Wesley Baker
Wesley Baker | |
---|---|
Catonsville |
Wesley Eugene Baker (March 26, 1958 – December 5, 2005) was an American convicted murderer executed by the U.S. state of Maryland. He was convicted for the June 6, 1991, murder of Jane Frances Tyson, a mother and grandmother, in front of two of her grandchildren in Catonsville. He was the last person to be executed in Maryland.[1]
Early life
Baker was born to an underage rape victim and suffered physical and sexual abuse during his childhood by his mother, stepfather and two teenage girls.[2][3] At age 15, he fathered a child with a 28-year-old heroin user while himself suffering from alcohol and heroin addiction.[2]
His first criminal conviction was for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle at 16 years old, for which he received 3 years in prison. In 1978, he was convicted of
Murder
Wesley Baker approached Jane Tyson, 49, on June 6, 1991, in the parking lot of Catonsville's Westview Mall as she got into her car with her grandchildren, a 6-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl, after shoe shopping.[2][4][5] He placed a gun to her ear and demanded her purse and then, without warning, fired the gun, killing her instantly.[6] He fled to where his accomplice was waiting with a Chevrolet Blazer. A member of the public spotted the two fleeing in a car. He noted the license number and called the police, who apprehended Wesley Baker and Gregory Lawrence a short time later.[7]
Trial and appeals
Baker was convicted by a jury in the
The court decided to uphold Baker's conviction, but there were doubts raised that Baker was the shooter.[5] The 6-year-old boy said that the shooter ran to the driver's side of the car, while a member of the public said that Baker was sitting in the passenger seat. Tyson's blood was found on Baker,[2] but police never tested the clothing of Lawrence. Fingerprints from Baker's right hand were found on Tyson's car, but Baker is right-handed, which lead the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to note in 2000:
…one must wonder how it was possible for [Baker] to hold the gun to Tyson's head and leave his fingerprints on the [car], especially in light of the fact that the incident took only a matter of moments.
The court also wrote that the evidence that Baker was the shooter "was not overwhelming."
Baker received a stay of execution in 2002, days before he was scheduled to die, when
On November 28, 2005,
Execution
Baker was executed on December 5, 2005, and was pronounced dead at 9:18 p.m.
He was not asked by prison officials if he had a
Unlike other U.S. states, Maryland does not offer the condemned a special last meal; instead the prisoner receives whatever is on the menu the day of their death. The Department of Corrections said that Baker's last meal consisted of breaded fish, pasta marinara, green beans, orange fruit punch, bread, and milk.[3]
Maryland abolished the death penalty in 2013.[15][16] On December 31, 2014, Gov. Martin O'Malley commuted the sentences of the final four condemned inmates to life imprisonment,[17] making Baker's execution the last execution in the state of Maryland.[1][15][18]
See also
- Capital punishment in Maryland
- Capital punishment in the United States
- Dustin Higgs
- List of most recent executions by jurisdiction
- List of people executed in Maryland
- List of people executed in the United States in 2005
References
- ^ a b Maldonado, Julia (March 23, 2018). "Maryland repeals death penalty". Newark Post. Capital News Service. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ a b Cosgrove-Mather, Bootie (May 9, 2002). "Maryland Death Penalty Moratorium". CBS News. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ a b "Maryland death-row killer files final appeal". The Washington Times. May 8, 2002. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ Barnhardt, Laura (December 3, 2005). "Wife, mother, teacher, victim". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
- ^ a b c "Maryland executes murderer". The Washington Times. Associated Press. December 5, 2005. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ "Race and the Death Penalty". American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ a b Howell, Brooke (November 25, 2005). "Maryland Lowest on Short List of States Using Death Penalty". Capital News Service. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ Gibbs, Susan (November 29, 2005). "Maryland Bishops Ask Gov. Ehrlich to Stay Planned Execution". Archdiocese of Washington. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ "Berufungsanträge abgewiesen: Verurteiler Mörder in Maryland hingerichtet". Rheinische Post (in German). December 6, 2005. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ "Statement from Governor Ehrlich Regarding the Execution of Wesley Baker". Maryland State Archives (Press release). Office of the Governor. December 5, 2005. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
- ^ "The Next to Die". The Marshall Project. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ a b Steffen, Sarah (October 1, 2013). "'Still a way to go'". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ Sutton, Joe (May 2, 2013). "Maryland governor signs death penalty repeal". CNN. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ Wagner, John (December 31, 2014). "Gov. O'Malley to commute sentences of Maryland's remaining death-row inmates". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
- ^ "Maryland Death Penalty Opponents Push For Repeal". WJZ-TV. January 3, 2013. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
External links
- Report from the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
- Urgent Action on execution of Wesley Eugene Baker from Amnesty International (from when his execution was scheduled for May 2002)
- Baker v. State No. 132, Sept. Term, 2004. Court of Appeals of Maryland
- Rich, Eric (December 4, 2005). "Execution Still On Despite Racial Analysis". The Washington Post.
- "Cardinal Asks Governor To Spare Convicted Killer's Life". WBAL-TV. November 29, 2005.
- "Baker executed for 1991 killing". Baltimore Sun. December 6, 2005.
- "Witness describes final moments of Baker's life". Baltimore Sun. December 6, 2005.