SUSPECT: Michael Lloyd Self

MICHAEL LLOYD SELF v. STATE TEXAS (09/18/74)

THE TEXAS COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS
September 18, 1974

MICHAEL LLOYD SELF, APPELLANT
v.
THE STATE OF TEXAS, APPELLEE

Appeal from Harris County

COUNSEL

Appellant: Thomas M. Roberson; 608 Fannin, Wuite 1800; Houston, Tx. 77002. Appellee: Carol Vance, D.A.; Houston, Tx.

Author: Dally

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Details: In 1972, the bodies of teenagers Rhonda Johnson and Sharon Shaw were discovered in a remote Webster, Texas field. The police soon connected the murders to Michael Lloyd Self who subsequently confessed to the crimes, but several official's believe that confession was coerced by a crooked officer and that an innocent man now sits in prison for a crime he never did.

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LISA OLSEN,Houston Chronicle

HOUSTON (AP) — Suntanned and skinny, 14-year-olds Rhonda Renee Johnson and her best friend, Sharon Shaw, vanished from Galveston in 1971 in what some now suspect was part of a serial killer's murderous spree.

A few months later, two more surfer girls, just 15, disappeared after catching a ride in Galveston near Stewart Beach.

All four were killed, their bones and remains later found in marshy bayous.

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Several of Johnson's family members are convinced of Self's guilt.

Others are not.

"There was a great concern the system had blamed the wrong person," said Clinard J. Hanby, a defense lawyer who worked on Self's federal appeals and at one point persuaded a federal judge to set Self free. His release was later overturned by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and Self died in prison in 2000.

Even former Harris County prosecutor Douglas O'Brien, who worked the case, became convinced the wrong man went to prison and the true killer remained unpunished.

It was after Self's death that Galveston police officer Paige began re-investigating the 1971 disappearances. Paige believes a serial killer committed the murders of the four girls abducted from Galveston in 1971, and likely others.

Willis, their friend, just wishes they'd gotten in her Cougar that day: "There's never been closure for me."

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This appeal is bottomed on "our federalism" and turns on the proper application of the 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d) presumption of correctness accorded state findings of fact. Its genesis is Michael Lloyd Self's conviction in 1973 for murder. In 1991, the district court granted his habeas application, holding that his confession, the critical evidence at trial, was obtained in violation of his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination and his Sixth Amendment right to counsel. Based on our review of the state record, we conclude that the district court, inter alia, violated § 2254(d) by disregarding state findings which are fairly supported by the record, and so erred, in part, by making credibility choices contrary to those of the state judge who observed the witnesses' demeanor. We hold that the challenged confession was not obtained contrary to the Constitution and, therefore, REVERSE and REMAND for entry of an order of dismissal.

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According to their reports, Self
confessed to the murders of
Johnson and Shaw after being
interrogated by several officers
including Morris, Deal and officer
Henry Morgan. After signing a confession,
he was taken to Houston to
appear before Judge Lee Duggan
to be formally advised of his rights.
Duggan also appointed Houston
Attorney Dewey Meadows to represent
him.
The Houston Chronicle reported
in a story on November 13, 1975:
‘Convict’s Claim of Forced
Confession Probed’ that Harris
County District Attorney Carol S.
Vance appointed Ted Busch, his
Trail Bureau Chief, to investigate
claims that the police coerced the
Murder Investigations Likely
Marred By Crooked Cops
Breck Porter / The Police News
Continued on pg. 26
(Crooked Cop

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Detective Paige who continues to pursue
the deaths of these girls with dogged determination,
interviewed Tommy Deal earlier this
year from his federal prison cell in Ohio where
he will likely spend the rest of his life for serial
bank robbery. Deal confirmed that he and
Morris were carrying out the bank robberies
all during the time they were conducting the
investigation of Michael Lloyd Self. He told
Paige that he had robbed several Texas
banks, one in Clear Lake City twice. This supports
the report by reporter Tom Moran.
Michael Self was convicted solely on his confession
and the testimony of these two convicted
bank robbers masquerading as police
officers. There was no physical evidence, no
murder weapon, no witnesses, no nothing to
support

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