Condemned Texas Inmate Wants to Leave ‘Em Laughing

Monday, June 04, 2007

LIVINGSTON, Texas — A condemned inmate wants to leave them laughing.

Patrick Knight is collecting jokes and will pick the funniest one for his last statement before he is set to die June 26 for shooting his neighbors, Walter and Mary Werner, to death almost 16 years ago outside Amarillo.

Randall County Sheriff Joel Richardson thinks the whole idea is insensitive. “This tells you a little bit about the guy’s character, anyway,” said Richardson, who was chief deputy at the time of the Werners’ killings and plans to witness Knight’s execution.

Richardson said that the Werners’ son, who has since moved out of Texas, has said he won’t speak about the case anymore.

“They don’t want to draw any more attention to this guy than is possible,” Richardson said.

Knight acknowledges there’s nothing funny about his execution.

“I’m not trying to disrespect the Werners or anything like that,” he told The Associated Press from death row. “I’m not trying to say I don’t care what’s going on. I’m about to die. I’m not going to sit here and whine and cry and moan and everything like that when I’m facing the punishment I’ve been given.

“I’m not asking for money. I’m not asking for pen pals or anything like that. All I’m asking for is jokes,” Knight said.

He’s had about 250 wisecracks mailed to him on death row or e-mailed to a friend who has a Web site for him.

“Lawyer jokes are real popular,” he said. “Some of them are a little on the edge. I’m not going to use any profanity if I can find the one I want, or any vulgar content. It wouldn’t be bad if it was a little bit on the edge. That would be cool.”

Knight, 39, would be the last of five condemned inmates set to die over three weeks this month in Texas, the nation’s most active state in carrying out capital punishment.

Fourteen executions already have happened in Texas this year and if all five take place in June, the pace will be just shy of the record of 40 executions set in 2000. At least 10 other inmates already have execution dates set for the second half of the year.

Knight said he got the idea for a joke as his last statement after a friend, Vincent Gutierrez, was executed earlier this year and laughed from the death chamber gurney: “Where’s a stunt double when you need one?”

“I know I’m not innocent,” said Knight, who believes his appeals have been exhausted. “They think they’re killing me. They think they’re punishing me. They’ve already punished me. I’ve already had 16 years of punishment. They’re releasing me. They’re letting me go. That’s helping me out. That’s the way I look at it.”

Part of Missing Mom Lisa Stebic’s investigation now moved to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

Monday, June 04, 2007

JOLIET, Ill. — A conservation officer’s gun-drawn encounter nearly a dozen years ago with Craig Stebic, the husband of missing Illinois mom Lisa Stebic, has moved part of the investigation into her disappearance to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

Michigan Conservation Officer Mike Holmes described the arrest of Joe Stebic and his son Craig, whose wife disappeared nearly a month ago amid a bitter divorce, for poaching deer in northern Michigan, CBS2Chicago.com reports.

“You can see he was trying to figure out what to do, but the look on his face told me it wasn’t good,” Holmes said.

“I think every police officer has individuals that they make contact with in their career that basically makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck, and whether it’s the look or the cold stare or whatever, that’s what I had for Craig,” Holmes said of the 1995 encounter.

After a few moments, the men submitted and were handcuffed. “They were real defiant,” Holmes said.

Officer Describes 1995 Run-In With Craig Stebic

Missing Woman’s Estranged Husband Has Family, History In Upper Peninsula Of Michigan

Jun 2, 2007 1:25 pm US/Central

(CBS) CRYSTAL FALLS, Mich. The disappearance of Lisa Stebic remains a mystery. The west suburban mother of two was last seen at home in Plainfield.

Now CBS 2 has followed the story to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. West Suburban Bureau Chief Mike Puccinelli has exclusive details about a confrontation involving Stebic’s estranged husband, Craig.

In his more than 25-year law enforcement career, Michigan Conservation Officer Mike Holmes says October 8, 1995, stands out.

“I think every police officer has individuals that they make contact with in their career that basically makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck, and whether it’s the look or the cold stare or whatever that’s what I had for Craig,” Holmes said.

