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Larry Wayne Smith, the father of my children and
my beloved husband, died in agony sometime
between April 9 and April 11, 1991. According to
police reports, he was forced into a motel
bedroom closet, then stabbed and slashed
repeatedly. Everything of value was stolen.
I was given the news over the phone about 11:00
p.m. by the Deer Park Medical Examiner. Why he
couldn't send someone to tell me in person, I'll
never know.
I didn't tell the children: my son, 9 years old
and my daughter, 7 years old at the time. It was
Friday morning and I put them on the bus for
school. Later, when I was calmer, I called in a
school counselor and she stood ready to help
while I told them. I spent most of that weekend
gathering information and arranging a funeral.
Larry could not be viewed; he had lain in that
closet in a warm Texas April for nearly three
days. He was cremated. I kissed the box that we
had decorated with the American flag and placed
it in the niche. Gene and Robin and other close
family members each placed a rose of their own
within. I had his Veteran's plaque placed
outside in the Military section of the cemetery.
Then I went home to learn how to be a widow with
two small children.
I visited the crime scene about a week after the
murder. I had to - I had to see for myself what
had happened to him, since so many well-meaning
people kept the truth from me. I forced people
to give me details that would help me understand
Larry's last moments on earth.
Larry's convicted killer, Alvin E. Broxton had
burst into my husband's motel room, and Larry
apparently fought, valiantly, but the much
larger man forced him back into a closet where
he stabbed him 14 times. Blood smears, marks and
bloody handprints on the walls and door provided
mute evidence of the struggle. A pool of blood
on the floor in the closet marked where Larry
had lain. Broxton had shoved a table against the
door, stole everything of value, and left. Larry
was found April 11 by a co-worker, concerned as
to why he hadn't shown up for work.
I took relics from the site to keep. I wasn't
allowed to view the body, but was given a lock
of hair. I think if I had been allowed to see
him, I would not now be subconsciously searching
for him, even now, after so many years. To me,
somehow, he is not dead. For years, I slept with
his jacket, for it retained his smell. I still
miss him. I will always miss him. I've never
remarried. And there is guilt, that somehow if I
had not made him leave home, he would still be
here where I could take care of him.
Larry and I met on a blind date (thank you, Pam
and Donny) and were married in 1979 after a
5-month whirlwind courtship. Larry was a kind
man, sweet and good-natured and cuddly. We had
much in common, even the same coloring. We liked
the same things, horses and rodeos and dancing
and children. We were ideally suited to each
other and we loved each other dearly. There was
one problem we faced, and which would escalate
as time went on: he was a heavy drinker and I
was pretty much a teetotaler. We managed well,
however, and brought two beautiful children into
the world - together - Gene in 1981 and Robin in
1983. Larry also had a lovely daughter from a
previous marriage, Michelle, born in 1972, who
lived with her mother. We had a nice home, three
children, and a bright future.
Sometimes life throws situations at you that
you're not quite ready for. My mother had been
diagnosed with ALS and was deteriorating at an
alarming rate. To help my father with her daily
care, we agreed to uproot ourselves and move
next door. Living in such close proximity to his
in-laws was a strain on Larry. Dealing with a
job, an invalid mother and two babies was a
strain on me. Our relationship suffered; Larry's
drinking escalated, and in 1986 I asked him to
move out. Two weeks later he came back home and
we tried again, but the pattern continued. In
1988 he checked into Parkside Lodge of Katy, a
hospital akin to the Betty Ford Center. He did
well for two months after his return, then fell
completely off the wagon. In 1989 I tried tough
love: I told him to move out and not come back
until he quit drinking.
He stayed on his own for 17 months and I don't
believe he ever did stop drinking. He asked to
come home in March. He had gotten a wonderful
new job, after months of study, and was now a
radiographer. It was a career to be proud of. By
this time my mother had died and my father had
remarried, so we thought perhaps if we moved
completely away from the old home and old
memories, we could began again and make it work.
The kids missed their daddy and wanted him back
home. We agreed that when he returned from his
assignment in Puerto Rico, we would rebuild our
marriage.
Sometime in the early hours of April 9, Larry
met Alvin Eugene Broxton, and all our plans lay
in that closet with his brutalized body.
May 22, 1991: The Houston Police Department
caught Broxton. Until that time we all lived in
terror, because Larry's wallet was missing and
it contained our photos, address, and all
personal information. Until he was caught I left
the kids in a locked car when I came home and
searched the house with a gun in my hand until I
was sure it was safe to go in.
