A former Texas Department of Criminal Justice correctional officer received a 25-year prison sentence from a Bowie County jury Friday afternoon for brutally attacking his former wife in 2013.
Richard Greg Turner, called Greg, was taken into custody after 102nd District Judge Bobby Lockhart read the jury’s verdict aloud in a second-floor courtroom of the Bowie County courthouse in New Boston, Texas. Despite testimony from two former wives, a former friend and a stranger who experienced and witnessed his violence, Greg Turner continued to claim he has never hit a woman during the punishment phase of his trial Friday.
Assistant District Attorneys Kelley Crisp and Lauren Richards argued that Greg Turner’s refusal to accept responsibility for his behavior is a clear sign he can’t be rehabilitated on probation.
“He is beyond rehabilitation,” Crisp said. “Rehabilitation is for someone who admits they have a problem.”
Greg Turner’s lawyer, Bruce Condit of Texarkana, argued for probation in his closing remarks and said that sentencing Greg Turner to serve time in the same prison system where he worked for about 18 years would be the same as giving him the death penalty.
Greg Turner’s former wife, Amy Turner, testified Wednesday and Thursday that her ex-husband beat her repeatedly during their 15-year marriage. On the evening of May 2, 2013, Greg Turner kicked in Amy Turner’s door, beat her and pushed her as she walked down a flight of stairs at the Krystal Plex Apartments. Greg Turner punched Amy Turner in the face as a shocked neighbor, who did not know Amy Turner, looked on in horror.
Greg Turner ordered Amy Turner to drive her car, a green Kia, to his trailer in Hooks. On the way, Amy Turner tried to get help by signaling other drivers on Interstate 30. When Greg Turner realized what she was doing, he began ramming Amy Turner’s Kia with his red Ford pickup, eventually disabling the small car.
Greg Turner forced Amy Turner into his truck and threatened her at gunpoint before finally returning her to her apartment. He was arrested later that night.
Greg Turner’s first wife, Susan Horn, testified that she endured years of physical abuse at the hands of Greg Turner as well. During the trial, Greg Turner claimed that all of the witnesses to his brutality were lying.
The jury found Greg Turner guilty Thursday evening of burglary of a habitation with the intent to commit assault and of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Greg Turner received a 25-year sentence for the burglary charge and a 5-year term for the assault. Both sentences will run at the same time.
