Texas executes Donald Newbury

Donald Newbury

Already a three-time felon with a violent history, the convicted robber Donald Newbury was serving a 99-year prison term when he joined six fellow convicts in Texas’s biggest prison break ever in 2000.

Newbury was executed Wednesday for the shooting death of a suburban Dallas police officer during a sporting-goods store robbery the escaped fugitives carried out while at large.

Newbury was pronounced dead at 6:25 p.m., almost 30 minutes after the procedure began. His last words were "I love you all" after he read a proverb as his last statement.

As the drugs began to take effect, Irving PD and other police officers revved their motorcycles.

Newbury, 52, becomes the third Texas prisoner to be put to death this year, and also the third of the notorious “Texas 7” gang to be executed for the slaying of 29-year-old Irving officer Aubrey Hawkins.

His attorneys had asked the US Supreme Court to keep him from lethal injection, arguing that previous lawyers were deficient and courts did not provide adequate money for a defense expert to illustrate how Newbury’s abusive childhood influenced his violent behavior.

The Texas attorney general’s office, in opposing the appeal, said Newbury had been given court reviews and court-authorized money and “has not pointed to any facts” that would prove he was innocent.

Newbury was spared from lethal injection three years ago by a Supreme Court reprieve.

Evidence showed the gang led by George Rivas, who was serving 17 life-in-prison terms, overpowered workers on 13 December 2000 at the Connally Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, about 60 miles south of San Antonio.

Eleven days later, on Christmas Eve, and after robberies as far away as Houston, Hawkins was shot 11 times and run over with a stolen SUV when he interrupted the gang’s holdup of a sporting goods store. The fugitives got away with $70,000, 44 firearms, ammunition and winter clothing. They also took jewelry and wallets from store employees who were closing up for the evening.

They were hunted down a month later in Colorado where one of them, Larry Harper, killed himself rather than surrender.

According to court records, 12 loaded firearms were found in the Holiday Inn room in Colorado Springs where Newbury was arrested with escapee Joseph Garcia.

Newbury contended he didn’t shoot to kill Hawkins and pointed his gun far above the officer’s head.

Prison records show Newbury had dozens of disciplinary cases since arriving on death row in 2002. Most were defined as major, such as assaulting corrections officers, possessing weapons and contraband and creating disturbances. At least one was a riot case.

“He really likes coming across as the bad outlaw,” said Toby Shook, the former Dallas County assistant district attorney who prosecuted Newbury.

In a 2003 interview with The Associated Press, Newbury said he would still escape if he could do it all over again.

“I had 99 years,” he said, referring to his original sentence. “What did I have to lose?”

Gang leader Rivas, 41, was put to death three years ago. George Rodriguez, 45, was executed in 2008 after ordering all his appeals dropped.

Three remain on death row: Garcia, 43, Patrick Murphy Jr, 53, and Randy Halprin, 37.

Newbury becomes the 3rd condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Texas and the 521st overall since the state resumed capital punishment on December 7, 1982. Newbury becomes the 3rd condemned inmate to be put to death since Greg Abbott became Governor of Texas last month.

Newbury becomes the 7th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA and the 1401st overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977.

Source: The Guardian, AP, Rick Halperin, February 4, 2015

Report an error, an omission: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com

Florida executes Billy Kearse

Florida executes man who killed Fort Pierce police officer during 1991 traffic stop Moments before receiving a lethal injection, Billy Kearse asked for forgiveness from the family of Danny Parrish, whose widow said she found peace after a "long, long 35 years.” A man convicted of fatally shooting a police officer with his own service weapon during a traffic stop was executed Tuesday evening, becoming the third person put to death by Florida this year after a record 19 executions in 2025.

Florida Cop-killer Billy Kearse set to be executed today

A man who confessed to fatally shooting Fort Pierce Police Officer Danny Parrish with his own service weapon during a 1991 traffic stop is scheduled to be executed starting at 6 p.m. March 3, barring a last-minute stay. Billy L. Kearse, 53, will be the third person put to death by the state this year, just one week after the execution of Melvin Trotter, who was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death for strangling and stabbing Virgie Langford in Palmetto in 1986. The Florida Supreme Court on Feb. 12 denied a motion for a stay of execution and a motion for an extension due to the fading health and death of the father of Kearse's attorney. Attorneys for Kearse have filed a motion with the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the execution, citing violations of the Sixth, Eighth and 14th Amendments of the United States Constitution.

Texas Plans Second Execution of the Year

Cedric Ricks is set to be killed on March 11 Cedric Ricks spoke in his own defense at his 2013 murder trial, something most defendants accused of a terrible crime do not do. Ricks confessed that he had killed his girlfriend, Roxann Sanchez, and her 8-year-old son. He admitted he was aggressive and had trouble controlling his anger, stating that he was “sorry about everything.” The Tarrant County jury was unmoved. Ricks has spent the last 13 years on death row and is scheduled to be executed on March 11.

