Execution Report: Richard Cartwright

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A jury convicted Cartwright of capital murder in 1997 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in May 1999. All of his subsequent appeals in state and federal court were denied.

Kelly Overstreet and Dennis Hagood were sentenced to 50 and 20 years in prison, respectively.

On death row, Cartwright declined to be interviewed by reporters, preferring instead to write letters to anti-death-penalty organizations, who posted his letters on their web sites. "I did not commit the crime for which I was convicted and sentenced to death," he stated. His claim of innocence, however, revolved around his responsibility for the murder, not his involvement in it. Cartwright blamed Overstreet for the murder, without elaboration.

To support Cartwright's claim that Overstreet was responsible for the murder, the web sites linked to a handwritten letter Overstreet wrote his girlfriend while in jail awaiting trial. In the letter, he wrote, "I sometimes do things I don't really mean to do, I usually do these things when I am high. I have always hated faggots but I didn't mean to kill the little 'queen.' I was pretty high that night, and I guess my rage overcame my ass. I guess that is what being a skinhead is all about."

In a recent written statement to Cartwright's lawyers, Overstreet stated, "I intentionally made Cartwright out to be the bad guy out of spite when in fact I am the one who was at the forefront of all events." Cartwright's lawyers tried to have his execution stayed, claiming that he was convicted on false testimony. Though they did not deny that Cartwright shot the victim, they claimed that he was under duress, following Overstreet's orders because he was afraid of him. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Cartwright's appeal late in the afternoon of his execution.

Attorneys for the state said that Overstreet's statements were unreliable and did "nothing to establish actual innocence" or undermine Cartwright's culpability.

"I want to apologize to the victim's family for any pain and suffering I caused them," Cartwright said in his last statement. He also encouraged his fellow death row inmates to "just keep your heads up and stay strong." The lethal injection was then started. He was pronounced dead at 6:16 p.m.

By David Carson. Posted on 20 May 2005. Typographical error corrected on 19 September 2004.
Sources: Texas Attorney General's office, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Associated Press, Huntsville Item, www.deathrow.at.