More Appeals Rejected by Texas Criminal Court

AUSTIN (AP) — The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has rejected the appeal of a death row inmate from Smith County. Gregory Lynn Russeau, pictured here, was convicted in 2002 for the 2001 slaying of auto mechanic James Syvertson, 75, during a robbery in Tyler. Russeau was arrested in Syvertson’s stolen car in Longview the day after the murder.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals also rejected an appeal from an Arlington woman condemned for the starvation death of a 9-year-old boy who weighed 35 pounds. Jurors at Lisa Coleman’s 2006 trial in Tarrant County heard testimony she beat, bound, neglected and starved Davontae Williams. Coleman shared an apartment with the boy’s mother, Marcella Williams, who pleaded guilty to avoid a death sentence and is serving a life prison term. An autopsy determined the child had more than 250 scars on his body when emergency medical crews in July 2004 responded to a 911 call about a child having breathing difficulties. Coleman is one of 10 condemned women in Texas.

The appeals court Wednesday also rejected appeals from Guy Len Allen, who’s condemned for the 2002 slayings of his girlfriend and her daughter in Travis County