Jimmy's Justice

"I've seen them visit, and the sparks flew," Jimmy says. "She had sparkles in her eyes. She looked so happy. My brothers and sisters don't understand. They don't know like I do. I could see she's getting a little like she's young again."

Jimmy isn't eligible for parole until he serves 35 years. He will be 69 then. Even then, he doesn't think they'll grant it, not for a double murder. He says he's sorry he ever touched drugs. He's sorry those men died; he did not mean to kill them. But he's not sorry he carried a gun, or he'd be dead. "What would a Houston police officer do in this situation?" he wrote. "The answer is -- he would have done the same as I did."

Visiting hour: Cobie (left) and Marsha have not seen their father in two years.

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Meanwhile, family members have written to numerous state and federal officials. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles wrote back outlining that Jimmy needed recommendations from HPD, the judge and the D.A. in order to be considered for clemency.

So Buddy Sr. made an appointment with Sergeant King, who didn't remember the case at first. "When you arrested my boy, he messed his pants," Buddy reminded him. He showed him Judge Krocker's recommendation for a new trial, and King said he would help. After talking to the D.A.'s office, he changed his mind. King declined to speak to the Houston Press.

"We have rules in life," says District Attorney Johnny Holmes. "You're supposed to comply with them. If I forget to file for office before the first Monday in January -- even though I might consider myself the best prosecutor in the nation -- I'm screwed. The rules are established for some logical reason, I suppose. And I don't take issue with those rules."

Cornelius says she does take issues with the rules, if they get in the way of innocence claims, but Jimmy isn't innocent. She calls the case an indefensible crime and tragic story.

"He had kids, family and a house….He's the perfect example of someone who had a solid life and what six months of crack can do to it."

Jimmy has maintained all along that he shot in self-defense. An independent witness stepped forward to confirm key portions of his story. A judge heard the new evidence and found it compelling enough to recommend a new trial. But under the law, that's not enough. Still, he believes he'll get out one day. His mother does too.

Until then, Rachel says, "I would trade places with him in a minute so he could come out and have a life."