Gov. Abbott Commutes Bart Whitaker Sentence To Life In Prison

AUSTIN, TX — Gov. Greg Abbott did something Thursday that no sitting governor in Texas has done since 2007.

He spared the life of a death row inmate, just minutes before his scheduled execution in Huntsville's death chamber.

In December 2003 Thomas 'Bart' Whitaker conspired with two others to murder his family to collect an inheritance.

Whitaker and his father Kent were both injured in the attack, but Whitaker's brother Kevin and mother Tricia were killed.

Investigators eventually unraveled the scheme, and in 2008, Bart Whitaker was convicted and sentenced to death.

On the day he was to die, Whitaker was served a last meal of Tex-Mex cuisine inside the death chamber, and then he waited for his fate.

About 45 minutes before he would have been administered lethal injection, Whitaker was spared.

The process to spare Whitaker's life began on Tuesday when, Whitaker's father Kent Whitaker, met with the Texas Board of Paroles and Pardons to appeal his son's execution.

His request for clemency was granted, and the state board sent their decision to Abbott on Wednesday.

It was the first time during Abbott's three years as governor that he has commuted a death sentence.

In a statement released Thursday, Abbott said in part: “The murders of Mr. Whitaker’s mother and brother are reprehensible. The crime deserves severe punishment for the criminals who killed them. The recommendation of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, and my action on it, ensures Mr. Whitaker will never be released from prison...Mr. Whitaker voluntarily and forever waived any and all claims to parole in exchange for a commutation of his sentence from death to life without the possibility of parole... Mr. Whitaker must spend the remainder of his life behind bars as punishment for this heinous crime.”

Image: Official Portrait, Gov. Greg Abbott

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