Execution Report: Kenneth Parr

Continued from Page 1

Because of the publicity surrounding the murder in Brazoria County, the trial was moved to neighboring Matagorda County. A jury convicted Parr of capital murder in April 1999 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in March 2001. His subsequent appeals in state and federal court were denied.

Michael Wayne Jiminez was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.

According to several anti-death-penalty web sites, Parr denied having any involvement in the murder.

While on death row, Parr accumulated a lengthy disciplinary record, including an incident where he attacked a female corrections officer and threw her down a flight of stairs. According to Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokeswoman Michelle Lyons, Parr also made repeated threats to rape female prison employees before his death. Because of these threats, prison officials took the rare step of denying Parr visits from the news media the week before his execution. "He made threats against our staff, and it was determined that it was simply too dangerous to allow him out of his cell," Lyons said. "He's been adamant that he would like to harm staff members before he's executed."

Despite the threats, Parr's transport to Huntsville and the preparations for his execution were uneventful. Suzie Malek's parents and aunt attended the execution, as did Parr's mother, Mary Cologne; his brother, Joe Williams; and other relatives. In a brief last statement, Parr expressed love to his relatives. The lethal injection was then started. Cologne banged on the glass while Williams fell to the floor, sobbing. Parr was pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m.

By David Carson. Posted on 16 August 2007. Spelling correction made on 5 May 2014.
Sources: Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Texas Attorney General's office, Associated Press, Houston Chronicle, Huntsville Item, court documents.