punishment at death.
• October 8, 1990 — McGinnis was indicted in Montgomery County, Texas, for the capital murder of Leta Wilkerson while in the course of committing and attempting to commit the offense of robbery.
• December 14, 1994 — The Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas affirmed McGinnis’s conviction and sentence.
• March 1, 1995 — The Court of Criminal Appeals denied rehearing.
• October 2, 1995 — The United States Supreme Court denied McGinnis’s petition for writ of certiorari.
• May 7, 1996 — McGinnis filed an application for writ of habeas corpus in the convicting court.
• July 12, 1996 — The trial court issued findings of fact and conclusions of law recommending that relief be denied.
• August 28, 1996 — The Court of Criminal Appeals denied relief based on the trial court’s findings and conclusions.
• January 3, 1997 — McGinnis filed in federal district court a petition for writ of habeas corpus.
• February 2, 1998 — The federal district court issued a memorandum opinion and entered final judgment denying relief.
• April 7, 1998 — After denying a post-judgment motion, the federal district court granted McGinnis permission to appeal one issue.
• July 20, 1999 — The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of habeas corpus relief.
• August 25, 1999 — The court of appeals denied McGinnis’s petition for rehearing.
• January 18, 2000 — The Supreme Court denied certiorari review.
• January 18, 2000 — The Court of Criminal Appeals dismissed a second application for state writ of habeas corpus as an abuse of the writ.
• January 25, 2000 — McGinnis was executed by lethal injection in Texas.

The offence

On the afternoon of August 1, 1990, a customer walked into Wilkins Dry Cleaners in Conroe, Texas, and discovered the body of the clerk, Leta Wilkerson, lying face up on the floor, her eyes open and her body covered with blood. Wilkerson was shot once in the face and three times in the back and was pronounced dead on arrival at a nearby hospital.

Investigating officers found spent .25-caliber bullets and bullet casings lying on the floor near where the body was found. Officers discovered blood on the front counter next to a pile of jeans with the name “McGinnis” written in the pockets. The telephone on the front counter had been left off the hook, objects were in disarray, and about $140 was missing from the cash register.

The victim’s 1985 silver-gray GMC minivan (described as missing) was taken from the parking lot. Two individuals picked Glen Charles McGinnis out of a photographic lineup as the man they had seen at or near Wilkins Dry Cleaners around the time of the offense.

Late that evening, police found Wilkerson’s minivan abandoned in the parking lot of a nearby shopping center. Between the two front seats of the van, officers discovered Wilkerson’s wallet, from which investigators lifted McGinnis’s fingerprint.

The following morning, three employees of various businesses in the shopping center where the van was found picked McGinnis out of a photographic lineup as the man they had seen the afternoon before requesting assistance because his van was broken down.

Investigation

At the scene, officers discovered spent .25-caliber bullets and bullet casings near where the body was found. They also found blood on the front counter next to a pile of jeans with “McGinnis” written in the pockets, with about $140 missing from the cash register. The telephone was left off the hook and objects were in disarray.

Two individuals identified McGinnis from a photographic lineup. Investigators also processed the van and recovered Wilkerson’s wallet from between the two front seats, from which McGinnis’s fingerprint was lifted.

Police later returned to Annette McGinnis’s apartment to search for a .25-caliber weapon and found a .25-caliber Raven semi-automatic pistol in a laundry hamper in the hall closet. Annette McGinnis identified the gun as her own but stated she did not know how it had gotten into the laundry hamper.

Firearms examiner Russell Johnson testified at trial that shell casings recovered from the scene and bullets recovered from both the victim’s body and the scene had been fired from Annette McGinnis’s gun.

Almost two months after the offense, Annette McGinnis contacted police to inform them she had found a set of keys in her apartment. The keys were later identified as the keys of Leta Wilkerson. When asked at trial about the jeans found at the cleaners, Annette McGinnis identified them as hers but testified that she had not taken the jeans to the cleaners and that the jeans had previously been stored away in a closet in her apartment because she did not wear them anymore.

Arrest

Early on the morning of August 2, 1990, police were dispatched to Williams Square Apartments, just two blocks from Wilkins Dry Cleaners, where McGinnis was thought to be residing with his aunt, Annette McGinnis. Police arrested McGinnis and transported him to the police station, where they discovered $105 in his possession.

Trial

McGinnis was tried before a jury upon a plea of not guilty.

On July 23, 1992, the jury found McGinnis guilty of the capital offense.

At the punishment phase, the jury found that McGinnis acted deliberately, that he was a continuing threat to society, and that there were not sufficient mitigating circumstances to warrant a sentence of life imprisonment. In accordance with state law, on July 30, 1992, the trial court assessed McGinnis’s punishment at death.

Sentencing

The trial court sentenced McGinnis to death.

Appeals

Direct appeal

McGinnis appealed his conviction and sentence to the Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, which affirmed on December 14, 1994, and denied rehearing on March 1, 1995.

McGinnis filed a petition for writ of certiorari to the United States Supreme Court, which was denied on October 2, 1995.

State habeas corpus

McGinnis filed an application for writ of habeas corpus in the convicting court on May 7, 1996. On July 12, 1996, the trial court issued findings of fact and conclusions of law recommending that relief be denied. The Court of Criminal Appeals denied relief based on the trial court’s findings and conclusions in an order dated August 28, 1996.

