True Crime Chronicles: Out-the-door pardon by Biden nullified death penalty for Wister man who killed Texas couple
- Dennis McCaslin
- Oct 12
- 2 min read
In southeastern Oklahoma, the Ouachita National Forest spans 1.8 million acres of pine and oak, attracting campers and hikers to its Winding Stair Mountains. On July 10, 2003, a violent crime disrupted the peace of this remote area, ending the lives of Charles and Shirley Chick, a Texas couple camping near Honobia.
Charles Glenn Chick, 47, and Shirley Elliott Chick, 50, lived in Hurst, Texas. Charles worked as an engineer at Lockheed Martin, and Shirley was a freelance computer programmer. Both enjoyed camping and often visited remote sites.
On July 10, they set up camp at Winding Stair Campground in LeFlore County, near Poteau. They grilled dinner, hiked, and watched the sunset.
Edward Leon Fields Jr., 36, a Wister resident and former prison guard, targeted the couple.
Fields, employed at Kenco Plastics in Poteau after working at Ouachita Correctional Center from 1995 to 1999, lived with his girlfriend and young daughter.
On July 10, he prepared a homemade camouflage suit, took a .22-caliber rifle, and drove to the campground. He hid 50 to 70 feet from the Chicks’ campsite and waited.
As the Chicks returned from a hike and sat at their picnic table, Fields shot Charles in the face, killing him instantly. Shirley ran toward their van, but Fields shot her in the foot, then fired two rounds into her head as she reached the passenger door
. She died inside the vehicle.
Fields later returned, broke the van’s window, and stole $340, a credit card, and small items.
On July 11, campers found the bodies, and the FBI and Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) responded. A tip led to Fields’ truck, where authorities found the murder weapon, camouflage suit, and stolen items.
Fields confessed during interrogation
.Arrested on July 18, 2003, Fields faced federal charges because the crime occurred on national forest land. He was indicted for two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of using a firearm in a violent crime causing death, robbery with a firearm, and auto burglary.
On June 30, 2005, he pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Muskogee, the first federal death penalty case there since 1993. During the July 2005 sentencing, defense attorney Julia L. O’Connell argued Fields had bipolar disorder and childhood trauma.
Prosecutors emphasized his planning, noting the camouflage suit and post-murder spending of $3,500 on the stolen card, including a $500 ring for his girlfriend.
Shirley’s sister, Carol Curry, gave a victim impact statement, describing the couple’s loss.
The jury chose the death penalty on July 22, citing the multiple killings and premeditation
.Fields appealed, claiming ineffective counsel for not fully presenting evidence of brain damage. A 2019 court ordered a hearing, but relief was denied in 2016, upheld later.
On December 23, 2024, President Joe Biden commuted Fields’ death sentence to life without parole as part of a clemency action for 37 federal death row inmates.
The decision, tied to a moratorium on federal executions, drew criticism from victims’ families. In September 2025, Fields was transferred to ADX Florence in Colorado.
