Execution Report: Michael Moore

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A jury gave Moore the death sentence in November 1994. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in October 1996. Moore lost seven subsequent actions in state and federal court, and was scheduled to be executed on 27 March 2001. On 26 March, Moore filed another petition, and the Court of Criminal Appeals granted him a temporary stay of execution. The court dismissed this appeal in November 2001. When his execution date was reset, Moore did not take any further action to attempt to have it stopped.

Moore's attorneys contended that Moore did not deserve the death penalty because he was abused as a child, spent some time in a foster home, and was jilted by his fiancé two weeks before they were to be married.

In a death row interview, Moore took full responsibility for his actions. "I can cry all I want about how people beat me," he said. "The fact is, none of that contributed. I was the one who walked into that house that night." "I can blame it on abuse from my parents but the fact of the matter is, I did it, and there is nobody else to blame." He said that he was motivated to burglarize the Bentley home because of the day he drove by the house and saw T.R. Bentley standing outside. "I saw her and it stuck in my mind." He also apologized for the crime. "I am sorry for what I have done," he said. "I have since become a Christian. I didn't believe in the death penalty before, and still don't."

At his execution, Moore apologized to the victim's relatives. "I'll start by saying I love all of you," he said, choking back tears. "I am sorry. If I could think of a word in the vocabulary stronger -- you need to hear something stronger -- you deserve it. I'm sorry. I can't take back what I have done. I have asked Christ for forgiveness and I ask that you forgive me." As the lethal injection was flowing into Moore's body, his family sang "Amazing Grace." He was pronounced dead at 6:32 p.m.

By David Carson. Posted on 10 January 2002.
Sources: Texas Attorney General's Office, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Associated Press, Huntsville Item.