Dwight J. Loving
Dwight Jeffrey Loving | |
---|---|
life imprisonment without parole | |
Details | |
Victims | Christopher Fay, 20 Bobby Sharbino, 44 |
Span of crimes | December 11, 1988 – December 12, 1988 |
Country | United States |
State(s) | Texas |
Injured | Howard Harrison |
Date apprehended | December 13, 1988 |
Imprisoned at | United States Disciplinary Barracks |
Dwight Jeffrey Loving (born c. 1968) was one of six military personnel on
Murders and arrest
Dwight Jeffrey Loving
The court-martial evidence, which included Loving's undisputed videotaped confession, established that the first robbery and murder victim, Pvt. Christopher Fay, 20, was an active duty soldier working for extra money as a cab driver; at approximately 8:00 p.m. on December 24, Fay drove Loving from Killeen, Texas, to a secluded area of Fort Hood, where Loving robbed him at gunpoint; after taking Fay's money, Loving shot Fay in the back of the head; while watching blood "gushing out" of Fay's head, Loving shot him in the back of the head a second time. Fay's dead body was discovered by another soldier at Fort Hood a short while later.
Loving, after fleeing to his Fort Hood barracks, called for a second cab at 8:15 that same evening. The second cab, driven by retired Army Sergeant Bobby Sharbino, 44, drove Loving from Fort Hood to a secluded street in Killeen. Loving then robbed Sharbino at gunpoint, ordered him to lie down on the seat, and murdered him by shooting him in the head.
After the second murder, Loving socialized with his Italian girlfriend and others at local nightclubs. Later that evening, he robbed and attempted to murder a third cab driver, Howard Harrison, who successfully defended himself. Loving escaped on foot.
The next day, a Joint Task Force composed of
Trial, sentence, appeals, and commutation
He was convicted at a court martial held at Ft. Hood in March 1989. He was found guilty on April 3, 1989.[4] He made several attempts to have his sentence invalidated.
The
He lost a subsequent appeal to the Supreme Court in 2001.[4] The lack of executions in the intervening decades was due to a Supreme Court decision in 1969 had held that the military did not have jurisdiction over crimes committed off-post by military personnel. The Supreme Court's reversal of that decision in 1987 made the possibility of military death sentences more likely.[4][b]
As they had in 1996, attorneys from the
Loving was not executed because neither President George W. Bush nor President Barack Obama authorized his execution. According to the New York Times, "Military executions require presidential approval".[9]
On January 17, 2017, three days before leaving office, President Obama commuted Loving's death sentence to life imprisonment without parole, "on the condition that Loving shall never have any rights, privileges, claims or benefits arising under the parole and suspension or remission of sentence laws of the United States and the regulations promulgated thereunder governing federal prisoners confined in any penal institution."[10]
See also
Notes
References
- ^ "Loving". Austin American-Statesman. 1989-04-03. p. 12. Retrieved 2022-03-13.
- ^ "Soldier sentenced to death for killing two cab drivers". UPI. April 4, 1989. Retrieved April 9, 2017.
- ^ Carter, Chelsea J. (August 6, 2013). "Military death row: More than 50 years and no executions". CNN. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
- ^ a b c d Stevenson, Debbie (February 3, 2006). "Former Fort Hood soldier's fate left in president's hands". Killean Daily Herald. Retrieved February 24, 2011.
- ^ Loving v. United States (Court case). U.S. 1996.
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ignored (help) - ^ Connors, Michael P. (Summer 1988). "The Demise of the Service-Connection Test: Solorio v. United States". Catholic University Law Review. 37 (4).
- ^ Goldman, Russell (November 13, 2009). "Fort Hood Shooter Could Face Death Penalty". ABC News. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
- ^ "Loving v. United States" (PDF). U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. July 17, 2009. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
- ^ Fernandez, Manny (August 4, 2013). "Victims to Again Face Gunman in Fort Hood Trial". New York Times. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
- ^ Sink, Justin; Pettypiece, Shannon (January 17, 2017). "Obama Commutes Chelsea Manning's Prison Sentence for Leak". Bloomberg Politics. Retrieved January 17, 2017.