Calvin King

Calvin Eugene King, 48, was executed by lethal injection on 25 September in Huntsville, Texas for the murder of a man during a robbery.

In February 1994, Calvin King, then 40, rented Room 38 of the Cedar Sands Motel in Beaumont. That evening, he and three friends -- Leonard Johnson, Danyell Williams, and Carlette Gibbs -- spent the evening smoking crack cocaine in the room. King was also buying and selling crack throughout the course of the evening. One of the group called Billy Wayne Ezell, who came to the room to sell them some crack. King bought $60 worth of crack from Ezell. While Ezell was in the room, he took a large roll of money out of his pocket, which was seen by everyone in the room. Ezell then left to visit some friends -- Kenneth Goodwin and Angelita Williams -- who were staying in Room 26 of the same motel.

At about 4:00 a.m. the next morning, 26 February, King and Johnson sent their girlfriends home in a cab, telling them that they were going to sell the crack they had just bought. King went downstairs and knocked on the door of Room 26. He asked Ezell to come to Room 38, which he did.

Ezell's body was found later that morning in Room 38. He was lying face down, nude from the waist down and partially covered with a blanket. A broken lamp lay next to him. The cord from the lamp was wrapped around his neck. The room was in disarray, as though a fight had occurred. Ezell had sustained multiple blows to his head and stabbing and cutting wounds to his head, face, throat, chest, and back. Additionally, both of his arms and hands had numerous defensive wounds. In all, Ezell suffered 37 major stab wounds and sustained extensive damage to the head.

King pleaded not guilty at his trial. Danyell Williams, King's girlfriend, testified that King had blood on his shirt when he and Johnson came home. She said that King appeared to have been in a fight. After the three smoked some crack, Williams saw King and Johnson produce a roll of money covered in blood. King then set about washing the money and drying it in the oven. Carlette Gibbs, Johnson's girlfriend, testified that Johnson woke her up, crying and telling her he "didn't do it." Gibbs then observed that King was in possession of a large amount of crack and that there was "money everywhere" drying. Later, King told her, "I'm the one kill him [sic]. I'm the one that hit him over the head with a lamp, put a cord around his neck, and slice his throat [sic]." Billy Hickman, who also lived in Danyell Williams' house, testified that he saw King and Johnson watching a news report about the killing, and King stated, "I done kill and I'll kill again."

King had five previous convictions. In April 1978, he was sentenced to 10 days in jail for assault. In April 1982, he received probation for his first theft offense. In August 1982, he received a 6-year sentence for a second theft conviction. He was paroled in June 1984. In August 1986, he received another 2-year sentence for a third theft conviction. He was paroled in April 1987. In May 1989, he received a 25-year sentence for burglary of a habitation. He was paroled after four years, in September 1993. (At the time, early release was common in Texas because of strict prison population caps imposed by U.S. District Judge William Wayne Justice.)

A jury convicted King of capital murder in June 1995 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in September 1997. All of his subsequent appeals in state and federal court were denied.

According to one source, Leonard Johnson pleaded guilty to murder and received a life sentence.

King declined requests for interviews from death row. In a brief last statement at his execution, he said, "I want to say God forgives as I forgive and god is the greatest. Thank you." He was pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m.