texas death row | My Crime Library

Brian Davis Texas Death Row

Brian Davis was sentenced to death by the State of Texas for the murder of a man. According to court documents Brian Davis and a female accomplice met the victim at a bar. The trio would head back to the home of the victim. When they arrived Brian Davis would stab the victim multiple times causing his death. Six days later Brian Davis and the female accomplice would repeat the same actions with another victim however this time the victim survived. Brian Davis would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

Brian Davis 2022 Information

SID Number:    03711815

TDCJ Number:    00999036

Name:    DAVIS,BRIAN EDWARD

Race:    W

Gender:    M

Age:    53

Maximum Sentence Date:    DEATH ROW

Current Facility:    POLUNSKY

Projected Release Date:    DEATH ROW

Parole Eligibility Date:    DEATH ROW

Inmate Visitation Eligible:    YES

Brian Davis More News

A parolee with a history of violence that began in grade school headed to the Texas death chamber Tuesday for fatally stabbing a Houston-area man and inscribing the victim’s body with a swastika and initials of a skinhead group.

On Davis’ chest was a tattoo of a swastika outlined with flames and lightning bolts. Another swastika was on one arm and an obscene motorcycle logo was tattooed on the other arm.

“Swastikas sell fear,” he said recently from death row. “I don’t believe in hating just for skin color. Any hatred I have was beat into me.”

Davis said he did not kill Michael Foster, 31, a mildly mentally retarded man who met Davis, then on parole for a marijuana delivery conviction, and Davis’ wife at a Houston bar.

“I’m innocent of this crime,” Davis said. “I was wrong to confess … but I was trying to save my wife.”

Davis’ now ex-wife, Tina McDonald, 31, is serving 40 years after pleading guilty to aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon and auto theft for an offense a week after Foster was killed at his apartment in Humble, just northeast of Houston.

The pair was tied to the Foster slaying while in custody for the other offense. They had married two months earlier and met while Davis was in jail. At the time, she was the friend of another inmate Davis knew.

“You couldn’t think of a worse couple hooking up,” said Harris County assistant district attorney Kelly Siegler, who prosecuted Davis for killing Foster.

Davis said McDonald, whom he described as a skinhead, was responsible for stabbing Foster 11 times and beating and robbing him after they drove him home from the bar the night of Aug. 10, 1991.

He said his wife also used a ballpen to inscribe on Foster’s abdomen a swastika and the letters “NSSH” _ which stood for National Society of Skinheads.

Prosecutors said Foster had offered the couple gas money in exchange for the ride home, then told them he didn’t have any cash, enraging Davis.

He had a violent streak in him that he couldn’t control,” Siegler said.

“I can’t wait until this guy’s fried,” Foster’s sister, Pat Foster-Kupritz, told the Houston Chronicle. “What goes around comes around, and this guy is definitely getting his turn.”

Davis contended he was drunk and asleep in the backseat of a car and never was inside Foster’s apartment.

McDonald has given multiple explanations but most recently has said Davis was responsible for Foster’s death and that she’d taken the blame previously at Davis’ request.

“To me, this is worse than death,” Davis said of his confinement on death row. “For me, I’m ready to go.”

On Thursday, Reginald Reeves, 28, faces lethal injection for raping and strangling a 14-year-old girl who ran away from a group home in Paris in 1993. Her body was found in a vacant house in Clarksville in Red River County.

https://www.myplainview.com/news/article/White-supremacist-set-to-die-for-1991-fatal-8936558.php

Arthur Burton Texas Death Row

Arthur Burton was sentenced to death by the State of Texas for the sexual assault and murder of a woman. According to court documents Arthur Burton would force a woman who was jogging into the woods where he would sexually assault her before causing her death by strangling her with a shoelace. Arthur Burton would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death.

Arthur Burton 2022 Information

SID Number: 05930655

TDCJ Number: 00999283

Name: BURTON,ARTHUR LEE

Race: B

Gender: M

Age: 51

Maximum Sentence Date: DEATH ROW

Current Facility: POLUNSKY

Projected Release Date: DEATH ROW

Parole Eligibility Date: DEATH ROW

Inmate Visitation Eligible: YES

Arthur Burton More News

A man who won a new trial to determine whether he should spend his life in prison or die by lethal injection for the 1997 slaying of a woman jogger was sentenced Friday to death.