Larry was not Broxton's only victim. I believe
six was the final total of people he killed. I
grieve for the pain he caused those other
families, whose loved ones he murdered for drug
money, especially the Dockens family. Thank God
Wayne survived to identify him. I know that they
share my sentiment: all through these years
Broxton has remained alive and well, if
restricted, on Death Row. I know the justice
system has its own calendar, and I know that
Texas will execute him eventually, but I grow
tired of waiting. Larry did not have these past
years. Larry was not allowed to see his younger
children grow up. He was not allowed to see his
two grandchildren. He was not given another day
past April 9, 1991. Why should
Broxton still live?
Larry and I had reaffirmed our marriage vows on
March 30, 1991, and I treasure his last words to
me over the phone at my job before he left for
Puerto Rico: 'I love you.' We were married only
22 years. Though we had our problems, we had a
good life. Though we were cut short, we parted
in love.
Sleep sweetly, darling.
In loving memory
Diane, Gene, Robin, Michelle, Morgan and Bailey
Times in life when tears
must fall
When heart is filled with
woe
Place to have this time I need
As
saddened heart will flow
Today I cried so many
tears
They seem to give me peace
Knowing
that each drop I shed
Would give my soul
release
Take away this pain I feel
Let
the hurt subside
Tears that fill an ocean
of
This sadness felt inside
Need this time to cast
away
The sorrow that's within
With every
tear the pain awash
The joy will then
begin
Tears in life give comfort
now
For all the hurt we feel
Cascading in
a pool of life
So each of us can
heal
Perhaps I cry these
tears for you
Perhaps they are for
me
Whatever reason for these tears
They
fall from heart's bounty.
~
Francine Pucillo ~
Šused with
permission
POETRY~EMOTION
News Articles
Paper:
Houston Chronicle
Date: SAT 11/15/2003
New trial has same outcome / Convicted
killer gets death penalty
Jurors took about four hours Friday to
conclude for the second time that a
convicted killer should die, rendering the
same verdict that had been overturned due to
race-based testimony later found to be
illegal. Eugene Broxton, 48, was found
guilty and sentenced to death for the first
time in 1992 after he broke into a hotel
room, tied up, pistol-whipped, robbed and
shot Sheila Dockens and her husband, Wayne.
Broxton, who is black, won a federal appeal
in 2000 after doubts were raised about
racial remarks made during the penalty phase
of that trial. At the first trial, a state
psychologist told jurors that Broxton's race
was one of many reasons to believe he posed
a future threat to society. Walter Quijano,
the former chief psychologist for the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice, pointed to
statistics that show blacks and Hispanics
are overrepresented among prison
populations. The probability of future
violence is one of the key elements
prosecutors must prove to win a death
sentence. Broxton was one of six death
row inmates to receive a new penalty phase
trial because of testimony by Quijano. Two
others have had their second trials, and in
both cases a death sentence was imposed a
second time. In June 2000, the U.S. Supreme
Court overturned the death sentence of a
Hispanic man from Collin County, north of
Dallas, because Quijano had made similar
race-based testimony during the penalty
phase of that trial. On Friday, prosecutors
explicitly told jurors that Broxton's race
should not play any role in their verdict.
"Race doesn't have any place in decisions
made in this building. It's incredibly
offensive to think it would enter into your
thinking," Assistant District Attorney Bill
Hawkins told the all-white jury. During the
four days of testimony in the retrial of the
penalty phase, prosecutors portrayed Broxton
as a sociopath who has been incarcerated for
all but 16 months of the past 30 years and
was charged with five killings during a
stint on the outside in 1991. Dockens was a
20-year-old newlywed when she died that
year. "Part of it for him is the thrill and
the kicks," said Assistant District Attorney
Katherine Cabaniss. "Every time he comes
into contact with people, he is a threat."
Broxton's attorneys pointed to his prison
record of good behavior and sought to assure
jurors that he would be best left in prison
for the rest of his life. "By and large, the
prison system does a pretty good job of
keeping them confined and keeping them from
hurting other people," said Broxton's
attorney, Thomas Moran. Diane Smith, a
55-year-old widow, sat in the courtroom
gallery on Friday. Broxton was charged but
never tried in the death of her husband,
Larry Smith, in 1991. "I don't trust the
system when they say he is going to be
incarcerated forever," Smith said.
