GUILTY TX - Susan Canfield, 59, correctional officer, killed by escapees, 24 Sept 2007

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dark_shadows

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Susan Canfield

On Monday morning, two of those inmates overpowered Canfield and a male guard while working in a garden outside the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's Wynne Unit. They then struck her horse with a stolen pickup, knocking the 59-year-old guard to the ground and killing her. Both inmates were recaptured later in the day.


LINK



Respectfully,
dark_shadows
 
Oh, the thread title confused me. I thought the officer was killing inmates (which is ok by me!). So some inmates got loose and killed her? HOW HORRIBLE. I hope they get death now. I am so sick of people showing no respect for others. This world IS going to hell in a handbasket like my dad used to say when he was alive.
 
Hello dearest Taximom,:blowkiss:
Here is another link, the inmates shot the horse also.


The convicts took two guns from Susan Canfield, a nearly eight-year veteran correctional officer, and a male guard. The two escapees exchanged gunfire with guards and ran to a nearby Huntsville municipal building, where they stole a truck and used it to knock Canfield off her horse.
The horse was hit by the car and she fell, dying instantly from the fall, Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokeswoman Michelle Lyons said. Canfield's horse had to be euthanized overnight after investigators discovered it had been shot by one of the inmates. A bullet wound, previously undetected, was found under the saddle's girth strap.

link


All of my Love and Respect to you,
dark_shadows
 
This is from the link posted above;
Killed while giving chase
According to Lyons, one of the inmates approached a male guard on horseback and asked him to hold a watch. The prisoner grabbed the guard, and Canfield came to assist him.
That's when Falk and Martin bolted for a nearby parking lot outside a city building and started up a work truck, Lyons said. They struck Canfield's horse, which later had to be euthanized, after the officer had given chase. Canfield's pistol was recovered at that scene.
Shortly before 11 a.m., the two ditched the truck and carjacked a woman at a drive-through teller nearby, officials said. They drove south along the I-45 feeder, with the woman still inside, before Huntsville police shot out a tire and the men ran.
After Falk was in custody, bloodhounds and searchers in helicopters concentrated on a large wooded area nearby. The dogs picked up Martin's scent and, nearly three hours later, a shirtless, heavily tattooed Martin was pulled down from his perch.
It was not immediately clear who was driving when Canfield's horse was struck, or if the men fired her rifle, which was recovered. Lyons said escape charges are pending at the very least, although the slaying of a correctional officer is a capital crime in Texas.
Officials also are investigating whether the escape was planned or spontaneous.
The 100 Club said donations are being accepted for its Survivors Fund, which provides benefits to the families of officers killed in the line of duty.



Respectfully,
dark_shadows
 
Official: Prison policy not followed in escape


A correctional officer on horseback apparently violated state prison policy when he allowed an inmate on a work detail to approach him, an official said Tuesday, a lapse that possibly led to another mounted officer's death during an escape attempt.
As the investigation continued into Monday's escape of two inmates from a Huntsville prison crew working in a vegetable field, Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokeswoman Michelle Lyons confirmed that mounted guards are required to stay 30 feet away from inmates — a requirement that wasn't followed.


Respectfully,
dark_shadows
 
From December 2013:

http://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/sitting-in-legal-purgatory/

Martin was convicted of the murder and tonight he will be executed by lethal injection. But another inmate who attempted to escape with him — and who some argue is also culpable for the death of the correctional officer — is not on death row. His name is John Falk, and he hasn’t yet been convicted; his case is in a peculiar and rare form of legal purgatory...

Falk, however, may never be convicted, much less sentenced to death. When his case went to trial late last year, the judge and the prosecutors clashed over the jury instructions. After multiple appeals, a higher court sided with the prosecutors, but now Falk’s lawyers say their client is protected by double jeopardy laws from being tried again for the same crime. That debate is still winding its way through the courts.
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http://www.kbtx.com/home/headlines/Texas-Executes-Man-for-Corrections-Officers-Death-234327461.html

A Texas inmate has been executed for the death of a corrections officer during a short-lived escape from prison six years ago.

Jerry Martin had requested that no additional appeals be filed on his behalf, clearing the way for his lethal injection Tuesday evening...

A rider-less horse signifying Canfield's death was among the shows of support from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Tuesday night in Huntsville. Canfield's family saw dozens of officers form a wall of gray as they went to and from the death chamber, a show they said they appreciated.
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From September 2015:

http://www.itemonline.com/news/loca...cle_46cdb987-eca1-509c-9484-ea294fbd13e6.html

John Ray Falk Jr. pleaded not guilty to the capital murder of Texas Department of Criminal Justice employee Susan Canfield... after a grand jury re-indicted Falk for the charge in June.

