George Whitaker

George H. Whitaker III, 37, was executed by lethal injection on 12 November 2008 in Huntsville, Texas for killing his ex-girlfriend's sister in her home.

On 15 June 1994, Whitaker, then 23, drove to the home of Mary Carrier in Crosby. Whitaker had been dating Carrier's daughter, Catina, but she had recently broken up with him because of his abusive behavior. Whitaker told Mrs. Carrier that he was returning some of Catina's belongings. She told him to leave them on the porch. Whitaker then pulled out a .45-caliber pistol and forced his way inside the home. He shot Carrier once in the shoulder. Carrier's 5-year-old daughter, Ashley, ran upstairs. Whitaker followed her upstairs, where he pistol whipped her into unconsciousness. He then found Carrier's 16-year-old daughter, Shakeitha, on the second floor and shot her once in the head. Returning downstairs, Whitaker found Mrs. Carrier fleeing through the front door. After retrieving more bullets from his vehicle, Whitaker caught up with her behind the house and shot her again in the right shoulder.

Ashley's skull was fractured in two places. She was taken by helicopter to the hospital, where she underwent surgery. She suffered some permanent brain damage. Mary Carrier had permanent nerve damage and lost the use of her right hand. Shakeitha - who was known as "Kiki" - died. Whitaker's former girlfriend, Catina, was not at her parents' home at the time of the shooting.

Whitaker was arrested at an apartment where he was drinking beer with another girlfriend. He tried to avoid the police by jumping out of a window. Police shot him in the hip because they thought he was reaching for a gun.

"The expression on his face ... it didn't look right to me," Mary Carrier testified at Whitaker's trial. She said when Whitaker forced his way into the house, she ordered Ashley to run upstairs, then begged Whitaker not to hurt her children. "I heard Kiki cry, 'George, please don't!' And then a shot."

At Whitaker's punishment hearing, the state presented evidence of his violent behavior. Selena Jackson testified that Whitaker hit her on her head or face on four occasions during their relationship. Catina Carrier testified about two incidents where Whitaker hit her on the head, and one where he choked her while she slept. She also testified that he often took the money she earned. She broke off their engagement, quit her job, and secretly moved in with a friend because she feared him. A friend of Catina's testified that Whitaker seized her a few days before the shootings and forced her at knifepoint to call Catina to have her meet him.

A jury convicted Whitaker of capital murder in March 1996 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in May 1998. All of his subsequent appeals in state and federal court were denied.

Whitaker declined to be interviewed from death row.

"I apologize for the pain and suffering I caused," Whitaker said in his last statement at his execution. "I pray Lord, please forgive me." He also asked his family members who attended to remember him and take care of his two children. Members of the victim's family did not attend. When the lethal injection was started, Whitaker said, "You all take care. I love y'all. I'm going on to sleep." He was pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m.