Post by So Long on Jun 19, 2009 6:06:37 GMT -5
Inmate convicted in '61 killing dies in prison
By Douglas Walker
dwalker@muncie.gannett.com
MUNCIE -- Convicted killer Jay Dull, who received the first death sentence in Delaware County history nearly a half-century ago, has died in a prison infirmary.
Dull, 72, died in the New Castle Correctional Facility on Saturday, that institution's superintendent, Jeff Wrigley, confirmed Wednesday night.
Wrigley said he had visited with the terminally ill prisoner shortly before his death.
Dull was 24 when he was sentenced to death by a Delaware Circuit Court jury in March 1961 after he was convicted of robbing and killing James Tricker, a 35-year-old Muncie cab driver.
Authorities said Dull and co-defendant Walter Line hijacked Tricker's cab two days before Christmas 1960, forcing their victim to drive to an isolated area east of the city, where Dull first shot Tricker in the wrist with a sawed-off shotgun, then used the weapon to fracture his victim's skull.
The robbery netted Dull and Line $20 in cash. They were captured during a shootout with police three weeks later.
Dull spent more than a decade on Death Row at the Indiana State Prison, but his life was spared by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the early 1970s that revoked all pending death sentences.
His prison term was formally commuted to life in prison in 1975. Eight years later, he was granted parole, but the Muncie man returned to prison in 1991 for parole violations.
Richard Tricker was 13 when Dull killed his father more than 48 years ago. He and his sister, Rebecca Miller, had opposed Dull's bids for parole in recent years.
"I'd just like to say that I'm glad it's over," Richard Tricker said Wednesday night. "And I'm glad that he got the sentence that was given to him. ... He didn't die in the electric chair, but at least he died in prison."
Tricker said he never felt Dull had expressed remorse for his crimes.
At what proved to be his final parole hearing, in January 2007, a 70-year-old Dull tried to persuade board members he was too old to pose a threat to society if released.
"Physically, I'm just not able to do what I've done before," said Dull, indicating he planned to live with relatives in Muncie if released.
The board rejected his bid for freedom, however, with member Valerie Parker describing Dull's criminal history as "a nightmare."
Dull was still facing a death sentence in July 1972 when he was back in Muncie for an appeal hearing, and took three hostages at gunpoint and briefly escaped from the Delaware County jail.
He was quickly recaptured, and a subsequent kidnapping conviction led to a life sentence. The U.S. Supreme Court later overturned that 1973 conviction, however, ruling Dull hadn't been brought to trial in a timely manner.
The Star Press on Saturday received an e-mail notification from the Indiana Department of Correction that Dull had been transferred from the Pendleton Correction Facility to the New Castle prison a day earlier.
Wednesday night, another e-mail from the DOC notification service reported Dull "has been released from custody as of June 17." That prompted a call to Wrigley, who confirmed the killer's death.
The only other convicted killer to receive a death sentence in Delaware County history was Michael Lambert, sentenced by Judge Robert Barnet Jr. in January 1992 for the slaying of Muncie police officer Gregg Winters.
Lambert was executed by lethal injection in June 2007.
Additional Facts
The Jay Dull file
Dec. 23, 1960 -- Jay Dull, at the time a 24-year-old ex-con, and accomplice Walter Line hijack a taxi cab driven by James Tricker, 35, Muncie. Forced to drive to an isolated area east of the city, Tricker is robbed, then shot and fatally beaten by Dull.
Jan. 12, 1961 -- Dull and Line are captured by police in a shootout outside a Powers Street home. He survives a gunshot wound in the neck.
March 1961 -- A Delaware Circuit Court jury finds Dull and Line guilty of robbing and killing Tricker. Dull is sentenced to death; Line receives a life sentence.
May 1963 -- For the third time in less than two years, a court order is signed authorizing Dull's execution by electrocution. In each case, however, appeals cause the execution to be postponed.
May 19, 1972 -- Dull, back in Delaware County for a series of appeals hearings, takes three hostages at gunpoint and escapes from the county jail. He and two accomplices are quickly recaptured.
May 1973 -- A Circuit Court jury finds Dull guilty of kidnapping, and he receives a life sentence. The conviction and sentence are later overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, which rules he wasn't brought to trial in a timely enough fashion.
1975 -- After a U.S. Supreme Court ruling revokes all pending death sentences, Dull is re-sentenced to life in prison for the Tricker slaying.
1982 -- Walter Line is granted parole and released from prison.
1983 -- Dull is granted parole. Five years later, he stops reporting to his parole officer, and a warrant is issued for his arrest.
1991 -- Dull is re-apprehended and returned to prison for parole violations.
1996 -- The Indiana Parole Board rejects Dull's bid for parole by a 3-2 vote.
Jan. 26, 2007 -- The parole board votes down what will prove to be Dull's final request to be released from prison.