Former Florida officer who raped, murdered 11-year-old set to be executed

An execution date has been set for a former Mascotte police officer who, in May 1987, assaulted and murdered an 11-year-old girl. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a death warrant for James Aren Duckett on Friday. He’s scheduled to be executed on March 31. It’ll be the state’s 5th execution this year, following a record 19 executions in 2025. Duckett was convicted in the murder of 11-year-old Teresa McAbee about a year after her death. According to officials, Duckett took the 11-year-old to a lake, where he sexually battered, strangled and drowned her.

Florida | Governor DeSantis signs death warrant in 2008 murder case

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a death warrant for Michael L. King, setting an execution date of March 17, 2026, at 6 p.m. King was convicted and sentenced to death for the 2008 kidnapping, sexual battery and murder of Denise Amber Lee, a 21-year-old North Port mother. On January 17, 2008, Michael Lee King abducted 21-year-old Denise Amber Lee from her North Port home by forcing her into his green Chevrolet Camaro. He drove her around while she was bound, including to his cousin's house to borrow tools like a shovel. King took her to his home, where he sexually battered her, then placed her in the backseat of his car. Later that evening, he drove to a remote area, shot her in the face, and buried her nude body in a shallow grave. Her remains were discovered two days later. During the crime, multiple 9-1-1 calls were made, but communication breakdowns between emergency dispatch centers delayed the response. The case drew national attention and prompted w...

Prosecutors seek death penalty in 2 Georgia cases

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in two separate Georgia criminal cases. One involves the killing of a Gwinnett County police officer and another is over the death of a 4-year-old girl in Hall County . Kevin Andrews is charged in the death of 25-year-old Gwinnett County Police Officer Pradeep Tamang, who was shot and killed while investigating a credit card fraud case. Authorities said Andrews had an outstanding warrant and shot at officers without warning. Another officer, David Reed, was seriously injured.

Maldives | Death penalty law for drug trafficking now in effect

MALÉ, Maldives (DPN) — The Maldives has officially brought into force an amendment to its Narcotics Act that introduces the death penalty for large-scale drug trafficking, marking a significant and controversial shift in the island nation’s criminal justice policy. The amended law, which took effect Saturday, March 7, 2026, allows for capital punishment in cases involving the smuggling and importation of specific quantities of illicit substances. The move fulfills a key pledge by President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s administration to crack down on the country’s growing narcotics crisis and protect what he has termed the nation’s “100 percent Islamic society.” Thresholds for Capital Punishment Under the new provisions, the death penalty is not a mandatory sentence but an available option for the judiciary when specific criteria are met. The law establishes clear weight thresholds for substances brought into the country: Cannabis: More than 350 grams. Diamorphine (Heroin): More than 250 grams....

Florida executes Melvin Trotter

The execution of Melvin Trotter for the murder of 70-year-old Virgie Langford in 1986 comes as Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor questions Florida's 'deeply troubling' lethal injection record. Florida has executed its second inmate of the year even as a Supreme Court justice questioned the state's “deeply troubling" record on lethal injections and how it "shrouds its executions in secrecy." Melvin Trotter, 65, was executed by lethal injection on Tuesday, Feb. 24, for the 1986 murder of 70-year-old Virgie Langford, a mother of 4 who was on the verge of retirement when she was stabbed to death in the corner grocery store that she owned for five decades. Trotter was pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m. ET.

Oklahoma Ends Indefinite Death Row Solitary Confinement

Every year, thousands of prisoners in the U.S. are placed in solitary confinement, where they endure isolation, abuse, and mental suffering . This practice might soon become rarer for some inmates in Oklahoma, thanks to the efforts of activists in the state. Earlier this month, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Oklahoma announced that the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester had ended the practice of indefinite solitary confinement for "the vast majority" of death row prisoners.

Georgia | Death penalty sought against woman in brutal killing of 4-year-old

GAINESVILLE, Ga. — Prosecutors in Hall County are seeking the death penalty against a woman accused of the brutal killing of a 4-year-old girl whose body was found in a parked car last fall. In a court filing Monday, the State announced its intent to pursue capital punishment for Jessica Motes, who faces a litany of charges including malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, and first-degree cruelty to children. The case began on Oct. 26, 2025, when authorities discovered the body of 4-year-old Autumn Fox. The child’s remains were found inside the trunk of a vehicle parked at a Sam’s Club in Oakwood, approximately 50 miles northeast of Atlanta.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog