Paul Dennis Reid
Paul Dennis Reid | |
|---|---|
First degree murder (7 counts) | |
| Criminal penalty | Death |
| Details | |
| Victims | 7 killed; 2 survivors |
Span of crimes | February 16 – April 23, 1997 |
| Country | United States |
| State(s) | Tennessee |
Date apprehended | June 25, 1997 |
Paul Dennis Reid, Jr. (November 12, 1957 – November 1, 2013
Crimes
Captain D's
On the morning of February 16, 1997, Reid entered a Captain D's on Lebanon Road in the Donelson neighborhood of Nashville, Tennessee before opening, under the guise of applying for a job. Once inside, he forced employee Sarah Jackson, 16, and the manager, Steve Hampton, 25, into the restaurant's cooler. Reid forced the two to lie face down on the floor and then shot them execution style. Money, including large amounts of change, was found missing from the cash register. Reid used the cash from this robbery as a down payment on a car two days later.[citation needed]
McDonald's
On the evening of March 23, 1997 at a McDonald's on Lebanon Road in the Hermitage neighborhood of Nashville (located 3.4 miles (5.5 km) northeast of the Captain D's), Reid approached four employees as they exited the store after closing. At gunpoint, he forced them back into the restaurant. Reid shot three employees to death execution style in the storeroom: Andrea Brown, 17; Ronald Santiago, 27; and Robert A. Sewell.[5]
Reid attempted to shoot José Antonio Ramirez Gonzalez, but his weapon failed. Gonzalez took this opportunity to fight back, but was overpowered after being stabbed with a knife that Reid was carrying. Reid stabbed Gonzalez a total of 17 times and left him for dead. Gonzalez avoided further attacks by lying completely still and pretending to be dead. Reid then took $3,000 from the cash registers and fled. Upon hearing a door shut, and not seeing the attacker anymore, Gonzalez crawled into the next room to a phone and dialed 911. [6] When the scene was discovered, Gonzalez was taken to a nearby hospital, treated, and ultimately survived. He eventually testified against Reid.[5]
Baskin-Robbins
On the evening of April 23, 1997, Reid went to the door of a Baskin-Robbins on Wilma Rudolph Boulevard in Clarksville, Tennessee after closing and persuaded the employees to let him inside. Once inside, Reid kidnapped Angela Holmes, 21, and Michelle Mace, 16, and forced the two to Dunbar Cave State Park. Their bodies were discovered the next day at the park. Their throats had been slashed.[5]
Trials
Reid was convicted on seven counts of first-degree murder across three trials. Jurors from West and East Tennessee were brought in and sequestered,[7] because a judge determined that the overwhelming media coverage in Nashville would prevent the selection of an unbiased jury from Middle Tennessee.[citation needed]
Captain D's
In the Captain D's murders, Steve Hampton's driver's license and a video rental card were found in the median of Ellington Parkway in East Nashville with Reid's fingerprints on each. Reid was convicted on two counts of first-degree murder.[citation needed]
Baskin-Robbins
In the Baskin-Robbins murders, Reid's car was found to contain forensic evidence from the victims, as well as evidence of a credit card gasoline purchase near the location of the bodies on the night of the murders, placing him at the scene around the time of the crime in an area roughly 40 miles (64 km) from his home. Witnesses also placed a vehicle similar to Reid's vehicle in the immediate area at the time of the crime. Blood evidence from the victims was found on his shoes. He was found guilty on two counts of first-degree murder.[8] The Clarksville trial took place in the time between the two Nashville trials.
