JUSTICE WAS SERVED FOR FIELD DEPUTY CHRISTOPHER LEE CASTETTER [END OF WATCH: NOVEMBER 28, 1996]

‘We know this execution isn't going to bring Chris back,' he said. 'But it destroys an evil person that would otherwise be walking this earth.

'There is no doubt in my mind that Cecil knew what he had done... The Great State of Missouri did not kill an innocent man. Cecil Clayton's actions is what put him to death.'

20 years ago on this date, November 28, 1996, Field Deputy Christopher Lee Castetter of the Barry County Sheriff’s Office, Missouri, was killed in the line of duty. Let us honor this fallen policeman and thank God, that justice was served, as the Cop Killer, Cecil Clayton was executed on March 17, 2015.

Let us hear from the fallen police’s family and friends who supported him all the way: 

 

Field Deputy

Christopher Lee Castetter

EOW: November 27, 1996

http://www.odmp.org/officer/14833-field-deputy-christopher-lee-castetter

INTERNET SOURCE: http://www.missourinet.com/2015/03/17/attorneys-family-argue-whether-killer-of-barry-county-deputy-should-be-executed-by-missouri-tonight/

Attorneys, family, argue whether killer of Barry County deputy should be executed by Missouri tonight

March 17, 2015 By Mike Lear

It’s been more than 18 years since Cecil Clayton fatally shot Barry County Sheriff’s Deputy Christopher Lee Castetter. His attorneys argue that a brain injury he suffered 43 years ago means he shouldn’t be executed for that crime, as is scheduled to happen today.

In the 1972 accident a piece of lumber shot through the skull of Clayton, now 74, and doctors removed part of his frontal lobe. His attorneys say he was a changed man after that. They say he went from a happily married, religious man who had quit drinking, preached and sang gospel music, to a man who suffered from anxiety, loss of memory and focus, impulsive behavior, and hallucinations.

His attorneys don’t deny that Clayton fatally shot Castetter in November, 1996, when the deputy responded to a call from Clayton’s girlfriend’s sister, who was concerned about Clayton sitting in the driveway in front of her home following an argument with his girlfriend.

Attorney Cynthia Short maintains that examinations by multiple doctors in the past decade show him to be incompetent to be executed under the U.S. Constitution and Missouri law.

“If a person is unable to understand what his punishment is, or that he has been punished, or believes that the punishment is the product of a conspiracy that has been brought forth against him based on his delusional thinking,” Short told Missourinet, “then it is not in society’s interest and certainly not in the interest of the impaired person to punish them in a way they do not understand.”

Short said Clayton’s IQ has also diminished over the years to 71, and argues that to execute him would violate laws against executing the intellectually disabled.

The state Supreme Court has rejected one of Clayton’s attorneys’ attempts to halt his execution, finding that he is competent to be executed and that he remembers, “details from 1996 quite clearly and is aware that both he and his counsel continue to search for arguments to preclude his execution,” as written by Judge Paul Wilson in his opinion. It also found that he does not meet the state law’s threshold for an intellectual disability.

“I think it’s B.S.,” James Castetter, Christopher Castetter’s brother, said of the claim that Clayton is incompetent. Castetter told Missourinet he believes Clayton knew what he was doing the night he killed his brother.

“He knew he was wrong because he went to Cole’s house to get him, let him know what he did, [to say] ‘You’re my alibi,'” said Castetter, referring to Clayton’s friend at the time of the murder, Martin Cole. “If he would have stayed there, asked ‘What did I do?’ Said, ‘Hey Cole, I did this. I can’t believe I did this,’ that might be one thing,” said Castetter. “He knew what he was talking about, so that’s a competent person.”

James Castetter, who is an emergency medical technician in Florida, is in Missouri today to witness Clayton’s execution.

“I think it’s going to put closure,” said Castetter. “Knowing that the evil that killed my brother is no longer walking this earth … and remembering my brother the way he used to be.” Castetter has named his daughter after his brother, and plans to bring her to Missouri some other time to see the section of highway in southwest Missouri that is named for him.

Castetter hasn’t told his daughter why he’s in Missouri this week. “That’s one thing I don’t want her to know, at least now.”

