Anthony Haynes was sentenced to death by the State of Texas for the murder of an off duty police officer. According to court documents Anthony Haynes was driving a vehicle that shot at another vehicle. The driver of the second vehicle got out and asked Anthony Haynes what hit his vehicle and Haynes responded by pulling out a gun and shooting the man who turned out to be an off duty police officer. Anthony Haynes would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
Anthony Haynes 2022 Information
SID Number: 06309220
TDCJ Number: 00999330
Name: HAYNES,ANTHONY CARDELL
Race: B
Gender: M
Age: 42
Maximum Sentence Date: DEATH ROW
Current Facility: POLUNSKY
Projected Release Date: DEATH ROW
Parole Eligibility Date: DEATH ROW
Inmate Visitation Eligible: YES
Anthony Haynes More News
A death row inmate convicted of killing a Houston police officer nearly two decades ago could be one step closer to an execution date after the Supreme Court turned down his latest appeal.
Anthony Haynes narrowly avoided the death chamber seven years ago with a last-minute stay over claims his case was tainted by bad lawyering. Again, concerns about ineffective attorneys landed him in front of the Supreme Court last year – but this time the justices didn’t lean in his favor.
The high court without comment rejected the 39-year-old’s appeal on Monday. He’s now eligible for an execution date
Defense attorney Richard Ellis said he was “very disappointed” with the court’s decision, pointing out that the lower court was split on whether to deny his client’s appeal last year, and that one judge penned a “vigorous dissent” showing how the case “never had the review that the Supreme Court itself requested.”
The Harris County man was 19 and on meth in May 1998 when he and two friends started driving around town in his father’s pick-up, sticking up some pedestrians and making off with their wallets, according to court records.
Later in the night, the group drove by off-duty Houston police Sgt. Kent Kincaid and his wife, who were on their way to a sports bar. Something cracked the couple’s windshield – and Kincaid realized it was a bullet.
Out of uniform, Kincaid pulled over and climbed out to approach Haynes, asking to see his drivers’ license, according to court records.
“You hit my window,” Kincaid told him. Haynes responded that he “accidentally threw something” at the window. The officer reached back to get his police ID – but Haynes opened fire, hitting Kincaid in the head then fleeing, according to court records. He was arrested afterward when police traced the truck back to his father.
Haynes later confessed to the slaying, but said that he didn’t know Kincaid was a police officer – a key element in making the killing into a capital crime
Nonetheless, he was sentenced to death and nearly executed in 2012. Two hours before he was to die, the Supreme Court granted a stay over claims of ineffective attorneys earlier in the case
His appeals team argued that better lawyers earlier on could have shown that he wasn’t likely to be a future danger and could have lived the rest of his life in prison without posing a threat.
For the past seven years, his appeals have continued winding through the courts, finally ending up back in front of the Supreme Court in the fall, again over claims of bad lawyering.
This time, Ellis argued that the court had never really examined the underlying facts since the last execution date, and he brought up the nearly 40 witnesses who would have been willing to testify on his behalf had the trial team not been so “massively” deficient.
The state responded with a filing asking the Supreme Court not to greenlight the appeal, calling the claims “procedurally unsound and meritless.”
Currently, Ellis said, Haynes does not have any pending appeals
