Paul Slater was sentenced to death by the State of Texas for a double murder
According to court documents Paul Slater would shoot and kill two men: Roddrick Martin and Glenn Andrews during a drug deal gone wrong
Paul Slater would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
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SID Number: 05280592
TDCJ Number: 00999208
Name: SLATER,PAUL WAYNE
Race: B
Gender: M
Age: 49
Maximum Sentence Date: DEATH ROW
Current Facility: POLUNSKY
Paul Slater Case
A Houston-area death row prisoner convicted of killing two men in a drug deal gone bad lost out Monday in a federal appeals court, a ruling that could move him one step closer to an execution date.
Attorneys for Paul Wayne Slater, a brain-damaged junior high dropout with a low IQ, argued it was bad lawyering earlier in the case that helped earn him a death sentence more than two decades ago for a shooting in the bay of a Houston car wash
“This case today, they would never seek the death penalty,” said defense attorney Randy Schaffer. “I think the death penalty was probably sought in this case because it was a time when they were seeking the death penalty just for sport.”
In July 1995, Slater was scheduled to meet up with three men to sell them some crack, according to court filings. Would-be buyers Eric Washington, Roddrick Martin and Glenn Andrews showed up with $3,000 on hand for the exchange.
Then, two men pulled up in a Cadillac and there’s some dispute as to what happened next, but ultimately Slater fatally shot Martin and Andrews while Washington fled the scene.
A month later, police tracked down the blood-soaked Cadillac. A few weeks after that, Slater confessed – though he said the slayings were in self-defense, according to court records.
“There are very few cases in which the state has sought the death penalty in a drug transaction, where the victims were drug dealers,” Schaffer said Monday
Even so, Slater was sentenced to death in 1996, after his trial lawyer failed to request a jury instruction on murder as a lesser-included offense – a move that would have allowed for a self-defense claim.
In the years since his conviction, Slater has also lodged appeals blaming his trial attorney for failing to bring up claims of brain damage and learning disabilities. A 1991 evaluation placed his IQ at 77, though some tests have scored him as low at 63, according to court filings
“The law is a little schizophrenic on whether you can bring in new evidence at this point in a case,” Schaffer said. “It’s really complicated stuff but long story short 5th Circuit said, ‘No, you can’t and even if you could we don’t think it would have made a difference.’”
Now, Slater’s defense team can file for a rehearing in the 5th Circuit, try their luck in the Supreme or go back to state court, Schaffer said.
“And truly this is a case for a commutation for a life sentence,” he added, “so at the appropriate time we’ll be asking to meet with District Attorney Kim Ogg.”
