Execution Report: Karl Chamberlain

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

In an interview from death row the week before his execution, Chamberlain admitted his guilt and expressed regret over his actions. "My greatest regret is going down there and not killing myself," he said. "I had kind of like a slip into delusion. It makes absolutely no sense ... It was like I lost all control." Nevertheless, Chamberlain said that prosecutors, his lawyers, and the jury should have paid more attention to the fact that in the five years following the murder, he managed to stay out of trouble.

Chamberlain's execution was attended by Prechtl's brother, son, and parents. The condemned killer looked at them directly, with a big smile on his face, as he spoke his last words: "I want you all to know I love you with all my heart. I want to thank you for being here ... We are here to honor the life of Felecia Prechtl, a woman I didn't even know, and celebrate my death. My death began on August 2, 1991, and continued when I began to see the beautiful and innocent life that I had taken. I am so terribly sorry. I wish I could die more than once." Chamberlain continued speaking as the lethal injection was administered. "I love you. God have mercy on us all," he said, still grinning. "Please do not hate anybody because ..." He then lost consciousness. He was pronounced dead at 6:30 p.m.

Chamberlain's execution was the first to take place in Texas since September 2007, when the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a Kentucky case challenging the constitutionality of lethal injection. The court upheld lethal injection in April, allowing executions in Texas and other states to resume. Chamberlain was the sixth prisoner executed in the United States since the court's decision.

By David Carson. Posted on 12 June 2008.
Sources: Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Texas Attorney General's office, Associated Press, Houston Chronicle, Huntsville Item.