He humiliated them by forcing them to dress in girls' clothing. And he started them drinking beer and smoking at an early age, documents in the file said. Fretwell fared little better in his early adulthood. He quit school in the ninth grade and read at a seventh-grade level. Oil field rigger quit.
Milk cows quit.
In 1984, Fretwell was sentenced to five years on probation in Fort Worth on a burglary charge. He also abused drugs and alcohol at the time, he told authorities. No matter how grisly the murder, such personal histories sometimes dissuade juries from imposing the death penalty. But Fretwell's lawyer offered little testimony on the killer's childhood during the penalty phase of his trial, Sallings said. Fretwell's application for clemency notes that his accomplices received much more lenient sentences and have already been released from prison.