David Kevin Hocker, a mentally ill man who waived all his appeals, was executed in Alabama last night (Sept. 30). He was the first person to be executed in that state without a review by the state’s Supreme Court. Hocker had murdered his employer in 1998. No one from the victim’s family attended the execution. Hocker’s mother did attend her son’s execution, and was so distraught she had to leave the witness room. She said that her son had been suicidal for many years. Hocker’s trial lasted one day and at his request no witnesses were called on his behalf. The following story is by Carla Crowder of the Birmingham News (Oct. 1, 2004):

Mentally ill man executed for 1998 killing
ATMORE - David Kevin Hocker, a mentally ill 33-year-old who
refused to fight his 1998 capital murder conviction, was
executed Thursday in Alabama’s death chamber.
His final words were a prayer. “I swear by you, Lord Jesus
Christ, my savior, that my time shall be no longer. The mystery
of life shall be finished. Amen,” Hocker read into a microphone
just before the lethal injection began.
His mother, Patricia Yeomans, sobbed as he closed his eyes
for the last time, then doubled over in her chair. She grew shaky
and had to leave the witness room for a restroom, where her
husband consoled her. Her son was pronounced dead at 6:24
p.m. Yeomans returned to the room and asked reporters: “You
don’t think he felt anything, do you? It seemed like he didn’t.”
Hocker was sentenced to death for the March 1998 murder of
his boss, Jerry Robinson, 47. Hocker lured Robinson into a rural
area outside Dothan, then stabbed him to death, stole his truck
and binged on crack cocaine before turning himself in to south
Alabama authorities.
No one from Robinson’s family attended the execution
Hocker’s death marks the first time someone has been
executed by the state without the Alabama Supreme Court
reviewing the case, said Bryan Stevenson, director of the Equal
Justice Initiative, which represents poor people on Death Row.
It’s just the second time Alabama has executed someone
without post-conviction court reviews to determine such things
as whether the defendant was competent and had adequate
legal representation, and whether prosecutors followed the
law, Stevenson said.
But Hocker resisted attorneys’ efforts to save his life. His
mother and sister say he has been suicidal for years, which,
combined with a religious fervor adopted on Death Row, led
to his refusal to appeal his case.
Hocker had a lengthy criminal record before he killed
Robinson, much of it for drug use and stealing things from
his mother. Over the years, she turned him in to police seeking
help for his mental illness - bipolar disorder - but Hocker denied
he was sick.
Yeomans visited with her son three days this week, including
Thursday morning. “God didn’t answer my prayers the way I
had wanted. But he did answer them,” she said in a written
statement. “Once Kevin started reading the Bible, his anger
just disappeared. He became positive about his life. It now
had meaning. And he often would say to me, `I had to lose
my life to save my soul.’ He’s fine.”
Prison officials described Hocker as antsy but upbeat the
day of his death. He asked a lot of questions about the
execution procedure and talked about his religious beliefs.
Hocker had no breakfast or lunch Thursday. He requested a
last meal of frankfurters, French fries, American cheese and
chocolate cake, but he did not eat it, prison spokesman Brian
Corbett said.
Yeomans will claim his body. Her son left her some of his
belongings: food items and a check for 87 cents - what was
left of his prisoner account. He left his radio and headset to
fellow Death Row prisoner Rayford Hagood.
Hocker’s conviction received the mandatory review by the
Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, but he waived the
remainder of his constitutionally guaranteed appeals. His
decision saved the state money and sped his death by
several years.
“I don’t want to make him out to be a hero, he’s not. …
The best way I can describe him is he’s a man, he stood
up and he’s going to take his punishment,” said Henry
County District Attorney Doug Valeska.
A review of the trial transcript troubled Stevenson, of the
Equal Justice Initiative. The trial, which Stevenson called
“outrageous,” lasted one day, and defense lawyer Michael
Crespi called no witnesses on Hocker’s behalf.
Crespi, who has known the family since Hocker was a
teenager, said Hocker did not want anything about his
background presented because he wished to spare his family
pain and embarrassment. “I didn’t have any mitigating
witnesses,” Crespi said. “He forbade it.”
Crespi said he tried to find a way to get around Hocker’s
wishes, even consulting with outside experts. Everyone told
him he had to abide by his client’s request.
That meant jurors never heard about the history of mental
illness and domestic abuse in Hocker’s childhood. Hocker’s father
also was bipolar and killed himself when Hocker was 8.
“I have never seen or heard of such a thoroughgoing regime
of terror as existed in that household,” said Crespi, who has
30 years’ experience as a lawyer and judge.
Stevenson visited with Hocker on Death Row and said
Hocker’s mental illness was apparent. “Since Mr. Hocker has
been on Death Row, he has demonstrated blatantly that he
is seriously mentally ill, most significantly mutilating himself
and removing his testicles,” Stevenson said. “Even if Mr.
Hocker asserts that he wants to be executed, … Alabama
can take no pride in executing someone who is too unstable
or too poor to protect themselves.”

www.al.com