Jonathan Wayne Nobles

On September 13, 1986, Jonathan Wayne Nobles broke into a home in Austin, Texas and stabbed to death Mitzi Nalley and Kelly Farquhar, who were both in their early twenties. Ron Ross, while attempting to intervene, was also stabbed by Nobles nineteen times but survived losing only an eye. Nobles was sentenced to death for murder and was executed after twelve years on death row. While in prison Nobles became a pin pal of Steve Earle, a popular country music singer, and author of this essay. Earle struggled with drug addiction in the past and had spent some time in prison himself. Earle is familiar with life behind bars and is well aware of the changes people can go through while locked up. In the essay “A Death in Texas” Steve Earle writes about

The crime he committed was terrible and obviously something that could only be done with someone who lacks any good intentions. His behavior during the his trial also showed the extent of his maliciousness. He half-heartedly attempted to defend himself by claiming the prosecutors were using false evidence and that, according the records of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, “Nobles concludes that he was denied the fundamentally fair and impartial trial guaranteed him by the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment”. He put very little effort into defending himself during the trial and was quickly sentenced to death. In the early years of his time in prison he was far from the ideal prisoner. Earle presents how “He once broke away from guards while returning to his cell from the exercise yard and climbed the exposed pipes and bars in the cell block, kicking down television sets suspended outside on the bottom tier.” and on another occasion he cut himself just so he could hit an officer while they were attending to him before he passed out. This kind of behavior was completely eradicated long before he was executed, procuring him the respect of the prison