2004 Executions - Kenneth Eugene Bruce: Sixth murderer executed in U.S. in 2004.
Executed January 14, 2004 06:29 p.m. in Texas by lethal injection.
Executed January 14, 2004 06:29 p.m. in Texas by lethal injection.
Summary of the Murder: On February 27, 1992, Kenneth Eugene Bruce was sentenced to die for the capital murder of 55-year-old Helen Ayers, which occurred near Prosper, Texas, on December 10, 1990.
Statistical Data:
Murderer - Kenneth Eugene Bruce
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Date of Birth - October 21, 1971
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Race - Black
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Sex - Male
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Age when crime committed - 19
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Age when executed - 32
- Date of Sentence - February 27, 1992
Victim - Helen Elizabeth Ayers
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Date of Murder - December 10, 1990
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Race - White
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Sex - Female
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Age when murdered - 55
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Method of Murder - Handgun
- Relationship to Murderer - None
Details of the Crime: On the evening of December 10, 1990, Bruce, a 19-year-old high school student at the time, was working as a delivery driver for Cicci’s Pizza in Celina, Texas. Bruce asked the manager if he could leave work early. When the manager asked why, Bruce said he had to go "knock somebody out" and raised his hand in a fist. Bruce left in his car with 19-year-old Sam Andrews and a juvenile. They later picked up another person, 23-year-old Eric Moore.
Later that evening, Bruce and the juvenile appeared at the home of Richard and Helen Ayers, claiming to have car trouble and looking for jumper cables. Mr. Ayers told them he would meet them at the Ayers’s detached garage. Mr. Ayers could not find his jumper cables in the garage so he invited the two men into his home to get warm while he called his son at work to see if he knew where the jumper cables were.
However, before Mr. Ayers could make the call, Andrews and Moore entered the house with pointed guns. Moore took Mr. Ayers’s billfold and ordered him to call Mrs. Ayers into the room and to bring her purse. During this time, Bruce and the juvenile ransacked the master bedroom. Moore and Andrews "herded" the Ayers into their bedroom and ordered them to lay face down on a mattress that was thrown to the floor. They then shot the couple.
The attackers left the bedroom, and Mr. Ayers thought they were leaving the house. Mr. Ayers had been shot in the back. He was paralyzed from the waist down but he did not lose consciousness. Mrs. Ayers told her husband she had been shot in the leg. Mr. Ayers told her to hold on until help could come.
Mr. Ayers testified he then heard voices in the back of the house, and the men returned. Mr. Ayers heard someone say, "Shoot them again and make sure they are dead."
Mr. Ayers then saw a hand with a gun go down and shoot Mrs. Ayers in the head, killing her instantly. Mr. Ayers was shot again in the shoulder. The attackers then left the house with several jewelry boxes and most of the phones that were in the house. Mr. Ayers remained conscious but he could not move because of his paralysis. He stayed on the mattress for three hours looking at his dead wife until his son came home from work and summoned help.
The Arrest: The police arrested Kenneth Eugene Bruce on December 14, after they stopped him in his car close to where he went to school. Initially Bruce gave an oral statement and a videotaped statement in which he denied participating in any of the shootings, although he admitted he was present when they occurred. Bruce also led the police to a field where most of the victims property had been discarded. The police later found additional items of the victims property in the front seat of Bruce’s car.
Forensic Evidence: Mrs. Ayers suffered three gunshot wounds from a single weapon; one to the head and two to the thigh. It was determined that the thigh wounds were inflicted before the head wound based on the extensive hemorrhaging found. The head wound caused death almost instantly because the bullet passed through the brain stem destroying those parts of the brain that control heartbeat and respiration. The medical examiner determined Mrs. Ayers could have survived the thigh wounds with proper treatment.
Procedural History:
Feb. 8, 1995 — Bruce’s conviction and sentence were affirmed on direct appeal by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in an unpublished opinion.
Nov. 27, 1995 — Bruce’s petition for writ of certiorari was denied by the U.S. Supreme Court
Nov. 3, 1997 — Bruce filed an application for writ of habeas corpus in the trial court.
Oct. 27, 1999 — Bruce’s application for writ of habeas corpus was denied by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
Nov. 13, 2000 — Bruce filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in a federal district court for the Eastern District of Texas.
Apr. 24, 2002 — The federal court granted summary judgment and denied Bruce’s petition for habeas relief.
Jun. 21, 2002 — The federal court granted Bruce permission to appeal.
Aug. 4, 2003 — The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the federal district court’s denial of Bruce’s habeas petition in an unpublished opinion.
Nov. 3, 2003 — Bruce filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court.
Jan. 6, 2004 -- Bruce filed a state habeas application, raising a jury instruction issue.
The Execution: On the day of his execution, Bruce's final meal was a double cheeseburger, french fires, orange juice and pecan pie.
In the death chamber Bruce spoke his final words in which he said, "I would like to thank God for all the blessings He has given me. And I pray that through His mercy, He will allow me into His grace. And to the family of Ms. Ayers, I would like to apologize for all the pain and suffering and that God gives you closure. And I pray that He blesses you. And to my family, know that I love every single one of you and pray that God gives you peace and strength. I may not be with you in the physical, but by grace, my heart will be with you all and I know God loves every one of you all."
Bruce was pronounced dead at 6:29 p.m.
Miscellaneous - Eric Lynn Moore received a death sentence for his part in the crime. It was also noted that inexpensive jewelry and $10 was taken in the robbery.