The jury deliberated over two days before deciding that Arthur Lee Burton, 32, should return to death row for the capital murder of Nancy Adleman, 48.

After the jury was excused by visiting state District Judge Bob Burdette, Burton tearfully apologized to Adleman’s family.

“I’m sorry,” Burton said, sobbing, ” … for causing y’all so much pain that day. … I think about what she said to me, that she forgave me and did I know God. I couldn’t understand why she did that but I didn’t know God then. I looked for answers but I can tell you now I know God now, and I know I took a special person away from you, and I’m sorry for that.”

A family member replied, “We thank you for your apology. Thank you.”

Adleman, a mother of three, was raped, savagely beaten then strangled with her shoelace July 29, 1997, on a jogging trail alongside a secluded bayou near West Road and Beltway 8.

As she was dying she asked Burton if he knew God and told him she forgave him. Her body was found the next day in the woods along the trail.

Prosecutor Devon Anderson told the jury that it was a “premeditated, cold-blooded, senseless and remorseless killing.”

Defense attorney Rob Morrow argued that the jury should spare Burton’s life because he had children who needed him even if he were behind bars. Morrow said that until the day Adleman died, Burton had lived a normal, average life.

“His family wants him to pay for his crime but be able to be in his children’s lives,” Morrow said.

Prosecutor Chuck Noll responded by saying Adleman’s children will never have that luxury. He told the jury that Burton had burglarized cars as a teenager and admitted selling drugs until he was arrested in Adleman’s death.

During his original trial in 1998, Burton was sentenced to die, but the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned it because his orginal defense lawyer did not object properly during the punishment phase.

https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Jury-sends-man-back-to-death-row-in-slaying-2111539.php

Carl Buntion Texas Death Row

Carl Buntion was sentenced to death by the State of Texas for the murder of a police officer. According to court documents Carl Buntion was the passenger in a car that was pulled over by the police officer. Carl Buntion would get out of the car and fatally shoot the police officer. Carl Buntion would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

Carl Buntion 2022 Information

SID Number: 01076723

TDCJ Number: 00000993

Name: BUNTION,CARL WAYNE

Race: W

Gender: M

Age: 77

Maximum Sentence Date: DEATH ROW

Current Facility: POLUNSKY

Projected Release Date: DEATH ROW

Parole Eligibility Date: DEATH ROW

Inmate Visitation Eligible: YES

Carl Buntion More News

The oldest Texas death row inmate is to be executed in April for killing a Houston police officer more than 30 years ago, prosecutors said Tuesday, Jan. 4.

A Houston state judge scheduled the execution of Carl Wayne Buntion, 77, for April 21 during a court hearing on Tuesday.

Buntion had been on parole for six weeks when he fatally shot Houston police officer James Irby, 37, during a June 1990 traffic stop.

Buntion, who had an extensive criminal record, was a passenger in the car that Irby pulled over.

“He shot a policeman in the head more than 30 years ago, and it is time that he be held accountable for his horrific crime,” said Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg.

Carl Buntion was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death in 1991, but the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals vacated his death sentence in 2009.

A jury in 2012 returned him to death row following a new sentencing trial

In October, the U.S. Supreme Court denied an appeal by Buntion’s lawyers.

But in a statement, Justice Stephen Breyer said that Buntion’s “lengthy confinement, and the confinement of others like him, calls into question the constitutionality of the death penalty.”

https://dfw.cbslocal.com/2022/01/04/texas-oldest-death-row-inmate-cop-killer-carl-wayne-buntion-die-april/

Carl Buntion Execution

Texas executed its oldest death row inmate by lethal injection on Thursday, shortly after the governor of Tennessee granted a temporary reprieve in what would have been the state’s first execution since the pandemic began.

