Danny Reneau
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From: http://www.deathrow.at
"... because Human Rights are international"
Danny Reneau's European Webpage |
Convenience store clerk killer executed
Daniel Reneau, a 27-year-old construction
worker, was executed this
evening for killing a Kerrville convenience
store clerk during a robbery
more than 6 years ago.
Reneau had no final statement. As the
drugs began flowing, he looked at
Chaplain Richard Lopez and said, "I
thought you were going to speak to
me." The chaplain said he would. Reneau's
eyes then fell partially shut,
his cheeks filled with air and he exhaled
1 last time.
He was pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m.,
9 minutes after the lethal drugs
began to flow.
Texas Rangers Sgt. Henry Fleming and
Capt. Clete Buckeleu witnessed
Reneau's execution on behalf of his
victim's family.
Prosecutors said Reneau hatched the
plan that also involved his roommate
and culminated with the death of Kriss
Keeran, 31, who knew both men.
Evidence showed Reneau entered the store
before dawn on Jan. 2, 1996, and
shot Keeran once in the face with a
.22-caliber pistol. Then joined by
roommate Jeffrey Wood, they robbed
the store of more than $11,000 in cash
and checks. Both were arrested within
24 hours.
The U.S. Supreme Court this week refused to review Reneau's case.
Asked on death row last week to identify
the shooter, Reneau had a 1-word
reply: "Me."
According to court records, Wood was
waiting outside the store and came
in after Keeran was shot, then both
fled with the store safe, a cash box
and a video recorder containing a security
tape showing the robbery and
slaying.
"As I recall, he was pretty cold, very
little emotion shown at any time,"
said Bruce Curry, the Kerr County district
attorney who prosecuted
Reneau. "And the method of this particular
murder was cold -- just kind
of walk up, shoot some guy in the head,
walk on by, commit the robbery
and leave."
Evidence showed the pair had planned
the robbery for a couple of weeks
and unsuccessfully tried recruiting
Keeran and another employee to stage
a phony robbery.
Reneau and Wood drove to Wood's parents
home in Devine, about 65 miles to
the south, where they tried to open
the safe with a sledge hammer and a
blow torch.
When Wood's 16-year-old brother, Jonathan,
asked them how they got the
safe, Wood told him about the holdup
and shooting. And when the brother
expressed skepticism, Wood showed him
the tape. Wood's brother testified
he then was ordered to destroy the
tape with the blow torch.
Witnesses, including a delivery driver,
described for police the pair of
men seen at the store during the 6
a.m. robbery. They also had gone on a
spending spree and an officer who had
pulled them over the previous night
remembered them, authorities said.
Wood led police to the murder weapon,
which Reneau said had been taken by
Wood in an earlier burglary.
"I ended up giving a confession," Reneau said from death row.
He did not testify at his trial.
"I don't think it would have made any difference," he said.
A jury took 15 minutes before returning with its guilty verdict.
Reneau said he thought at the time of
the crime only treason or trying to
kill the president or something similar
would make one eligible for the
death penalty. He thought Wood, for
example, would end up with only about
a five-year sentence.
Wood joined him on death row. He does not yet have an execution date.
"I don't feel like dying," Reneau said.
"I don't want to die. But if it
does happen, I accept it. I believe
in a Christian God, but I won't
really know until I die to find out."
Reneau was born in Jacksonville, Fla.,
when his father was in the Army.
He grew up in Kansas near Fort Riley,
quit school in the 12th grade and
worked construction jobs in Texas.
He said Wood recently wrote him asking
that he write a letter exonerating
him in the crime. Reneau said he did
not respond.
Reneau and Wood were tied to several
previous burglaries where several
guns were taken although Reneau denied
any participation. While in jail,
authorities learned the 2 were working
on a plan to break out by killing
a jailer.
Reneau becomes the 16th condemned Texas
inmate to be put to death this
year, and the 272nd overall since the
state resumed capital punishment on
December 7, 1982. Texas, which executed
17 inmates last year, has 3 more
executions set in 2 weeks, and is on
a pace to equal or break its record
40 executions carried out in 2000.
Reneau becomes the 33rd condemned inmate
to be put to death this year in
the USA and the 782nd overall since
America resumed executions on January
17, 1977.
(sources: Associated Press & Rick
Halperin)
The following is a letter
written to Brian Crowther, USA Death Penalty Coordinator
for Amnesty International,
U.K. The letter was written by Daniel Reneau, who has
an execution date set
for June 13, 2002.
