Black Life-Long Criminal Sent to Death Row for Smothering Elderly White Man to Death

DFW.CBS Local
November 2, 2015

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Tilon Carter bound the White man’s hands and feet and then beat him to death. He suffocated due to the position his body had been beaten into.

A Fort Worth man sent to death row for smothering an 89-year-old man and robbing him of about $6,000 has lost a federal court appeal.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals late Wednesday rejected arguments that 35-year-old Tilon Carter had deficient legal help at his trial more than 11 years ago in Fort Worth. Judges also disagreed that faulty instructions were given to his jurors.

Carter was condemned for the 2004 slaying of James Tomlin. Evidence showed Tomlin, a retired Bell Helicopter worker, kept cash in containers scattered around his home.

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