Execution Report: David Hicks

Continued from Page 1

A jury convicted Hicks of capital murder in January 1989 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in March 1993. All of his subsequent appeals in state and federal court were denied.

On death row, Hicks complained about his court-appointed attorneys, who he said were indifferent and unresponsive. He also said that other potential evidence was found, including a second bloody hammer, that was never introduced at trial. Hicks also implied that his cousin, Eddie Branch, had a motive to kill his grandmother, in the form of an insurance policy, and said that Branch was never made to give a DNA sample.

Hicks's execution was delayed for about 75 minutes becuse of a last-minute appeal to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Just before his execution, Hicks released a written statement proclaiming his innocence. In his last statement, he expressed love to his family. The lethal injection was then started, and Hicks was pronounced dead at 7:29 p.m.

By David Carson. Posted on 2 August 2002.
Sources: Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Texas Attorney General's Office, Associated Press, others.