Execution Report: William Berkley

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A jury convicted Berkley of capital murder in April 2002 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in April 2005. All of his subsequent appeals in state and federal court were denied.

According to an Associated Press article, Michael Angelo Jacques was sentenced to life in prison for planning the robbery and hiding evidence.

While on death row, Berkley maintained his innocence. "I'm not exactly sure what happened," he told a reporter shortly before his execution. "I wasn't there." He said he and Michael Jacques had planned to commit a robbery the night Martinez was killed, but their plans got sidetracked when he was hitchhiking and "got picked up by four girls" and went off with them.

"I screwed up and signed two confessions," he said in another interview. "But I could not read what I was signing, because I did not have my glasses. I was told that the stuff I was signing was to get the attorney I requested present."

He said he had consensual sex with Martinez, having dated her for several months. "She was a cool chick," he said.

The victim's sister, MaryAnn Martinez, called Berkley's declaration "absolutely ridiculous."

"We knew who she would date," she said. "There was no reason she would hide it."

Berkley tried to raise money for his legal defense by selling paintings. Some of his artwork was recently displayed at the El Paso Museum of Art.

Berkley's girlfriend, his attorney, and his spiritual advisor watched his execution from a viewing room. In another room were the victim's mother and two sisters and the El Paso district attorney. Berkley expressed love to his witnesses in his last statement. He did not acknowledge his crime or the victim's witnesses. "Warden, let her rip," he concluded. The lethal injection was then started. He was pronounced dead at 6:18 p.m.

By David Carson. Posted on 26 April 2010.
Sources: Texas Attorney General's office, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, court documents, Associated Press, El Paso Times, associatedcontent.com, kvia.com.