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Charles Walker
North Carolina
Mental Illness
Execution Date: 3 December, 2004, Walker has been granted a stay of execution, however the State has appealed and it is unclear whether this will be upheld.
Facts of the Case
Charles Walker, black, 39, was convicted and subsequently sentenced to death on February 7, 1995 for the murder of Elmon Tito Davidson Jr.
On August 12, 1992 Walker and Pamela Haizlip, along with several others, were in the apartment of Nicki Summers. Summers told Walker that Davidson attempted to rob Haizlip's apartment the previous night, looking for several thousand dollars and drugs. Upon hearing this, Walker instructed Haizlip to lure Davidson to her apartment. Walker, along with Jesse Thompson and Rahshar Darden, followed to Haizlip's apartment where Davidson was waiting.
The prosecution alleged that when Walker, Darden, and Thompson went to Haizlip's apartment, they tied up, gagged and then beat Davidson with various weapons. Walker left the apartment and returned to Summers' residence, leaving Thompson and Darden who cut Davidson's throat and shot him. Darden also returned to Summers' apartment to inform Walker that Davidson was still alive. According to Darden, Walker re-entered Haizlip's apartment and shot Davidson in the neck. Shortly thereafter, the prosecution alleged Davidson died. It should be noted that Davidson's body was never recovered.
The jury found Walker guilty of both murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree. Of note, however, the jury did not find him guilty of shooting Davidson.
The case was also unusual because Walker was the first North Carolina defendant convicted of murder and sentenced to death in the 20th century without investigators locating a body.
Fair Trial Issues and Possible Innocence
The state's case against Walker rested solely on the testimony of Walker's co-defendants. Several people were arrested in connection with the murder of Tito Davidson, including Walker, Haizlip, Thompson, Darden, and Antonio Wrenn, who allegedly helped to dispose of the victim's body. While in jail and immediately after their arrests, Haizlip wrote several letters to Walker, admitting to him that she knew that he "didn't do nothing" and that she was "lying left to right" when she told police that Walker murdered Davidson. She further confessed that she thought that Walker was seeing another woman, making her jealous and angry with him when police questioned her. She also stated that she lied out of fear because Jay Thompson was "threatening" her.
Pamela Haizlip was never prosecuted for her involvement in the crime; she received a deal and was released after testifying for the state. Antonio Wrenn was convicted as an accomplice to murder in the second degree and was placed on probation. Rahshar Darden served six years for murder in the second degree, and Jesse Thompson is currently serving a life sentence.
It should also be noted that there was no physical evidence connecting Walker to the murder: Davidson's body was never found and the State did not produce any ballistics evidence, DNA evidence, hair fibers, fingerprints, or gunshot residue evidence. Instead proceeding on the basis of the above testimony.
Mental Illness
Walker has a long and documented history of mental illness, exhibiting signs from the early age of ten. His family believes that he is, and indeed treats him as if he is, mentally ill, seeing him as profoundly disturbed, prone to periods of violence and irrationality. He was hospitalised at King's County Hospital in Brooklyn, New York at various times in 1975 and 1996. This included prolonged stays for example, at the age of 11 he was hospitalised for four months. He was hospitalised owing to his bizarre behaviour, violence and difficulties in getting on with others. He was noted to have an extreme paranoid thought disorder and his thought processes were sometimes incoherent. Additionally, he experienced auditory hallucinations. At this point he was diagnosed as having a schizophrenic reaction of childhood.
At the time of his trial, a psychiatrist, Dr. Billy Royal, evaluated Walker. Dr. Royal's report indicated that Walker was extremely paranoid, highly grandiose and had profound difficulties in distinguishing fantasy from reality. Dr. Royal concluded that Walker suffered from a bi-polar disorder.
Over the course of his trial, Walker's paranoia convinced him that his attorneys were assisting the prosecution. Walker subsequently turned down a plea bargain, which would have spared his life. In his report Dr. Royal further questioned Walker's competency to stand trial, before finally concluding that in a 'strict legal sense' he was competent, however on the stand Dr. Royal asserted that:
"Mr. Walker throughout the interviews had an inability to deal with the reality of what was going on in terms of his legal status, trial, options that he had. There was a consistent view of himself that was different from what the facts of life showed, in terms of his behaviour and functioning. He was never able to come to grips or deal adequately in a major way with his attorneys, or with myself, or with other persons who tried to deal with him in terms of his legal status, the evidence that appeared to be related to his crime or what his potential was for the future."
Following his subsequent conviction and imprisonment in North Carolina, Walker has been treated with both anti-psychotic and anti-depressive drugs. This treatment is fully consistent with Dr. Royals' diagnosis. Of note, it is not consistent with a diagnosis of a less serious mental disorder such as a personality disorder.
On November 4, 2004, Dr. Seymour Halleck evaluated Walker and examined numerous materials and records. It should be noted that Dr. Halleck has extensive experience with correctional settings, having worked in them full time or as a consultant to them, has lectured at law and medical schools and has written numerous books and articles. While Dr. Halleck believes Walker's mental illness is currently in remission, he asserts that the previous diagnoses are correct and that he has had a serious mental illness for almost all of his life, that Walker was under the influence of that illness at the time of the crime and was unable to assess the reality of the situation at the time of the trial. Dr. Halleck notes that currently Walker is depressed and anxious and some psychotic thinking remains.
Of further note, Dr. Halleck believes that Walker learned that he could best adjust to his imprisonment by covering up the severity of his mental problems, instead demonstrating anti-social behaviour.
There is also a high incidence of mental illness among his family members. This combined with environmental factors and the violence experienced in his childhood arguably contributed to his development of a mental illness at such a young age.
Abuse and Trauma
Walker's mental illness is compounded by the extreme childhood sexual, physical and emotional abuse he was subjected to. His mother beat him with a dog leash and would beat him for almost anything including failures at school. He was also punished by being denied food and left in cold rooms with the windows open in winter. On one occasion his mother placed a hot iron on his penis (the scar has been observed by medical personnel in the department of corrections). A scar also remains on his thumb from when his mother stuck a hot fork in his hand to prevent him taking a biscuit. On his eighth birthday, his mother also brought a prostitute into the house and forced him to have sex with her.
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