Paper: Houston Chronicle
Date: SAT 09/23/2000
Race-based testimony may result in new trial
/Psychologist's remarks taken to task
A federal judge has blocked the Harris
County District Attorney's Office from
defending the use of race-based testimony in
a 1992 capital murder case, which could mean
inmate Eugene Broxton will be resentenced or
retried. Texas Attorney General John Cornyn
admitted state prosecutors made a
constitutional error by allowing state
prison psychologist Walter Quijano's
testimony during the sentencing phase of
Broxton's trial, as well as the trials of
five other death row inmates. In the case of
Broxton, who is black, Quijano testified
that statistics indicated Broxton would be a
continuing threat to society if he were not
sentenced to die, according to a
supplemental petition filed by Broxton's
attorneys. In the wake of the Supreme
Court's decision in another case, attorney
James R. Reed challenged Broxton's sentence
in a supplement to a petition challenging
the verdict. The supplement states that
Broxton's rights were violated when Quijano
testified that statistical factors increase
the probability of future dangerousness.
Quijano told jurors in the Broxton case that
race was one of 24 factors in determining
the probability that a defendant would
commit future acts of violence and be a
continuing threat to society, court
documents state. But Harris County Assistant
District Attorney Roe Wilson disagreed that
Quijano's testimony amounted to
constitutional error and sought to defend
the prosecution's actions in court, over
Cornyn's objection. In a petition to the
court, Wilson said state prosecutors face
the responsibility of retrying the case if
U.S. District Judge Vanessa Gilmore orders
Broxton to be resentenced. But Gilmore
rejected Harris County's motion, deciding
that it is the sole responsibility of the
Attorney General's Office to answer
Broxton's allegations. Broxton was convicted
of killing Sheila Dockens on May 16, 1991.
Trial evidence showed that Broxton barged
into the motel room where Dockens and her
husband, Waylon, were staying during a
business trip to Houston. Broxton ordered
the Louisiana couple to give him their
wallets and jewelry. He tied their hands and
feet with strips of cloth, then beat Waylon
Dockens unconscious with the butt of a
.44-caliber Magnum pistol. When Waylon
Dockens regained consciousness, he called
the motel manager for help. When police
arrived they found Sheila Dockens was dead,
and Waylon Dockens had a gunshot wound to
the face. Senior Assistant Attorney General
Edward Marshall said there is no evidence
that anything was amiss in the
guilt-innocence portion of the trial. He
urged Gilmore to uphold Broxton's
conviction, ordering a retrial on the
punishment phase only. Quijano's testimony
also caused state prosecutors to dropped
cases against four convicted sex offenders.
Quijano, who has expertise in substance
abuse counseling, sex offenders and other
forensic issues, was the chief psychologist
for the Texas prison system in the 1980s. He
also has been a consultant for the Federal
Bureau of Prisons. After the initial ruling,
Cornyn identified six other death penalty
cases in which Quijano testified about race.
Cornyn said he will not contest appeals
raised over the psychologist's testimony.
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Date: THU 10/05/1995
Broxton's sentence stands up to appeal
AUSTIN - The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
on Wednesday upheld 6-3 the death sentence
of a Louisiana man charged with five capital
killings in Houston. Eugene Alvin Broxton
was sentenced to die for the 1991 robbery
slaying of Sheila Dockens, 20, who was
staying at a Channelview motel with her
husband. The Louisiana newlyweds were
pistol-whipped, bound and robbed. Waylon
Dockens, the victim's husband, survived to
testify against Broxton. Three of the
judges, however, said they would have
overturned the death sentence, in part
because jurors had not been told how much
time Broxton would have had to serve before
being considered for parole. Broxton raised
several issues in his appeal, including
whether the jury should have been told that
- if given a life sentence - he would have
to serve a minimum of 15 years before
becoming eligible for parole. Since then,
the Legislature has raised to 35 years the
minimum time a capital murderer must serve
before being considered for parole. Judges
Sam Houston Clinton, Morris Overstreet and
Frank Maloney, all Democrats, said failure
to inform the jury of the minimum time
Broxton, then 37, would serve violated his
constitutional rights to due process and
freedom from cruel and unusual punishment.
The court has previously held that it is
improper to tell jurors when or whether a
defendant would be paroled. Clinton,
Overstreet and Maloney, however, said jurors
were entitled to know that the minimum time
served was relevant in answering the
question of whether Broxton would be a
threat to society. Broxton also is charged
in four other capital cases committed during
a two-month crime spree in April and May of
1991, according to police. Broxton was on
parole for the 1986 attempted capital murder
of a Houston police officer at the time of
the Dockens slaying. The court returned
another murder case to Harris County
Wednesday to correct a procedural matter.
Cldye Smith, 22, was sentenced to die for
the 1992 murder of taxi driver David Jacobs.
Smith's defense attorneys unsuccessfully
tried to block the introduction of Smith's
confession into evidence. However, the trial
court failed to file written findings
justifying the decision on time. The appeals
court sent the case back to the trial court
to refile the findings. The conviction
wasn't reversed.
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