Dexter Lee Vinson
Encyclopedia
Dexter Lee Vinson was an inmate at the Greensville Correctional Facility in Jarratt, Virginia
who was executed by lethal injection
on April 27, 2006. Vinson, 34 years old at the time, was found guilty of the 1997 murder of Angela Felton, age 25, and was sentenced to death on February 11, 1999.
On May 19, 1997, Felton and her three children resided with Nethie Pierce and her children in Portsmouth, Virginia
. The family previously had lived with Vinson in Portsmouth for "about a year and a half," after which the unmarried couple lived apart for about three weeks. At approximately 9:00 a.m. local time on May 19, Felton borrowed Pierce's 1988 Chevrolet Beretta
to take her children to school. In a hurry to get the kids to school, Felton wore only a shift-type robe and underwear. Pierce's 14-year-old daughter, Willisa Joyner, rode with Felton.
At about 6:30 a.m. on the same day, Faye Wilson was completing a weekend stay with Vinson in a Suffolk motel. Wilson owned a 1988 blue Mercury Tracer
automobile that she let Vinson use that morning. After Felton delivered her children to school, she drove with Joyner to the home she had shared with Vinson in order to get the mail. Upon arrival Joyner got out of the car at which time Felton saw Vinson driving a blue automobile. Joyner reentered the red vehicle when Felton said, "Get back in the car." As Felton started driving Vinson twice rammed the rear of the Beretta with the front of the Tracer.
Felton stopped the Beretta and Vinson walked to the driver's side window where she was sitting. He then punched out the window. Vinson next grabbed Felton, hit her in the face and chest with his hand, and pulled her out of the car. Vinson held Felton by the arm and, in the presence of bystanders, pulled off her robe leaving her standing in her underwear, screaming and bleeding from her nose and mouth. Vinson next took Felton to the Tracer and made her get in the car. When the Tracer wouldn't start up, Vinson put her in the Beretta and they drove away.
Police officers arrived on the scene after Vinson had abducted Felton. There they obtained a description of Vinson and the Beretta. Shortly afterwards Vertley Hunter noticed from her home a red Beretta, wrecked in the back that was pulled off the street and parked behind a vacant house in her neighborhood. Boards were nailed over the windows of the house. Hunter observed a young white female and a young black male sitting in the vehicle with the female sitting in the driver's seat with her hand outside the window holding a cigarette.
According to Hunter the man "got out on the passenger side of the car and went to the back *** and got a piece of rope out" and "leaned back into the car" holding the rope. Hunter heard the woman tell the man "to leave her alone so she could go on with her life," and heard her "ask the Lord to spare her life because he was going to kill her." At that time the man was "choking her with the rope."
The man then "grabbed her by the hair from the back seat of the car and pulled her over the seat and he pulled the rope from around her neck at the same time." He "pulled her down in the floor" and "told her that he was going to kill her." While the woman was still inside the car, the man slammed the door on her head twice.
Hunter next saw the man kick dirt beside the car to cover blood that was on the ground. He pulled off a board covering a window of the house, raised the window, and climbed inside through the window. Hunter saw the man enter the house twice and wipe blood off himself with a towel. Hunter watched the events for a period of several hours until the man drove the Beretta into the woods behind the house and left the area around 11:00 a.m. Hunter later identified Vinson as the man she observed committing these acts.
Janice Green, who also lived near the vacant house, testified that during the morning of the 19th she observed a man "messing around" with a red Beretta in the yard behind the house. She saw the man pull boards off the house and enter the home twice. The second time the man took something heavy from the car and brought it into the house; she "thought it was a rug he was pulling." Green also identified Vinson as the man she observed at the vacant house.
On May 20, Portsmouth detective Jan Westerbeck went to the vacant house and discovered Felton's body inside what she described as a recently busted wall in one of the bedrooms. The body was nude and partially covered with a brown blanket and feces were found on and under her neck.
Forensic evidence connected Vinson with the crimes. His fingerprints were found on the abandoned Beretta, on the kitchen sink of the vacant house, and on a pane of glass from the house's kitchen window. Felton’s DNA
was matched to a bloodstain found on a pair of blue shorts belonging to Vinson. According to Hunter, Vinson was wearing a sky blue short set when she observed him. An expert placed the odds of the DNA on Vinson's shorts being that of someone other than Felton at one in 5.5 billion.
An autopsy
performed on Felton's body showed that she bled to death from deep cuts to both forearms, either of which would have been sufficient to cause death. The cut to the right forearm was two inches deep and severed two main arteries; the left forearm bore a similar wound that cut one artery. According to the medical examiner
Felton did not die instantaneously—it "probably would have taken her a few minutes, several minutes to die" as Felton had sustained numerous other injuries including additional knife wounds on her shoulders, neck, and cheek, scratches on her buttocks, and cuts on her torso and on one of her legs, and a "blunt force trauma" to her head.
