714 S.W.2d 527 (Mo. banc 1986)

James W. Chambers was executed November 15, 2000.

• AUDIO: Interview with Darlene Chambers. Brent Martin talks with Darlene Chambers about the night her husband was executed. 4/22/02. 2 min.
• AUDIO Interview with James Chambers from his cell in Potosi. 11/14/00 8 min. 
• AUDIO News conference by Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty. James Chambers’ wife, Darlene, talks to reporters. 11/13/00. 11 min.
• AUDIO Interview with James Chambers following stay of execution by the US Supreme Court. 11/10/99 
  

Case Facts: On May 29, 1982 Jerry Lee Oestricker was in the Country Club Lounge in Arnold, Missouri, While playing pool he bumped into the chair of another patron, Jackie Turner. There was a verbal exchange between Oestricker and members of the Turner party that resulted in the owner of the bar asking the Oestricker and the Turner parties to leave. The Turner party left, but Oestdcker remained at the bar.

About three hours later at 10:00 p.m. James Chambers made his first appearance at the Country Club Lounge. Upon entering he asked an employee where the Turner party was and she told him that they had left. Chambers then left the bar.

About 30 minutes later Chambers returned to the bar with Jackie Turner. Once inside the bar Chambers approached Oestricker and asked him to buy him a drink. Oestricker strongly declined the offer calling Chambers by his nickname “Bimbo,’ No physical blows were exchanged, but the confrontation was described by one witness as loud. Following this exchange in which Oestricker told Chambers that he was no friend of his, the owner of the bar asked the two men to leave. Witnesses testified that both men challenged each other before they left the bar.

Chambers left the bar first and as Oestricker was going through the front door, according to one witness, Chambers struck Oestricker with a pistol knocking him to the ground. As Oestricker got up with his hands raised in the air Chambers pointed the pistol at the victim and fired a single shot into Oestricker’s chest. After shooting Oestricker, who was laying prostrate on the ground, Chambers proceeded to pistol whip the victim about the face. He dragged him across the parking lot stating, “take that you..tough guy,” and “get up…and fight like a man.” Chambers reportedly told the victim that he “better get up and call the hospital because you are going to die.” Jerry Oestricker was transported to a local hospital where he died the next morning at 4:05 a.m.

Chambers then fled the scene in a waiting automobile. He was later apprehended that evening by Arnold Police in a liquor store in St. Louis County.

---

“My last statement if it goes that far:

I
want to give all my thanks to my wife I want to thank God for the wife
that he gave me. I couldn’t have ever been as lucky as I have to have
such a loyal dedicated wife who stuck by my side through hell and
through the 18 years of fighting this case. She has traveled a long,
hard, agonizing journey. I can never express how much my wife means to
me and how much I love her.

I want to thank my lawyers, Ken
Gipson, for the hard battle they put up for me all these years. I want
to give special thanks to Daniel Mohs, a brilliant lawyer. I wish he
could have been part of our team from the beginning. I’d highly
recommend him.

Eddie and Kevin Chambers, my sons, both made me
proud of them that they did not follow in my tracks and I love both of
them with all my heart. I appreciate the support that I have received
from both sides of my family. Special thanks to my brother Louis
Randall Chambers for believing in me and his wife Shirley and their son
Dustin for their support and belief in me. We cannot leave out my
wife’s mother for all of her prayers and support.

I want to
thank my mom and my Aunt Stella for their support. I want to thank the
Coalition that fought for me. Tom Block, Jeff Stack, and the Catholic
Organization for their dedication and for trying to save my life and
get me a fair trial. I understand the feelings of the Oestricker family
and I ask their forgiveness. I regret what happened and I want them to
know that I understand them wanting revenge, that’s natural. I want to
stress to them that I did not go down there that night to harm Jerry. I
deeply regret how it turned out.”

(signed Jim Chambers) 4:00 p.m., November 14, 2000

---

James Chambers was born in St. Louis, Missouri on April 15, 1952.

Legal Chronology

On July 14, 1971 Chambers was arrested in Jefferson County, Missouri for Burglary Second Degree. He was later sentenced to three years in the Missouri Department of Corrections.

On August 12, 1971 Chambers was arrested in Jefferson County, Missouri for two counts of Intent to Defraud. He was sentenced to 30 days in the county jail on one charge and granted a one year probation on the second charge.

On January 1, 1974 Chambers was arrested in Jefferson County, Missouri for Assault with Intent to Kill with Malice. He was sentenced to 15 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections.

