Saturday, January 24, 2009

TEXAS LAST MEAL
FRANK MOORE
January 21, 2009


...no witnesses ever came forward at trial to corroborate Moore's self-defense claims....

Last Meal: Moore had no final meal request.

The skinny: Fifteen years to the day of the crime, Moore, 49, was executed for two murders, including a 15-year-old San Antonio boy. Moore says he acted in self-defense

More skinny: Moore became involved in an altercation with the two victims at a San Antonio club called Wheels of Joy on Jan. 21, 1994.

After the initial confrontation, the two left the establishment but returned in a vehicle and stopped next to Moore in the club's parking lot.

At that point, Moore used a .30-caliber rifle to shoot and kill the men before fleeing the scene.

One received wounds to the chest while the other was shot in the head, and both died at the scene of the shooting.

Before his arrest, Moore reportedly threatened to kill family members of witnesses if they cooperated with the police investigation of the murders.

2007 Interview with CourtTVnews.com in 2007: "They came with intentions to kill me," Moore said in the interview. "It was a do-or-die situation."

But no witnesses ever came forward at trial to corroborate Moore's self-defense claims. Prosecutors contended that Moore, a long-time gang member with a lengthy rap sheet dating back to his teens, shot the two in cold blood to assert his authority after a shoving match broke out in the bar.

It was not until 2006 that a private investigator, who once worked against Moore and his fellow gangsters, came forward with information that Moore said corroborated his self-defense claims.

Warren Huel, a retired Navy Seal who was in charge of the private security firm that oversaw the projects, was the first peace officer on the scene, arriving about 45 minutes before the San Antonio Police Department, according to an affidavit.

During that time, Huel said he spoke with witnesses who reported that Boyd and Clark shot at Moore first from inside the car after trying to run him over, according to the affidavit.

Witnesses also told Huel that they had seen the victims' relatives remove their weapons from the car before police arrived, Huel stated in the affidavit.

When Huel attempted to share the information with San Antonio Police, he says the officers told him to forget everything he had seen and learned, he said in an affidavit.

"I was told that did not matter, as they already had Frank Moore, the murder weapon and an eyewitness," Huel stated in his affidavit. "I was told Moore was a dope dealer and had to go to jail."

Since then, three others have come forward claiming they witnessed the shootings, providing similar details, said Moore's lawyer, David Sergi.

"Unfortunately, people from the street didn't come forward to testify at the time of the trial," he said. "The problem is, the law doesn't allow for a change of circumstances."

The Texas State Attorney's Office argued that Moore's claims should be dismissed because the evidence had always been available, and was not the "newly discovered" evidence the law requires.

A lower court sided with the state, prompting Moore to appeal to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. On Monday, the court declined to hear his claims, making the U.S. Supreme Court Moore's last chance for a reprieve. The justices remained silent on the matter.

PRIORS: Prior to the two murders, Moore had previously been convicted for negligent homicide, attempted murder and drug possession. He was also a member of a gang known to commit robberies, aggravated assaults, murders and drug activities.

Two trials: A Bexar County jury convicted Moore and sentenced him to death, but his conviction was reversed in 1998 after the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals found error in the trial court's refusal to give the jury the option of convicting Moore of a lesser offense. Even so, Moore was convicted and sentenced to death at his second trial in 1999.

Last words and such: During his brief last statement, Moore addressed his wife and three friends who attended the execution on his behalf.

He did not address any of the victims' witnesses present.

β€œI would like to say that capital self-defense is not capital murder,” Moore said at approximately 6:12 p.m. β€œTo my wife and family, thank you for your support. I appreciate you and thank you.”

Factoids: Moore was the...

3rd murderer executed in U.S. in 2009
1139th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
2nd murderer executed in Texas in 2009
425th murderer executed in Texas since 1976