On January 18, 2000, the Court of Criminal Appeals dismissed a second application for state writ of habeas corpus filed by McGinnis as an abuse of the writ.

Federal habeas corpus and Fifth Circuit appeal

McGinnis filed in federal district court a petition for writ of habeas corpus on January 3, 1997. On February 2, 1998, the federal district court issued a memorandum opinion and entered final judgment denying relief. After denying a post-judgment motion on April 7, 1998, the federal district court granted McGinnis permission to appeal one issue.

On July 20, 1999, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of habeas corpus relief.

The Court of Appeals denied McGinnis’s petition for rehearing on August 25, 1999.

On January 18, 2000, the Supreme Court denied certiorari review.

Other details

Prior criminal history (juvenile and related)

At the punishment phase of trial, the State presented evidence of McGinnis’s prior criminal history.

• On July 30, 1986, after several minor offenses culminating in criminal trespass, McGinnis, then 13 years old, was adjudicated delinquent and placed on juvenile probation by the 314th Judicial District Court of Harris County, Texas.
• The court entered an order modifying the conditions of his probation on April 16, 1987, after McGinnis violated his probation by leaving court-ordered placement.
• On September 3, 1987, the court revoked McGinnis’s probation and committed him to the institutional division of the Texas Youth Commission after he was found guilty of burglary of a vehicle; he was sent to Gainesville State School and was paroled on January 22, 1988.
• About 12:30 a.m. on August 28, 1988, Carole Speight left a club in Houston in her minivan; after hearing “This is a stick up,” she saw a man in the back seat and started screaming; the man shot at her, shattering the front driver’s side window; Speight slowed down, jumped out, and ran away; the man drove away in her van. Speight was unable to positively identify McGinnis as the gunman; however, McGinnis was seen driving the van on September 4, 1988, when he was involved in a minor traffic collision; at the scene he offered a credit card with Speight’s name, claiming it was his mother’s credit card. Police recovered the van in Missouri City, Texas, on September 7, 1988, finding McGinnis driving it, and he presented three credit cards with Speight’s name, claiming they were his mother’s credit cards.
• On September 28, 1988, McGinnis was charged with felony theft and misdemeanor assault; he was classified as a “repeat offender,” his parole was revoked, and he was sent back to Gainesville State School.
• McGinnis was paroled again on March 28, 1989.
• On April 15, 1989, McGinnis was apprehended driving a stolen vehicle in Houston; the steering column was broken, and a pair of needle-nosed pliers found in the front floorboard appeared to have been used to start and turn off the vehicle as there were no keys; he was charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle; on April 26, 1989, his parole was revoked; he was reclassified as a “chronic serious offender” and sent to Crockett State School.
• McGinnis was released from Crockett State School in February of 1990.

Additional offence details before the murder

On the afternoon of May 3, 1990, Tara Applegate left her car unlocked and took her keys with her into a five-and-dime store in Conroe, Texas, near Wilkins Dry Cleaners. Minutes later, she left the store, got into her car, and started the ignition. When she turned around, she saw McGinnis crouched down in the floorboard of the back seat. Applegate tried to open the door and get out but became tangled in the seat belt. She untangled herself and got out. McGinnis put the car in reverse with the door still open, started backing up while Applegate ran along beside the car, and Applegate fell underneath the car; McGinnis ran over her foot and drove away. McGinnis pled guilty and received deferred adjudication for the theft of Applegate’s vehicle. He was released on adult probation on July 27, 1990, and was directed to report immediately to the Montgomery County Probation Department; he never reported. Five days after his release, McGinnis murdered Leta Wilkerson.

Parole officer testimony

Martin Rocha, McGinnis’s juvenile parole officer, testified that McGinnis repeatedly failed to fulfill his parole obligations. Rocha contacted McGinnis’s father about whether McGinnis could live with him after release; McGinnis’s father told Rocha McGinnis could come live with him if he was willing to comply with certain rules. Rocha contacted McGinnis and relayed that information. Rocha testified that McGinnis never made a serious attempt to change his behavior under supervision, regardless of the opportunities Rocha and others afforded him, and Rocha further testified that, in his opinion, McGinnis was a threat to society.

Drugs and alcohol

There was no evidence of drug or alcohol use connected with the instant offense.

Clemency petition

A clemency petition was pending before the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles.

Witness and procedural characterization in appellate proceedings

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit described the case as follows: a jury in Montgomery County, Texas found McGinnis guilty of capital murder while committing a robbery; at the punishment phase, the jury found he acted deliberately, that he was a continuing threat to society, and that there were not sufficient mitigating circumstances to warrant a sentence of life imprisonment; accordingly, the state trial court imposed a sentence of death.

McGinnis sought habeas relief under 28 U.S.C. 2254, and the district court granted summary judgment to the government and denied the petition. The district court granted a certificate of appealability on two issues: whether the excusal of three African-American venirepersons violated the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments, and whether the state trial court denied due process under the Fourteenth Amendment by excluding certain evidence from the punishment phase.

The Fifth Circuit ultimately affirmed the district court’s denial of habeas corpus relief.