Death Row Inmate Executed Over Multiple Murders in 1989

Texas executes man for the brutal 1989 murders of twin teenage girls, reigniting debate on capital punishment.

At a Glance

Garcia Glenn White, 61, was executed for the 1989 murders of twin 16-year-old girls and their mother.
White was pronounced dead at 6:56 p.m. CDT after lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville.
He was the sixth inmate executed in the U.S. in the last 11 days.
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected three last-ditch appeals without comment.
White apologized for his actions and sang a hymn before the lethal injection took effect.

Execution Carried Out After Three Decades

Garcia Glenn White, a 61-year-old Texas man, was executed on Tuesday for the brutal 1989 murders of twin 16-year-old girls, Annette and Bernette Edwards, and their mother, Bonita Edwards. The execution took place at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas, where White was pronounced dead at 6:56 p.m. CDT following a lethal injection.

White’s execution marks the sixth inmate put to death in the United States in the past 11 days, highlighting the ongoing practice of capital punishment in certain states. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected three last-minute appeals without comment, sealing White’s fate after more than three decades on death row.

Final Moments and Apology

In his final statement, White expressed remorse for his actions and sought forgiveness from the victims’ families.

“I would like to apologize for all the wrong I have done, and for the pain I’ve caused,” White said before the execution, according to a statement from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. “I regret, I apologize, and I pray that you can find peace.”

After his apology, White sang a hymn titled “I Trust in God” and urged his family and friends to keep pushing forward and loving one another. The lethal injection began shortly after, and White was pronounced dead 17 minutes later.

The Brutal Crime and Delayed Justice

The murders of the Edwards twins and their mother remained unsolved for six years until White confessed after being arrested in connection with two other killings. Testimony revealed that White had gone to the victims’ home to smoke crack cocaine with Bonita Edwards and attacked the girls when they came out of their room.

“The suffering of surviving (victims’) family members is just unspeakable,” Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said. “At least it’s over.”

Ogg lamented the 30-year delay in carrying out the death verdict, highlighting the prolonged legal process that often accompanies capital punishment cases. The extensive time between sentencing and execution has been a point of criticism for both supporters and opponents of the death penalty.

Legal Challenges and Debates

White’s lawyers made several unsuccessful attempts to halt the execution, including appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court. They argued that White was intellectually disabled and entitled to a new review of his death sentence. The defense team also claimed that the Texas appeals court did not allow them to present potentially exculpatory evidence, including DNA evidence and scientific proof of a cocaine-induced psychotic break.

Josh Reiss, chief of the Post-Conviction Writs Division with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office in Houston, defended the decision to seek the death penalty in White’s case. “Garcia Glenn White committed five murders in three different transactions and two of his victims were teenage girls. This is the type of case that the death penalty was intended for,” Reiss stated ahead of the execution.

Capital Punishment in the United States

White’s execution brings the total number of executions in the United States this year to 18. Texas has carried out four of these executions, with another inmate, Robert Roberson, scheduled for execution on October 17. The continued use of capital punishment in Texas and other states contrasts with the growing trend of abolition or moratorium in many parts of the country.

Currently, 23 U.S. states have abolished the death penalty, while six others have moratoriums in place. This divide reflects the ongoing national debate over the morality, effectiveness, and constitutional validity of capital punishment in modern America.