04.04.02
Dear Brian Crowther,
Hello. I received the message you sent
through K. Bandall and I’m just
writing to say thanks. I can feel the
trend towards abolition growing
stronger. I think I heard that the
overall support for the death penalty
in this country is down to 57%. I’ve
always kind of figured though that
when something positive does finally
happen about it, that it would be
just after they killed me. And now
I have a date for June 13th, as I’m
sure you’re aware of. And unless something
positive happens on my behalf
then I will probably die on that date
or shortly thereafter. My appeal
to the Supreme Court will be filed
by April 9th and if they were to rule
in my favor on the main issue, it would
affect many other cases and even
though it would be the right thing
to do, I would be surprised if they
did.
I don’t feel like writing any other
letters tonight so I’m gonna ramble
on in this one for a minute. When I
was out there, I was almost
completely ignorant about anything
concerning the death penalty and
capital crimes/punishment, trials,
appeals process, etc. None of it was
a part of my life and so I wasn’t
concerned about it. I thought a
capital crime was just treason or trying
to kill the President or
something of that nature. Didn’t know
there was an appeal process. Just
figured that there was a few dudes
in line waiting to be killed. I
figured that whoever was on Death Row
must’ve done something to get
there and that they had to be the absolute
worse of the worst monsters.
And so I’ve never been against the death
penalty. I also knew when I was
out there that I would never believe
a word said from someone on Death
Row (or prison period) simply because
I figured they would say anything
and whatever it took to get out of
their situation or to get anything.
When I was 18, I was in a County Jail
in Fredericksburg, Texas, for 21
days on a misdemeanor probation revocation.
It was a nonviolent
misdemeanor and I left the jail everyday
on work release.
During this time, Jose Santelon (who
is a few cells from me and has a
date for April 10th) was in a different
part of the jail for this case.
Didn’t know or see him then, just knew
a person was there for capital
murder and I remember thinking about
it briefly for a moment and how it
just seemed weird and beyond me and
how incomprehensible for me it was.
Didn’t think anything of it past that
brief moment.
Four years later, I was in the same
cell he had been in back then and I
was going to trial for capital murder
and it was even weirder looking
back. And than I got here in March
of 1997, and it was nothing of
hypocrisy and I prefer to keep my own
at a minimum so I didn’t all of
sudden become against the death penalty
just because I received it. As I
started to get to know people, it didn’t
take long for me to realize
that even in my support of the death
penalty, that there are people here
that don’t belong here. Not saying
they shouldn’t be serving somewhere,
just saying they shouldn’t be on Death
Row. And there were other people
that I felt didn’t deserve any appeals
and should’ve been hung on the
spot back wherever they came from.
Felt that way the strongest about
child molester/killers.
I’ve always believed in God and Jesus
and have always known I needed to
give myself to Him and being in here
I’ve always known that it was wrong
for me to support the death penalty,
even for child molesters on the
simple premise that, God says, “Thou
shall not kill,” and the way I look
at it is that He didn’t say that, “Thou
shall not kill except for this
or that” and that people can believe
it however you want. They call it
capital punishment, justice or whatever
but that doesn’t change the act
that it is killing, murder, people
knowingly and intentionally (which
constitutes capital murder to begin
with) taking a life or another human
being, breaking God’s commandments.
Even so, I continued with my
selective support of the death penalty.
Chalk it up to my human sinful
nature. But as more time has moved
on, as I continue to grow up and
develop personally and spiritually,
as my won life appears to be coming
to an end, I’ve given way more and
more to what I truly believe is right
and know that this just isn’t right.
As for myself, many inmates and guards
have asked me why I’m here and
I’ve always thought that to be a good
question. I in no way attempt to
make light of what I’ve done or get
out from under any responsibility of
it. I’m here for robbing a gas station
and shooting once, the clerk that
was working there. I’m not saying that
I shouldn’t be serving a sentence
somewhere. But I think that is a good
question, on a lesser level. I
have no criminal record/history. Never
been arrested for any felonies,
thefts or violent crimes. I went to
school. I’ve lived on my own since I
was 16. I’ve worked and I have 2 children.
I’m not close to being perfect but when
you compare my case and
background to other people who are
inmates in general population, it
doesn’t make a lot of sense. There’s
many inmates in general population
in Texas alone that have committed
murder, multiple murder, gotten
released, killed again and still aren’t
on Death Row. People that have
been in trouble all their lives.
There are even capital cases here in
Texas where someone was butchered,
cut up by someone with extensive criminal
histories and they’ve gotten
life sentence. One guard will say you
must’ve gotten the wrong lawyer or
judge and I say both. A guard will
say, well we’ve got worse people in
population right here in this Unit,
and I’m aware of that. A guard will
say that there’s guards working here
that have done worse than me and I
believe that too.
Anyways, I appreciate the efforts of
people like yourself and thank you
again.
Sincerely,
Danny Reneau # 999223
Allan B. Polunsky Unit
3872 FM 350 South
Livingston, Texas
77351-9630 USA
|
From: http://www.deathrow.at
"... because Human Rights are international"
Danny Reneau's European Webpage |
