Execution Report: Reginald Perkins

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"I loved my stepmother," Perkins said in an interview from death row a few days before his execution. "I didn't have nothing to do with none of those killings. I have never taken an individual's life. They're just trying to pin them on me."

Perkins also denied pawning his stepmother's ring. Even though his driver's license was used to verify the transaction, Perkins said he had lost his license and someone else used it. He said that the rape victims in the Ohio cases lied and that he pleaded guilty because of bad advice from a lawyer. "Lies and false testimony," he said of those cases. "I ain't never hurt a person in my life." Perkins also denied that he ever confessed to his stepmother's death while in jail.

Kevin Rousseau, a Tarrant County district attorney who prosecuted Perkins, scoffed at his claims of innocence. "He's a consummate liar and a con artist," Rousseau said. "I wouldn't believe anything he said. He's a serial killer. People look for more complicated rationale. But the bottom line is, he's a killer. He goes through quite a bit of trouble to kill folks."

About an hour before his execution, Perkins summoned a prison official to his cell outside the death chamber and gave him a statement professing his innocence. "They didn't link me to nothing," Perkins said. "I did not kill my stepmom. I loved her. Texas is going to kill an innocent man." Of the other killings he was suspected of, Perkins said, "There's other suspects they questioned besides me. They let them go. I don't know what they're talking about. I can't tell you who killed them. I ain't killed nobody. I've never killed."

When the hour came and Perkins was strapped to the execution gurney, the warden asked him if he wanted to make a statement. "I already made my statement," he replied. "Appreciate it. Love y'all." The lethal injection was then started. "I can feel it going in," he said. He looked at Gertie's sister and told her he loved her, then he lost consciousness. He was pronounced dead at 6:24 p.m.

By David Carson. Posted on 24 January 2009.
Sources: Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Texas Attorney General's Office, Associated Press, Fort Worth Star-Telegram.