Execution Report: Newton Anderson

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A jury convicted Anderson of capital murder in May 2000 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in May 2002. All of his subsequent appeals in state and federal court were denied.

While on death row, Anderson was again caught trying to cut his way out of his cell, earning him the nickname "Hacksaw Red."

In an interview from death row the week before his execution, Anderson admitted his guilt. "I am guilty. I don't deny that ... Witnesses saw me. What can I say?" He said that when he got out of prison after his earlier burglaries, he couldn't find work. "I went back to what I knew how to do. All I knew is how to break into houses." When asked about the killings, Anderson answered, "The rest of my case, I can't explain why."

The Cobb's son, daughter, and nephew attended Anderson's execution. "For all those that want this to happen, I hope you get what you want, and it makes you feel better, and gives you some kind of relief," Anderson said to them as they watched from a viewing room. "I don't know what else to say." Anderson then looked toward another viewing room, where his sister was sobbing. "For those that I have hurt, I hope, after a while, it gets better," he said. Anderson then expressed love to his relatives and said, "I am sorry. That's it. Goodbye." The lethal injection was then started. He was pronounced dead at 6:17 p.m.

In a handwritten statement distributed after his death, Anderson again apologized to the family of his victims.

Kevin Cobb, the victims' son, said, "We now, as of this evening, start a new life. We will put one foot in front of the other and go on like our parents would have wanted us to."

By David Carson. Posted on 23 February 2007.
Sources: Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Texas Attorney General's office, Associated Press, Tyler Morning Telegraph.