Texas Execution Information Center

Execution Report: Gary Green

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A jury found Green guilty of capital murder in November 2010 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in October 2012. All of his subsequent appeals in state and federal court were denied.

In its coverage of Green's execution, the Texas Tribune continued its recent practice of misreporting that Texas prisoners are currently engaged in "an ongoing legal battle over the state's use of expired drugs to kill prisoners." According to the Tribune, using the lethal injection drug, pentobarbital, after its "use-by" date "could make the process more painful." But according to the Tribune's own findings, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice received a fresh batch of pentobarbital on 5 January 2023 and confirmed that batch was put into use. No new expired drug claims have been filed since Robert Fratta's execution on 10 January. Many other news outlets have uncritically repeated the Tribune's editorial spin on this purported controversy. The Associated Press reported that Green and three other inmates have been executed this year "despite a civil court judge in Austin" agreeing with the prisoners' claims, without noting that two appeals courts ruled that the judge lacked jurisdiction over the matter.

Six members of the victims' families - J.T., Jerrett, Jazzmen's father, Roy Montgomery; his wife, and Lovetta Armstead's mother and sister - attended Green's execution. Green used his last statement to apologize to them and ask them to forgive him not for his sake, but so they could "heal and move on."

"I apologize for all the harm I have caused you and your family. We ate together, we broke bread together, we laughed and cried together as a family. I'm sorry I failed you. There's nothing I can do."

Green ended by saying, "I never stopped loving y'all. See y'all on the other side. God bless you. I'm done, Warden." The lethal injection was then started. He was pronounced dead at 7:07 p.m.

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By David Carson. Posted on 8 March 2023.
Sources: Texas Department of Criminal Justice, court documents, Dallas Morning News, Texas Tribune.

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