On May 29, 1982 Chambers was arrested in Jefferson County, Missouri on the present charge of Capital Murder.

1982
5/22 – James Chambers shoots and kills Jerry Oestricker at the Country Club Lounge in Arnold, Missouri
7/7 – Chambers charged in the Jefferson County Circuit Court with capital murder
11/20 – A Jefferson County jury found Chambers guilty of capital murder and recommended a sentence of death.
12/23 – Circuit Court sentences Chambers to death.

1984
6/19 – The Missouri Supreme Court overturned Chambers’ conviction and sentence because the trial court did not give a self-defense instruction.

1985
5/9 – A second trial was held in Jefferson County. The jury found Chambers guilty of capital murder and recommended a sentence of death.
6/5 – Circuit Court sentences Chambers to death

1986
7/15 -The Missouri Supreme Court affirmed Chambers’ conviction and sentence.

1987
12/22 – The Missouri Court of Appeals of the Eastern District of Missouri affirmed the denial of Chambers’ motion for post-conviction relief.

1988
7/19 – The United States District Court for the East District of Missouri denied Chambers federal habeas corpus challenger to his conviction and sentence

1989
9/15 – A panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed the judgment of the district court and granted habeas corpus relief on a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel.
11/8 – The Eighth Circuit granted a rehearing en banc.

1990
7/5 – The en banc court granted habeas corpus relief on a claim of ineffective assistance of trial counsel for not interviewing and calling a witness.

1991
10/28 – A third capital murder trial is conducted on a change of venue to Cole County, Missouri.
10/31 – The Cole County jury found Chambers guilty of capital murder and recommended a sentence of death.

1992
1/7 – The circuit court sentenced Chambers to death.
9/14 – Chambers filed a Missouri Supreme Court motion for post-conviction relief.

1993
3/31- The circuit court held a hearing on Chambers’ motion for post conviction relief.
10/14 – The circuit court denied Chambers’ motion for post-conviction relief.

1994
12/20 – The Missouri Supreme Court affirmed Chambers’ conviction and sentence and the denial of post-conviction relief.

1995
4/21 – Chambers filed a federal habeas corpus petition in the US District Court of Appeals for the Eastern District of Missouri. The case was transferred to the Western District.

1997
3/12 – The district court denied Chambers’ federal habeas corpus petition.

1998
9/23 – The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial for habeas corpus relief.

1999
6/21 – The US Supreme Court declined discretionary review of Chambers’ federal habeas corpus case.
7/7 – The Missouri Attorney-General filed a motion to set an execution date with the Missouri State Supreme Court.
8/30 – The Missouri Supreme Court issued a warrant of execution scheduling Chambers’ execution for September 29, 1999.
9/15 – the Missouri Supreme Court issued a stay of execution. The Court scheduled a new execution date of November 10, 1999.
11/4 – The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay.
11/9 – The US Supreme Court denied a motion to vacate the stay for execution issued by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.

2000
10/5 – The Missouri Supreme Court issued a warrant of execution scheduling Chambers’ execution for November 15, 2000.

“My last statement if it goes that far: I want to give all my thanks to my wife I want to thank God for the wife that he gave me. I couldn’t have ever been as lucky as I have to have such a loyal dedicated wife who stuck by my side through hell and through the 18 years of fighting this case. She has traveled a long, hard, agonizing journey. I can never express how much my wife means to me and how much I love her. I want to thank my lawyers, Ken Gipson, for the hard battle they put up for me all these years. I want to give special thanks to Daniel Mohs, a brilliant lawyer. I wish he could have been part of our team from the beginning. I’d highly recommend him. Eddie and Kevin Chambers, my sons, both made me proud of them that they did not follow in my tracks and I love both of them with all my heart. I appreciate the support that I have received from both sides of my family. Special thanks to my brother Louis Randall Chambers for believing in me and his wife Shirley and their son Dustin for their support and belief in me. We cannot leave out my wife’s mother for all of her prayers and support. I want to thank my mom and my Aunt Stella for their support. I want to thank the Coalition that fought for me. Tom Block, Jeff Stack, and the Catholic Organization for their dedication and for trying to save my life and get me a fair trial. I understand the feelings of the Oestricker family and I ask their forgiveness. I regret what happened and I want them to know that I understand them wanting revenge, that’s natural. I want to stress to them that I did not go down there that night to harm Jerry. I deeply regret how it turned out.” (signed Jim Chambers) 4:00 p.m., November 14, 2000