Execution Report: Larry Wooten

Larry Wayne Wooten, 51, was executed by lethal injection on 21 October 2010 in Huntsville, Texas for the murder and robbery of an elderly couple in their home.

Grady Alexander, 80, and his wife, Bessie, 86, lived at home in Paris, in northeast Texas, with the help of others who would do odd jobs and errands for them. One such person was Larry Wooten, who was at one point married to their niece, Ruby Black.

On 3 September 1996, Wooten, then 37, stabbed Grady and Bessie in their home and cut both of their throats. He also hit Grady over the head with an iron skillet and hit Bessie on the head with the butt of a pistol. He also stole $500 to $600 from the couple.

At the trial, the prosecution presented blood evidence found on the victims' kitchen floor. A DNA analysis showed that it was Wooten's blood. Grady Alexander's blood was also found on a pair of Wooten's pants.

In addition to the physical evidence, the state presented testimony from a woman who said that on 8 September, she went on a cocaine binge with Wooten. She said when she met up with him, he removed a "wad of money" out of the front pocket of some overalls he was wearing, and that the overalls had blood on them. Wooten also had blood on his hands, she said.

Ruby Black testified that Wooten sometimes spent his entire paycheck on cocaine. She said that she stopped loaning him money because he would immediately use it to buy cocaine. She also urged the Alexanders not to loan Wooten money.

Wooten had three prior felony convictions. In 1982, he broke into a 73-year-old woman's house. He pleaded guilty to burglary of a habitation with intent to rape, and was sentenced to seven years' probation. Two years later, he was arrested for trying to break into the same woman's home. He pleaded guilty again and served six months in prison, but then was released on shock probation. (At the time, early release was common in Texas due to strict prison population caps imposed by U.S. District Judge William Wayne Justice.)

In 1991, Wooten was arrested for robbery. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to ten years in prison. He received parole in June 1994 after serving 2½ years of his sentence.

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