Mo. Supreme Court overturns death penalty for 1992 Cape Girardeau murder

A Cape Girardeau man facing a death sentence will not be executed because he is mentally retarded, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.

Andrew A. Lyons, 52, convicted in 1996 for the September 1992 shooting death of his girlfriend, her mother and his son, will spend the rest of his life in prison without possibility of parole, the court ruled.

It is the second time Lyons has had a death sentence reduced. In a unanimous opinion issued Tuesday, the court accepted the findings of Circuit Judge Michael D. Burton of St. Louis County, who was appointed special master to consider evidence of Lyons' mental abilities.

Burton determined Lyons fit the definition of a mentally retarded person under Missouri law, the court said in an unsigned opinion. Burton "concluded Lyons' IQ was in a range of 61 to 70; that Lyons had continual extensive related deficits in two adaptive behaviors -- communications and functional academics; and that these conditions were manifested and documented before Lyons was 18 years of age," the court wrote.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2002 that mentally retarded people cannot be executed.

Nancy Gonder, spokeswoman for the Missouri attorney general's office, said the ruling is under review for possible appeal but no decision has been made.

Lyons' attorney, Frederick A. Duchardt Jr. of Trimble, Mo., said the ruling corrects an injustice done when the trial took place. "This is a situation in which a man did something very terrible that was incredibly out of character," Duchardt said. "For the remainder of his life, he was a man who suffered from mental illness and mental retardation, and we have done the work necessary to convince the Supreme Court that we were right about that, and we are grateful."

Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle, who conducted the trial that put Lyons on death row, said issues about his IQ and mental illnesses were considered at the time. After reading the opinion, Swingle said the court could not say Burton "was mistaken in deciding the defendant was retarded, but the attorney general's office only called one witness."

On Sept. 20, 1992, Lyons went to Evelyn Sparks' home at 1117 S. Ranney Ave. Sparks, 49, was making breakfast in her kitchen, preparing to go to church, when Lyons entered the house with a pump-action shotgun and shot her. He went downstairs and shot his girlfriend, Bridgette Harris, 22, and their 11-month-old son, Dontay Harris. Lyons shot Sparks once in the left side. Harris was shot once in the right shoulder, and the baby was shot once in the head.

After being held in a state mental hospital, Lyons was found competent to stand trial in February 1995. Lyons was convicted in April 1996. A jury imposed the death penalty for the death of Bridgette Harris but was unable to reach a decision on sentencing for the death of Sparks. The judge then imposed the death penalty for Sparks' death.

Resentenced in 2007

In August 2007, the Supreme Court resentenced him to life in prison for the killing of Sparks, citing a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that only juries could impose a death sentence. The death penalty for Bridgette Harris remained in place.

In proceedings before the trial, Swingle said he was able to show Lyons had an IQ in the low 80s, a point that was backed up by defense experts. But Swingle said he didn't want to second-guess the attorney general's office. "Once I get the conviction, it is out of my hands," he said, "and they didn't put on the witnesses, and I don't know why they didn't."

Duchardt, however, said he believes Lyons' death penalty would have been overturned earlier if initial appeals had challenged the ruling that he was competent to stand trial. "It was not taken up by the lawyer who handled his direct appeal in state court, and it was not handled well by the lawyers who handled his case at trial."

After 10 years of handling appeals, Duchardt said he is satisfied. "I am very grateful, despite the failure at the trial court level, to come to the place where we are today."

rkeller@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

207 W. High St., Jefferson City, MO

1117 S. Ranney Ave., Cape Girardeau, MO