E1950
05-01-2004, 05:03 AM
A Walker County Superior Court judge on Thursday sentenced convicted murderer Donnie Allen “D.J.” Hulett to death.
In Georgia, death row inmates die by lethal injection.
“The court fixes the sentence of death on both (murder) counts 1 and 2,” Judge Jon “Bo” Wood read from his ruling.
Wood set Hulett’s execution between June 1 and June 8, although it will not likely occur at that time.
“There will be many appeals, I’m sure,” Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney Herbert “Buzz” Franklin said.
“I’ve speculated that our grandchildren will be going to appeals,” said Sue Phelps, widow of murder victim Arvine Phelps.
Hulett was convicted last week for the shooting and bludgeoning death of Arvine, 69, and his brother, Larry Phelps, 62, while they were clearing brush at the Mountain Top Boys Home in Villanow on July 22, 2002.
Larry Hill, a LaFayette attorney representing Hulett, tearfully read a statement prepared by his client before Wood made his ruli ng.
“If I only had one wish, it would be for my life to be better than it was,” he said. “Soon it will be time to end the life.
“My mother don’t want me. My dad don’t want me,” he said. “The only people that have ever cared for me are either dead or can’t help me.”
Both families laid blame for the deaths and death penalty on “the system.”
“It’s (Hulett’s behavior) been predictable since probably the third grade,” Sue Phelps said. “The system didn’t do its job.”
“If they had put a hold on him, he would still be in jail, the Phelps brothers would be alive, and he wouldn’t be on death row,” Jerry Langston said. It’s not that we want him in jail, but we sure didn’t want this.”
Langston is Lynn Harrell’s fiance, wh o is Hulett’s mother.
Relatives of the convicted murderer took the stand on Thursday during the second day of a sentencing hearing.
Hulett Jr. fought back his tears as he listened to his mother and father dig through their past filled with drugs, booze and constant moving around south Georgia.
Lynn Harrell, Hulett’s mother, testified she smoked marijuana and cigarettes during her preg-nancy with her son. He would be her second child after having a daughter in a previous marriage.
“When he was little, D.J. would get mad if you didn’t turn the joint around and let him lick the paper,” Hulett’s mom said.
“It (drugs) was a way of life in our neighborhood,” Donnie Hulett Sr. said, adding he met Harrell at a “little beer store.”
Both parents testified they fought and struggled in front of Hulett while he was growing up.
The couple began raising their son with his parents, Hugh and Betty. Harrell was not fond of her baby’s grandparents.
“He (Hugh Hulett) was supposed to be a preacher, but he sat around drinking every day,” Harrell said.
“My dad was an educated man, but he was an alcoholic,” Donnie Hulett Sr. said. “He was an ordained minister who let alcohol take over his life.”
Hulett Sr. said his father would sometimes “go on a bender” when he would drink until he ran out of money or places to find liquor. There were several times he had to be admitted to the hospi-tal to “dry out.”
Despite their flaws, Donnie Hulett Jr. and his grandparents loved each other, Hulett Sr. said. They died a year apart from each other while he was about 12 years old. That is when he started getting into trouble.
Hulett Sr. said he was concerned about his son’s cruelty to animals, arson, “huffing” gas, be-ing a bully to smaller children and getting marijuana from his friends. Hulett Sr. attributed the problems to Hulett Jr.’s way of dealing with his grandparents’ deaths.
“He started getting into trouble,” Hulett Sr. said. “I wasn’t real concerned at first. I figured he would straighten out.”
School officials began reporting that Hulett Jr. was skipping school at 12 years old, and once he ran away to live in a relative’s cabin for several days. That landed him in a youth detention center.
“He seemed not to care any more,” Hulett Sr. said. “We’ve carried him to a psychiatrist sev-eral times.”
When Hulett Jr. was 14, he swallowed his father’s blood pressure medicine after fighting with his current wife, Barbara “Cookie” Hulett.
Barbara Hulett described Hulett Jr.’s relationship with his mother as a “love-hate relation-ship,” adding he wanted to see his mother but she was not there for him.
“It seemed to be a normal relationship,” Harrell’s fiance Jerry Langston said. “
When Donnie Hulett Jr. was about 18 months old, Harrell left him with a friend to leave town with a traveling carnival. Donnie Hulett Sr. took that opportunity to reclaim his son, and said his mother did not see him again until he was 12 years old.