June 13, 2009 -- Dull dies at age 72, a day after being transferred to the New Castle Correctional Facility.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Douglas Walker
dwalker@muncie.gannett.com
MUNCIE -- Convicted killer Jay Dull, who received the first death sentence in Delaware County history nearly a half-century ago, has died in a prison infirmary.
Dull, 72, died in the New Castle Correctional Facility on Saturday, that institution's superintendent, Jeff Wrigley, confirmed Wednesday night.
Wrigley said he had visited with the terminally ill prisoner shortly before his death.
Dull was 24 when he was sentenced to death by a Delaware Circuit Court jury in March 1961 after he was convicted of robbing and killing James Tricker, a 35-year-old Muncie cab driver.
Authorities said Dull and co-defendant Walter Line hijacked Tricker's cab two days before Christmas 1960, forcing their victim to drive to an isolated area east of the city, where Dull first shot Tricker in the wrist with a sawed-off shotgun, then used the weapon to fracture his victim's skull.
The robbery netted Dull and Line $20 in cash. They were captured during a shootout with police three weeks later.
Dull spent more than a decade on Death Row at the Indiana State Prison, but his life was spared by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the early 1970s that revoked all pending death sentences.
His prison term was formally commuted to life in prison in 1975. Eight years later, he was granted parole, but the Muncie man returned to prison in 1991 for parole violations.
Richard Tricker was 13 when Dull killed his father more than 48 years ago. He and his sister, Rebecca Miller, had opposed Dull's bids for parole in recent years.
"I'd just like to say that I'm glad it's over," Richard Tricker said Wednesday night. "And I'm glad that he got the sentence that was given to him. ... He didn't die in the electric chair, but at least he died in prison."
Tricker said he never felt Dull had expressed remorse for his crimes.
At what proved to be his final parole hearing, in January 2007, a 70-year-old Dull tried to persuade board members he was too old to pose a threat to society if released.
"Physically, I'm just not able to do what I've done before," said Dull, indicating he planned to live with relatives in Muncie if released.
The board rejected his bid for freedom, however, with member Valerie Parker describing Dull's criminal history as "a nightmare."
Dull was still facing a death sentence in July 1972 when he was back in Muncie for an appeal hearing, and took three hostages at gunpoint and briefly escaped from the Delaware County jail.
He was quickly recaptured, and a subsequent kidnapping conviction led to a life sentence. The U.S. Supreme Court later overturned that 1973 conviction, however, ruling Dull hadn't been brought to trial in a timely manner.
The Star Press on Saturday received an e-mail notification from the Indiana Department of Correction that Dull had been transferred from the Pendleton Correction Facility to the New Castle prison a day earlier.
Wednesday night, another e-mail from the DOC notification service reported Dull "has been released from custody as of June 17." That prompted a call to Wrigley, who confirmed the killer's death.
The only other convicted killer to receive a death sentence in Delaware County history was Michael Lambert, sentenced by Judge Robert Barnet Jr. in January 1992 for the slaying of Muncie police officer Gregg Winters.
Lambert was executed by lethal injection in June 2007.
Additional Facts
The Jay Dull file
Dec. 23, 1960 -- Jay Dull, at the time a 24-year-old ex-con, and accomplice Walter Line hijack a taxi cab driven by James Tricker, 35, Muncie. Forced to drive to an isolated area east of the city, Tricker is robbed, then shot and fatally beaten by Dull.
Jan. 12, 1961 -- Dull and Line are captured by police in a shootout outside a Powers Street home. He survives a gunshot wound in the neck.
March 1961 -- A Delaware Circuit Court jury finds Dull and Line guilty of robbing and killing Tricker. Dull is sentenced to death; Line receives a life sentence.
May 1963 -- For the third time in less than two years, a court order is signed authorizing Dull's execution by electrocution. In each case, however, appeals cause the execution to be postponed.
May 19, 1972 -- Dull, back in Delaware County for a series of appeals hearings, takes three hostages at gunpoint and escapes from the county jail. He and two accomplices are quickly recaptured.
May 1973 -- A Circuit Court jury finds Dull guilty of kidnapping, and he receives a life sentence. The conviction and sentence are later overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, which rules he wasn't brought to trial in a timely enough fashion.
1975 -- After a U.S. Supreme Court ruling revokes all pending death sentences, Dull is re-sentenced to life in prison for the Tricker slaying.
1982 -- Walter Line is granted parole and released from prison.
1983 -- Dull is granted parole. Five years later, he stops reporting to his parole officer, and a warrant is issued for his arrest.
1991 -- Dull is re-apprehended and returned to prison for parole violations.
1996 -- The Indiana Parole Board rejects Dull's bid for parole by a 3-2 vote.
Jan. 26, 2007 -- The parole board votes down what will prove to be Dull's final request to be released from prison.
June 13, 2009 -- Dull dies at age 72, a day after being transferred to the New Castle Correctional Facility.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------