Texas man executed for murder of twins in 1989

Houston, United States:

A Texas man was executed by lethal injection Tuesday night for the murders of teenage twin sisters, prison officials said. This is the sixth death row inmate to be executed in the United States in the past twelve days.

Before he was executed at the Huntsville City State Prison, 61-year-old Garcia White apologized to his victim's family. He was pronounced dead at 6:56 p.m. local time.

White, a former high school football star, was convicted in 1996 of stabbing Annette and Bernette Edwards to death in December 1989.

According to court and prison records, White killed the 16-year-old girls' mother, Bonita Edwards, after an argument in her Houston home and then murdered the two sisters.

White was not tried for the death of Bonita Edwards or for two other murders to which he confessed, one in 1989 and another in 1995.

White's lawyers had filed a last-minute request for a stay of execution with the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that he was mentally disabled and therefore ineligible for the death penalty.

“I want to apologize for all the wrongs I have done and for the pain I have caused the Edwards family,” White said before the execution, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said in a statement. “I’m sorry, I apologize and I pray you can find peace.”

Texas has carried out four executions at the state prison in Huntsville this year, and another inmate, Robert Roberson, 57, is scheduled to be executed on Oct. 17 despite questions about his guilt.

Texas lawmakers, medical experts and best-selling author John Grisham are among those seeking to stop the execution of Roberson, who was convicted in the 2002 death of his 2-year-old daughter Nikki.

Roberson, who is autistic, took the girl to a hospital with severe head trauma, where the child died the next day.

Roberson's lawyers and attorneys have argued that the diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome made at the hospital where the child died was incorrect.

In a letter to Texas officials, 34 doctors said the cause of death was actually severe pneumonia, made worse by the little girl being prescribed the wrong medication.

Roberson's autism, which was only diagnosed in 2018, was misinterpreted at the time as a sign of indifference to the toddler's death, and that perception weighed heavily on his conviction, according to his lawyers.

Four executions were carried out in the United States last week and one the week before, bringing the total to 18 this year.

The death penalty has been abolished in 23 of the 50 US states, while six others – Arizona, California, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Tennessee – have moratoriums in place.

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