Tabler was back in a Bell County courtroom Tuesday attempting to suspend the appeals process, 17 months after a conviction here on two counts of capital murder.
In March 2007, he was convicted of killing two Killeen men at a remote location on Old Copperas Cove Road. Evidence in the trial indicated that two days after Tabler killed the men he also shot and killed two women. All of the people killed were connected to TeaZers, a Killeen strip club that had barred Tabler.
On Aug. 11, Tabler, 29, wrote a letter to the Court of Criminal Appeals in Austin, notifying the court he wished to expedite his death.
“I’ve spoken with my appeal attorneys and they’ve notified me that they don’t believe it’s their job to notify the courts that I’d like to waive my rights to habeas corpus proceeding and volunteer for execution,” Tabler wrote.
At the end of the letter he requested an execution date.
It is unclear how long it may take for Tabler’s wish to be granted.
Appeals on death sentences are handled by the Court of Criminal Appeals and are automatic and mandatory, said Murff Bledsoe, first assistant district attorney in Bell County.
Tabler’s hope was to expedite the process by suspending his automatic appeal but Bledsoe said the process is already under way.
Only after the Austin appeals court considers briefs filed by Tabler’s attorneys and the state would the process be expedited.
Bledsoe said the state responded as to why the sentence should be affirmed just this week.
There has been some debate in legal circles around the county about whether Tabler is sincere in his request. Tabler craved attention while he was locked up in Bell County Jail awaiting trial and even contacted several newspapers and reporters before and after his conviction.
It would not surprise many that followed his case if Tabler withdrew his request at a later date.
A letter from a doctor who recently conducted a four-hour competency interview with Tabler indicates Tabler himself may be conflicted.
“He wants this ordeal of incarceration to be concluded, even if it results in his execution,” wrote Dr. Kit W. Harrison, who is trained in neuropsychology and forensic psychology.
The letter continued: “At the same time, he expressed a desire to continue the appeal process . . . ”
Harrison said it is not unusual for death row inmates to gravitate between wanting to die and live.
Tabler is incarcerated in the Polunsky unit in Livingston.
