Ten years ago on this date, 8 April
2003, Don Wilson Hawkins Jr. was executed by lethal injection in Oklahoma for
the 19 August 1985 murder of Linda Ann Thompson. Praise God that the family
understands that the Bible approves of the death penalty.
Summary: On August 19, 1985,
Hawkins, armed with a revolver, forced his way into Linda Thompson's car, as
she purchased stamps at a self-service postal station at a shopping mall near
her home. Thompson's two small daughters, Lori, age four, and Katie, eighteen
months old, were also in the car at the time. According to Hawkins, his
original plan was to kidnap Thompson and hold her for ransom. Hawkins drove the
victims to the home of his girlfriend, Shirley Pitts, Pitts's 15-year-old
nephew, Chris Lovell, and Hawkins's cousin, Dale Shelton, were staying with the
couple at that time. At the house, Pitts and Lovell watched the children.
Hawkins and Shelton kept Thompson upstairs in the house for several hours.
Later that night, they took Thompson to a barn several hundred yards away,
where they kept her chained in the barn's loft. Her children remained locked in
a bedroom in the house. Shelton and Lovell each raped Thompson. During the
night, they did allow Thompson to see her children at the house. In the
morning, after permitting Thompson briefly to say goodbye to her daughters,
Hawkins and Shelton drove Linda Thompson to a nearby lake, where Hawkins
hog-tied and drowned her, while Shelton stood lookout. Hawkins and Shelton dragged
the body into a ravine and covered it with brush, then fled the state. Pitts
and Lovell left Thompson's daughters with their babysitter. After murdering
Thompson and fleeing the state, Hawkins abducted and sexually assaulted two
teenage girls; kidnapped and robbed two women; and murdered an acquaintance in
Colorado. He killed that victim by hanging him, prosecutors said. Hawkins and
Shelton were arrested two months later in Sacramento, Calif., where Hawkins was
caught trying to steal a car battery. Both Hawkins and Shelton confessed to the
murder and kidnapping. Shelton told police where Thompson’s body was buried. At
his trial, Hawkins testified that he had left Thompson near the lake and had
turned to walk away when, he claimed, he heard the "shriek of a
supernatural creature." He testified that he returned and jumped in the
water to try to save Thompson. The jury didn't buy it. Hawkins told his lawyer
not to submit any mitigating evidence at trial. Shelton was tried jointly with
Hawkins, convicted, and sentenced to life without parole.
QUOTE: She said she had forgiven Hawkins, but
the "Bible that I follow as the guidebook for my
life decrees that this is his due punishment."
AUTHOR: Lori
Thompson is the daughter of Linda Ann Thompson. Linda was murdered by Don
Wilson Hawkins, Jr. on 20 August 1985. Don was executed by lethal injection in
Oklahoma on 8 April 2003.
That's my Dad.
ReplyDeleteWas your mom friends with a woman named Nancy Moreland?
ReplyDeleteI hope I am not bringing up any bad memories, that is the last thing I would ever want to do. Grief is something we learn to live with, but some days are better than others. It's akin to being an amputee, you may learn to walk again, but it'll never be the same. So, please understand, I'd never want to hurt you by dredging up painful memories. I just wanted to share how many lives were touched by your mother. I was 12 when your tragedy happened. My Aunt Nancy knew your mother, I don't remember how. I remember she talked about how remarkable your mother was, and she recruited people to help with the search. Huge numbers of people were determined to help. Your mother must have been an amazing person. I'm sorry if you find these comments intrusive, I just wanted you to know she was not forgotten.
ReplyDelete