The Walker County District Attorney's Office is seeking the death penalty for Falk.
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Attorneys for the prosecution and defense will meet next month to once again discuss a possible location for the capital murder trial of an inmate accused of aiding in the murder of a Texas correctional officer during an attempted prison escape more than eight years ago.

A hearing will be held Aug. 15 in the 278th Judicial District Court where Senior Judge Bill McAdams could make a ruling on where the retrial of John Ray Falk Jr. could take place. McAdams granted a change of venue request in June, which was filed by Falk’s attorneys, who contested their client could not receive a fair trial in Walker County because of its strong ties to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Click to expand...
http://www.itemonline.com/news/loca...cle_4069034e-e521-5316-882f-4131f8d85d11.html
 
Falk capital murder trial heading to Lufkin

http://www.itemonline.com/news/local_news/falk-capital-murder-trial-heading-to-lufkin/article_87f83e32-a943-525c-ae7e-999223686a24.html

Senior District Judge Bill McAdams has decided that an Angelina County jury will decide the fate of John Ray Falk Jr., who is facing the death penalty for his role in the death of Texas Department of Criminal Justice employee Susan Canfield of New Waverly in September 2007. The announcement comes more than six months after McAdams granted a change of venue motion filed by Falk’s defense attorneys during a hearing at the Walker County Courthouse in June.

Jury selection is scheduled to get underway Jan. 17 in Lufkin at the Angelina County Courthouse when potential jurors will be asked to fill out questionnaires. It could take a month before a jury is seated since each person is individually interviewed by attorneys for both the prosecution and defense in capital murder cases.

“We are tentatively penciled in to begin testimony on Feb. 13,” Walker County District Attorney David Weeks said Monday. “We hope that date sticks, but you never know how long jury selection takes in these type of cases. We have to be very thorough.”
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http://www.itemonline.com/news/local_news/wanted-jurors-in-angelina-co/article_e83ffb4f-6699-56e9-af86-c4bc1d1556ed.html

Attorneys involved in the capital murder trial of a Texas inmate accused of taking part in the slaying of a correctional officer during an attempted escape in Huntsville more than nine years ago will begin individually interviewing potential jurors in Lufkin this week.

Five hundred Angelina County residents were summoned for jury duty Jan. 17, but only 128 made it to the courthouse, McAdams said Friday

“After qualifications and excuses — a woman got sick — the pool is down to 67 or 68 people,” McAdams told The Item. “Each side has 15 strikes, so that is 30 people. We need 12 jurors and three alternates, so that is 45. We need a bigger selection to choose from, so I issued another 500 people to be summoned on Jan. 30. I would like to increase the pool to around 100.”
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Inmate's capital murder trial takes twist

http://www.itemonline.com/news/local_news/inmate-s-capital-murder-trial-takes-twist/article_717904a5-6970-5652-8a73-0ce277068280.html

Judge Bill McAdams has ordered John Ray Falk Jr. to undergo competency evaluations performed by a psychological expert after Falk requested last week that he be allowed to represent himself in his death penalty case. Falk announced his decision to take the lead over his court-appointed attorneys during a hearing at the Angelina County Courthouse in Lufkin as individual interviews of potential jurors got underway.

"I ordered a two-prong evaluation to see if Mr. Falk was competent to stand trial, which has never been questioned, and to see if he was competent to represent himself, which is his right," McAdams said Friday. "This is not a question of whether or not he knows all the legal aspects of being an attorney, just that he understands his rights. He appears to be lucid, mindful and understanding of the situation.
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McAdams said it was important that Falk had the proper mindset to understand the ramifications of what he was doing in choosing to represent himself. Falk's attorneys — Katherine Seardino, Allison Baker and Jimmy Phillips, all of Houston — will still be available to offer legal advice, but Falk would do all the talking throughout the trial, including interviewing potential jurors, making opening and closing arguments and questioning witnesses.

"If the psychological expert determines Mr. Falk is capable of representing himself, it lessons the appeal if he is convicted of ineffective assistance of counsel," McAdams said.

The competency evaluations will be conducted this week. Jury selection in Angelina County, where the trial was moved on a change-of-venue request, is temporarily postponed.
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Jury panel interviews resume in Falk trial

http://www.itemonline.com/news/local_news/jury-panel-interviews-resume-in-falk-trial/article_6e436464-d43e-56f4-a042-2bbccdb52bba.html

Attorneys have resumed individual interviews of potential jurors in the capital murder trial of an inmate facing the death penalty for the murder of a correctional officer during an attempted escape from a Huntsville prison more than nine years ago.