Carl Wayne Buntion, 78, was executed at 6:39 p.m. CT on Thursday, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Buntion, who was the first inmate in Texas to be executed this year, was put on death row after being convicted of fatally shooting 37-year-old Houston police motorcycle officer James Irby after a traffic stop in 1990, according to the Texas Department of Corrections.

In June 1990, Buntion and John Killingsworth were pulled over by Irby for a traffic violation, documents show. Buntion shot the 19-year veteran Houston officer once in the head and then shot him twice more in the back as he lay on the ground.

Buntion, a former auto mechanic, was captured inside a nearby warehouse after firing at three additional people, including two witnesses, while fleeing on foot, according to state documents. Buntion, who had an extensive criminal history, had been on parole for about six weeks when he killed Irby, the documents show.

Killingsworth was not charged in connection with the crime, according to documents.

A spiritual advisor was present at Buntion’s execution, nearly two months after the US Supreme Court ruled that the death row inmate could have his spiritual adviser pray aloud and “lay hands” on him during his execution.

The March ruling relates not to Buntion but to a different death row inmate, John Henry Ramirez, and establishes new guidelines that will govern similar requests in other prisons across the country. The court agreed to block the execution of Ramirez in 2021 while the justices considered his requests concerning his pastor.

At the time, policy in Texas allowed a pastor in the death chamber, but the pastor could not speak up or physically touch the inmate.

“This was the first execution in which an inmate’s spiritual advisor was allowed to touch and pray during the execution, and there were no issues that took place with that,” said Jason Clark, chief of staff for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Meanwhile, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee granted a temporary reprieve in the execution of Oscar Franklin Smith due to an “oversight in preparation for lethal injection,” he announced just moments before the scheduled 7 p.m. execution on Thursday.

Lee said in a tweet that the execution would not move forward.

“I am granting a temporary reprieve while we address Tennessee Department of Correction protocol. Further details will be released when available,” the tweet said.

Smith, 72, was scheduled to be executed for the 1989 murders of his wife and her two minor children in Nashville. He would have been the first inmate to be executed in the state since the Covid-19 pandemic began.

The state has not performed an execution since February 2020, when Nicholas Sutton was put to death by electric chair.

Earlier this week, Lee said he would not intervene and grant clemency to Smith. The state’s Court of Criminal Appeals last week denied Smith’s motion to reopen his case and his motion to have a DNA analysis review of the case. On Monday, the Tennessee Supreme Court denied hearing his appeal.

CNN has reached out to the governor’s office, the department of corrections and Smith’s attorney for more information.

The pandemic delayed executions in many states, including Tennessee, though annual execution numbers have been generally decreasing since the early 2000s, according to an analysis from the Death Penalty Information Center.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/21/us/texas-tennessee-executions/index.html

Eugene Broxton Texas Death Row

Eugene Broxton was sentenced to death by the State of Texas for the kidnapping, robbery and murder of a woman. According to court documents Eugene Broxton would take a couple hostage inside of their hotel room. Eugene Broxton would pistol whip the couple before shooting the female several times causing her death. The male victim was also shot however thankfully survived his injuries. Eugene Broxton was arrested, convicted and sentenced to death. Eugene Broxton is also a suspect in three other murders however he has not been convicted.

Eugene Broxton 2022 Information

SID Number:    01816458

TDCJ Number:    00999044

Name:    BROXTON,EUGENE

Race:    B

Gender:    M

Age:    66

Maximum Sentence Date:    DEATH ROW

Current Facility:    POLUNSKY

Projected Release Date:    DEATH ROW

Parole Eligibility Date:    DEATH ROW

Inmate Visitation Eligible:    YES

Eugene Broxton More News

Because of prison overcrowding Eugene Broxton was paroled in 1991.

“Here’s a guy who served only 4 years of a 13-year sentence for not one but two convictions of attempted capital murder of a police officer,” said crime victims advocate Andy Kahan.

ust months after his release Broxton killed four people in the Channelview area.

“He cornered him in his motel room,” said Dianne Smith. “He just burst in on him and stabbed him to death and took $800.”