Craig hasn’t talked with Plainfield police in weeks about the disappearance almost one month ago of his wife. Holmes says Craig wasn’t cooperative when he caught up with him either. That was before dawn on a Michigan road nearly 12 years ago.

“They were real defiant,” Holmes said.

That’s because Craig and his father had just been busted trying to poach deer. It’s a crime that would land them in this jail for days. But before they were lodged in the slammer, Holmes first had to arrest them. So with sirens blaring he pulled over the pickup that Craig’s dad was driving.

“Craig was in the back and he had a shotgun,” Holmes said.

When Craig crouched down in the back of the truck with his 12 gauge, Holmes acted.

“He wanted to do something but I drew my gun before he got out of the back of the pickup,” he said.

It was one of the few times in his career when Holmes pulled his weapon.

“You can see he was trying to figure out what to do but the look on his face told me it wasn’t good,” Holmes said.

After some tense moments Joe and Craig Stebic lay down and were handcuffed on Rysberg Drive. According to the police report, fresh blood was found in the truck that night but no animals were spotted.

Holmes says they never found any of the animals the Stebics are believed to have poached. He believes they likely stashed them in the hundreds of mining pits that dot the 1,100 miles of Iron County.

He also says when he read reports about possible evidence pointing to Craig, he wasn’t shocked.

“It didn’t surprise me,” Holmes said. “Let’s say that. I wasn’t surprised.”

It’s a reaction formed in part years ago by a frightening encounter with Craig Stebic on a picturesque rural road.

Holmes says their investigation into alleged poaching by the Stebics lasted more than a year. He says the information came from confidential informants who said the Stebics were poaching the animals and taking the meat back to Illinois to sell. Holmes says in the course of the 1995 investigation they developed information that the Stebics were allegedly poaching in Illinois as well.

Records indicate Craig Stebic was busted two other times in Iron County, Mich. In November 2004 he pleaded guilty and paid a $189 fine for using another person’s kill to tag a big game animal. And in 1996 he paid an $80 fine for being caught with two undersized bass.

Craig Stebic’s Cousin: ‘I don’t believe he would… actually kill her.”
A short distance away in Crystal Falls, Mich., Craig Stebic’s cousin Michelle Stebic says she remains hopeful Lisa will be found and that she cannot imagine Craig would harm her.

Michelle Stebic’s kids know about their missing aunt and have become increasingly worried that their mom will also disappear.

“They want to know exactly where I am at all times,” Michelle Stebic said.

Michelle understands their concerns and often finds herself looking for Lisa.

“I see Lisa everywhere,” she said. “When I go into a grocery store, I have to go look just to make sure.”

And she’s not alone. Just weeks ago, law enforcement investigators were in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, searching. They looked around the more than 150 acres of Iron County land that have been in the Stebic family for generations.

They searched Michelle’s farm where Craig Stebic, Lisa’s husband, carved his name into a cabin nearly 30 years ago. They also searched Craig’s father’s cottage in nearby Alpha, and turned up nothing.

“Even up here we can’t imagine that somebody could disappear without a trace,” Michelle said. “That just seems like it would be a sci-fi show.”

But it’s all too real. As was the love Michelle says Craig felt for his wife. And there are some people who think he might have loved her so much that he might have killed her.

“Human nature says yeah,” Michelle said. “You love somebody that much.”

And she says in the heat of the moment, anything can happen.

“If it did come down to something, I don’t believe that he would actually go after her to kill her,” she added.

Michelle hopes that Lisa made a mistake and is just hiding out.

“I’m a hopeful person, so I know I’ll see her again,” she said.

But the passage of time has her fearing the worst.

Michelle says she’s thinking about paying to put Lisa’s missing persons poster in the local paper in the hopes of developing leads.

The father-in-law of Lisa Stebic denounced the report. Joe Stebic says the version of the 1995 arrest of Joe and his son Craig was a lie.

During that arrest, both Stebics were convicted and jailed.

Paris Hilton checks into Los Angeles County jail

The word is that this poor little rich girl will profit from her stint in jail as she plans to keep a daily journal for publication. I’m so glad,  just what she needs is more money to cover her partying expenses!  Hmm, wonder what the title will be….maybe “How I survived 23 days without my Blackberry.”

