Fears, 20, was facing life in prison for the 2002 shooting deaths of Patsy Sue Wells of Sallisaw and Reba Spangler of Fort Smith, Ark., in a shooting spree that began in Sallisaw. He was also accused of wounding eight others in the Oct. 26, 2002 tragedy.
The seven-woman, five-man jury had the option of finding Fears not guilty by reason of insanity, which was the basis of Fears' defense. Jury selection began Sept. 14 and a jury was seated and heard opening arguments Sept. 15. Over the course of the trial over 40 witnesses testified for the prosecution.
The jury heard closing arguments Thursday morning and went into deliberations at 12:42 p.m. The jury filed back in the courtroom to render their verdict at 3:03 p.m.
Before a hushed crowd, District Judge John Garrett told the court that it was a highly emotional situation and case.
"The court will not tolerate any outbursts whatsoever," Garrett said.
The jury found Fears guilty on two counts of first-degree murder for the shooting deaths of Wells and Spangler. The jury recommended life without the possibility of parole as punishment for the first-degree murder counts.
As the judge began to read the third count, Fears' father, O.T. Fears of Sallisaw, ran out of the courtroom, holding back tears. When he got outside the doors of the courtroom, he could be heard screaming, "No! No!"
The families of Patsy Sue Wells, Reba Spangler and other shooting victims lowered their heads and cried as the remainder of the verdicts were read.
The jury found Fears guilty on eight counts of shooting with intent to kill, and recommended the maximum punishment allowed by law, which is up to life in prison.
The jury found Fears guilty of five counts of drive-by shooting, and recommended the maximum amount for each count, which is 20 years. An 18th count of drive-by shooting was demurred, or challenged, during trial because the prosecution did not present enough evidence, Sequoyah County District Attorney Richard Gray said.
"He (Fears) didn't shoot at him (Michael Dan Girty)," Gray said as the reason for the demurred count after the trial.
The jury found Fears guilty of one count of feloniously pointing a firearm and one count of discharging a firearm with intent to kill. The jury recommended the maximum punishment for both counts, which was 10 years in prison and life in prison, respectively.
Fears' attorney, Rob Nigh, sympathetically looked back at Fears' mother, Oralia Fears, after the verdicts were read. Oralia Fears kept her composure throughout the reading of the verdict.
The defendant rested his chin on his left palm as the verdicts were read, and showed no emotion.
Judge Garrett polled the jury to confirm their votes. All 12 jurors said it was their vote to all 17 counts.
Judge Garrett ordered a pre-sentencing investigation prior to formal sentencing, which is set for 9 a.m. Dec. 9.
"I don't know how you could ask for anything more," Elvie Wells, the widower of Patsy Sue Wells, said after the hearing.
Wells said he feels sorry for Fears' family, "but at the same time, he (Fears) did what he did and he has to pay for it."
Wells, becoming emotional as he spoke, said he was glad the verdict was faster than the time it took to get the case to trial. Wells said it was one month and three days shy of two years since the shooting took place.
"The young assistant DAs did the best job they could do," Wells said.
Wells cited 10 to 12 instances where Fears protected himself, which Wells said showed he did know what was going on during the shooting spree. The prosecution argued that Fears showed acts of self-preservation throughout the shooting spree, including at the end of the police pursuit when he threw his gun and ammunition out of the truck.
Wells said he believes as Jeff Sheridan, assistant district attorney, said in closing arguments that it was "vanity" that caused Fears to go on the shooting spree, not insanity.
"There were years when people weren't listening to him (Fears)," Wells said. He said the shooting spree was a time for Fears to let people know who he was. Wells said he didn't believe Fears intended to start shooting in his neighborhood, and he said he has always thought that Fears was on his way to Wal-Mart.
"He got sidetracked in our yard, and simply started there," Wells said. "I wish I could tell you I was only feeling happiness, but I'm sad for these people (Fears' family)."
Wells said he is happy for his family to get the trial over with, but it does not bring closure.
"At least the trial is not hanging over our heads," Wells said. "He got justice."
"I think the jury spoke and they said they didn't believe the defense's defense," Gray said. "His actions proved he knew right from wrong."
Gray said Fears was mentally ill, but he was not insane at the time of the shootings.
"We certainly got justice in this case," Gray said. "I feel like the jury heard all the evidence and the evidence did not fit the defense."
"The evidence fit our case, the prosecution's case, to a T," Gray said.
Gray said he thinks if he would have sought the death penalty, there may have been a different outcome. He said it would have been difficult for a jury to execute Fears since he was only 18 at the time of the shooting and with the possibility of a mental illness.
"The evidence was overwhelming that the defendant intended to commit murder and kill as many innocent victims as he could."
Gray said the defense tried "to paint a picture that Mr. Fears did not know right from wrong because he was insane. The jury saw through that defense and realized Mr. Fears knew right from wrong and knew the consequences of his actions."
Doug Kirkley, assistant district attorney, said he felt good about the verdict.
"We put evidence in front of Sequoyah County and let them speak," Kirkley said.
Nigh, who looked emotionally defeated as he walked back up the stairs of the courthouse after the verdict was read, said he didn't know what to say about the verdict.
"We will appeal," Nigh said.
Nigh would not reveal the grounds on which the appeal will be based.
Kirkley told the jury during closing arguments that the catalyst to the shooting spree was an argument Fears had with a neighbor's son, Greg Caughman. Caughman testified during the trial that Fears almost ran over the Wells' granddaughter, who was riding her bicycle in the street of the quiet neighborhood. The incident caused a verbal exchange between the two men.
