Texas Execution Information Center

Execution Report: Richard Kutzner

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A jury convicted Kutzner in September 1997 of the capital murder of Kathryn Harrison, and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in June 1999. In a separate trial, Kutzner was convicted of the capital murder of Rita Sheron Van Huss. That conviction and death sentence were upheld upon direct appeal in January 1999.

Kutnzer had numerous prior felony convictions. He served time in California for armed robbery in the 1960s. He also had five convictions for theft and aggravated robbery in Texas and 1984 and 1985. He received a two-year prison sentence in 1984 and a ten-year sentence in 1985, but information on the length of time he served was not available for this report. He was also convicted of armed robbery in Michigan and served prison time there.

Kutzner maintained his innocence from death row. "I'm absolutely innocent," he said in a death-row interview. "I was absolutely railroaded. I was easy. I was an ex-convict." He admitted cashing the $300 money order, but he said Roy Landry gave it to him. He implicated Landry and/or Kathryn Harrison's husband as the actual killers.

On 16 July -- nine days before his scheduled execution -- Kutzner filed a request for DNA testing on hairs found in Harrison's office and scrapings taken from underneath the victim's fingernails. Kutzner said that the DNA evidence would prove that someone else was at the scene of the crime. Prosecutors argued that since the crime scene was a public place, the presence of other DNA was meaningless. The trial court agreed with the prosecution and ruled against Kutzner. Kutzner appealed that decision to the Court of Criminal Appeals, which granted him a stay on 24 July. In April 2002, the CCA affirmed the lower court's decision and allowed Kutzner's execution to be rescheduled. A U.S. district court refused to grant Kutzner's request for a stay.

"I didn't kill your mother," Kutzner told Rebecca Harrison from the death gurney. "The two guys that worked for me killed your mother and they are still out there." Kutzner ended his last statement by saying, "Warden, this is murder just as surely as the people that killed Rebecca's mother. I guess that's it. Warden, send me home." He was pronounced dead at 6:33 p.m.

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By David Carson. Posted on 12 August 2002.
Sources: Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Texas Attorney General's office, Associated Press, Huntsville Item.

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