Execution Report: Terry Edwards

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A jury found Terry Edwards guilty of capital murder on November 2003 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and death sentence in March 2006. All of his subsequent appeals in state and federal court were denied.

Most of Edwards' appeals alleged faults with the process by which his jury was selected. His lawyers also contended that he should not be executed because he was not the triggerman.

Kirk Edwards, who had previous felony convictions for burglary and theft, was found guilty of aggravated robbery and sentenced to 25 years in prison. He remains in custody as of this writing.

Edwards had previously been scheduled for execution in May 2016, but the state agreed to postpone the execution to October because his attorneys had been largely absent and he was seeking new attorneys. The state then agreed to push the execution back to January to allow his new attorneys additional time to review his case.

Edwards' execution Thursday was delayed about four hours by multiple late appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court reviewed the filings and denied the appeals around 9:30 p.m.

When asked if he had a final statement, Edwards replied, "I'm at peace with God. I hope y'all find peace in this." The lethal injection was then started. He was pronounced dead at 10:17 p.m.

By David Carson. Posted on 27 January 2017.
Sources: Texas Department of Criminal Justice, court documents, public records, Associated Press, Dallas Morning News, Huntsville Item.