For murder of her husband and two children
Francis Newton was executed by the State of Texas last night for shooting her husband, her 7-year old son, and her 21-month old daughter to death in 1988.
Francis was the first woman executed in Texas this year, and the first since the execution of Betty Lou Beets on 02/24/2000, and only the second since Karla Faye Tucker was executed in 1998.
There are now 8 women left on death row in Texas.
Newton claimed she was innocent of shooting her family to death, despite the fact that she had possession of and then hid the murder weapon, and then attempted to file a claim on the life insurance she had taken out on her family just three weeks earlier.
Her claims of innocense revolve around a mysterious “second, but identical” murder weapon. A second weapon that investigators and prosecutors deny existed, and one that her attorneys couldn’t prove did exist.
Ballistics tests on the weapon (a .25-caliber Raven Arms pistol) found in Newton’s hidden backpack, including new tests conducted after last year’s reprieve, show it was the gun used in the three killings.
She admits to hiding the weapon that was recovered, but that her pistol was not the one used to kill her family. She contends that a drug dealer named “Charlie” murdered her family.
It’s just a tragic coincidence that, of all the handguns readily available on the streets of Houston, “Charlie” also used a .25-caliber Raven Arms pistol in his crime. And the life insurance purchased three weeks earlier on her husband and kids without their knowledge? Just a coincidence, too, I suppose.
I think Occam’s Razor applies to this case more than Newton’s wildely hopeful “conincidence” theory: When multiple explanations are available for a phenomenon, the simplest version is preferred.
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Next on the Execution Schedule here in Texas is Michael Lynn Riley, who is slated to be executed on Sept. 22 for the 1986 murder of 23-year old Wynona Lynn Harris, whom he stabbed 31 times to death while robbing the convenience store where she worked.
No her claims of innocence revolve around much more than just the “mysterious second gun”
Would you also like to explain, how despite expert testimony that all victims were shot at very close range, there was no trace of blood on this murder weapon, or on Francis’ hands or clothing?
There was no trace of gunpowder residue on Newton’s hands or sleeve though it could not easily be washed off?…In fact the only other physical evidence was traces of nitrate on the hem of her skirt which could have come from garden fertilizer instead of gunpowder, unfortunatly their test destroyed the skirt so no further testing could be done.
Left by Navneet on September 19th, 2005 at 8:50 pm