--- title: 'Following a One-day Trial and no Appeal, Mentally Ill Man Executed in Alabama' description: 'David Kevin Hocker, a mentally ill man who waived all his appeals, was executed in Alabama last night (Sept. 30). He was the first person to be executed…' canonical: 'https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/following-a-one-day-trial-and-no-appeal-mentally-ill-man-executed-in-alabama' section: news date: '2004-10-02T00:19:33-04:00' updated: '2025-03-14T14:23:41-04:00' source: 'Death Penalty Information Center' --- David Kevin Hocker, a mentally ill man who waived all his appeals, was executed in Alabama last night (Sept. 30). He was the first person to be executed in that state without a review by the state's Supreme Court. Hocker had murdered his employer in 1998. No one from the victim's family attended the execution. Hocker's mother did attend her son's execution, and was so distraught she had to leave the witness room. She said that her son had been suicidal for many years. Hocker's trial lasted one day and at his request no witnesses were called on his behalf. The following story is by Carla Crowder of the Birmingham News (Oct. 1, 2004): **Mentally ill man executed for 1998 killing** ATMORE - David Kevin Hocker, a mentally ill 33-year-old who refused to fight his 1998 capital murder conviction, was executed Thursday in Alabama's death chamber. His final words were a prayer. "I swear by you, Lord Jesus Christ, my savior, that my time shall be no longer. The mystery of life shall be finished. Amen," Hocker read into a microphone just before the lethal injection began. His mother, Patricia Yeomans, sobbed as he closed his eyes for the last time, then doubled over in her chair. She grew shaky and had to leave the witness room for a restroom, where her husband consoled her. Her son was pronounced dead at 6:24 p.m. Yeomans returned to the room and asked reporters: "You don't think he felt anything, do you? It seemed like he didn't." Hocker was sentenced to death for the March 1998 murder of his boss, Jerry Robinson, 47. Hocker lured Robinson into a rural area outside Dothan, then stabbed him to death, stole his truck and binged on crack cocaine before turning himself in to south Alabama authorities. No one from Robinson's family attended the execution Hocker's death marks the first time someone has been executed by the state without the Alabama Supreme Court reviewing the case, said Bryan Stevenson, director of the Equal Justice Initiative, which represents poor people on Death Row. It's just the second time Alabama has executed someone without post-conviction court reviews to determine such things as whether the defendant was competent and had adequate legal representation, and whether prosecutors followed the law, Stevenson said. But Hocker resisted attorneys' efforts to save his life. His mother and sister say he has been suicidal for years, which, combined with a religious fervor adopted on Death Row, led to his refusal to appeal his case. Hocker had a lengthy criminal record before he killed Robinson, much of it for drug use and stealing things from his mother. Over the years, she turned him in to police seeking help for his mental illness - bipolar disorder - but Hocker denied he was sick. Yeomans visited with her son three days this week, including Thursday morning. "God didn't answer my prayers the way I had wanted. But he did answer them," she said in a written statement. "Once Kevin started reading the Bible, his anger just disappeared. He became positive about his life. It now had meaning. And he often would say to me, `I had to lose my life to save my soul.' He's fine." Prison officials described Hocker as antsy but upbeat the day of his death. He asked a lot of questions about the execution procedure and talked about his religious beliefs. Hocker had no breakfast or lunch Thursday. He requested a last meal of frankfurters, French fries, American cheese and chocolate cake, but he did not eat it, prison spokesman Brian Corbett said. Yeomans will claim his body. Her son left her some of his belongings: food items and a check for 87 cents - what was left of his prisoner account. He left his radio and headset to fellow Death Row prisoner Rayford Hagood. Hocker's conviction received the mandatory review by the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, but he waived the remainder of his constitutionally guaranteed appeals. His decision saved the state money and sped his death by several years. "I don't want to make him out to be a hero, he's not. ... The best way I can describe him is he's a man, he stood up and he's going to take his punishment," said Henry County District Attorney Doug Valeska. A review of the trial transcript troubled Stevenson, of the Equal Justice Initiative. The trial, which Stevenson called "outrageous," lasted one day, and defense lawyer Michael Crespi called no witnesses on Hocker's behalf. Crespi, who has known the family since Hocker was a teenager, said Hocker did not want anything about his background presented because he wished to spare his family pain and embarrassment. "I didn't have any mitigating witnesses," Crespi said. "He forbade it." Crespi said he tried to find a way to get around Hocker's wishes, even consulting with outside experts. Everyone told him he had to abide by his client's request. That meant jurors never heard about the history of mental illness and domestic abuse in Hocker's childhood. Hocker's father also was bipolar and killed himself when Hocker was 8. "I have never seen or heard of such a thoroughgoing regime of terror as existed in that household," said Crespi, who has 30 years' experience as a lawyer and judge. Stevenson visited with Hocker on Death Row and said Hocker's mental illness was apparent. "Since Mr. Hocker has been on Death Row, he has demonstrated blatantly that he is seriously mentally ill, most significantly mutilating himself and removing his testicles," Stevenson said. "Even if Mr. Hocker asserts that he wants to be executed, ... Alabama can take no pride in executing someone who is too unstable or too poor to protect themselves." www.al.com