Sentences
Reid received seven death sentences for his convictions, the first two coming on April 20, 1999. Reid's execution was stayed several times in the years following, including an instance in 2003 just hours before the scheduled execution. Reid eventually waived his right to an
Reid resided at Tennessee's Morgan County Correctional Complex (Inmate #303893). His seven death sentences are the most ever handed down to a single person in the state of Tennessee.[10][11]
His last execution date was scheduled for January 3, 2008, but was stayed on December 26, 2007 by US District Judge
Mental issues
After his arrest, Reid's family (notably his sister, Linda Martiniano) argued that he was mentally incompetent to stand trial. Following his convictions, they argued that he was not able to make sound legal decisions. Reid displayed erratic decision making, choosing to appeal some verdicts and not others, and professing his will to die as sentenced after having fought to avoid such a fate earlier in his defense. At the same time, Reid exhibited public signs of
Other crimes suspected
For a time, Reid was considered a prime suspect in the 1993 Brown's Chicken massacre in Palatine, Illinois due to the similar nature of the crime in relation to the two incidents in Nashville. Characteristics included shoeprints found at the scene and descriptions of the killer that matched Reid's profile. His alibi checked out, however, and Reid was later ruled out as a suspect. Juan Luna was convicted on seven counts of murder in 2007. On September 29, 2009, Luna's cohort, James Degorski, was found guilty of all seven counts of murder. On October 20, 2009, Degorski was sentenced to life in prison. All but two of the jurors had voted for the death penalty.[15] Reid was reportedly also considered a suspect in the Houston-area killings of three people in a bowling alley for which Max Soffar was twice convicted before dying while still on death row in Texas.[16]
Death
Reid died at Nashville General Hospital at Meharry, on November 1, 2013, eleven days before his 56th birthday. The cause of death was from complications due to pneumonia, heart failure, and upper respiratory issues. Reid had been in the hospital for about two weeks.[17]
See also
References
- ^ "Mass murderer Paul Dennis Reid dies on death row | The Leaf Chronicle -- Clarksville, Tenn., and Fort Campbell | theleafchronicle.com". Archived from the original on 2013-11-02. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
- ^ "Tennessee Department of Correction Inmate Photos". Archived from the original on 2012-07-09. Retrieved 2012-06-06.
- ^ a b "Texan Wants To Drop Death Row Appeals". KWTX.com. December 2, 2006. Archived from the original on May 27, 2011. Retrieved 2008-10-26.
- ^ Echegaray, Chris (13 May 2008). "Judge to rule on Reid's inaction". p. B1.
- ^ better source needed]
- ^ a b "State Supreme Court Affirms Reid Convictions, Death Sentences For McDonald's Murders". The Chattanoogan. December 27, 2006. Archived from the original on January 27, 2007. Retrieved 2008-10-26.
- ^ "1st Jury Brought From Another City in 7 Years". Nashville, Tennessee: NewsChannel 5.com. 2006-08-07. Archived from the original on 2012-02-14. Retrieved 2008-10-26.
- ^ "Opinions". TN AOC - Supreme Court 2nd Quarter 2005. 2008-10-26.
- ^ Reid, Paul Dennis (June 28, 1999). "The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty". Democracyinaction.org. Archived from the original on 2006-06-16. Retrieved 2008-10-26.
- ^ Sherman, Mark (7 January 2008). "Lethal injection is on trial before justices today". The Tennessean. p. 6A.
- ^ "Multiple Death Sentences". State.tn.us. Retrieved 2008-10-26.
- ^ Icamina, Paul (December 26, 2007). "Federal Court Stays Execution Of Convicted Tennessee Murderer". Nashville, TN: Allheadlinenews.com. Archived from the original on May 25, 2011. Retrieved 2008-10-26.
- ^ Brooks, Jennifer (17 April 2008). "Injection ruling lets Tenn. resume cases". The Tennessean. pp. A1, A10.
- ^ Echegaray, Chris (13 May 2008). "Judge to rule on Reid's inaction". pp. B1, B2.
- ^ "Life in Prison for Degorski". 20 October 2009.
- ^ "Governor Perry, Have Mercy on This Man". Texas Monthly. October 9, 2014.
- ^ "Paul Dennis Reid's cause of death revealed". Archived from the original on April 30, 2014.