"It (the argument) started this thought process," Kirkley said. "He was going to his father's house to kill himself, then he changed his mind. The defendant came out of his father's home, lifted up the shotgun and shot."
After shooting three people in his father's neighborhood, Fears drove to a car dealership in Sallisaw, parking in a way to conceal his vehicle from U.S. Highway 64, Kirkley said. He argued that Fears positioned himself to shoot at and he intended to kill Jimmy Nunn, car salesman, and Spangler, who was shopping for a vehicle for her son.
Kirkley argued that Fears was sane enough to choose a close-proximity firearm, sane enough to conceal his license plate of his truck by lowering his tailgate, and sane enough to check for traffic before pulling out onto the highway from the dealership.
"He knew was he was doing," Kirkley said. "He knew right from wrong. That's rational thinking."
Kirkley argued that schizophrenia is not insanity. He said the defense psychologists were getting "big bucks," amounting to over $30,000, for their expert testimony, and asked the jury to judge their credibility.
"If they don't produce, they won't get hired," Kirkley said.
Nigh defended the cost that was paid for experts during his closing arguments.
"I hired the best experts I could find," Nigh said. "You pay for the best and I don't apologize for that."
Nigh said it didn't mean that the experts were not credible.
Kirkley said the evidence shows Fears thought he was superior, and labeled himself a "gentleman monster" in a school essay.
During the defense's closing arguments, Nigh compared Fears' mental state to driving on a sheet of ice.
"He was sliding on ice since he was five years old," Nigh said. "He did a fabulous job until Oct. 26., 2002, when his car went careening out of control."
In his analogy, Nigh argued that Fears tried to maintain a productive life by working and going to school, and he managed to keep his car on the road.
He said the evidence was overwhelming that Fears knew he was different since he was five years old.
Nigh said Fears was left out as a child because he didn't think the way he knew he was supposed to think.
"He carried that burden his entire life," Nigh said.
Nigh said Fears was isolated and his thoughts and mind were different.
"Daniel Fears suffered from the mental equivalent of cancer," Nigh argued.
Nigh said Fears' mental illness caused him to have delusions that he believed to be true.
"Daniel believed aliens were selecting him for their experiment," Nigh said. "The state's expert tells you that. But we don't need experts to tell us Daniel Fears was crazy on Oct. 26, 2002."
Nigh said Fears path was not connected to reality when he threw a posthole digger through his father's window, got a 20-gauge shotgun, and started "indiscriminantly" shooting and killing people.
"It was not rational," Nigh said. "It was crazy."
Nigh said Fears suffered from such a disease that he was incapable of distinguishing right from wrong.
Nigh said Fears had violent fantasies, and had thoughts in his mind that he didn't want, all symptoms of his disease.
Jeff Sheridan, assistant district attorney, argued during his rebuttal closing argument that the paid experts testified that after Fears did all the killing, he snapped out of it and realized what he had done was wrong.
"That's just a little bit convenient folks," Sheridan said.
Sheridan said Fears was suicidal and schizophrenic, but that didn't mean he was insane.
The defense claimed that Fears believed he was in an alien game show where he was supposed to kill as many people as he could. Sheridan pointed out the way Fears killed did not correspond with that logic.
"Good people died for no reason. He killed them," Sheridan said. "Whatever happened to people taking responsibility for their actions?"
Sheridan said Fears was twisting the truth to avoid punishment, and his main concern is self-preservation.
"He is not insane," Sheridan said. "He's cunning and he's sly."
He said even one of the defense experts believes Fears is a genius.
"He (Fears) thinks he can get away with murder," Sheridan said.
Sheridan said the reason why Fears killed people was he was burdened, angry, dissatisfied, confused with his sexuality, and suicidal. Sheridan argued that Fears told friends he was going on a shooting spree one day, and he wanted to follow up on his promise.
"This is not a case of insanity, but it's a case of one's vanity," Sheridan said.
"Let the facts dictate this case," Sheridan said. "Let's not get lost in an avalanche of psycho babble. Those experts are paid witnesses."
Sheridan said the defense focused on employees, and their expert opinions were based on the defendant's words.
"He's going to say anything he can to look crazy," Sheridan said.
Sheridan said people gave their lives to bring Fears' peace.
"He chose his path," Sheridan said. "He chose to kill those people."
Expert testimony revealed Wednesday that four mental health professionals agreed on the diagnosis of schizophrenia after evaluating Fears. The state called one of those professionals, and the three others were called by the defense.
A point of disagreement between the four professionals was whether Fears knew the difference between right and wrong at the time of the shootings.
Terese Hall, a clinical psychologist from Tulsa, evaluated Fears for the state and said she believed that Fears had delusions of aliens controlling him at the time of the shootings. However, she also believed that he had a choice about whether to follow the aliens' directives.
"I don't believe his free will was taken away from him," Hall testified.
Hall said one of the last reasons Fears gave to her about why he went on the shooting spree was that "maybe there was no reason at all, maybe I just did it."
John Call, forensic psychologist who testified for the defense, said Fears felt superior.
"Basically, Daniel Fears developed a delusion that he was a superior being, something more than you or I," Call said. He said disorganized thinking was a hallmark of schizophrenia.
"He believed that the normal laws of society did not apply to him," Call said. "He could take life without moral impunity because he believed himself superior."
Call said in his professional opinion he believed Fears felt like he was more than human and laws did not apply to him. He said Fears did not know right from wrong, which was all based on his delusional state, and which stemmed from his mental illness.
