Garcia White apologized for the December 1989 murders of Annette Edwards and Barnett Edwards. He also confessed to killing three more people.
HUNTSVILLE, Texas — A former college football player who was involved in five murders in Houston and was convicted of stabbing 16-year-old twin girls to death more than 30 years ago was arrested Tuesday night in Huntsville, Texas. was executed.
Garcia White was sentenced to death for the December 1989 murders of Annette Edwards and Barnett Edwards. The bodies of twin girls and their mother, Bonita Edwards, were discovered in a Houston apartment.
Asked if he had anything final to say, Garcia apologized before being administered the lethal dose.
“First, I would like to apologize for all the mistakes I have made and the pain I have caused the Edwards family. I am sorry and I am sorry. I wish you peace, comfort and closure. I want to apologize for the mistakes I made and the pain I caused you and for which I was responsible. Thank you to my family, friends and loved ones. Thank you for all the love and comfort you have shown me. I also pray for the administration and security personnel so that you all continue to do your best. Help each other and lift each other up with love. Pray for all field ministers and life coaches. Thank you so much, Dad, and I wish you all peace on this earth. Everyone, please continue to do your best. Together, and once again, I’m sorry for all the pain I’ve caused someone, but please find comfort and closeness in your heart, I want to sing a song (“I believe in God”) (sings “Masu”). I’m sorry and I apologize for all the pain I’ve caused again. To my family, friends, and loved ones, please take care and stay strong. Dear brothers and sisters who are incarcerated, please continue to move forward and continue to love one another. Thank you to the administration and security personnel for treating us like human beings. Thank you and best wishes, that’s it, Director. ”
White confessed to killing five people.
The deaths of the twin girls and their mother occurred in July 1995, when White was arrested in connection with the death of Hai Van Pham, who was fatally injured during a robbery at his place of work, until he confessed to the murder. , remained unresolved for about six years. Police said White also confessed to fatally beating another woman, Greta Williams, in 1989.
Williams’ sister, Dewanta Washington, said she and her brother would travel to Huntsville to witness the execution.
“It’s going to take a long time,” Washington told KHOU 11. “I hope he can make peace with the person who made him…it’s time to go.”
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White, 61, a former college football player who later worked as a fry cook, was the sixth inmate to be executed in the past 11 days in the United States.
According to testimony, White went to the girls’ home in Houston and smoked cigarettes with their mother, Bonita, who was also fatally stabbed. When the girls came out of the room to see what had happened, White attacked them. Evidence showed White broke down the locked door of the girls’ bedroom. He was later implicated in the deaths of a grocery store owner and another woman.
“Garcia White committed five murders in three different transactions, and two of his victims were teenage girls. This is the type of case for which the death penalty was intended,” Harris County District Attorney in Houston said. said Josh Reese, chief of the bureau’s post-conviction warrant unit.
Mr. White’s lawyers appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court
White’s lawyers asked the U.S. Supreme Court to halt his execution after a lower court previously denied his request for a stay of execution. The Texas Board of Pardons and Parole on Friday denied White’s request to have his death sentence commuted or given a 30-day reprieve.
White’s lawyers argued that the Texas Supreme Court of Criminal Appeals rejected “medical evidence and strong factual support” that showed White was mentally retarded.
The Supreme Court banned the death penalty for people with intellectual disabilities in 2002. However, states have some discretion in determining how to determine such disabilities. Judges have struggled with how much discretion to grant.
White’s lawyers also argued that the Texas Court of Appeals had rejected DNA evidence showing that another man was also at the crime scene, as well as scientific evidence showing that White “likely was suffering the death penalty.” “He did not allow his defense team to present evidence that could avoid a death sentence.” Cocaine-induced psychosis occurred during his act. ”
White’s lawyers also argued that the Texas Court of Appeals had created a new system for sentencing in death penalty cases, following a recent Supreme Court decision in another Texas death row case. argued that he had the right to have his death sentence reviewed anew.
“Mr. White’s case shows everything is wrong with the current death penalty system in Texas — even though he has evidence that he is mentally retarded, (the Texas Court of Appeals) “He has important evidence that could result in a sentence other than the death penalty, but he has not presented it,” White’s lawyer said in a motion to the high court. “We are unable to develop or expand our operations,” he said.
The Texas Attorney General’s Office said in a Supreme Court filing that White has not presented evidence to support his claim that he is mentally retarded. The filing also said Mr White’s evidence of another person at the crime scene and his claims that cocaine use influenced his actions have previously been rejected by courts.
“White has no reason to delay his execution date any further. The Edwards family, and White’s other murder victims, deserve justice for his decades of crimes.” Tokoro said.
White is the fifth person put to death in Texas this year and the 19th person in the United States.