Smith’s 42-year-old ex-husband Larry Smith was one of Broxton’s victims. During the murder Broxton stole Larry Smith’s wallet.

“I was terrified with two little kids living alone I went through the house every night with a gun in my hand left them locked in a car,” Smith said.

In 1992 Broxton was convicted and sentenced to death. In 2003 Broxton and five other death row inmates got new trials.

“It was never a case of guilt. It was always a case of loophole,” said Smith.

“There’s never been a question of his guilt or innocence,” Kahan said. “I don’t think even Broxton has ever stated he wasn’t guilty.”

But yet we’ve discovered Broxton has yet to get an execution date. Smith’s wait for that to happen will be 26 years this April.

Now the 68-year-old is wondering if she’ll live long enough to see justice served.

“I would like him to know my little kids didn’t know their daddy because of you,” Smith said.

The case is now back at the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. We asked that office why Broxton still has no execution date. We’re still waiting for an answer.

https://www.fox26houston.com/news/condemned-serial-killer-yet-to-get-execution-date-after-25-years-on-death-row

Arthur Brown Texas Death Row

Arthur Brown was sentenced to death by the State of Texas for the murders of four people. According to court documents Arthur Brown would go into a residence and execute four people inside of the home including a pregnant woman. Arthur Brown would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

Arthur Brown 2022 Information

SID Number: 04755370

TDCJ Number: 00999110

Name: BROWN,ARTHUR JR

Race: B

Gender: M

Age: 51

Maximum Sentence Date: DEATH ROW

Current Facility: POLUNSKY

Projected Release Date: DEATH ROW

Parole Eligibility Date: DEATH ROW

Inmate Visitation Eligible: YES

Arthur Brown More News

Rachel Tovar and her husband, Jose, were drug dealers in Houston, Texas. They supplied marijuana and cocaine to other drug dealers, including Brown and his associates, who were from Tuscaloosa, Alabama. On June 19, 1992, Brown traveled from Tuscaloosa to Houston, accompanied by Marion Dudley, Antonio Dunson, and Maliek Travis. They arrived at the Houston residence of Brown’s sister, Grace, early in the morning on June 20.

That evening, six people were bound and shot in the head at Rachel Tovar’s residence in Houston. Four of them died: Jessica Quinones, the pregnant common-law wife of Rachel Tovar’s son, Anthony; Jose Guadalupe Tovar, Rachel Tovar’s husband; Audrey Brown, one of Rachel Tovar’s neighbors; and Frank Farias, Rachel Tovar’s son. Rachel Tovar and Alexander Camarillo, also known as Nicolas Cortez Anzures, survived and testified at Brown’s trial. Both of them identified Brown and Dudley, whom Tovar knew, from previous drug deals, by the nicknames of “Squirt” and “Red,” as the shooters.¹ Three of Brown’s sisters—Serisa Ann Brown, Grace Brown, and Carolyn Momoh—testified as witnesses for the State at the guilt-innocence phase. All three of them claimed that the police and prosecutors had threatened them in order to coerce their cooperation. Carolyn Momoh was held in contempt and incarcerated at one point during the trial for invoking the Fifth Amendment, despite the fact that she had been given immunity. After she eventually testified, she was convicted of perjury. The jury convicted Brown of capital murder.

At the punishment phase of Brown’s trial, the State re-offered all of the evidence presented at the guilt-innocence phase. The State also presented evidence that Brown had committed an armed robbery in Tuscaloosa four years earlier; that he had extorted other prisoners while in the Harris County Jail awaiting trial; and that he had assaulted a deputy at the Harris County Jail. The defense presented Brown’s school records, which reflected that he had a low IQ, suffered from learning disabilities, and performed poorly in special education classes.² The defense also presented the testimony of a law professor that convicted, incarcerated offenders become less violent as they age. The jury answered affirmatively the special punishment issues on future danger and whether Brown actually caused the deaths, intended to kill the victims, or anticipated that human life would be taken. It answered negatively the special punishment issue on mitigating circumstances. The trial court sentenced Brown to death.

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-5th-circuit/1603129.html