Bio

Stacey Lamont Lawton was born on July 10, 1969. According to Texas prison records, Lawton was from Dallas County, Texas. He was 23 years old when Dennis Price was killed and 24 years old when he entered the Texas prison system in July 1993. His prison record listed his work as carpenter and his education level as 10 years.

During later appeals, his family background was discussed because he claimed his trial lawyers did not present enough personal history during sentencing. His mother said his birth father was in prison until Lawton was 19. She also said his stepfather once beat him badly with a shoe. However, she also stated that Lawton was mostly raised by his great-grandmother and had a stable childhood in her care.

Texas records show that he had received a 10-year sentence for delivery of cocaine. He entered prison on October 24, 1990, and was paroled to Smith County on May 3, 1991. At his capital murder trial, prosecutors also presented evidence of prior convictions for criminal trespass and delivery of a controlled substance. Court records later noted that Lawton had disciplinary problems during a previous time in custody, which his defense lawyers believed could hurt him if certain witnesses testified for him.

By December 1992, Lawton was associated with Karlos Ranard Fields and Carlos Black. During the night of December 23 and the early morning of December 24, 1992, the group was involved in burglarizing vehicles in Smith County, Texas. Prosecutors said Lawton stood guard with a stolen shotgun while Fields and Black broke into vehicles.

Murder Story

On the night of December 23 and early morning of December 24, 1992, Stacey Lamont Lawton, Karlos Ranard Fields, and Carlos Black were involved in a burglary spree in Smith County, Texas. The group broke into several vehicles in neighborhoods near Tyler. The shotgun later used in Dennis Price’s murder had been stolen during an earlier burglary. During the burglaries, prosecutors said Lawton stood guard while the others broke into vehicles. Witnesses said he pointed the shotgun toward nearby homes and warned that he would shoot anyone who came outside and tried to stop them.

Early on Christmas Eve, Dennis L. Price was at home in the Indian Creek neighborhood west of Tyler. His daughter heard noises outside and told him someone was near his truck. Price went outside to check while his daughter called 911. When Price reached the yard, he found the burglars near his truck. Prosecutors said Lawton shot him in the chest with the stolen shotgun. Price’s daughter tried to help him, but he died shortly after the shooting.

After the shooting, Lawton and the others fled in stolen pickup trucks. They later abandoned the vehicles, stole another truck, and were caught after a high-speed police chase. A witness had described the truck leaving the neighborhood, which helped police find them.

At trial, Karlos Fields testified that Lawton was the person who shot Dennis Price. Fields later received a life sentence. Another participant was a 14-year-old juvenile. Lawton denied being the shooter and claimed Fields was responsible, but prosecutors argued that Lawton fired the fatal shot.

In February 1993, a grand jury indicted Lawton for capital murder. He was accused of killing Price with a firearm while committing or attempting to commit robbery. A jury found him guilty. During sentencing, the jury found that Lawton would remain a danger to society and that there were not enough mitigating factors to spare him from the death penalty. He was sentenced to death.

Lawton appealed his conviction and sentence. On December 6, 1995, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals upheld both. He later filed state and federal appeals, including a claim that his trial lawyers failed to present enough personal background evidence during sentencing. The courts rejected his appeals.

The U.S. Supreme Court denied review on September 26, 2000. His execution had been delayed once because his attorney missed a clemency filing deadline by one day, but the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles later rejected clemency. Stacey Lamont Lawton was executed by lethal injection in Huntsville, Texas, on November 14, 2000. He was 31 years old.