The medical examiner noted that Felton had sustained significant vaginal injuries inflicted while she was alive, including a laceration of her inner vaginal lip, massive bruising over her vulva area, and a "massive laceration," which tore the tissue separating the vagina from the anus and which tore around her anal opening. In the medical examiner's opinion, the vaginal injuries "would have been done by an object [not an erect penis] being penetrated in Miss Felton."
A Circuit Court
, City of Portsmouth jury
convicted Vinson of capital murder. During the eight-day trial, the prosecution presented evidence that, in 1987, Vinson had assaulted a police officer who was attempting to arrest him; in 1988, had assaulted a correctional officer who was attempting to move him to a cell; and, in 1997, had resisted arrest near a Suffolk convenience store so violently that it took eight police officers to subdue him.
Dr. Paul Mansheim expressed the opinion for the State "that there is at least a fifty percent chance" that Vinson would commit "another violent offense in the next five years." On April 27, 2006, the Supreme Court of the United States
voted 7-2 against a stay of execution, and Governor
Timothy M. Kaine rejected a plea for clemency. Vinson had no last words
and requested that his last meal
not be released to the public.
Jarratt, Virginia
Jarratt is a town in Greensville and Sussex counties in the U.S. state of Virginia. The population was 589 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.3 square miles , all land....
who was executed by lethal injection
Lethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs for the express purpose of causing the immediate death of the subject. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broad sense to euthanasia and suicide...
on April 27, 2006. Vinson, 34 years old at the time, was found guilty of the 1997 murder of Angela Felton, age 25, and was sentenced to death on February 11, 1999.
On May 19, 1997, Felton and her three children resided with Nethie Pierce and her children in Portsmouth, Virginia
Portsmouth, Virginia
Portsmouth is located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the city had a total population of 95,535.The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard, is a historic and active U.S...
. The family previously had lived with Vinson in Portsmouth for "about a year and a half," after which the unmarried couple lived apart for about three weeks. At approximately 9:00 a.m. local time on May 19, Felton borrowed Pierce's 1988 Chevrolet Beretta
Chevrolet Beretta
The Chevrolet Beretta is a front wheel drive coupé produced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors for the 1987–1996 model years. The Beretta was designed in the same design studio as the Camaro and the Corvette, Chevrolet Exterior Studio 3, and was built at the Wilmington, Delaware and...
to take her children to school. In a hurry to get the kids to school, Felton wore only a shift-type robe and underwear. Pierce's 14-year-old daughter, Willisa Joyner, rode with Felton.
At about 6:30 a.m. on the same day, Faye Wilson was completing a weekend stay with Vinson in a Suffolk motel. Wilson owned a 1988 blue Mercury Tracer
Mercury Tracer
The Mercury Tracer is a compact car that was sold by the Mercury division of Ford Motor Company. It was based on the platform of the Mazda 323, replacing the European-derived Mercury Lynx. The 1991 and newer car is the Mercury version of the Ford Escort....
automobile that she let Vinson use that morning. After Felton delivered her children to school, she drove with Joyner to the home she had shared with Vinson in order to get the mail. Upon arrival Joyner got out of the car at which time Felton saw Vinson driving a blue automobile. Joyner reentered the red vehicle when Felton said, "Get back in the car." As Felton started driving Vinson twice rammed the rear of the Beretta with the front of the Tracer.
Felton stopped the Beretta and Vinson walked to the driver's side window where she was sitting. He then punched out the window. Vinson next grabbed Felton, hit her in the face and chest with his hand, and pulled her out of the car. Vinson held Felton by the arm and, in the presence of bystanders, pulled off her robe leaving her standing in her underwear, screaming and bleeding from her nose and mouth. Vinson next took Felton to the Tracer and made her get in the car. When the Tracer wouldn't start up, Vinson put her in the Beretta and they drove away.
Police officers arrived on the scene after Vinson had abducted Felton. There they obtained a description of Vinson and the Beretta. Shortly afterwards Vertley Hunter noticed from her home a red Beretta, wrecked in the back that was pulled off the street and parked behind a vacant house in her neighborhood. Boards were nailed over the windows of the house. Hunter observed a young white female and a young black male sitting in the vehicle with the female sitting in the driver's seat with her hand outside the window holding a cigarette.
According to Hunter the man "got out on the passenger side of the car and went to the back *** and got a piece of rope out" and "leaned back into the car" holding the rope. Hunter heard the woman tell the man "to leave her alone so she could go on with her life," and heard her "ask the Lord to spare her life because he was going to kill her." At that time the man was "choking her with the rope."
The man then "grabbed her by the hair from the back seat of the car and pulled her over the seat and he pulled the rope from around her neck at the same time." He "pulled her down in the floor" and "told her that he was going to kill her." While the woman was still inside the car, the man slammed the door on her head twice.
