Carl Eugene Kelly was convicted and sentenced to death at only 22 years of age after he and accomplice, Thomas Graves, robbed a 7-Eleven in Waco, Texas, and killed two young men on September 2, 1980. After stealing $30 for drugs, Kelly and Graves abducted the store clerk, Steven Pryor, stole his car and drove him out to Cameron Park. They shot him several times then threw his body off a 60-foot cliff. David Riley, a transient who was asleep in Pryor's car, was also killed.
After his conviction, Kelly spent the next 12 years waiting his execution. The efforts of his lawyers were successful at delaying it through the appeals process. Appeals were made that Kelly hadn't intended on participating in the killings with Graves, that evidence used in the trial were seized illegally, and that he was on drugs at the time of the crime that affected his judgement. Kelly was executed by lethal injection on August 22, 1993 at 12:22 a.m. Charles L. Brown, the former assistant director for public information, witnessed the execution. "My job was to witness many executions, it was not because I was so pro capital punishment," Brown said. "I didn't really pay that much attention to them."
Most of your favorite celebrities either studied acting in college or went straight from high school into a life of the arts. But, hey, not all of them. Some celebrities actually have advanced college degrees.
Turns out Mayim Bialik is just as much of a genius as the one she plays on The Big Bang Theory. She earned her Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of California, Los Angeles, focusing on obsessive compulsive disorder among people with Prader-Willi syndrome, a rare condition in which the hypothalamus malfunctions.
Little known fact: Natalie Portman skipped the premiere of Star Wars: Phantom Menace because she was studying for her high school exams. She had two papers published in scientific journals while she was still in high school, and graduated from Harvard University with a B.A. in Psychology.
Before he was looking for answers on X-Files, David Duchovny was just trying to find the answers for English finals at Princeton University90. David graduated from Princeton in 1982 with a B.A in English. He continued to feed his love of literature by receiving a master’s degree in English Literature at Yale University. David was an excellent writer and poet. His work consistently received praise by his fellow classmates and teachers at Yale. His writing was even nominated for a college prize by the Academy of American Poets.
Sigourney Weaver graduated from Stanford University in 1971 with a bachelor’s in Literature. It was while studying at Stanford that Sigourney realized her true passion in life was to become an actress. Shortly after graduation, she attended Yale for their well-known drama program. She would go on to receive a master’s in Acting from Yale University and become friends with fellow famous actress Meryl Streep.
Meryl Streep is considered one of the most successful actresses of all time. She is also one of the most highly educated. Before collecting an array of Oscars, Meryl collected diplomas. She graduated from Vassar College with a B.A. in 1971. Meryl has a habit of being unsatisfied with impressive accomplishments as her acting career has shown, so she attended Yale University and earned a master’s degree in Acting.