Hulett Sr. said when he brought his 18-month-old son home, he only wanted to eat cold food out of cans, and was able to open the cans be himself.
In Georgia, death row inmates die by lethal injection.
“The court fixes the sentence of death on both (murder) counts 1 and 2,” Judge Jon “Bo” Wood read from his ruling.
Wood set Hulett’s execution between June 1 and June 8, although it will not likely occur at that time.
“There will be many appeals, I’m sure,” Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney Herbert “Buzz” Franklin said.
“I’ve speculated that our grandchildren will be going to appeals,” said Sue Phelps, widow of murder victim Arvine Phelps.
Hulett was convicted last week for the shooting and bludgeoning death of Arvine, 69, and his brother, Larry Phelps, 62, while they were clearing brush at the Mountain Top Boys Home in Villanow on July 22, 2002.
Larry Hill, a LaFayette attorney representing Hulett, tearfully read a statement prepared by his client before Wood made his ruli ng.
“If I only had one wish, it would be for my life to be better than it was,” he said. “Soon it will be time to end the life.
“My mother don’t want me. My dad don’t want me,” he said. “The only people that have ever cared for me are either dead or can’t help me.”
Both families laid blame for the deaths and death penalty on “the system.”
“It’s (Hulett’s behavior) been predictable since probably the third grade,” Sue Phelps said. “The system didn’t do its job.”
“If they had put a hold on him, he would still be in jail, the Phelps brothers would be alive, and he wouldn’t be on death row,” Jerry Langston said. It’s not that we want him in jail, but we sure didn’t want this.”
Langston is Lynn Harrell’s fiance, wh o is Hulett’s mother.
Relatives of the convicted murderer took the stand on Thursday during the second day of a sentencing hearing.
Hulett Jr. fought back his tears as he listened to his mother and father dig through their past filled with drugs, booze and constant moving around south Georgia.
Lynn Harrell, Hulett’s mother, testified she smoked marijuana and cigarettes during her preg-nancy with her son. He would be her second child after having a daughter in a previous marriage.
“When he was little, D.J. would get mad if you didn’t turn the joint around and let him lick the paper,” Hulett’s mom said.
“It (drugs) was a way of life in our neighborhood,” Donnie Hulett Sr. said, adding he met Harrell at a “little beer store.”
Both parents testified they fought and struggled in front of Hulett while he was growing up.
The couple began raising their son with his parents, Hugh and Betty. Harrell was not fond of her baby’s grandparents.
“He (Hugh Hulett) was supposed to be a preacher, but he sat around drinking every day,” Harrell said.
“My dad was an educated man, but he was an alcoholic,” Donnie Hulett Sr. said. “He was an ordained minister who let alcohol take over his life.”
Hulett Sr. said his father would sometimes “go on a bender” when he would drink until he ran out of money or places to find liquor. There were several times he had to be admitted to the hospi-tal to “dry out.”
Despite their flaws, Donnie Hulett Jr. and his grandparents loved each other, Hulett Sr. said. They died a year apart from each other while he was about 12 years old. That is when he started getting into trouble.
Hulett Sr. said he was concerned about his son’s cruelty to animals, arson, “huffing” gas, be-ing a bully to smaller children and getting marijuana from his friends. Hulett Sr. attributed the problems to Hulett Jr.’s way of dealing with his grandparents’ deaths.
“He started getting into trouble,” Hulett Sr. said. “I wasn’t real concerned at first. I figured he would straighten out.”
School officials began reporting that Hulett Jr. was skipping school at 12 years old, and once he ran away to live in a relative’s cabin for several days. That landed him in a youth detention center.
“He seemed not to care any more,” Hulett Sr. said. “We’ve carried him to a psychiatrist sev-eral times.”
When Hulett Jr. was 14, he swallowed his father’s blood pressure medicine after fighting with his current wife, Barbara “Cookie” Hulett.
Barbara Hulett described Hulett Jr.’s relationship with his mother as a “love-hate relation-ship,” adding he wanted to see his mother but she was not there for him.
“It seemed to be a normal relationship,” Harrell’s fiance Jerry Langston said. “
When Donnie Hulett Jr. was about 18 months old, Harrell left him with a friend to leave town with a traveling carnival. Donnie Hulett Sr. took that opportunity to reclaim his son, and said his mother did not see him again until he was 12 years old.
Hulett Sr. said when he brought his 18-month-old son home, he only wanted to eat cold food out of cans, and was able to open the cans be himself.