Select by gender or name

Background

Joseph John Cannon was born on September 13th, 1960. When he was four years old, he was hit by a truck. He suffered a head injury, and as he grew older, everything started going wrong.

Cannon had a speech impediment, he was kicked out of school at seven, and at ten, he was diagnosed with brain damage, depression, schizophrenia, and borderline retardation. On top of all that, he was reportedly violated by male relatives starting when he was seven.

By 1977, 17-year-old Cannon, who was illiterate, was well-known in the Texas juvenile system. He recently caught a new burglary case and was facing jail time. The court appointed Dan Carabin as his attorney. Carabin took an interest in Cannon. He thought he could be rehabilitated and become a productive member of society one day.

Carabin wanted to keep the teen out of jail, so he convinced his sister, 45-year-old Anne Walsh, also an attorney, to let Cannon live with her while he was on probation.

Murder of Anne Walsh

He moved into her San Antonio home in September 1977, but things took a dark turn one week later. When the mother of eight Walsh returned home for lunch on September 30th, a high and drunk Cannon shot her multiple times with guns he had found in the home.

He tried to violate her dead body, but eventually, he gave up and fled the home in one of her daughter’s cars. He also took some guns, some money from Walsh’s purse, and two $50 checks.

Cannon was arrested when police saw him driving the stolen vehicle. When he was questioned about the murder, he admitted he “just went crazy.” Canon also said he had no reason to kill Walsh, and he was quick to blame his actions on the accident that happened when he was four years old.

He was charged with capital murder.

First Trial

At his first trial in 1980, he pleaded insanity. The jury rejected his defense and found him guilty of capital murder. During the penalty phase, his defense brought in experts to testify about his lack of intelligence. His mother took the stand to talk about his rough childhood. The jury wasn’t persuaded by the sappy testimony and sentenced Cannon to death.

Second Trial

Cannon got lucky and was granted a new trial that started in 1982. His new attorneys passed on the insanity route and instead tried to get Cannon’s confession tossed. When that failed, they tried to convince the jury that the confession wasn’t truthful because it didn’t match the indictment and crime scene evidence.

The second jury also found Canon guilty.

During the punishment phase, his attorneys decided not to present any mitigating evidence; they just hoped the jury would view their client as someone who lost control once and was no longer a threat. Their strategy failed, and Canon was given a second death sentence.

Execution

After 21 years locked up, his execution date started to get closer, and many didn’t think Cannon should die for something he did when he was 17.

Pope John Paul II sent a letter to Texas Governor George W. Bush telling him to halt the execution.

South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu and members of the Italian Parliament also wanted Bush to stop the execution.

Bush declined to intervene, and when the Supreme Court rejected Cannon’s last-minute appeals, there was nothing more he could do.

On April 22nd, 1998, 38-year-old Cannon was marched to the death chamber.

After he was strapped into the gurney, he said his final words, but then he said, “It’s come undone.”

Prison officials realized the needle had come out, and they closed the drapes and got reorganized.

When they were ready again moments later, Canon stated,

“I am sorry for what I did to your mom. It isn’t because I’m going to die. All my life I have been locked up. I could never forgive what I done. I am sorry for all of you. I love you all.
Thank you for supporting me. I thank you for being kind to me when I was small.
Thank you, God.
All right.”

He was injected with poison and pronounced dead at 7:28 pm.