Houston state senator demands end to written final statements for death row inmates

A Democratic state senator from Houston is demanding a change to the Texas prison system's execution-day procedures, arguing that allowing a spokesman to read aloud a condemned killer's written statement after his or her death is "disrespectful" to victims' families.

Prompted by last week's execution of white supremacist John King - one of the men sentenced to die for the notorious hate crime slaying of James Byrd Jr. in 1998 - state Sen. John Whitmire on Monday called on the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to stop allowing prisoners to leave behind written statements after they are put to death.

"Once they're executed that should be the end," Whitmire told the Houston Chronicle. "If they want to write something, I would suggest that TDCJ throw it in the trash with all his other belongings."

Traditionally, death row prisoners are permitted to say their last words in a microphone inside the death chamber, and also provide a written statement that a department spokesman may read aloud to the media at a press conference afterward. Whitmire isn't seeking to ban final utterances, but instead demanding an end to written last statements.

Prison officials declined to comment - but King's attorney, Richard Ellis, pushed back on the idea of retooling the current procedure

"An inmate's last statement is virtually the only time in that person's life when anyone pays attention to what they have to say," Ellis said, "and I fail to see why the manner or form of that statement, whether written or oral, should be of any concern to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice or to Senator Whitmire."

Whitmire's letter marks the second time the Houston lawmaker has demanded a policy change following the execution of one of Byrd's killers; 8 years ago, the senator urged the prison system to end the practice of allowing condemned prisoners to order last meals after Lawrence Brewer put in a massive final request and ate none of it.

Screenshot from "Dead Man Walking" by Tim Burton, 1995

Likewise, on the gurney Wednesday, King had nothing to say and showed no remorse. But what irked Whitmire was the "flippant" final statement the 44-year-old left behind in writing: "Capital punishment: Them without the capital get the punishment."

Afterward, spokesman Jeremy Desel read the statement aloud to the press gathered in Huntsville, as per usual procedure in the few cases when a prisoner leaves a written statement. In some cases - such as Napoleon Beazley's rambling 2002 examination of capital punishment - prisoners have expressed last-minute regret through their written statements, but often inmates simply speak on the gurney, or leave no final public thoughts at all.

"If a death row inmate has something to say to the public or victims, let him or her say it while they are strapped to the gurney," Whitmire wrote, adding that he was "shocked" to see King's written statement quoted in the media. "I believe this action was totally improper and should never be repeated."

On top of that, Whitmire asked for an examination of the death penalty appeals process and a look into how King was able to linger on death row for two decades before his execution.

"I intend to ask Lt. Governor Patrick to authorize an interim study of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee to review how someone like Mr. King could be on death row for 20 years," Whitmire wrote. "It is entirely too long and not fair to the Byrd family and to the State of Texas."

RELATED | Death-row last meals

The Walls Unit, Huntsville, Texas, where executions are carried out.

The Jasper killer was sentenced to die as one of three white men involved in the gruesome modern-day lynching, when Byrd was chained to a pick-up truck and dragged to death on a country road, then left for dead in front of a black church.

The murder helped fuel the passage of federal hate crime legislation named for the slain black man, but it also eventually led to a change in execution-day protocols.

RELATED | Death-chamber last statements

Before he was put to death, one of the other convicted killers - Lawrence Brewer - ordered two steaks, a triple-patty bacon cheeseburger, a cheese omelet, fried okra, a pound of BBQ, white bread, fajitas, pizza, Blue Bell Ice Cream, fudge, and and three root beers.

It was, at the time, standard for prisoners to request a special meal before their execution - and some states still allow it. But when Brewer refused to eat any of the vast order, Whitmire penned a letter to then-prisons chief Brad Livingston calling the practice of special last meals "ridiculous" and demanding an end to it.

Texas prison officials complied, and since then condemned men can only eat what's on the mess hall menu for the day.

Source: chron.com, Keri Blakinger, April 29, 2019

⚑ | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com.

Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE!

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde

South Carolina | Inmate who believes he’s died repeatedly can’t be executed, judge rules

SPARTANBURG — A 59-year-old man sentenced to death for killing a state trooper in Greenville County in 2000 can’t be executed because of a mental illness that’s left him incoherent and believing he’s immortal, a Circuit Court judge has ruled. John Richard Wood is the first condemned inmate in South Carolina found not competent to be executed since the state restarted capital punishment in September 2024. The seven executions since then include three men who chose to die by firing squad — the latest in November. Wood, convicted 24 years ago, was among death row inmates in line to receive a death warrant after exhausting their regular appeals.

Idaho eyes restart of death row executions as firing squad draws near

BOISE, Idaho — Idaho’s prison system has nearly completed execution chamber upgrades to carry out the death penalty by firing squad as the state’s lead method and will have a team of riflemen ready to go by the time a state law takes effect this summer. As part of the transition, the Idaho Department of Correction hopes to limit participation by its officers as the shooting of condemned people in prison to death is prioritized over lethal injection. Toward that effort, prisoner leadership sought to implement a push-button technology to avoid needing IDOC workers to pull the triggers.

20 Minutes to Death: Witness to the Last Execution in France

The following document is a firsthand account of the final moments of Hamida Djandoubi, a convicted murderer executed by guillotine at Marseille’s Baumettes Prison on September 10, 1977. The record—dated September 9—was written by Monique Mabelly, a judge appointed by the state to witness the proceedings. Djandoubi’s execution would ultimately be the last carried out in France before capital punishment was abolished in 1981. At the time, President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing—who had publicly voiced his "deep aversion to the death penalty" prior to his election—rejected Djandoubi’s appeal for clemency. Choosing to let "justice take its course," the President allowed the execution to proceed, just as he had in two previous cases during his term: Christian Ranucci , executed on July 28, 1976 and Jérôme Carrein , executed on June 23, 1977. Hamida Djandoubi , a Tunisian national, was sentenced to death for killing his former lover, Elisabeth Bousquet. He was execu...

South Dakota | Latest appeal from state's lone death row inmate denied

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit has rejected the latest appeal from Briley Piper, the only person on death row in South Dakota. In March 2000, Briley Piper, along with co-defendants Elijah Page and Darrell Hoadley, conspired to burglarize the Lawrence County home of 19-year-old Chester Poage before abducting and murdering him by beating, stabbing, and stoning in a remote area. Piper was subsequently arrested, convicted of murder, and sentenced to death, while his accomplices received either a death sentence—carried out against Page in 2007—or a sentence of life imprisonment without parole.

China | Man sentenced to death for murder executed in Yunnan

Tian Yongming, who was initially sentenced for a series of violent crimes and then had his sentence changed to death early this year, has been executed in Yunnan province following approval from China's top court. The execution was carried out by the Intermediate People's Court in Yuxi, Yunnan, on Tuesday, with local prosecutors supervising the process. Before the execution, Tian was allowed to meet with his family members. The case dates back to September 1996, when Tian was sentenced to nine years in prison for the rape and attempted murder of his sister-in-law. After his release on July 15, 2002, he plotted revenge against the woman. On the night of Nov 13, 2002, he broke into her home armed with a knife.

Iran to execute first woman linked to mass protests after ‘forced confessions’

Bita Hemmati and three others have been sentenced to death for 'collusion' and 'propaganda.' Advocates claim the charges are baseless, citing a secretive process and state-televised interrogations. Iranian authorities are preparing to execute Bita Hemmati, the first woman sentenced to death in connection with the mass protests in Tehran in late December and January, according to the US-based non-profit the Human Rights Activists News Agency. Judge Iman Afshari, of Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, sentenced Hemmati, her husband, Mohammadreza Majidi Asl, and Behrouz Zamaninezhad, and Kourosh Zamaninezhad to death on the charge of “operational action for the hostile government of the United States and hostile groups,” in addition to discretionary imprisonment period of five years on the charge of “assembly and collusion against national security.”

Texas | James Broadnax's appeals: US Supreme Court denies 2 claims, confession pending

Despite an 11th-hour confession from another man, James Broadnax is slated to be executed by the state of Texas later this week. Broadnax, 37, is scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection April 30 in Huntsville. He was condemned by a Dallas County jury in 2009 for the deaths of Stephen Swan, 26, and Matthew Butler, 28, outside their Garland music studio. Broadnax and his cousin, Demarius Cummings, had set out to rob the men, but left with only $2 and a 1995 Ford, according to previous reporting from The Dallas Morning News.

Florida executes Chadwick Scott Willacy

STARKE, Fla. -- A Florida man who set his neighbor on fire after she returned from work to find him burglarizing her home was executed Tuesday evening. Chadwick Scott Willacy, 58, received a three-drug injection and was pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke for the 1990 killing of Marlys Sather. It was Florida's fifth execution this year. The curtain to the execution chamber went up promptly at the scheduled 6 p.m. time, and the lethal injection got underway two minutes later, after Willacy made a brief statement.

Arizona | Man who murdered pastor crucifixion style requests plea deal after parents killed in plane crash

Adam Sheafe, the California man who admitted to killing a New River, Arizona, pastor in a crucifixion-style attack, has asked prosecutors to offer him a plea deal that would result in a natural life sentence rather than the death penalty he had previously sought. Advisory council attorneys representing Sheafe sent a formal plea offer to prosecutors this week, about two weeks after his father and stepmother died in a plane crash at Marana Airport on April 8, according to 12 News. Sheafe, 51, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of William Schonemann, 76, pastor of New River Bible Church, who was found dead inside his home last April.

Florida executes James Ernest Hitchcock

STARKE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man convicted of beating and choking his brother’s 13-year-old stepdaughter to death nearly 50 years ago was executed Thursday evening. James Ernest Hitchcock, 70, was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. following a lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke. He was convicted of the July 1976 killing of Cynthia Driggers. The curtain to the death chamber opened promptly at the 6 p.m. execution time. Hitchcock’s entire body was covered in a sheet up to his head. He stared at the ceiling as the team warden made a call, then gave his final statement.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog