Darlie Routier asks for DNA testing

[michelle]

I worry most about Drake. So sad to think about all he will go through if they kill his mother. His is an innocent in all of this. Poor, poor child.

I know isnt it terrible for him.

 

[Jimthecarpetguy]

Since she has been on death row around 10 years, I agree that the clock is definitely ticking. I wish the tests would be done. I think that it will cause a terrible stink if they try to put her to death without doing all the DNA testing that they want.

I worry most about Drake. So sad to think about all he will go through if they kill his mother. His is an innocent in all of this. Poor, poor child.

No doubt this whole thing will have a profound effect on Drake for his entire life.Kids are pretty resilient though and having grown up with the situation instead of being thrust into it at a more impressionable age will only help him move on after the state of Texas murders his mom.

 

[Goody]

I don't think that limit has passed yet since Darlies attornies asked to postpone the federal deal so they could get the state results first and qualify for federal funding for discovery etc. etc. I do believe the clock is ticking though,tick tock.I would have wade thru the legal stuff to be certain.One of the WS legal minds would have a better handle on that sort of thing.

All her attys have to do is file their request before the deadline to hold it open and they did, so on the state level they have not missed that. However, if the state does not reach a decision before the fed appeal reaches its decision on the other issues they have filed so far, I think they lose their chances to revisit those things later on if the tests were done and they were successful. That could be problematic. I really think it is uncool for the state of Texas to deliberately try to make her miss these deadlines when they could just deny her request and let her pursue reversals in the higher courts. And that is what it looks like to me/ In two years they can't decide a yes or no decision on the testing??????? Sounds prejudicial to me, not against her personally but against all convicted on DR/

 

[Goody]

No doubt this whole thing will have a profound effect on Drake for his entire life.Kids are pretty resilient though and having grown up with the situation instead of being thrust into it at a more impressionable age will only help him move on after the state of Texas murders his mom.

Why do you say murders? Are you agianst the death penalty?

 

[Jimthecarpetguy]

Why do you say murders? Are you agianst the death penalty?

Not at all!As long as it survives the mandatory appeal,state level appeals,federal appeals,including the supreme court of the United State of America and gets the nod from the governer of texas The sound of "Texas Justice"gives Texas and the U.S.A. a bad rap.We just don't take em' out back and shoot em'.

 

[ssiegmund]

No. Even if the impossible happened and her death sentence was commuted, she would receive life without parole.

It's always been my understanding that Texas doesn't have life without parole. I've lived here 30 years and that's what I have always heard and have never seen anyone sentenced without possibility of parole. Am I mistaken about this?

 

[Jeana (DP)]

It's always been my understanding that Texas doesn't have life without parole. I've lived here 30 years and that's what I have always heard and have never seen anyone sentenced without possibility of parole. Am I mistaken about this?

That law was changed.

Texas Jurors Get Choice Over Life Without Parole Option


A bill has recently been passed by Texas lawmakers that will enable jurors to select life without parole as an option in murder trials. Currently, Texas is a leading state when it comes to executions, and this is because the options for jurors in such trials is limited. They have only been able to select between the death penalty and life with the possibility of parole. It is hoped that this new bill can help to cut down on executions with an alternative that is harsher than the current life with the possibility of parole option.
In 2004 alone, there were twenty-four executions, with a further four in the early part of 2005. Until now Texas is one of two states that did not have the life without parole option for jurors – this is out of the thirty-eight states that operate the death sentence.

It is hoped that this law will bring Texas criminal law into the twenty-first century, giving jurors more choice over the sentencing and reducing the number of executions carried out in the state. "I would expect that if we pass this bill there would be, frankly, fewer executions in this state," said Republican state Sen. Steve Ogden.

In recent times, Texas courts have banned the execution of criminals that are under the age of eighteen, as well as the execution of those proven to be mentally retarded. The newer, updated option available to jurors means that they will now have a more suitable option in cases such as these, where the death penalty is not an option anyway.

Topic Added May 18th, 2005 - Print

 

[Goody]

That law was changed.

Texas Jurors Get Choice Over Life Without Parole Option


A bill has recently been passed by Texas lawmakers that will enable jurors to select life without parole as an option in murder trials. Currently, Texas is a leading state when it comes to executions, and this is because the options for jurors in such trials is limited. They have only been able to select between the death penalty and life with the possibility of parole. It is hoped that this new bill can help to cut down on executions with an alternative that is harsher than the current life with the possibility of parole option.
In 2004 alone, there were twenty-four executions, with a further four in the early part of 2005. Until now Texas is one of two states that did not have the life without parole option for jurors – this is out of the thirty-eight states that operate the death sentence.

It is hoped that this law will bring Texas criminal law into the twenty-first century, giving jurors more choice over the sentencing and reducing the number of executions carried out in the state. "I would expect that if we pass this bill there would be, frankly, fewer executions in this state," said Republican state Sen. Steve Ogden.

In recent times, Texas courts have banned the execution of criminals that are under the age of eighteen, as well as the execution of those proven to be mentally retarded. The newer, updated option available to jurors means that they will now have a more suitable option in cases such as these, where the death penalty is not an option anyway.

Topic Added May 18th, 2005 - Print

I think the change is a good one, but do you think Darlie's jury would have gone with LWP if they could? I don't. I think the nature of the crime was so horrific that they would not have been able to rise above it and give her a break, plus no mitigating circumstances were offered, and no remorse shown by her or her family. They all continued to deny she did it.

 

[sharpar]

Since she has been on death row around 10 years, I agree that the clock is definitely ticking. I wish the tests would be done. I think that it will cause a terrible stink if they try to put her to death without doing all the DNA testing that they want. I worry most about Drake. So sad to think about all he will go through if they kill his mother. His is an innocent in all of this. Poor, poor child.

A bunch of pathetic whiners standing around being so concerned about a murderer. Oh yeah alot of press - NOT !
So where does it end ? If defense wanted that testing done they had the
opportunity to do it before trial and chose not to due to cost. They are asking for it now because it buys her time and it spends the states nickle .
If that fails to prove her innocent then they will find another thing to test then another and another all coming to the same conclusion - only her !
She presented her evidence at the trial, jury found her guilty... End of story.

I was quite close to Rowlett Sunday and said a prayer for those boys.
If I had a bit more time would have been a lookey loo but I needed to
get home .

 

[Jeana (DP)]

You're exactly right. The items were made available for testing years ago.

 

[deanws]

A bunch of pathetic whiners standing around being so concerned about a murderer. Oh yeah alot of press - NOT !
So where does it end ? If defense wanted that testing done they had the
opportunity to do it before trial and chose not to due to cost. They are asking for it now because it buys her time and it spends the states nickle .
If that fails to prove her innocent then they will find another thing to test then another and another all coming to the same conclusion - only her !
She presented her evidence at the trial, jury found her guilty... End of story.

I was quite close to Rowlett Sunday and said a prayer for those boys.
If I had a bit more time would have been a lookey loo but I needed to
get home .

There are ALWAYS a bunch of protesters during an execution. This one will be no exception. I think they should test this last bunch of things the attorney is asking for. All other things have already been done. If that qualifies me as a whiner, so be it.

 

[Goody]

You're exactly right. The items were made available for testing years ago.

But that is not the point, at least from a layman's point of view. If we are going to put someone to death, all the testing that can be done should be done just to make the record complete. Besides, even if you take the hardline approach that doesn't excuse local courts from making a yes or no decision on it instead of dragging their feet. It is almost like they are purposely trying to screw up her appeal.

 

[Jeana (DP)]

I think the change is a good one, but do you think Darlie's jury would have gone with LWP if they could? I don't. I think the nature of the crime was so horrific that they would not have been able to rise above it and give her a break, plus no mitigating circumstances were offered, and no remorse shown by her or her family. They all continued to deny she did it.

Very hard to say Goody. I think for a crime this horrific, they'd probably go for the death sentence.

 

[Goody]

Very hard to say Goody. I think for a crime this horrific, they'd probably go for the death sentence.

Hey, Nashville's most notorious mass murderer is about to be executed...June 28th, only 9 years after the murders. He killed all the employees of the fast food places he robbed, three places and I think 7 or more victims. One Mexican guy lived iand ID'd him. He came to Nashville to make it in the music business. O, and he's from Texas, suspected there of similiar crimes but it never could be proven.

 

[Jeana (DP)]

Hey, Nashville's most notorious mass murderer is about to be executed...June 28th, only 9 years after the murders. He killed all the employees of the fast food places he robbed, three places and I think 7 or more victims. One Mexican guy lived iand ID'd him. He came to Nashville to make it in the music business. O, and he's from Texas, suspected there of similiar crimes but it never could be proven.

Hopefully, there will be no last minute reprieve.

 

[Goody]

Hopefully, there will be no last minute reprieve.

Only the fed appeals courts could do that. Our governor wouldn't dare!!! Most of those killed were teenagers and young married people still in their 20s. He hit a Captain D's, McDonald's, and a Baskin Robbins. He has stopped filing appeals, saying his life is over anyway. His sister is still trying to fight for him though but so far her filings have been denied.

 

[leann coburn]

I know I am a stranger on this Routier forum (I post other places) but this case has always fascinated me. In a very morbid way. I think the state should do all available dna testing right now before her execution. I don't even care if they pay for it. Just do it to prove a point and so people won't have this to hark about forever and ever. Jeffrey McDonald wants out of prison for killing his wife Collette and their two daughters and unborn child. His latest plea was granted. He has maintained all along that if the government would just test the dna on the strand of hair found in his wife's hand, it would clear him. (dna wasn't around then) They just did the testing and it was his hair. Case closed. They finally gave him enough rope to hang himself.


jmo and I honestly hope Drake will come to know the truth for himself when he is old enough. I think she was tired of the responsibility of being a mother to two very active boys. The neighbors said they were often outside for hours at a time unsupervised and that she would yell at them and tell them to get out of the house. She didn't want it messed up. I think the birthday parties and such were just for show, to show her friends and family that she could afford such things. She seemed awfully happy at the silly string party to me. Things are many times not what they appear to be when we see behind closed doors. It is so hard to believe that she did this, but I think all evidence points to the fact that she did. And I willl tell you I know at least a couple of mothers that really wouldn't surprise me if they got high on cocaine or some such and got angry and did such a thing. That's a horrible statement, I know. And they're in my extended family and I watch these two moms like a hawk. When things go wrong and they can't take the pressure of raising children that they didn't even want (they'll tell you when they are mad) they can be dangerous. They can call and leave messages of what they are going to do, such as walk out into a field and "off myself and the stupid kids" that send me straight into motion. I know it's on again and they will take out their anger on their kids. And I DO call dhs and I DO take custody of the 6 children they have between them whenever they make these threats. But dhs always gives them back. And besides my husband and myself, most of the family just can't believe it and they don't want to hear it. It might make it hard for them to sleep at night. So we record the many many threatening calls that are left on the answering machine and I jump in my car at least twice a month to go get the kids. Until they get their fix or get over their anger, they can't be trusted.
All this just to say that if you saw them out, they would seem normal to you. Their kids love their mommies. The oldest one is five. Just imagine. They have parties for their kids and dress them well and show a lot of attention in public. But women like these are ticking time bombs. I look at the 5 year old little boy and I wonder if the confusion in his eyes is anything like the confusion in the eyes of Damon as he died. Uncomforted by his mom. I pray to god not.
Thanks for letting me visit here from other threads and to let ya'll know how I feel about this. It feels better to get it off my chest.

 

[Goody]

I know I am a stranger on this Routier forum (I post other places) but this case has always fascinated me. In a very morbid way. I think the state should do all available dna testing right now before her execution. I don't even care if they pay for it. Just do it to prove a point and so people won't have this to hark about forever and ever. Jeffrey McDonald wants out of prison for killing his wife Collette and their two daughters and unborn child. His latest plea was granted. He has maintained all along that if the government would just test the dna on the strand of hair found in his wife's hand, it would clear him. (dna wasn't around then) They just did the testing and it was his hair. Case closed. They finally gave him enough rope to hang himself.


jmo and I honestly hope Drake will come to know the truth for himself when he is old enough. I think she was tired of the responsibility of being a mother to two very active boys. The neighbors said they were often outside for hours at a time unsupervised and that she would yell at them and tell them to get out of the house. She didn't want it messed up. I think the birthday parties and such were just for show, to show her friends and family that she could afford such things. She seemed awfully happy at the silly string party to me. Things are many times not what they appear to be when we see behind closed doors. It is so hard to believe that she did this, but I think all evidence points to the fact that she did. And I willl tell you I know at least a couple of mothers that really wouldn't surprise me if they got high on cocaine or some such and got angry and did such a thing. That's a horrible statement, I know. And they're in my extended family and I watch these two moms like a hawk. When things go wrong and they can't take the pressure of raising children that they didn't even want (they'll tell you when they are mad) they can be dangerous. They can call and leave messages of what they are going to do, such as walk out into a field and "off myself and the stupid kids" that send me straight into motion. I know it's on again and they will take out their anger on their kids. And I DO call dhs and I DO take custody of the 6 children they have between them whenever they make these threats. But dhs always gives them back. And besides my husband and myself, most of the family just can't believe it and they don't want to hear it. It might make it hard for them to sleep at night. So we record the many many threatening calls that are left on the answering machine and I jump in my car at least twice a month to go get the kids. Until they get their fix or get over their anger, they can't be trusted.
All this just to say that if you saw them out, they would seem normal to you. Their kids love their mommies. The oldest one is five. Just imagine. They have parties for their kids and dress them well and show a lot of attention in public. But women like these are ticking time bombs. I look at the 5 year old little boy and I wonder if the confusion in his eyes is anything like the confusion in the eyes of Damon as he died. Uncomforted by his mom. I pray to god not.
Thanks for letting me visit here from other threads and to let ya'll know how I feel about this. It feels better to get it off my chest.

Hi, Leann. I have seen you around the forums here. Welcome to the routier case. YOur opinion and comments are appreciated. Hope you drop by more often.

I wish they would approve the dna tests too but I doubt if they will because I am not sure male dna even if found would prove actual innocence. Personally I thhink it is a stall tactic like someone posted MacDonal's was, and so far the fed court seeems to agree. Not a good sign.

 

[beesy]

I know I am a stranger on this Routier forum (I post other places) but this case has always fascinated me. In a very morbid way. I think the state should do all available dna testing right now before her execution. I don't even care if they pay for it. Just do it to prove a point and so people won't have this to hark about forever and ever. Jeffrey McDonald wants out of prison for killing his wife Collette and their two daughters and unborn child. His latest plea was granted. He has maintained all along that if the government would just test the dna on the strand of hair found in his wife's hand, it would clear him. (dna wasn't around then) They just did the testing and it was his hair. Case closed. They finally gave him enough rope to hang himself.

Wasn't that great? I was jumping up and down when I heard it was his hair. If it had been inconclusive, they'd still be able to fuss about it. But, that is not enough for the Maccers. They are on about the scrapings from Kris' nails now. They were not even tested this go around. His new wife said "it's looking good", overlooking the fact that his out about the hair was blown.:liar:

jmo and I honestly hope Drake will come to know the truth for himself when he is old enough. I think she was tired of the responsibility of being a mother to two very active boys. The neighbors said they were often outside for hours at a time unsupervised and that she would yell at them and tell them to get out of the house. She didn't want it messed up. I think the birthday parties and such were just for show, to show her friends and family that she could afford such things. She seemed awfully happy at the silly string party to me. Things are many times not what they appear to be when we see behind closed doors. It is so hard to believe that she did this, but I think all evidence points to the fact that she did. And I willl tell you I know at least a couple of mothers that really wouldn't surprise me if they got high on cocaine or some such and got angry and did such a thing. That's a horrible statement, I know. And they're in my extended family and I watch these two moms like a hawk. When things go wrong and they can't take the pressure of raising children that they didn't even want (they'll tell you when they are mad) they can be dangerous. They can call and leave messages of what they are going to do, such as walk out into a field and "off myself and the stupid kids" that send me straight into motion. I know it's on again and they will take out their anger on their kids. And I DO call dhs and I DO take custody of the 6 children they have between them whenever they make these threats. But dhs always gives them back. And besides my husband and myself, most of the family just can't believe it and they don't want to hear it. It might make it hard for them to sleep at night. So we record the many many threatening calls that are left on the answering machine and I jump in my car at least twice a month to go get the kids. Until they get their fix or get over their anger, they can't be trusted.
All this just to say that if you saw them out, they would seem normal to you. Their kids love their mommies. The oldest one is five. Just imagine. They have parties for their kids and dress them well and show a lot of attention in public. But women like these are ticking time bombs. I look at the 5 year old little boy and I wonder if the confusion in his eyes is anything like the confusion in the eyes of Damon as he died. Uncomforted by his mom. I pray to god not.
Thanks for letting me visit here from other threads and to let ya'll know how I feel about this. It feels better to get it off my chest

Oh, that is awful. Sounds like you are doing all you can. Keep it up and maybe the right person will listen! Even if mommies are horrible most kids love them to pieces. They might be scared of them, but everybody wants a mommy.

 

[leann coburn]

All small children love their mothers. They depend on them for life and comfort. In my opinion, even after Darlie attacked her kids, they didn't understand what was going on. She was maybe telling the truth when she said Damon said "mommy, mommy". I'm sure he would scream this out if his mommy was stabbing him. They trusted her. They were too young to understand evil. It makes me incredibly sad to know that Damon's eyes followed her around the room as he died. She wanted to make sure he couldn't speak.

As far as my situation, the children I take in are from the ages of 3 months to 5 years old. They belong to two different mothers in my extended family. Altogether, there are 6 of them. And they put the older ones on the phone just screaming at the top of their lungs. It's a kind of bribery that I can't ignore. Sometimes I can calm moms down by giving them "spending" money (which their husbands know not to give them). And then I remove the children (whichever family is having the eruption) for a few days or sometimes a few weeks (!) until "mommy" calls back and wants to see her kids. Then I run them back home and make sure things seem calmed down. I was never able to have children of my own, so sometimes I think it was for a purpose. I don't want custody of their children. I wish they had given them up at birth. For the sake of these precious children, it would have been so much better. But when all is clear, they will call and say "you need to bring MY kids back right now". I feel used. I know that I am being treated like a door mat. But that isn't even the deal. It's all about protecting them. And I've been hit and spit on and threatened in every way.
Just so you know, they don't live in a bad neighborhood. They live on quite streets where they keep their kids in the back yards most of the time (like Darlie did). I'm sure the neighbors don't suspect a thing. They are not impoverished. Their mothers just didn't need children. Some people don't.
I don't think Darlie did once she realized they were getting bigger and taking more of her time and finances. They weren't baby dolls any more like Drake was.
jmo