CURE began in San Antonio, Texas, in 1972, expanded statewide in 1975 and nationally in 1985. ) Hughes was later filmed by a television cameraman at prearranged drop sites. deathrow.at "If there was a positive out of this, for the first time ever the 2 that time he collected two college degrees, wrote a book and a movie It doesn't have to be. can now rest in peace and our nightmares will end knowing that Billy Prior to his first trial, Hughes told examining psychiatrists that he had consumed large quantities of beer on the day of the offense which led to "spotty amnesia" around the time of the offense. It was a moment neither could have predicted - a committed Texas death Louisiana Death Records. consistent with the facts. Summary of Incident On the evening of April 4, 1976, Billy George Hughes checked into the Days Inn Motel in Brookshire (west of Houston), Texas, using a stolen credit card. William F. "Toby" Hughes Jr. (USAF Retired) of Cibolo, Texas, passed away on Monday, January 18, 2021, at Lavaca Medical Center . police officers soon began, with Hughes being found near Sealy about 2 01-26-00 - TEXAS: According to Hill, he said, "Thank you.". asked Atwood. That performance was set up by a production company working with satirist Hughes claimed he was reaching for his wallet when Method cheers, and there was some guy without a shirt on, painted blue and Needless to say, the anti-death-penalty camp was a little sadder than normal to see a "reformed" man die. That did it. Thank you, Warden." ", Clements said that members of a production company that filmed the Though living every day under the shadow of execution for the murder of a state trooper, the 43-year-old Hughes has, in a sense, led a full life. PROCEDURAL HISTORY Among his many film credits are "Ole Rex," "Stakeout," "Posse From Hell," "My Six Loves," "Five Card Stud" and "Smoke In The Wind." Mr. Hughes appeared in a It meant having his picture taken with "free world" friends with a partial glass and screen partition separating me from Billy. death penalty after the Hughes execution Monday. penalty, which I agree with," he said, adding that initially some of the The doctor came in and pronounced him dead. They are executing an innocent man because things did not happen as they say they happened, and the truth will come out some day. We shared in common a number of interests and beliefs and pursuits, including one which hews close to the notion that, no matter what, one must live each day as well as possible, and accomplish whatever you can because of the odds, not in spite of them. I am not the same person I was 24 years ago. "I guess I should expect it but I didn't expect that Mr. Hughes would go "For Many, Supporting Capital Punishment is a Personal Matter," by Allan Turner. Truth" denied any deception in filming the event. would claim his innocence was hard to take. [Philip Brasfield was condemned to death in Texas in 1977. the officers shot at him, leading him to fire one shot which struck and I would gladly trade the last 24 years if it would bring back Mark Frederick--give him back his life, give back my father his life and my mother her health. Internet Sources: Lethal injection, rah, rah, rah! Billy Hughes #556 was executed January 24th in Huntsville. It meant having his picture taken with "free world" friends with a partial glass and screen partition separating me from Billy. In the seventies and eighties, I walked the halls of the State Capitol and talked "face-to-face" with conservative as well as liberal legislators on prison reform and the death penalty. Kill 'em to the right. ", Walker County District Attorney David Weeks, who was the prosecuting I am not the same person I was 24 years ago. Hughes's conviction was automatically appealed to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and was affirmed in a published opinion. mixture of drugs began flowing into his arms. bid for president by attacking his stance on capital punishment. We kill more than any other state! No cause of death was given. His conviction was reversed in 1981 and he has since been serving a life sentence. I would gladly trade the last 24 years if it would bring back Mark Frederick--give him back his life, give back my father his life and my mother her health. ], There was little in common between the 2 distinct groups gathered They were already standing, but they sure hollered. Kill 'em to the left. On April 13, 1994, that court affirmed his conviction in a published opinion. approached Hughes car. everything," he said. the walls of the corrections facility in Huntsville, Texas. These death row cheerleaders aren't on our side after all. those in Texas who were protesting the execution. And wasn't it "the law" in certain parts of Europe that allowed and supported a final solution to the perceived social problems then, by those who (like George W. and William F.) were the least likely to be personally affected by them? was 'true to his manipulative character.' revelers. His initial account of being intoxicated prior to the offense is also contradicted by testimony from other trial witnesses who observed him at that time. not because it's right -- but because it's their destiny. As his mother described it, "He was blown all over the road." outside the unit. Department of Public Safety officers, while the other was an almost Warden." He comes in only to pronounce death." I asked him what he wanted to do--Billy answered with one word, "Party!" I believe that time is coming on executions and may be here even sooner than I think. "I would gladly trade the last 24 years if it would bring back Mark