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Jul 17, 2008 8:32 pm US/Central
DNA Ruling In Condemned Killer's Case Postponed
SHERMAN, Texas (AP) ―
A death row inmate condemned for a 1983 quadruple slaying got at least another two-week reprieve Thursday when a judge postponed deciding whether old evidence will undergo DNA testing not available nearly a quarter-century ago.
Lester Leroy Bower Jr. must now wait until at least Aug. 1 before knowing whether testing will be done on items collected in a Grayson County airplane hangar where four men were shot execution-style.
Bower's attorneys argued during a 90-minute hearing that the results could point to other suspects. Prosecutors called the request a "fishing expedition" aimed at delaying Bower's execution.
State District Judge Jim Fallon, after indicating he'd hoped to make a ruling Thursday, gave attorneys for both sides more time to submit documents to the court.
"I'm sympathetic to victims' families that need closure on this one way or another," Fallon said. "It's been 24 years."
Bower, a chemical salesman with no prior criminal record, had been set to die July 22 for the killings at the B&B Ranch north of Dallas. He was convicted in 1984 after prosecutors built a circumstantial case surrounding Bower's purchase of an ultralight airplane from one of the victims.
No fingerprints put Bower at the scene, no witnesses saw him there and a murder weapon never was recovered. Prosecutors say he simply snapped.
Bower's execution has been halted until Fallon rules on whether to allow DNA testing on hair, saliva and cigarette butts found in the hangar. The items were never tested because the technology did not exist during Bower's original trial.
Bower's attorneys believe the crime may have been committed by four other men in a dope deal gone bad. They want DNA testing to determine if any of the items can be linked to the men, one of whom is dead and the other is in prison, according to Bower's attorneys.
Peter Buscemi, Bower's attorney, made reference to convicted homemaker Darlie Routier recently being granted new DNA testing on blood stains while arguing his case. Routier was sent to death row after her two young sons were stabbed to death in 1996 in their suburban Dallas home.
"This is the kind of case in which the testing ought to be allowed," Buscemi said.
Karla Hackett, an assistant Grayson County district attorney, argued that the evidence used to convict Bower was strong. She told Fallon that the items Bowers seeks to be tested could have been left in the hangar at any point in time long before the murder.
DNA testing wouldn't change the facts of the case, said Hackett, who also questioned why Bower waited so long to make his latest request.
"The timing of this filing alone is sufficient enough for this court to rule that this has been filed for the purposes of delay alone," Hackett said.
Fallon is expected to make a ruling after all documents and responses are filed to the court by Aug. 1.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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