Hunter next saw the man kick dirt beside the car to cover blood that was on the ground. He pulled off a board covering a window of the house, raised the window, and climbed inside through the window. Hunter saw the man enter the house twice and wipe blood off himself with a towel. Hunter watched the events for a period of several hours until the man drove the Beretta into the woods behind the house and left the area around 11:00 a.m. Hunter later identified Vinson as the man she observed committing these acts.
Janice Green, who also lived near the vacant house, testified that during the morning of the 19th she observed a man "messing around" with a red Beretta in the yard behind the house. She saw the man pull boards off the house and enter the home twice. The second time the man took something heavy from the car and brought it into the house; she "thought it was a rug he was pulling." Green also identified Vinson as the man she observed at the vacant house.
On May 20, Portsmouth detective Jan Westerbeck went to the vacant house and discovered Felton's body inside what she described as a recently busted wall in one of the bedrooms. The body was nude and partially covered with a brown blanket and feces were found on and under her neck.
Forensic evidence connected Vinson with the crimes. His fingerprints were found on the abandoned Beretta, on the kitchen sink of the vacant house, and on a pane of glass from the house's kitchen window. Felton’s DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
was matched to a bloodstain found on a pair of blue shorts belonging to Vinson. According to Hunter, Vinson was wearing a sky blue short set when she observed him. An expert placed the odds of the DNA on Vinson's shorts being that of someone other than Felton at one in 5.5 billion.
An autopsy
Autopsy
An autopsy—also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy , autopsia cadaverum, or obduction—is a highly specialized surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present...
performed on Felton's body showed that she bled to death from deep cuts to both forearms, either of which would have been sufficient to cause death. The cut to the right forearm was two inches deep and severed two main arteries; the left forearm bore a similar wound that cut one artery. According to the medical examiner
Medical examiner
A medical examiner is a medically qualified government officer whose duty is to investigate deaths and injuries that occur under unusual or suspicious circumstances, to perform post-mortem examinations, and in some jurisdictions to initiate inquests....
Felton did not die instantaneously—it "probably would have taken her a few minutes, several minutes to die" as Felton had sustained numerous other injuries including additional knife wounds on her shoulders, neck, and cheek, scratches on her buttocks, and cuts on her torso and on one of her legs, and a "blunt force trauma" to her head.
The medical examiner noted that Felton had sustained significant vaginal injuries inflicted while she was alive, including a laceration of her inner vaginal lip, massive bruising over her vulva area, and a "massive laceration," which tore the tissue separating the vagina from the anus and which tore around her anal opening. In the medical examiner's opinion, the vaginal injuries "would have been done by an object [not an erect penis] being penetrated in Miss Felton."
A Circuit Court
Circuit court
Circuit court is the name of court systems in several common law jurisdictions.-History:King Henry II instituted the custom of having judges ride around the countryside each year to hear appeals, rather than forcing everyone to bring their appeals to London...
, City of Portsmouth jury
Jury
A jury is a sworn body of people convened to render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Modern juries tend to be found in courts to ascertain the guilt, or lack thereof, in a crime. In Anglophone jurisdictions, the verdict may be guilty,...
convicted Vinson of capital murder. During the eight-day trial, the prosecution presented evidence that, in 1987, Vinson had assaulted a police officer who was attempting to arrest him; in 1988, had assaulted a correctional officer who was attempting to move him to a cell; and, in 1997, had resisted arrest near a Suffolk convenience store so violently that it took eight police officers to subdue him.
Dr. Paul Mansheim expressed the opinion for the State "that there is at least a fifty percent chance" that Vinson would commit "another violent offense in the next five years." On April 27, 2006, the Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
voted 7-2 against a stay of execution, and Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
Timothy M. Kaine rejected a plea for clemency. Vinson had no last words
Last words
Last words are a person's final words spoken before death.Last Words may also refer to:* Last Words , an Australian punk band* Last Words , a memoir by George Carlin* Last Words , a 1968 short film directed by Werner Herzog...
and requested that his last meal
Last meal
The last meal is a customary part of a condemned prisoner's last day. Often, the day of, or before, the appointed time of execution, the prisoner receives a last meal, as well as religious rites, if they desire. In the United States, inmates generally may not ask for an alcoholic drink...
not be released to the public.
See also
- Capital punishment in VirginiaCapital punishment in VirginiaCapital punishment is legal in the U.S. State of Virginia. In what is now the Commonwealth of Virginia, the first execution in the future United States was carried out in 1608. It was the first of 1,384 executions, the highest total of any state in the Union...
- Capital punishment in the United StatesCapital punishment in the United StatesCapital punishment in the United States, in practice, applies only for aggravated murder and more rarely for felony murder. Capital punishment was a penalty at common law, for many felonies, and was enforced in all of the American colonies prior to the Declaration of Independence...