Meanwhile, a bare-chested, body-painted, football-helmeted man ran through the crowd with a "Death" pennant. On the other side is an army of capital punishment opponents arguing that the state is getting carried away . At this point, Trooper Frederick, who was driving, turned on the overhead lights, and Hughes pulled over to the shoulder of the exit ramp. He never denied it, but at 27, explained in an interview that he was a different person than the embittered and confused youngster he had been. During the vigil held outside the death house as Billy Hughes was being executed in Huntsville, Texas on January 24, 2000, death penalty supporters -- and opponents -- were amazed and confounded to see a brass band in full regalia marching up the hill towards them. Although we never even saw each other, there were two groups of witnesses: those asked by Billy and those asked by the immediate relatives of the victim. death penalty supporters seemed to join the stunt before realizing it was Approaching the Ford behind Frederick, Reichert heard a muffled shot and observed Frederick grunt and lurch to the side. We're number one, can't be number two. See all obituaries for Billy Hughes. On September 16, 1976, a jury found Hughes guilty of capital murder. The murder conviction and death sentence were reversed on appeal due to a jury selection error. and you all watch out for Mom and you all keep up, keep going. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1976 that it was all right for states to resume capital punishment. of Criminal Appeals later ruled that a juror had been excluded improperly Remembering In June 1988, Hughes was retried for Mark Frederick's capital murder in the the 23rd District Court of Matagorda County, Texas. I asked him what he wanted to do--Billy answered with one word, "Party!" "I don't know anything about that," he answered maintaining his ministerial composure. They have been manipulated by the politicians who have set up this "death machine" that seems to be functioning on automatic pilot. Pat Robertson and thousands of others around the world -- and his mockery of her plea for mercy in a later magazine interview -- leaves more than his hands dirty. Hughes then fled the scene. Frederick on Interstate 10 in Sealy as Frederick walked toward Hughes' The show that has invited an HMO to a funeral, put a 24-hour Web cam on Lucianne Goldberg and earned a restraining order from the CEO of the biggest polluter in America this time recruited some like-minded actors/activists from Houston's maverick theater company Infernal Bridegroom Productions and descended on Huntsville. When the clerk confronted Hughes in his room about the stolen card, she noticed a gun on his bed. More than 50 years after his death, the darkest secret of former prime minister William Morris Hughes, dubbed "the Little Digger" for his staunch leadership of Australia during World War I, has been revealed. my debt to society, I am due a rebate and a refund, but I love you all, and then "Texas, Texas, you're so great, You kill more than any state!" Hill was sworn to secrecy when he was contacted by the show, but during his last visit with Hughes before the execution, he says, "I had to confide in Billy what was going on. On the evening of April 4, 1976, two Texas state troopers pulled over the 1975 Ford LTD Billy George Hughes was driving on Interstate 10 near Sealy, Texas. Frederick had sustained a fatal wound. At this stage, with the delays in carrying out capital sentences, the deterrent question is moot.". they shouted at him from both sides. "We did perform a stunt there, with a pep band and cheerleaders," Jay Martel wandered through the pro-death-penalty crowd outside the Huntsville prison on the night of January 24 without arousing suspicion. And he said the stunt, however "ignorant and insensitive," had served A small puncture wound was found in his back; the weapon had punctured his lung and caused his death. Hughes claimed that, after he left the motel and was pulled over by Troopers Frederick and Reichert, the troopers opened fire on him without provocation, whereupon he fired a blind shot out the window. The pro/con groups are accustomed to their respective public roles in Texas' ongoing bacchanalia of barbarity. they had a lighted scoreboard counting the number of executions. His initial account of being intoxicated prior to the offense is also contradicted by testimony from other trial witnesses who observed him at that time. have caused family members on both sides. He again was sentenced to die in June 1988, along the way filing many Then, just after Hughes was executed, pompon waving cheerleaders and A weapon was never found, though the wound was suggested to be from a stiletto. His writing has been published in a large number of periodicals and journals for the past twenty years. It enrages her that Hughes has not been among the 100 men put to death thus far in Texas. Mr. Hughes appeared in numerous films and TV shows during the 1960s. His father, William Hughes, was a carpenter at the House of Lords and a deacon in London's Welsh Baptist Church. Texas Attorney General Media Advisory As the Ford sped away, Reichert shot several times at the car. Billy Hughes Jr. played his role to a tee. On top of the financial struggles, Billie was sexually assaulted as a young girl. Billy half in jest whispered to us, "How will I buy a soft drink when I get back to death row?" He. "This is what our show is, dark satire. - 20 December 2005) (his death) (1 child) Upon hearing of the shooting, DPS Troopers Randall Baisch and Rodney Green were proceeding toward the scene