Marco Allen Chapman

Once again I have chosen to talk about a death penalty case. I know there are fierce people on both sides of this subject, I just do not happen to be one of them. I have often said that I am neither for, nor against the death penalty. I do believe there are cases that warrant it, but only those in which there is no question in whether the person is not only guilty, but that that conclusion was come to fairly. I also believe that in decades past that courts were too fast to carry out the death penalty. We have found too many, and one is too many in my opinion, of people who were executed only to discover later were innocent. Well.... you cannot ever fix that wrong! With that being said, I feel as if we do not do them fast enough today.

There are those who are very pro-death penalty who will argue that as a tax payer they do not feel as if we should house inmates on life sentences and should speed up the process. First, let me point out that Texas used to execute so often that the joke was they had an express lane to the execution chamber and yet they much too late realized that there were errors not just in the death penalty system itself, but also in many of the cases. They have the longest list of exonerated people than any other state. Also, the reality of it is that it costs more to house someone on death row than it does to house someone for the rest of their lives... both of which many states are doing now anyway. There are constitutional rights to appeals in death sentences that are not afford unilaterally to other prison inmates. Those cost money from anywhere from transportation to courtroom time to lawyers, right down to often extra guards and special wings of the prison.

This case is a bit different. I have seen and written about cases in which a convicted felon has decided to drop all remaining appeals and tell the court that they were prepared to have the death penalty carried out. I have seen a case or two where the defendant at sentencing after a trial has requested the death penalty. In this case the defendant was still in the pre-trial process and he sent a letter to the judge asking to fire his attorney's, plead guilty to the crimes he committed and be given the death penalty.

On August 23, 2002 Marco Allen Chapman, not to be confused with John Lennon's assassin, MarK David Chapman, knocked on the Warsaw Kentucky door of Carolyn Marksberry sometime close to four in the morning. Carolyn, who was the city clerk of Warsaw, lived with her husband Chuck, who was on his way home after being out of the country for work, and her three children, six year old Cody Sharon, seven year old Chelbi Sharon and ten year old Courtney Sharon. It was said that Courtney had known Chapman for years but it was also said that he was dating her best friend that lived very close by and Carolyn had been encouraging her to leave the relationship because Chapman was abusive to her. The friend, who was many times referred to as “unnamed,” allegedly often spent the night on the Markberry couch to get away from Chapman. It was said that Chapman asked Carolyn to use the phone when she answered the door so she let him in.

Apparently according to Carolyn when she let him inside he immediately began attacking her with a knife that he had brought with him. Chapman was able to tie Carolyn's hands with duct tape and then using the a cord he cut from the vacuum he tied her to the bed frame where he proceeded to rape her and then stab her repeatedly. It was said that he literally broke two knives, one inside her chest.

At some point six-year old Cody was awakened by the noises. He went into his mother's room but it is unclear what was going on at that moment but it was said that Carolyn told him to go back to his room. Instead he went to ten-year old Courtney's room. She too had been awakened by noises in the house and Cody stated he thought their mother was in trouble. The two children went into the hallway where they were met by Chapman. Chapman attempted to take the knife he had and slit Courtney's throat. Apparently without realizing it he missed and instead cut her ear but Courtney was bright and smart. She fell to the ground and “played dead.” Chapman then turned to Cody and this time he succeeded and while he fell to the floor it seems he did not die immediately. Chapman then proceeded to go into seven-year old Chelbi's room where he also cut her throat.

While he was in Chelbi's room Courtney began her plan to escape. She would later say that Cody was still alive at that point and begged her not to leave him. Courtney explained that she was going to the neighbors home to get help. As she made her way out of the house Chapman heard the back door slam. He came out to find Courtney gone. It was said that he then stole some things and left. It is likely that he knew the authorities would be coming soon. In the mean time Carolyn, who was severely injured, but also still alive literally “gnawed through her restraints” and broke free. She had listened as her children screamed within the house. She crawled out into the hallway and then crawled to the neighbors home and made it to their porch. It was said that she “used her head to bang on the door.” Authorities received a 911 call about 6:00.

From my understanding both Chelbi and Cody were either already dead when authorities arrived, or likely died soon after. Carolyn was in critical condition and I am sure there were questions whether she would survive. Courtney, while injured, was less severe. Chapman was no where to be found but amazingly it would not take long. He was found in Shrewsbury West Virginia and arrested about 12:30 that afternoon. While they waited for investigators from Kentucky to get there, question him and take him back he began telling law enforcement there a story.

Those investigators said he seemed unremorseful. He claimed that he and Carolyn had been having an affair for about a year and that he had gone there to have consensual sex with her, knowing that her husband was out of town. He admitted bringing the knife because he said he planned to steal from her afterwards. He went on to say that they did have consensual sex and that Carolyn “raised all kinds of hell” when he told her he was going to steal from her. It does appear that through the course of the early morning, while no one believed the consensual sex part, he had stolen from her and Carolyn had given him all of her credit cards and what cash she had. It seems though that throughout his talk with West Virginia authorities he was starting to become remorseful and even asked the officers to kill him. By the time Kentucky authorities arrived it was said that he was remorseful and while he would claim to not remember a lot or even why he did it he did admit the crime.

