Execution Report: Spencer Goodman

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Goodman had at least two prior felony convictions. He was sentenced to 2 years in prison for burglary of a building and began serving his sentence in February 1989. He was paroled after 4 months. In 1990, he was convicted of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and sentenced to five years in prison. He served three months of that sentence from September to December 1990. (At the time, early release was common in Texas due to strict prison population caps imposed by U.S. District Judge William Wayne Justice.) He was returned to custody for a parole violation, then released again in July 1991. He murdered Cecile Ham the day after his release.

A jury convicted Hicks of capital murder in May 1992 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in April 1996. All of his subsequent appeals in state and federal court were denied.

In his last statement, Goodman expressed love to his family. The lethal injection was then started. Hicks was pronounced dead at 6:22 p.m.

By David Carson. Posted on 4 August 2002.
Sources: Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Texas Attorney General's Office, Associated Press.