when they discovered Hughes's abandoned car approximately three miles from the scene of the shooting. Go, Texas Go!" Billy asked us to help him with the menu. Death Records are kept by Vital Records Offices or Miami-Dade County Clerk's Offices, which may be run by the state or at the local level. largest tenures on death row. Frederick and his wife, Jane, had a small child, Denise, and were expecting another. This service only issues certified copies of microfilmed death certificates for deaths that occurred in Louisiana between 1911-1972. Get service details, leave condolence messages or send flowers or gifts. The troopers followed Hughes's car on Interstate 10 until it exited the highway. In my opinion, Texans are not the mean-spirited individuals the media portrays and even they like to present. He then left Orlando for Daytona Beach, where he was robbed after leaving a nightclub. They grinned, cheered and waved their foam fingers. approached Hughes car. tonight was just a final chapter in showing what a manipulative human As the helicopter hovered a few feet above the ground, Hughes pointed a gun at the helicopter. While in Beaumont, he used Martin's credit card to check into the Castle Motel. The law, being the law, and being so rigorously applied in Texas somehow qualifies Governor Bush as being competent, desirable, admirable and, damn it man, tough enough to become King of the Hill in Washington come November, even if he was never a POW -- even in Midland, Texas where everyone does hard time. The groups gather on opposite sides of the street facing one another. being he was. A search of the car revealed the following items: one holster for an automatic handgun on the front seat, one holster for a revolver in the glove compartment, and the following items in the trunk of the car: a fully loaded .30 caliber carbine; a loaded, sawed-off short barrel twelve-gauge shotgun; a .300 Magnum rifle; extra .38 caliber shotgun ammunition; and a Halloween mask. If you don't agree with us, we'll kill you too. been served. One of the two prison chaplains after a few opening remarks said "feel free to ask me anything." He was the only child of Welsh immigrants to London. A petition for writ of certiorari is pending in the Supreme Court. man executed for Frederick's murder." Bush's hand isn't "on the needle every time an execution occurs." Billy Hughes Jr. was convicted in 1976 of fatally shooting 25-year-old state trooper and father Mark Frederick. That would be Billy. For example, this chaplain had been present in over 100 executions. Hughes immediately sped away from the scene as Trooper Reichert fired six times at the fleeing vehicle. But George W. Bush, Jr. deserves all the credit he's due for his eager, cynical promotion of capital punishment. No one recognized Martel or his gonzo journalism as trademarks of Michael Moore's popular, populist and political television show, The Awful Truth. He is best known for his songs with Philip Bailey, Bette Midler, The Jacksons, The Sisters Of Mercy, Noel Paul Stookey, his band Lazarus, and his solo career as a recording artist. during a traffic stop in April, 1976, by Hughes, a 25-year-old wanted "This is what our show is, dark satire. criticized General Motors executives. The amorality of the death penalty has long been recognized for what it is throughout Europe and much of the rest of the world. He was a role model that anyone could aspire to emulate. Approaching the Ford behind Frederick, Reichert heard a "muffled shot" and saw Frederick "lurch" to the side. Protest signs are waved. William F. Buckley never met Billy Hughes. They were handing out anti-George W. Bush signs and Channel 2's Suzanne Boase called it an "anti-death-penalty commercial." But, I love you all, and you all watch out for Mom and you all keep up, keep going. killed Frederick. They were already standing, but they sure hollered. Thank you, Warden." "That has never happened," the chaplain kindly informed me. years to get to this moment? Hughes was pronounced dead at 6:18 p.m., 8 minutes after a lethal were inappropriate. death penalty after the Hughes execution Monday. Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS)Troopers Jack Reichert and Mark Frederick pulled over the 1975 Ford LTD Hughes was driving on Interstate 10 near Sealy, Texas; they were responding to a dispatcher's report that a man driving a similar car had attempted to use a stolen credit card at a nearby motel. "All I ask is that I have one day, and protecting the public when he stopped Billy Hughes on April 4, 1976, and is enough, and since it's the law, then it shouldn't be questioned . Frederick's mother, Pat Teer of Houston, said the fact that Hughes still executions, which by their nature are dismal, depressing and decidedly anti-photo-op for aspiring politicians large and small. Hughes stayed in Jacksonville for a few days during which time he cashed a few more stolen checks and inquired into buying some more guns. Approaching the Ford behind Frederick, Reichert heard a "muffled shot" and saw Frederick "lurch" to the side. His hands were tied open with ace bandages to make certain they wouldn't become distorted when he died. Hughes filed a notice of appeal on February 11, 1998, but the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on October 5, 1999, also denied permission to appeal. If I was going to feel any sympathy for him, I lost it all The person preceding him to execution a few days earlier was Larry Robison who was known to be constantly trying to reconcile death row prisoners who had a "falling out". "It was truly disgusting," said Clements. Trooper Mark Frederick was later declared dead in the ambulance en route to the Sealy Medical Center. It was over in 15 minutes! I then asked about the role of the physician in the execution. 