Published: May 15, 2008 09:21 am            

Deputy responds to Mays sentence

Harris thanks jury for work on case

Henderson County Sheriff’s Deputy Kevin Harris, no longer bound by a gag order in the case against Randall Wayne Mays, offered thanks on Wednesday to the jury and prosecutors that delivered a death sentence in the case.

Harris was among three Henderson County Sheriff’s Department officers shot by Mays on May 17, 2007. He suffered a wound to the leg from the bullet of a .30-06 rifle. The wound broke his leg. The other two officers shot, 61-year-old Deputy Tony Ogburn and 63-year-old Investigator Paul Habelt, died as a result of their injuries.

Mays was sentenced to die Tuesday in Judge Carter Tarrance’s 392nd District Court. He was found guilty of the capital murder of Ogburn last Friday. The state opted not to try the case against Mays for Habelt’s death at this time.

“I’d like to say thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to the jury in this case,” Harris said in a statement sent via e-mail to the Review. “I could not imagine being in your shoes.”

Harris also thanked District Attorney Donna Bennett for her work on the case.

Harris described the case as “monumental” and said it is one that will “have an everlasting effect on many lives.”

“You have restored faith, to many people, where faith may have been lost or at least difficult to find,” Harris wrote. Because of the jury’s verdict, he said, the healing process for those involved can now begin.

In the letter, Harris said he has avoided talking about his own injuries because his fellow officers lost their lives. He noted that he will never fully recover from his injuries. During the trial, he testified that he no longer is able to work a patrol beat. He continues to work with the department in the jail, where he started his career, and thanked Henderson County Sheriff Ronny Brownlow, Chief Deputy Mark Jordan and Assistant Chief Deputy Tony Allison for providing a position for him after his injury.

“I’m happy that I am still able to serve in law enforcement,” Harris said.

Harris also addressed the job of law enforcement officers, saying public servants “stand on a line between the innocent citizen and the criminal element.” He said when people choose to perform criminal acts, it is up to the court system and the men and women who serve on juries to send a message.

“If the criminal element chooses to attack us, then we must depend on our citizens to say two things: First, that this isn’t right, and second, that we are going to do something about it,” Harris wrote. “A jury of Mays’ peers has stated loud and clear what the consequences are for such attacks.

“I want all of you to know that your peace officers never stopped doing their jobs for even one second as these tragic events unfolded on May 17, 2007,” he continued. “It is what we have sworn to do. If the criminals ever take a day off, then we will do the same.”

        

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