Washington
(AFP) - Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Thursday issued a last-minute
reprieve for a death row prisoner who hired a gunman to kill his family
after his father, whom he sought to murder, pleaded for his son's life.
Thomas Bartlett "Bart" Whitaker, 38, had been one of three men awaiting execution Thursday in three different US states.
Another, Eric Branch, was executed as scheduled in Florida for the 1993 murder of a student.
In
a proclamation explaining his decision on Whitaker, Abbott wrote that
the prisoner "must spend the remainder of his life behind bars as
punishment for this heinous crime."
The
governor said he had taken into consideration the fact that "the person
who fired the gun that killed the victims did not receive the death
penalty, but Mr Whitaker, who did not fire the gun, did get the death
penalty."
He
added: "Mr Whitaker's father, who survived the attempt on his life,
passionately opposes the execution of his son. Mr Whitaker's father
insists that he would be victimized again if the state put to death his
last remaining immediate family member."
Source: Yahoo News
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