Execution Report: Richard Dinkins

Richard Eugene Dinkins, 40, was executed by lethal injection on 29 January 2003 in Huntsville, Texas for the murder of two women in a place of business.

On 12 September 1990, Dinkins, then 37, entered a massage clinic where he had been a customer. He got into an argument with the owner, Katherine Thompson, 46, over some bad checks he had written to the business. According to Dinkins, during the argument, Thompson pushed him, aggravating an old injury on his arm. A .25-caliber semiautomatic pistol fell from his clothing. Dinkins grabbed the pistol from the floor, fired at Thompson, and missed. When he tried to fire a second time, the gun jammed. Dinkins then drew a .357 Magnum revolver from his boot. He chased after Thompson and shot her twice -- first in the upper abdomen, then in the head. Next, Dinkins went after customer Shelly Cutler, 32, who was sitting in the waiting room when the argument started. Cutler ran into Thompson's office and tried to lock herself in, but Dinkins shot at her through a window, hitting her in the head. The gunsmoke set off a fire alarm, and Dinkins fled. Emergency workers responding to the alarm found both women seriously wounded. Thompson died shortly after her arrival at the hospital. Cutler died the next morning.

Dinkins' name was found in an appointment book at the business. He confessed to the murders after police found blood on his pants and the murder weapon in his truck. At this trial, a firearms testified that the slugs recovered from the crime scene matched Dinkins' revolver. A forensics expert testified that the blood found on Dinkins' jeans was consistent with Thompson's blood type.

Dinkins was a habitual bad check writer, with two prior convictions. He had no record of violence and had never been incarcerated.

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