Jack Harry Smith

Case record

Jack Harry Smith was sentenced to death on October 9, 1978.

Background

Jack Harry Smith arrived on death row on October 9, 1978. He would turn 70 “this year.” He was described as the oldest person on death row in Texas and one of the longest-serving of Texas’ condemned inmates, ranking seventh in seniority among the state’s 374 convicted killers awaiting lethal injection.

Smith had health problems in prison, including cancer.

The offence

Roy A. Deputter was gunned down while trying to stop a holdup at a Houston convenience store known as Corky’s Corner. Smith and an accomplice were arrested on Jan. 7, 1978.

Smith was convicted of a capital murder arising from the robbery. Smith insisted he had never been in the store where Deputter was killed and the store was robbed of about $90.

A witness identified Smith as one of two gunmen: one armed with a shotgun and the other armed with a pistol.

Roy A. Deputter, who lived behind the store and helped out the owner, walked in on the holdup, pulled his own gun and exchanged shots with the robbers. Deputter was shot once in the heart and once in the head.

Investigation

Smith faced identification by a witness who identified him as one of two gunmen (one with a shotgun and the other with a pistol).

A cashier at the store also testified against Smith at his trial.

Jerome Lee Hamilton testified against Smith.

Arrest

On Jan. 7, 1978, Smith and an accomplice were arrested the same day Roy A. Deputter was gunned down while trying to stop a holdup at the Houston convenience store Corky’s Corner.

Trial

Smith’s accomplice, Jerome Lee Hamilton, received a life sentence and testified against Smith, who received a death sentence.

Smith was described as a former welder who completed only six years of school.

Smith received a death sentence after his 1978 capital murder trial.

Sentencing

Smith was sentenced to death on October 9, 1978.

Smith was paroled from his life sentence on Jan. 8, 1977, after serving 17 years. Almost exactly one year later, on Jan. Deputter was gunned down.

Appeals

A U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit opinion 06-70019 was issued.

The appeals court denied an appeal that challenged Smith’s 1978 conviction. The ruling was late Monday, and the denial placed Smith’s federal appeal in a position that “inches his punishment closer to being carried out.”

Claims rejected included that trial counsel failed to investigate robbery-assault and theft convictions Smith had in 1955, plus another robbery-assault conviction in 1959 that had earned Smith a life prison term. The appeals court also addressed Smith’s claim that this failure to investigate improper convictions in 1955 and 1963 prompted him to waive his right to testify at his 1978 capital murder trial. The appeal contended that if he had testified, jurors would not have sentenced him to death. The appeals court disagreed, upholding a federal district judge’s ruling a year earlier that also turned down his appeal.

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal from Smith in 1985. Little happened after that, and unlike procedures now in place, there were no time deadlines forcing appeals to move through the courts when Smith was convicted.

The trial judge who was described as not being inclined to move the case forward died in 1997.

The lawyer handling Smith’s initial appeals died in 1999.

The attorney now handling Smith’s appeals, Ken McLean, did not immediately return a call Tuesday from The Associated Press.

Outcome

Smith’s federal appeal was denied by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. This left his death sentence closer to being carried out.

Aftermath

Smith ranked as the oldest condemned Texas inmate.

In 2001, Smith complained about the lack of progress in his case in an interview with The Associated Press. He said:

"I feel that the system is waiting for me to pass away of old age," said Smith, who has had health problems in prison, including cancer. "I'm angry at the justice system, at the courts for wasting taxpayers' money for giving me this hospitality."

At the time, he said he wanted a new trial to prove his innocence, insisting he had never been in the store where Deputter was killed and the store robbed of about $90.

Smith also said he had been offered a life sentence before his trial but refused to plead guilty to a crime he said he didn’t do. Smith said when the store was being robbed:

"I was sitting all the time at a beer joint and I had witnesses who testified I was drunk and in no condition to rob anyone."

Jerome Lee Hamilton was paroled in February 2004. The former welder arrived on death row on Oct. 9, 1978. The appeals court denied the challenge to Smith’s 1978 conviction, with the denial occurring amid discussion that he was the oldest person on death row in Texas.