'I want to apologize': John Balentine's last words before execution for 1998 murders of 3 teens
HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS: A convicted killer begged for mercy, before being put to death for killing three teenagers more than twenty years earlier. For the January 1998 shooting deaths of Edward Mark Caylor, 17, Kai Brooke Geyer, 15, and Steven Watson, 15, at a home in Amarillo, John Balentine, 54, was given a lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas.
Just hours after the state's Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) overturned a district judge's order to delay the execution, John Balentine, 54, was declared dead Wednesday, February 8 night at 6.36 pm. He apologized to the families of his victims in his dying moments, as reported by Newsweek.
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What were John Balentine's final words?
The Guardian reported as the witnesses entered the execution chamber, Balentine smiled and requested a foot massage. Balentine's spiritual advisor supported his left foot in his right hand while he offered a brief prayer, and then the prisoner gave a brief speech in which he thanked his supporters for their support. He apologized after turning to face seven family members of his three murder victims through a window.
“I want to thank y’all," said Balentine. "I love y’all for supporting me. "I want to apologize for the wrong I did to y’all. Forgive me, I’m ready ma’am," he added, according to Fox News. Balentine concluded, “I hope you can find in your heart to forgive me.”
As the deadly dose of the potent sedative pentobarbital started to flow, Balentine inhaled twice, exhaled loudly, yawned, and snored twice more. There were 11 snores, which got gradually softer before stopping. 15 minutes after the injection, at 6.36 pm, a doctor pronounced him dead.
Balentine was 28 when he invaded an Amarillo, Texas, home and murdered his former girlfriend's brother, Edward Mark Caylor, 17, Kai Brooke Geyer, 15, and Steven Watson, 15. At the time of his initial trial, the 54-year-old man admitted to the killings but rejected a plea agreement that included a life sentence because he was afraid of being killed in prison because of the case.
Witnesses of the victims who were present at the execution reportedly high-fived each other after Balentine's death and refused to speak to the media.
What did Balentine's lawyers argue?
Due to the fact that Balentine is black and the three victims are white, it was claimed by Balentine's attorneys throughout the trial that the shooting was racially motivated because Caylor did not support his sister's interracial relationship.
Despite the fact that Balentine admitted to the murders, his current attorneys have always maintained that racial prejudice was present during his 1999 trial. Balentine's legal team also asserted that the state's attorneys disqualified prospective black jurors and that Randall Sherrod, one of the trial attorneys, referred to the verdict as "justifiable lynching," in addition to asserting that the jury foreman was an outright racist.
“I think he got a fair trial,” Sherrod, said of his former client. “I think we had a good jury … We tried to help John whatever way we could.”
Balentine was one of five inmates on Texas' death row who filed a lawsuit against the government to demand that it stop utilizing dangerous, outdated execution medicines. Although Balentine is the third plaintiff in the case to be executed while procedures are ongoing, an Austin civil court preliminarily agreed with the claims of the detainees, The U.S. Sun reported.
A state district judge last week recalled Balentine's execution date and death warrant in a last-ditch effort after concluding that the inmate's attorney had not been given adequate prior notice of the proceedings. In the end, prosecutors filed an appeal with the CCA, which restored the date and warrant for Wednesday, February 8 morning.