Death Sentence Read Free

Lumberton where Ronnie and his younger sister, Pam,* had grown up. For nearly twenty years a Robeson County sheriff’s deputy, Parnell had been one of the detectives who questioned Velma three days earlier. He was waiting when Ronnie, a stricken look on his face, led his distraught mother into the sheriffs department. Ronnie had called and left a message for Wilbur Lovett that they were coming, but Lovett was out running down a lead in the Stuart Taylor case, and Parnell had gotten the message.
    Ronnie was relieved to see a friendly face. He had warm feelings for Parnell, whose twin sons had been his childhood playmates. “Alf,” he said. “I think Mama has something she needs to tell you.”
    “Is that right, Velma?” Parnell said. “Is there something you want to talk to us about?”
    She was crying—she had cried all the way to the sheriffs department—but she nodded.
    “Well, y’all come on back,” Parnell said, leading them to Wilbur Lovett’s office, where, after his mother had entered, Ronnie pulled Parnell aside and showed him the pills he had taken from her, told him that he was certain she had intended to take them all and kill herself.
    After they had seated themselves in the office, Velma was crying so hard that not even Ronnie could quiet her. It took a couple of minutes for her to compose herself enough to talk.
    “Velma,” Parnell advised her, “you know that the rights that were read to you on Friday still apply. Do you understand that?”
    She said that she did.
    There was a knock at the door, and Wilbur Lovett, who had been summoned by Parnell, hurried in and took a seat.
    “Now, Velma,” Parnell said, “what was it that you wanted to tell us?”
    Again she began sobbing. “I didn’t mean to kill him,” she said. “I only meant to make him sick.”
    Ronnie interrupted. “Does she need a lawyer?”
    “That’s up to her,” Lovett replied.
    “Mama, do you want a lawyer?”
    Later, Ronnie would recall that at this point Lovett intervened, saying, “She’s already told us this much. It would be easier on her if she just went ahead and made a statement.” Lovett, however, would deny that.
    “No, I don’t want a lawyer,” Velma assured her son.
    “Are you sure?”
    She nodded. She seemed to want to get this off her conscience.
    Ronnie left so the officers could continue their interview. He needed to call his sister. He knew this would be devastating to her, and he wanted to be the one to break the news. Pam had a young daughter and also lived in Lumberton. Her husband, Kirby Jarrett,* answered.
    “Kirby, there are some problems developing down here at the courthouse that Pam ought to know about,” Ronnie told him. “Our mother’s in trouble again.” He didn’t want to talk about it over the phone. “Just tell her I need her down here,” he said. “I’m at the sheriff’s department.”
    Pam and Kirby arrived a short time later, Pam looking frightened. “What’s going on?” she asked.
    “She’s confessing to poisoning Stuart Taylor,” Ronnie said. “That’s first-degree murder.”
    Pam broke down, becoming almost hysterical. She demanded to see her mother, and the detectives took a break to allow her to visit. Later, Pam would only remember holding her mother while both cried, her mother saying over and over, “I’ll never get to see my grandbabies again.”
    Lovett, meanwhile, went upstairs to meet with the district attorney, who had been alerted that a confession was underway. He wanted to make certain that everything was done exactly right.
    As Lovett left, Parnell took Ronnie aside and explained that Velma would be charged with Stuart’s death and held in jail. The interviewing and paperwork would take several hours. Ronnie and Pam might as well go home; they could do nothing here. He would call them later in the evening. He promised to call Velma’s doctor to get whatever medicines she needed. To calm Ronnie’s fears, he assured him that a close watch