Execution Report: Reginald Blanton

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A jury convicted Blanton of capital murder in August 2001 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in June 2004. All of his subsequent appeals in state and federal court were denied.

Robert Blanton was not charged in Garza's murder, but he has subsequently been convicted of possessing drugs, evading arrest, failing to report to his parole officer, and assaulting his wife, causing bodily injury. He is currently in prison, serving a 2-year sentence for possession of a controlled substance.

Reginald Blanton always maintained his innocence. In an interview with an anti-death-penalty activist, Blanton said that he, his brother, and Mayberry did visit Garza's apartment on the day of his death, but not finding him home, they left. "On the way to our respective homes," Blanton said, "I asked my brother to stop by the pawn shop so I could pawn some jewelry. It was a last minute decision on my part. What makes this difficult to talk about is the fact that the jewelry had previously belonged to Carlos ... While we were on the east side, the particular side of town we were leaving from before we stopped by the pawn shop, somebody was kicking in Carlos's door, killing him."

Blanton said that he and the victim both wore a lot of jewelry and frequently traded it to each other when rolling dice. He said some photographs taken 2½ months before the murder, showing him wearing the same jewelry he pawned, were admitted into evidence at his trial, but that evidence was overlooked. "And though I have done some stupid things in my ignorant years," he continued, "never would I pawn something I stole. That is beyond comprehension."

Blanton said that LaToya Mayberry was coerced by homicide detectives into signing a statement naming him as the murderer so that the assault charge against her would be dropped. Next, they used Mayberry, who was pregnant with Robert's child, as leverage against Robert to force him into also signing a statement.

"Carlos was my friend. I didn't murder him," Blanton said in his last statement at his execution. "What is happening right now is an injustice. This doesn't solve anything. This will not bring back Carlos ... I am not the man that did this." Blanton also complained about the drugs being used to execute him, pointing out that they were not permitted for use to put down dogs. Finally, he expressed love to his fiancee, Sandra Stafford, who watched from a viewing room, and to his friends who also attended. "Stay strong, continue to fight. I will see y'all again." The lethal injection was then started. He was pronounced dead at 6:21 p.m.

By David Carson. Posted on 28 October 2009.
Sources: Sources: Texas Attorney General's office, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Associated Press, Associated Content, public records.