Clayton’s attorneys have asked the U.S. Supreme Court and the Eighth Circuit federal court to halt his execution and additional actions are pending in a U.S. Western District and U.S. Eastern District court. Governor Jay Nixon (D) has also been asked to commute his sentence to life in prison without parole. Nixon was Missouri’s attorney general when earlier challenges to Clayton’s death sentence were rejected, including when a federal appeals court upheld that sentence in 2008.

“Deputy Castetter was protecting the law-abiding citizens of Barry County when he was shot and killed without warning by Cecil Clayton,” Nixon said in a statement at the time. “The jury appropriately determined Clayton should face the ultimate punishment.”

Clayton’s execution is set to happen between 6 p.m. tonight and 5:59 Wednesday. If it hasn’t happened by the latter time, the execution warrant from the state Supreme Court will expire and the court would have to set a new date. His is the first execution since the 1930s that Missouri has scheduled for a time other than 12:01 in the morning.

INTERNET SOURCE: http://www.monett-times.com/story/2179742.html

Castetter admired after killer executed

Friday, March 27, 2015

By Kyle Troutman editor@monett-times.com

Barry County Sheriff, deputies visit gravesite instead of attending execution

"Deputy Sheriff No. 52 was a man who loved the simple things in life ... biscuits and gravy, the countryside, Elvis and John Wayne. He wore his badge proudly as he protected and served the people. He should never be forgotten by the people whose lives he touched. May his memory always be kept alive. I'll love you forever, your wife." 

So reads the headstone of Christopher Castetter, former Barry County sheriff's deputy who was killed in the line of duty on Nov. 27, 1996. 

Castetter's convicted killer and Missouri's oldest death row inmate, Cecil Clayton, 74, was put to death by lethal injection on March 17 at 9:21 p.m., and instead of traveling to witness the execution, Castetter's brothers in blue decided to spend that time with him -- at his Pilant Cemetery gravesite on Highway Y. 

"I did not go to the execution," said Mick Epperly, Barry County sheriff, who was running for the office at the time of Castetter's death. "Several of us [at the sheriff's office] discussed going, but we decided we wanted to do something for Chris. 

"So, we went down to his gravesite that day, and as a friend and a brother to us, we wanted to be with him and said a prayer for him there. Now that he has gotten justice, rather than driving across the state to be with Cecil, we wanted to be with Chris." 

Jimmy Castetter, Chris Castetter's brother, did attend the execution and said when Clayton took his last breath, it was a relief for him and his family. 

"Cecil died in a humane way and comfortable way, unlike Chris," he said. "It was a release knowing Cecil would not be walking the Earth any more, and a relief to know that we wouldn't have to deal with this any more."

Castetter said the waiting period before Clayton's eventual execution was the most difficult part.

"It was really tough not knowing if they'd prolong it or if it would be delayed," he said. "The anticipation of not knowing was the most difficult part."

Castetter said when he finally learned it would proceed, he and the family were taken into a dark room and told not to speak. A curtain was opened and Clayton was laying there, eyes closed the entire time. 

"That was the moment of truth," he said. "I had read so much about people saying it's inhumane, and I was wondering what people would say about this one. I watched his breathing because that was the only way to really tell. They didn't tell us when the injection started, so I watched his breathing and saw it slow down gradually, then that was it.

"Cecil never opened his eyes, almost like he knew we were there. When he took his last breath, it was a big weight off my shoulders." 

Epperly, who wore since-retired badge No. 52 before leaving his deputy position to run for sheriff, said Chris Castetter was one-of-a-kind in the uniform and at home. 

"Chris was well-respected and always had a smile on his face," Epperly said. "Working at the sheriff's office, he did a really good job, and everyone thought the world of him. 

"All the time I knew Chris, I just never heard any bad words about him. He was a dedicated officer and a wonderful family man." 

Epperly said Castetter, who was 29 at the time of his death, had gone through the academy and was in his second year as a deputy. 

"I have so much respect for his family, because I don't know what it would be like to go through losing such a great husband and father," Epperly said. "Where would Chris be now if this hadn't happened? It shouldn't have happened." 

Jimmy Castetter said his brother was a simple man who loved the outdoors and even inspired him to be a firefighter. 

"Chris liked the outdoors, like hunting and fishing," he said. "When we were younger, I lived in Indiana and he lived in Florida, and he loved the beach stuff. He was the one who got me interested in being a volunteer firefighter, and now it's been my career since 1990." 

