Execution Report: Christopher Wilkins

Continued from Page 1

A jury found Wilkins guilty of capital murder in March 2008 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in October 2010. All of his subsequent appeals in state and federal court were denied.

Wilkins was previously scheduled for execution in October 2015. At the time, the Texas Forensic Science Commission was conducting a review of issues regarding DNA evidence interpretation. Those issues were not believed to pertain specifically to Wilkins's case, but the state nevertheless moved to withdraw Wilkins' execution date. District Court Judge David Hagerman signed a new death warrant for Wilkins on 21 September 2016.

Wilkins made no last statement at his execution, but he did mouth "I'm sorry" twice to two relatives of one of the victims who were there as witnesses. The lethal injection was then started. He looked over at his witnesses, which included his ex-wife, Kelly Vaughn, and nodded at them. He was pronounced dead at 6:29 p.m.

Wilkins's execution was the first one carried out in the United States in 2017.

By David Carson. Posted on 13 January 2017.
Sources: Texas Department of Criminal Justice, court documents, Associated Press, Huntsville Item.