Execution Report: Gary Etheridge

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A jury convicted Etheridge of capital murder and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in June 1994. All of his subsequent appeals in state and federal court were denied, but he did win several stays of execution during his time on death row. He was scheduled to be executed in November 2000, but he received a stay from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. At issue was the competence of one of his court-appointed attorneys. That matter was dismissed in April 2002, and his execution was rescheduled for June 2002. That date was then stayed by the CCA so that it could hear a complaint against the judge who signed Etheridge's death warrant. A new judge was assigned to Etheridge's case, and that judge signed a new death warrant in July 2002.

Gail Chauviere required blood transfusions because of her wounds. She contracted hepatitis C from the transfusions and never fully recovered. She died from the disease in 1999.

While on death row, Etheridge married a German death-penalty opponent named Claudia Schweiger. Schweiger built a web site, www.garyetheridge.com, which asserted Etheridge's innocence and appealed for activism and financial support on his behalf. According to this web site, Etheridge claimed that he did not kill Christie Chauviere and that he never confessed to such. He did admit to robbing and stabbing Gail Chauviere, but said that someone else at the scene -- who he refused to name -- killed Christie. He said that he was on his way to turn himself in for robbing and stabbing Gail when he was arrested. He said that police manufactured a confession and coerced him into signing it by beating him, making threats against his wife and daughter, and refusing his requests to see a lawyer. Claudia offered to name the actual killer in a newspaper interview in exchange for payment.

"I never intended to hurt everyone," Etheridge said in a death-row interview. "I cut and stabbed Gail with a little bitty pocket knife." He said that Gail fought with him when he tried to put her in a closet. "She kicked me and it hurt," he said. But he denied killing Christie. "I was there. I done wrong and I feel responsible, but I did not kill the girl."

Three days before the execution, Governor Rick Perry received a registered letter from Claudia Schweiger-Etheridge, inviting him to witness her husband's execution. "I think it would be important to you to finally witness an execution since you already signed so many death warrants," the letter read. (As mentioned above in the discussion of Etheridge's second stay of execution, death warrants in Texas are signed by judges, not the governor.) This letter named Ellis Michael Etheridge, Gary's brother, as the killer.

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied Etheridge's clemency request by a 17-0 vote. The U.S. Supreme Court also refused to halt the execution. Governor Perry declined to issue an emergency reprieve. He did not attend the execution.

"To the victim's family -- I'm sorry for what was taken from you," Etheridge said in his last statement. "I hope you have peace. To my sweet Claudia, I love you. Stay strong, keep building, and be careful. I hope there's closure for the victim's family and everybody. That's about it." After the lethal injection was started, Etheridge said, "I can feel it burning. I'm getting really dizzy." He then gasped, sputtered, and lost consciousness. He was pronounced dead at 6:22 p.m.

By David Carson. Posted on 21 August 2002. Changed paragraph order on 17 February 2015.
Sources: Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Texas Attorney General's Office, Associated Press, Huntsville Item, www.garyetheridge.com.