Execution Report: Cornelius Goss

Cornelius Alan Goss, 38, was executed by lethal injection on 23 February 2000 in Huntsville, Texas, for murdering a man while burglarizing his home.

In May 1987, Goss, then 25, broke into Carl Leevy's home through a bedroom window and began looking for valuables to steal. He stopped by the refrigerator and helped himself to a drink, then turned into the living room, where Leevy, 66, was dozing in an easy chair. When the floor squaked, Leevy stirred. Goss grabbed a nearby 2-by-4 and clubbed Leevy to death. He then stole a gold coin, a watch, some jewelry, and a camera. His fingerprints were found inside the home and he later gave a voluntary statement to police.

At his trial, prosecutors said that Goss noticed Leevy and his flashy jewlery at a convenience store earlier that day.

Goss had a previous conviction for burglary of a building and was sentenced to 7 years in prison. He served 6 months of that sentence before being paroled in April 1987, about three weeks before he murdered Carl Leevy. (At the time, early release was common in Texas due to strict prison population caps imposed by U.S. District Judge William Wayne Justice.)

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