Execution Report: Marvin Wilson

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Wilson had three previous felony convictions. He was convicted of two aggravated robberies in 1981 and was sentenced to 8 years in prison. He was released on parole in September 1984. In May 1987, he was convicted of robbery and sentenced to 20 years in prison. He was paroled in January 1991, after serving less than four years of that sentence. (At the time, early release was common in Texas due to strict prison population caps imposed by U.S. District Judge William Wayne Justice.)

A jury convicted Wilson of capital murder in April 1994 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reversed the conviction in December 1996.

Wilson was tried again, and in February 1998 he was again convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed this conviction and sentence in December 1999. His subsequent appeals in state and federal court were denied.

In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Atkins v. Virginia that executing mentally retarded prisoners violated the Eighth Amendment's prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment. Following that decision, Wilson's lawyers raised claims that he was retarded. The trial court conducted an evidentiary hearing on this claim in July 2004.

Among the evidence presented at Wilson's retardation hearing were the scores from IQ tests administered throughout his life. In the first test, given at school when he was 13, he scored 73. The next test was given by Texas Department of Criminal Justice when Wilson was 29. In that one, he scored 75. Wilson took three more IQ tests as part of the evidentiary hearing. His scores in those were 61, 75, and 79.

The courts generally use an IQ score 70 as a threshold for determining mental retardation. Tests that are administered in childhood are usually considered to be more indicative.

IQ scores are only one tool courts use to determine whether a prisoner is mentally retarded. They also consider any other information that might show the defendant's ability to function in society. To that end, the state noted that Wilson had several jobs, had a driver's license, was married, and had a child. The intern who administered the IQ test on which Wilson scored 61 described his responses to questions as coherent, rational, and on point. The state also noted that Wilson never raised a mental retardation claim during his two trials or any of his appeals, until the Supreme Court ruling. Wilson's family members did not consider him to be retarded.

Wilson's lawyers relied mainly on the report of expert witness Dr. Ronald Trahan, who administered tests to Wilson, reviewed his school records, interviewed him for eight hours, and reviewed affidavits submitted by Wilson's friends and family members. Trahan concluded that Wilson was retarded and testified that the IQ test on which Wilson scored 61 was the most valid test.

The trial court found in August 2004 that Wilson was not retarded. This decision was subsequently upheld by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to take his case.

Andrew Lewis received a life sentence.

Wilson encouraged his family and expressed his belief in Jesus in his last statement. "Y'all do understand that I came here a sinner and leaving a saint," he said. "Take me home Jesus, take me home Lord, take me home Lord!" He urged his son not to cry and asked his sisters to give his mother "a big hug". He didn't acknowledge the victim's father and other family members who were also in attendance. Wilson told the warden we was ready, and the lethal injection was started. He was pronounced dead at 6:27 p.m.

By David Carson. Posted on 8 August 2012. Typographical error corrected on 11 June 2015.
Sources: Texas Attorney General's office, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, court documents, Associated Press.