04-04-76 It was Billy continued his control. Remembering out lying like he did," she said, adding that she felt Hughes' statement At the time of his death he survived by his large extended friends and family. Hughes next headed for Jacksonville, Florida, where he sawed off the barrel of the shotgun as short as possible and concealed it in his trunk. Citations: Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants, or CURE organization, Citizen provocateur and KPFT Prison Show host Ray Hill was a gold mine of information for Moore's segment producers. Date of Death: December 20, 2005. Frederick, 26, had been a trooper only five years when he stopped Hughes' car near Sealy on April 4, 1976. Hughes left Chattanooga for a small town to the northwest, where he burglarized a car and stole a 9 millimeter automatic in a holster, a .45 pistol in a holster, a .300 Magnum rifle with a scope, a .30 caliber carbine, .38 caliber shells, and an empty holster. William F. Buckley never met Billy Hughes. 608 Michael Moore, best known for "Roger and Me," a documentary film that What provoked Dianne Clements of Justice For All in Houston, a victims' blind. penalty opponent and an equally passionate defender of victims' rights Hughes earned two college degrees in religion while on death row. "I don't know anything about that," he answered maintaining his ministerial composure. Frederick, 26, had been a trooper only five years when he stopped Hughes' car near Sealy on April 4, 1976. Justice for All stood at the left end of the police line, holding signs that said, "No Murder Equals No Execution." Lethal Injection not because it's right -- but because it's their destiny. Hughes' second conviction and sentence were automatically appealed to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. When the clerk confronted Hughes in his room about the stolen card, she noticed a gun on his bed. You could actually see the realization come over the faces of those in the pro-death-penalty camp: Hey, wait a minute. Dr. Joseph Jachimczyk, who performed the autopsy on Trooper Mark Frederick, testified that the bullet that killed Frederick struck him on the upper left arm, exited on the inside of the arm, entered his chest on the left, and finally exited from his back upper-right mid-back. He is most remembered for The Law and Mr. Jones. escapade had misrepresented themselves and hyped aspects of the event, In a prepared statement, Teer said her family finally will be able to go I left death row in 1981. W / M / 24 - 47 Teer thanked several people before adding, "I hope and pray that no other Hughes was pronounced dead at 6:18 p.m., 8 minutes after a lethal On March 30, 1976, Hughes left Montgomery for Louisiana, where he used Martin's credit card for food, motels, and gasoline. Texas began executing killers again in 1982, and the one-way march to the death house gurney is quicker now than at any time in the past 13 years. say they happened, and the truth will come out someday. criminal. While in prison, Hughes earned two college degrees, developed a comic car on April 4, 1976. The death penalty is many times more expensive to taxpayers than the cost of a life sentence. Frederick and his wife, Jane, had a small child, Denise, and were expecting another. State [7] Wales Hughes's mother died in May 1869, when he was six years old, he was really sad and stayed at home for 2 months. Hughes left behind some papers in Kenner, Louisiana, which detailed plans to continue the traveler's check scam, to rob a small-town bank, and to set up apartments in New Orleans, Daytona Beach, and Atlanta, and rob banks in the various cities. On September 16, 1976, a jury found Hughes guilty of capital murder. then, "No!" all the memories of you and my family and all the things that have was punished to the full extent of the law after having one of the humor." In fact, composure and "extra mile" consideration seemed to permeate the day as the prison staff went about the ritual of the execution. The show that has invited an HMO to a funeral, put a 24-hour Web cam on Lucianne Goldberg and earned a restraining order from the CEO of the biggest polluter in America this time recruited some like-minded actors/activists from Houston's maverick theater company Infernal Bridegroom Productions and descended on Huntsville. I treasure every moment that I have had. He offered cans of ginger ale, passed out foam fingers and praised George W. Bush. We were so moved by his final words that I mistakenly thought the warden was too when he removed his glasses. P, P-O, P-O-W-E-R . "The cheerleaders?" The band halted between the two groups while patriotic music played so sweetly that members of Justice For All (a victims' rights group) felt compelled to spontaneously join in the cheerful and celebratory spirit of boosterism by chanting "Go, Texas Go! strip, operated a greeting card business, translated books into braille who actually witnessed the execution on Hughes' behalf. I would especially like to remember Billy Hughes, Jr. in this issue. Ronald Richardson, the supervisor of the firearms section in the DPS Scientific Crime Laboratory, tested the bullet that struck Trooper Frederick and established that it had been fired from the 9 millimeter handgun recovered from Hughes when he was captured. Billy George Hughes Jr. - one was a group of more than 20 uniformed Texas FACTS OF THE CRIME Hughes then went to Atlanta, Chattanooga, and Nashville.