RONALD CURTIS CHAMBERS | Robbery, Abduction And Murder Of A College Student | The Longest-Serving Death Row Inmate In Texas | After 35 Years, Texas Inmate Dies of Natural Causes | Handwritten ALS from DR Polunsky c. 2006

Mr. Ronald C. Chambers. Handwritten ALS. Commercial #10 (4.125” x 9.5”) envelope. Pmk: October 11, 2006. SEALED. Content unknown. Pristine.

• Classification: Murderer
• Classification: Murderer – Robbery
• Number of victims: 1
• Date of murder: March 9, 1975 (Rec’d 1/08/76)
• Date of birth: January 11, 1955
• Victim profile: Mike McMahan, 22
• Method of murder: Struck in the head with the barrel of the shotgun
• Location: Dallas County, Texas, USA
• Status: Sentenced to death on January 8, 1976. On January 22, 2007, the United States Supreme Court granted an indefinite stay of execution

Murder

On the night of April 10, 1975, Chambers (hereinafter referred to as “Ronny” and co-defendant Clarence Ray Williams (hereinafter referred to as “Clary”) kidnapped Mike McMahan (“Mike”) and his date Deia Sutton (Deia) from the parking lot of a Dallas nightclub. The kidnappers robbed the couple (Ronny took her watch, coat and purse) and took them to the wharfage on the Trinity River, where Ronny forced Deia and Mike from the car and ordered them down the embankment.

Deia saw Ronny with a shotgun and a pistol; then heard five gunshots and was struck in the back of the neck by a bullet and fell. A bullet lodged in Deia’s skull. Mike was also struck and rolled down the hill. Ronny and Clary then retreated up the hill.

Unfortunately, Mike called out to Deia to see if she was alright. Deia heard Clary say, “Hey, man, they’re not dead,” and Ronny respond, “They gotta be dead. I shot 'em in the head.” Then both Clary and Ronny came back down the hill, where Ronny struck Mike ten to twenty times in the head with the barrel of the shotgun, and ordered Clary to take the woman into the water.

Clary pulled Deia to the water and attempted to choke and drown her. When Ronny finished beating Mike, he walked toward Deia. As she begged him not to kill her, he raised his shotgun over his head and struck her three times. Ronny and Clary left both victims dead, but Deia survived. Mike died as a result of multiple blows to the head – his cranial bone had been driven into his brain, and one of his ribs had fractured and been driven into his lung - suffering a punctured lung from the two gunshot wounds.ⁱ

Ronald Curtis Chambers, 68, has lived on death row longer than he lived in the free world.

UPDATE:

The longest serving inmate on Texas death row died of natural causes in Dallas County jail on November 15, 2010 while awaiting a new sentencing hearing. Ronald Curtis Chambers spent 35 years on death row awaiting execution. For much of the time, he was confined to his cell for 23 hours a day. Chambers was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death in 1975, but his sentence was overturned repeatedly. He was again sentenced to death in 1985 and 1992. James Volberding, who worked on Chamber’s appeals from 1996 to 2008, pointed to his case as an illustration of the flaws in Texas’ death penalty system. According to Volberding, court and prosecution errors were the cause of the long delay and he argued that these delays amounted to cruel and unusual punishment. He said that Chambers was a changed man from the person who committed murder at age 20 and was very remorseful. The Dallas County district attorney’s office spokeswoman Jamille Bradfield stated on Monday that they were “actively preparing to retry Mr. Chambers on his punishment at the time of his death.”

"I'm really relieved that he's not here any more, won't continue to hurt anybody or put our families through hell." ~ Mike’s sister

Archiving Protocol:

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• Photo Pages/Sheet Protectors: Heavyweight Clear Sheet Protectors, Acid Free & Archival Safe, 8.5” x 11”, Top Load

• White Backing Board – Acid Free

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