Execution date set for Purdy man who killed Barry County cop
Clayton
February 11, 2015
Charlea Mills
Cecil Clayton, the man convicted of killing a Barry County Sheriff’s Deputy in 1996, will be executed in March.
Clayton, then 56, now 74, of Purdy, was convicted in a trial in 1997 of killing Deputy Christopher Castetter. Clayton was sentenced to the death penalty in 1997 in a trial in Joplin after a change of venue, and the state’s high court affirmed that conviction in 1999. Clayton’s attorney filed a petition for a review in 2008, but the U.S. Supreme Court denied it.
On November 27, 1996, Deputy Castetter, 29, responded to a call regarding Clayton, whom had allegedly been in a violent argument with his former girlfriend and had then driven to the girlfriend’s parents’ house with a loaded gun. When Castetter arrived, Clayton shot him in the head before he could exit the patrol car. According to deputies who arrived around three minutes later, Castetter’s gun was still in his holster.
Castetter was taken to a Springfield hospital where he died a few hours later with his wife of eight years, Christine, at his side. Castetter left behind three girls, Cara, Julie and Bonnie.
Clayton was arrested at his home two and a half miles southeast of Purdy by two Barry County Sheirff’s deputies. At the home, the deputies confiscated a large caliber handgun believed to have been used to shoot Castetter.
The community responded in mass support of the Castetter family following the shooting, which was the only officer death in the line of duty in recent memory for the county. In the December 4, 1996, issue of the Advertiser, Christine wrote a dedication about Christopher in which she closed it, saying, “Rest assured that he would have laid his life down for any one of you if that is what it took. My only request is that you please don’t forget him.”
Clayton was convicted of first degree murder by a jury in Jasper County after only two hours of deliberation on Saturday, October 19, 1997. When the jury recommended the death sentence, Christine was quoted as saying, “I feel that justice is served.”
In post-conviction motions, Clayton’s attorney claimed that his actions were due to a brain injury he suffered in 1972 in a sawmill accident. A clinical psychologist also testified that he believed Clayton had dementia from the injury and a social anxiety disorder and alcohol dependence, issues that should have been brought up at the initial trial. The night of his arrest, Clayton’s blood alcohol level was 0.16 percent, twice the legal limit in Missouri to drive.
In the initial trial, both a neurologist and a clinical psychologist offered their findings on Clayton’s brain damage. Dr. Michael Morris, a neurologist, stated that Clayton had about 7 percent brain loss in his frontal lobe, the part of the brain that controls personality. He also said that the loss would cause “significant differences” in Clayton’s behavior. However, brain damage or not, Clayton was still found guilty of the crime that led to the death of officer.
The Missouri Supreme Court set Clayton’s execution date as March 17, with one change. Clayton will be the first Missouri prisoner to be executed at 6 p.m. instead of midnight. Citing a variety of reasons, the Missouri Courts have opted to change the execution time to make it easier on employees and those witnessing the execution and to be more in line with other states’ policies. Before, an execution was to take place at midnight with a 24-hour window. Now, that window begins at 6 p.m. instead, but the 24-hour period remains the same.
Charlea Mills
Cecil Clayton, the man convicted of killing a Barry County Sheriff’s Deputy in 1996, will be executed in March.
Clayton, then 56, now 74, of Purdy, was convicted in a trial in 1997 of killing Deputy Christopher Castetter. Clayton was sentenced to the death penalty in 1997 in a trial in Joplin after a change of venue, and the state’s high court affirmed that conviction in 1999. Clayton’s attorney filed a petition for a review in 2008, but the U.S. Supreme Court denied it.
On November 27, 1996, Deputy Castetter, 29, responded to a call regarding Clayton, whom had allegedly been in a violent argument with his former girlfriend and had then driven to the girlfriend’s parents’ house with a loaded gun. When Castetter arrived, Clayton shot him in the head before he could exit the patrol car. According to deputies who arrived around three minutes later, Castetter’s gun was still in his holster.
Castetter was taken to a Springfield hospital where he died a few hours later with his wife of eight years, Christine, at his side. Castetter left behind three girls, Cara, Julie and Bonnie.
Clayton was arrested at his home two and a half miles southeast of Purdy by two Barry County Sheirff’s deputies. At the home, the deputies confiscated a large caliber handgun believed to have been used to shoot Castetter.
The community responded in mass support of the Castetter family following the shooting, which was the only officer death in the line of duty in recent memory for the county. In the December 4, 1996, issue of the Advertiser, Christine wrote a dedication about Christopher in which she closed it, saying, “Rest assured that he would have laid his life down for any one of you if that is what it took. My only request is that you please don’t forget him.”
Clayton was convicted of first degree murder by a jury in Jasper County after only two hours of deliberation on Saturday, October 19, 1997. When the jury recommended the death sentence, Christine was quoted as saying, “I feel that justice is served.”
In post-conviction motions, Clayton’s attorney claimed that his actions were due to a brain injury he suffered in 1972 in a sawmill accident. A clinical psychologist also testified that he believed Clayton had dementia from the injury and a social anxiety disorder and alcohol dependence, issues that should have been brought up at the initial trial. The night of his arrest, Clayton’s blood alcohol level was 0.16 percent, twice the legal limit in Missouri to drive.
In the initial trial, both a neurologist and a clinical psychologist offered their findings on Clayton’s brain damage. Dr. Michael Morris, a neurologist, stated that Clayton had about 7 percent brain loss in his frontal lobe, the part of the brain that controls personality. He also said that the loss would cause “significant differences” in Clayton’s behavior. However, brain damage or not, Clayton was still found guilty of the crime that led to the death of officer.
The Missouri Supreme Court set Clayton’s execution date as March 17, with one change. Clayton will be the first Missouri prisoner to be executed at 6 p.m. instead of midnight. Citing a variety of reasons, the Missouri Courts have opted to change the execution time to make it easier on employees and those witnessing the execution and to be more in line with other states’ policies. Before, an execution was to take place at midnight with a 24-hour window. Now, that window begins at 6 p.m. instead, but the 24-hour period remains the same.