Chapman was charged with two counts of capital murder in the deaths of Cody and Chelbi, two counts of attempted murder for Carolyn and Courtney, first degree rape, first degree burglary, first degree robbery and second degree “persistent felony offender.” The last charge apparently stemmed from the fact that at one time he had been charged federally for a bank robbery in Texas. Whether that was the extent of his criminal activity or at least times that he was caught is not clear.

As is routine his initially hearing in which his charges were read a not guilty verdict was given to the court and he was given attorney's to defend his case. It is not clear whether the prosecutor planned to ask for the death penalty or not. In January of 2004 during a “routine transfer” to court for a pre-trial hearing Chapman somehow got out of leg shackles and tried to make a run for it. Authorities tackled him just a few yards away while he still had a chain around his waist and was handcuffed. He would later say that this was an attempt to provoke the officers to shoot him.

In October of 2004 Chapman wrote a letter to the judge. He informed him that he wanted to fire his attorney's, change his plea to guilty and wanted the death penalty as his sentence. The judge did not just unilaterally accept this. He brought Chapman into court and asked him directly. Chapman was still adamant that this was what he wanted. The judge ordered what would be Chapman's second competency hearing. The first had determined that he was competent to stand trial. The second was after he had written the letter. The judge wanted to know if he was competent to be making this decision. A psychologist testified and told the judge that he did believe Chapman was competent but he also thought that with some mental heath treatment he would possibly change his mind. So, the judge ordered him to be treated for thirty days and re-evaluated. Once again he was evaluated and it seems despite being given an anti-depressant, Chapman was still as confident this was what he wanted as he had been prior.

The judge decided that he would grant Chapman's request, within reason. He allowed him to fire his public defenders but ordered them to basically “be on call” in case Chapman would need them. One of the attorney's objected to this “saying he wanted no part in Chapman's suicide” but the judge stood firm. The lawyer would later say that Chapman wanted to commit suicide and he was getting the Commonwealth of Kentucky to do it for him. Chapman would later be quoted as saying, “I guess it's kind of my Christian upbringing. Suicide is unforgivable. I figure if I'm not doing it myself it's not suicide.”

Chapman consistently asked that all appeals be stopped but that still did not mean his execution was a foregone conclusion or would be swift. While my research stated that the only attempt to stop his execution came from a group that challenged the state regulations on lethal injection, which the Supreme Court denied, I did find an appeal that was filed in 2007. While it was titled Chapman v. Commonwealth of Kentucky, it appears that it was not Chapman himself who filed the appeal. Again, it was said that he consistently asked that appeals be stopped. I do want to talk about this 2007 appeal however.

First, this is where I learned the information about the three competency hearings that were asked for in this case. The courts stated, “The case before us is to review Chapman's conviction and sentence in which we are asked to resolve several questions considering the death penalty in Kentucky.” It went on to say “The ultimate question is whether a defendant may enter into a plea agreement and volunteer for the death penalty.” The court ultimately ruled yes. In the end, while yes he received the death penalty for the two murders, he was still sentenced on the other charges. Because he was found to be a “persistent felony offender” the burglary and robbery sentences were enhanced to life terms. He had also received a life term for the rape of Carolyn. As far as the other charges I am uncertain what his actual sentence was.

Chapman would be quoted as saying “It's long and drawn out. I don't see why it should take so long. If a man is sane and competent, he ought to be able to get his wishes, especially when you plea bargain for it.” I cannot say that I disagree with him. Chapman was executed by the Commonwealth of Kentucky on November 21, 2008 at the age of thirty-eight at Eddyville Kentucky where the Kentucky State Penitentiary is located. A statement was read before his execution, written by him, he made a short statement and then after his execution another statement was released. It appeared that he was remorseful for his actions, which ultimately is a good thing but in the end does nothing for the family of his victims.

As of June of 2022 he was the last person executed by the state and only the third person since the death penalty was reestablished in 1976. As of January of 2022 it was said that there were twenty-six people on Kentucky death row and at least twenty-one of them were sentenced before 2000. It was also said that as of May of 2022 California had the most people on death row at 689 and yet has not executed a prisoner since 2006.

There is a part of me that completely understands the fact that the judge ordered two competency hearings after Chapman asked to be put to death. He wanted to be certain that Chapman understood what he was asking for and that he was of sound mind to make that decision. But, I agree with Chapman. It should have ended there. I do not believe that others had the right to come in and ask that that decision be changed. In the end he spent six years on death row, four years were after he had asked for the death penalty. While that pales in comparison to those who have spent more than twenty years on death row, it still seems unnecessary.