I can hardly imagine that a 23 day stay would make up enough for nothing more than a 3 page booklet at the most as each day being the same as the next except the meals might vary a bit and her hour out of her cell might be spent on the phone one day and watching TV the next.

But you can bet your money there will be plenty of people lined up to buy what ever it is that she writes I will say it might be interesting to see if she can write as well as she can read since her publicist reads for her but then I’m sure she would have someone edit her writing for her so it really wouldn’t be her writing at all.

LYNWOOD, California (AP) — Hours after strolling the red carpet in a strapless black dress, Paris Hilton traded her designer duds for a jail-issued jumpsuit.

The 26-year-old heiress checked into the Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood just after 11:30 p.m. Sunday. She’s expected to serve three weeks for violating her probation in an alcohol-related reckless driving case.

Hilton surrendered to sheriff’s deputies after making a surprise visit to the MTV Movie Awards in the afternoon.

“I am trying to be strong right now,” she told reporters on the red carpet. “I’m ready to face my sentence. Even though this is a really hard time, I have my family, my friends and my fans to support me, and that’s really helpful.”

Sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore said Hilton was easy to work with.

“Her demeanor was helpful. She was focused, she was cooperative,” he said.

Hilton turned herself in at the Men’s Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles just after 10:30 p.m., then was escorted to the all women’s facility in Lynwood, where she was booked, fingerprinted and issued a jail uniform, Whitmore said.

She also was given her first meal: cereal, bread and juice.

So far, Hilton does not have a cellmate, Whitmore said.

The “Simple Life” star will be housed in the “special needs” unit of the 13-year-old jail, separate from most of its 2,200 inmates. The unit contains 12 two-person cells reserved for police officers, public officials, celebrities and other high-profile inmates.

Like other inmates in that unit, Hilton will take her meals in her cell and will be allowed outside the 12-foot-by-8-foot space for at least an hour each day to shower, watch TV in the day room, participate in outdoor recreation or talk on the telephone. No cell phones or BlackBerrys are permitted in the facility, even for visitors.

The jail, a two-story concrete building next to train tracks and beneath a bustling freeway, has been an all-female facility since March 2006. It’s located in an industrial area about five miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles.

“I did have a choice to go to a pay jail,” Hilton said Sunday, without giving details. “But I declined because I feel like the media portrays me in a way that I’m not and that’s why I wanted to go to county, to show that I can do it and I’m going to be treated like everyone else. I’m going to do the time, I’m going to do it the right way.” *(I’m so impressed that she has made quite a sacrifice)*

When she was sentenced May 4, Superior Court Judge Michael T. Sauer ruled that she would not be allowed any work release, furloughs or use of an alternative jail or electronic monitoring in lieu of jail.

Sometimes stars are allowed to do their time in a jail of their choosing. In such cases they pay a daily room-and-board fee to the smaller jails, which afford them more privacy and comfort.

Cop-slapping actress Zsa Zsa Gabor, for example, served three days behind bars in 1990 at the El Segundo jail near the Los Angeles International Airport. She paid $85 a day.

On Saturday, about 15 photographers, reporters and television crews staked out the entrances to the jail waiting for the celebutante’s arrival. Authorities had also cordoned off a grassy area outside the facility for the media. She had until Tuesday to report.

On Sunday, about a dozen photographers and television crews were at the Lynwood facility when she arrived in an unmarked SUV. Video captured by celebrity news site TMZ.com showed Hilton inside the vehicle with her mother, Kathy.

Hilton’s publicist, Elliot Mintz, said he spoke with Kathy Hilton after she returned from the jail.

“She told me it was very emotional,” Mintz said. “She also said that she feels this will be a time when Paris will be able to think and reflect and to spend time alone to learn from the experience because in Paris’ life she’s never alone — there’s always a constant chatter around her.”

Officers arrested Hilton in Hollywood on September 7. In January, she pleaded no contest to the reckless-driving charge and was sentenced to 36 months’ probation, alcohol education and $1,500 in fines.

She was pulled over by California Highway Patrol on January 15. Officers informed Hilton she was driving on a suspended license and she signed a document acknowledging she was not to drive. She then was pulled over by sheriff’s deputies on February 27, at which time she was charged with violating her probation.