DeSoto murder victim’s wife, family join La. DAs in speaking out against clemency for death row inmates

By Web staff

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    BATON ROUGE, Louisiana (KTBS) — Mary Howell’s family depends upon the justice system – a system they relied upon to hold two men accountable for her husband’s murder.

One of those men, Michael Taylor, is on death row. He is one of at least 55 death row inmates who now want their death sentences commuted to life.

Surrounded by her family and district attorneys from across Louisiana who are fighting the inmates’ clemency petitions, Mary Howell, of Shreveport, on Wednesday morning shared about her late husband, Chester Howell, and called upon Gov. John Bel Edwards to “rethink his position.”

“It’s not fair. Life is not fair, I understand that but when we have a system in place and people ran on their ability to apply the law to everybody, regardless of race, color or creed, then that is what we should do,” Mary Howell said.

The joint news conference by the district attorneys happened at about the same time Attorney General Jeff Landry filed a lawsuit to block Edwards from short-circuiting the rules and procedures of the Board of Pardons to consider the clemency applications.

The district attorneys for Caddo, DeSoto, Natchitoches, Rapides, Jefferson and Richland parishes announced their injunction motions filed for the death row cases in their respective jurisdictions.

In June, a group of attorneys led by the Capital Appeals Project filed clemency applications with the Louisiana Board of Pardons and Committee on Parole for 55 of the 57 prisoners on death row. Term-limited Edwards, who is in the final months of his governorship, has supported the clemency petitions. His term in office ends Jan. 24.

Surrounded by family members of victims holding signs and wearing T-shirts adorned with photos of their slain loved ones, attorneys said Wednesday the mass filings violated state statute and went against policies.

“This is not an attack on or support for the death penalty,” said Loren Lampert, executive director for the Louisiana District Attorneys Association. “This is about keeping a promise to these victims and these citizens that was made to them — in some cases — decades ago.”

“One of the things we all have to remember, the public has to remember, there is evil in this world. The public officials behind me have all taken an oath to uphold the rule of law. That rule of law is being threatened and challenged by the actions that are going on. If we don’t have the rule of law, what happens? How many people across the state of Louisiana have not suffered and become the victim of a crime because of the rule of law?” asked DeSoto District Attorney Charles Adams.

He added: “Do not think this action only applies to these victims here. It applies to every single person in the state of Louisiana. The rule of law is what we all took an oath and every public official took an oath to uphold. That is what we’re doing and attempting to do.”

In their June applications for clemency, supporters of the clemency applications asked Edwards to reduce the prisoners’ sentences to life in prison, the only commutation available for people slated for execution. The attorneys later filed applications for five more prisoners, but counsel for one of the men withdrew his petition.

The pardon board later tabled all 55 clemency requests after Landry issued an opinion saying prisoners can’t file requests once a procedural deadline has passed.

But Edwards flexed his gubernatorial muscle and directed the board to reschedule the hearings. Accordingly, the panel expedited its process and slated hearing dates to review applications for 20 death row prisoners beginning Oct. 13. Other cases were struck from the docket due to disciplinary issues, procedural stumbling blocks and other eligibility rules.

Chester Howell had just retired from General Motors. But instead of following through with plans to fish and hunt, he took a part-time job at Morgan Pontiac to supplement his oldest daughter’s college plans. He didn’t want her to work; he wanted her to concentrate on her grades.

On Jan. 7, 1999, that all changed. Chester, described as a kind, gentle, Catholic man of faith who put God and his family first, was kidnapped from that dealership, driven to a rural road in north DeSoto Parish and shot three times.

Michael Taylor and Timothy Taylor (no relation) were captured eight days later at the Texas-Mexico border following a multi-state crime spree, which included robbing a bank in Iowa and shooting a police chief there.

Both were indicted for first-degree murder. Timothy Taylor was convicted of first-degree murder, but the jury sentenced him to life. Michael Taylor put his fate in the hands of the jury and was convicted in October 2022. He was sentenced to death.

“Although Mr. Taylor was very young at the time that he committed this heinous crime, he knew right from wrong and refused to grant Chester’s plea to take his money and his car and spare him his life. Instead, he chose to shoot him three times. Mr. Taylor was told that he had a wife and two young daughters who really needed him, but his pleas were ignored,” Mary Howell said.

A retired registered nurse of 41 years, Mary Howell said her life has evolved around providing comfort, care and preserving life. So she said it is with “much trepidation, pain and soul searching that I am requesting that you uphold the law and follow the decision of the jury that heard the case and decided on his fate. My family understands that true justice would be for the death of Mr. Taylor and instantly Chester would return to us. But as we all know that will never happen. That is not possible. So we have to depend upon our criminal justice system in order to give us some relief for the life of Chester.”

Chester Howell had retired after 36 years at General Motors. His death robbed his two daughters of being walked down the aisle at their weddings and his grandchildren of “knowing his love for them, his ability to play games and read to them and give them the best bedtime stories that made the laugh and cry. Along with his kisses to dry up their tears from their falls and bobos. They will never know his love of education, his encouragement for them to go as high as they could in college and beyond.”

Mary Howell described her feelings about more than wanting somebody to get death.

“It’s the fact that if we don’t stand up for our values and make the law to stand up to the commitment that it has given us, then where are we? What are we going to do with the next generation of children and grandchildren who have nobody? What are we going to tell them?” she asked.

Chester Howell stressed education and that’s why he was at Mike Morgan working parttime after retiring.

“Our oldest daughter had been accepted at Xavier University with a full scholarship, but he wanted to make sure that she would not have to go to work and be able to continue to get her high grades and pursue her dreams. And so many times I pass by Mike Morgan and I just want to scream and holler and cry because he didn’t have any business being there. He should have been at home. He had planned go to fishing and hunting and stuff once he retired but he never got a chance to do that,” she said.

She concluded: “So, we have to stand up for what’s right. If we’re going to teach our children right from wrong, if we’re going to teach our children that you have to obey the law and if you don’t there’s consequences. And the consequences is you stay in and keep whining and saying well you know I didn’t mean to do it, that’s not good enough in certain circumstances. That is not good enough. And this is the occasion where it’s not going to be good enough.”

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