Judge Bill McAdams ruled Monday during a hearing at the Angelina County Courthouse that inmate John Ray Falk Jr. can represent himself after Falk passed two competency evaluations performed by a psychological expert last week. Falk made the request to take over his case from his court-appointed attorneys two weeks ago in Lukfin, where the trial was moved following a change-of-venue request, as jury panel interviews were getting underway.

Falk's attorneys — Katherine Seardino, Allison Baker and Jimmy Phillips, all of Houston — will still be available to offer legal advice, but Falk will do all of the talking throughout the trial, including interviewing potential jurors, making opening and closing arguments and questioning witnesses.
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Jury seated in inmate's capital murder trial

http://www.itemonline.com/news/jury-seated-in-inmate-s-capital-murder-trial/article_41b0947c-f97f-11e6-bd26-0f5b4793affb.html

Prosecutors are expected to begin presenting their case this morning against a Texas inmate on trial for the capital murder of a correctional officer during an attempted escape from a Huntsville-area prison more than nine years ago.

Nine men and five women, including two alternates, have been selected to decide the fate of John Ray Falk Jr. The prosecution and defense settled on a jury Tuesday after weeks of individual interviews at the Angelina County Courthouse in Lufkin. The trial was moved from Walker County after a change of venue request was granted.

Falk has chosen to represent himself as he faces the death penalty for the murder of Texas Department of Criminal Justice employee Susan Canfield of New Waverly in September 2007. Falk, who underwent two competency evaluations performed by a psychological expert two weeks ago, will still be available to receive legal advice from his court-appointed attorneys, but he must make opening and closing arguments and question witnesses during the proceedings.
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Inmate changes course, pleads guilty to capital murder

http://www.itemonline.com/news/local_news/falk-changes-course-pleads-guilty-to-capital-murder/article_e8ff622a-8cbb-5bfc-94dd-d43cae314000.html

The trial of an inmate accused of being a party in the death of a correctional officer more than nine years ago took another unexpected turn Thursday.

John Ray Falk Jr. pleaded guilty to the capital murder of Texas Department of Criminal Justice employee Susan Canfield of New Waverly during an attempted escape from the Wynne Unit in Huntsville in September 2007. A jury of nine men and five women, which includes two alternates, will now decide if Falk will be given the death penalty or spend the rest of his life in prison.

Judge Bill McAdams accepted Falk’s plea during a hearing Thursday morning at the Angelina County Courthouse in Lufkin, where the trial was moved on a change of venue request. Falk’s decision to plead guilty came as the jury was set to begin hearing evidence in the guilt-innocence phase of the proceedings.

The punishment phase of the trial began Thursday as well. The jury heard testimony from Canfield’s husband, Charles Canfield, and Joe Jeffcoat, Larry Grissom, Royce Hagans and Robert Nunley, who were also watching the field with Susan Canfield that Falk and fellow inmate Jerry Duane Martin fled from on Sept. 24, 2007, after overpowering a correctional officer and taking his firearm.
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Falk gets death penalty for correctional officer's slaying

http://www.itemonline.com/news/falk-gets-death-penalty-for-correctional-officer-s-slaying/article_fba5feaa-fea5-11e6-8070-fb0eb4f1219b.html

John Ray Falk Jr. was sentenced to die for his role in the murder of a correctional officer during an attempted escape from a Huntsville-area prison more than nine years ago.

An Angelina County jury deliberated for 28 minutes this morning before reaching a decision following closing arguments. Falk, who chose to represent himself, pleaded guilty to capital murder last Thursday for the slaying of Texas Department of Criminal Justice employee Susan Canfield of New Waverly.

The jury had the option to give Falk the death penalty or sentence him to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
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Texas court seeks to clear up whether inmate in CO's slaying wants to die
An appeals court asked a trial court to determine whether an inmate sentenced to die for a CO’s death really is volunteering for execution

"...Condemned inmate John Ray Falk Jr. filed his own document last month seeking to get rid of his lawyers and “expedite this process with as much swiftness as this court might allow,” the state’s highest criminal court said in its four-page ruling. The filing came after Falk initially sought to represent him in the appeals process, then said he wanted his appeals waived, and later decided to retain attorneys.

The court gave Falk’s trial court 30 days to resolve any questions, then gave parties in the case another 30 days to submit legal briefs.
Falk last year pleaded guilty and received the death penalty for the death of Texas Department of Criminal Justice corrections officer Susan Canfield...."

Texas court seeks to clear up whether inmate in CO's slaying wants to die
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