Public service runs in the Castetters' bloodlines, as Jimmy and Chris have another brother who is a deputy in Florida, and the pair's father was a police officer who was disabled after being shot in the line of duty. 

"Public service runs in the family and Chris liked to help people," Jimmy Castetter said. "He's the type of person that if there's one sandwich left, he will give it to you no matter how hungry he is. Chris left the beach life to go to Cassville, and he loved the small-town feel and the countryside." 

Clayton was convicted of killing Castetter while Castetter was answering a domestic disturbance call at a rural Barry County home. Clayton gunned down Castetter in his vehicle shortly after he arrived at the home. 

Clayton's case drew extra attention because in 1972, he was involved in a sawmill accident that led to one-fifth of the frontal lobe of his brain being removed. Clayton's lawyers said the damage to his brain changed his personality and may have turned him into a killer, as well as rendered him mentally incompetent and ineligible for capital punishment. 

The lawyers pressed the issue up until the time of Clayton's death. Appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court, Missouri Supreme Court and Gov. Jay Nixon were each denied, and the U.S. Supreme Court's late, 5-4 decision delayed the execution nearly three hours. 

The state previously argued medical experts found Clayton understood why he was being executed, and his intellectual issues has to be present before he turned 18 for him to escape the punishment. 

Epperly said the requests for the stay and the clemency were unfounded, as Barry County jurors and a Barry County judge made the decision. 

"It's not up to the sheriff's department," he said. "The punishment was carried out by the judicial system. No one here holds a grudge against the Clayton family. Cecil decided to do what he did on that one night, he knew what he was doing and he had to pay the consequences. I hope we never have another one in Barry County." 

Since Castetter's death, Highway 112, from the intersection at Highway 76 south to Highway AA, has been memorialized in his honor, per a 2007 Missouri State House bill.

© Copyright 2015, Monett Times

 

Pictured is the headstone at Christopher Castetter's Pilant Cemetery gravesite. It reads, "Deputy Sheriff No. 52 was a man who loved the simple things in life ... biscuits and gravy, the countryside, Elvis and John Wayne. He wore his badge proudly as he protected and served the people. He should never be forgotten by the people whose lives he touched. May his memory always be kept alive. I'll love you forever, your wife." Kyle Troutman/editor@monett-times.com

[PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.monett-times.com/story/2179742.html]

INTERNET SOURCE: http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/crime/article15252212.html

Brother of slain deputy witnesses killer’s execution in Missouri

James Castetter came from his Florida home to Missouri to see Cecil Clayton executed for the 1996 killing of his brother, Christopher Castetter, a deputy sheriff in Barry County, Mo.

March 18, 2015 12:33 PM

By TONY RIZZO

The Kansas City Star

In his long firefighting career, James Castetter witnessed many people take their last breath after some traumatic event like a car wreck or shooting.

On Tuesday night, he watched another man die under far different circumstances.

Castetter came from his Florida home to Missouri to see Cecil Clayton executed for the November 1996 killing of his brother, Christopher Castetter, a deputy sheriff in Barry County, Mo.

“I’m asking you to please let people know Cecil did not suffer,” James Castetter said Wednesday. “Cecil Clayton, unlike my brother, died humanely and comfortable, a way he did not deserve.”

James Castetter takes exception to some news reports that mentioned that Clayton breathed heavily when the lethal injection process began.

“Being in the fire service/medical field since 1987, I know the difference between normal and abnormal breathing,” Castetter said.

At 74, Clayton was the oldest man on Missouri’s death row. His attorneys argued up to the end that he was not competent to be executed because an industrial accident damaged his brain in 1972.

Ultimately, the U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 Tuesday night to deny Clayton’s last request to stay the execution.

For James Castetter, the arguments about Clayton’s mental state — both at the time of his brother’s death and on Tuesday — never were convincing.

According to trial testimony, after shooting Castetter, Clayton told a friend what he had done and attempted to set up an alibi.

“He knew what he was doing,” James Castetter said.

And whatever Clayton’s understanding was of his impending fate, his final statement Tuesday showed some level of comprehension: “They brought me up here to execute me.”

James Castetter said having the execution over after so many years of wondering was a “big relief.”

“The state of Missouri did not kill an innocent man,” he said. “Cecil Clayton’s actions are what put him to death.”