Cliff was unable to get to Kevin because Tricia was blocking the entrance to the front door. Cliff bent his head and said a silent prayer for Kevin. On December 10, 2003, the Whitaker family was celebrating the college graduation of their eldest son, Thomas Bartlettknown as Bart, with dinner at a local seafood restaurant. He described her as just a very, very sweet person.. Of course, someone rich enough to post $3m bail can afford good representation, buying relative lenience. Today, Bart resides in the William G. McConnell Unit, or McConnell for short, in Beeville, Texas. [Thomas Bartlett Whitaker, February 17, 2012][34], Whitaker had earlier stated, when his execution was still expected, that he felt that his father would be further victimized by the execution. The shooting occurred after Kent and Patricia Whitaker returned home with their sons on December 10, 2003, having been out celebrating Bart Whitaker's college graduation. Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles In 2009, the state appeals court found in favor of the appellant on none of these points of law. According to evidence presented at trial, the mother and son were fatally shot at the dog kennels on the property, and a Snapchat video Paul recorded at the kennels placed Alex at the scene shortly before the killings. The dog kennels and hangar at the Murdaugh family property on March 1, 2023, The entrance to the kennels at the Murdaugh family property on March 1, 2023, A bullet hole in the glass of a window at the Murdaugh family property in Islandton on March 1, 2023, The entrance to the house at the Murdaugh family's property in Islandton, March 1, 2023. On Dec. 10, 2003, after the Whitakers returned from a dinner to celebrate what Bart said was the completion of his final exams, an unknown gunman shot all four of them as they entered their house in Sugar Land, a wealthy suburb of Houston. Just hold on tight.. I agree: killing a wife and mother-to-be two deaths is child-murder in my book (or near to) and should be treated as such. After all, Bart was graduating from Sam Houston State University with honors. If I were Governor I know I would be seeking reasons to offer clemency but I do not think I could find them in this case As an opposer of execution I would have to come to terms with that. In 2003, Thomas Bart Whitaker plotted the murder of his family. Blueprint for murder. [citation needed] The trial began in March 2007, led by prosecutor Fred Felcman. It will keep the blood from rushing out too fast, he ordered. The popular new guy in town explained to his south of the border friends that he sustained the bullet wound to his arm while fighting in Afghanistan. [8]:Ch.50[pageneeded] Whitaker began attending Baylor University in 2001, transferring from there to Sam Houston State University (SHSU), where he was thought by his parents to be in attendance in late 2003, and from which he was expected to graduate. Instead of thanking his lucky stars that his parents bought his story, Bart decided to push his luck again. E: governor@state.tx.us, Pending Execution of Offender Thomas Whitaker, TDJC Number: 999522, date of birth: 12/31/1979. Texasll probably be the last to lose it if it does! On September 15, 2005, a capital murder warrant was issued against Whitaker. Famously, Norman Mailer corresponded with Abbott, praised his writing talent, helped him snag a book deal, and lobbied for his early release. Was he a born a sociopath or did some kind of abuse taint and mold him? If it is so considered, my question would be: insofar as there are similar crimes, has this fact materially distinguished execution from life imprisonment in some of those cases? You missed something. Whitaker was convicted for the December 10, 2003, murders of his mother and 19-year-old brother; he was sentenced to death in March2007. [8]:ch.50[pageneeded], On December 10, 2003, Thomas Bartlett "Bart" Whitaker falsely told his family that he had just taken his final university exams and would soon be graduating from SHSU. Yes! After a tip came in from Barts high school friend claiming that Bart had plotted to kill his family a few years before, the police zeroed in on him as the mastermind behind the attack. It was difficult to tell if it was actually Kevin or Bart, since it was dark inside the house. Your article highlights just what a piece of work Whitaker is. Download Savage Son now. Mr. So, lets get going on the recap of Family Interrupted along with extra information drawn from internet research: Gathering place. Bart is still one very lucky man. Cliff spotted Kent Whitaker sprawled out on the concrete front porch next door. Bart had admitted his guilt and expressed remorse for the murders and for roping his friends into the plans, they stressed. The story takes you through the sequence of events from the moment the family return home from a celebratory meal, through the shooting and the eventual trial of his one remaining son. [3], Alongside the legal submission from the Whitaker legal team an 18-page document from Whitaker lawyers Keith S. Hampton and James Rytting (the latter at Hilder & Associates),[25][non-primary source needed] Whitaker's father, Kent, also appealed, cooperating with the legal team's submission and writing a letter in the public forum of the Houston Chronicle on January 18, 2018, asking that the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles "spare my son". commutes death sentence for man convicted of masterminding murder of mother, brother", "Driver in SugarLand murder plot gets 15years", "Testimony ends in Whitaker's murder trial", "Reprieve for man who plotted own family's murder", "Father forgives son who had mom, brother killed", "Man condemned in family murder plot loses high court appeal", "Judge sets execution date for SugarLand man who had family killed for $1million inheritance", "Texas Prison System stalls release of public information on executions", "Before the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles / Request for Commutation of Death Sentence to a Lesser Penalty", "A father's plea: Spare my son [Friday letters]", "Members of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles David G. Gutirrez, Chair", "Texas Parole Board Recommends Killer Be Spared From Death", "Texas Governor Weighs Parole Board's Advice on Inmate's Fate", "Governor Abbott commutes death sentence of Thomas Bartlett Whitaker", "[Commutation of death sentence of Thomas Bartlett Whitaker]", "Bart Whitaker talks about eventual execution", "Convicted killer accused of writing, selling book while in prison", "Voices from Solitary: The war of all against all", "Writing for Justice Fellowship 2018-2019", "Death row bloggers get help from victims", "Letters from death row: Faith behind bars", "Works of justice: An interview with Writing for Justice fellow Thomas Bartlett Whitaker", "Buried alive: Stories from inside solitary confinement", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thomas_Bartlett_Whitaker&oldid=1138499579, Recipients of American gubernatorial clemency, California State University, Dominguez Hills alumni, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2022, Wikipedia articles needing factual verification from January 2022, Articles with incomplete citations from January 2022, Articles lacking reliable references from January 2022, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from January 2022, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing expert attention from January 2022, Articles needing cleanup from January 2022, Cleanup tagged articles with a reason field from January 2022, Wikipedia pages needing cleanup from January 2022, Pages using infobox person with multiple parents, Pages using infobox criminal with motive parameter, All articles with vague or ambiguous time, Vague or ambiguous time from January 2022, Articles with multiple maintenance issues, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from January 2022, Articles to be expanded from January 2022, All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from January 2022, Articles covered by WikiProject Wikify from January 2022, All articles covered by WikiProject Wikify, Wikipedia articles in need of updating from January 2022, All Wikipedia articles in need of updating, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. It doesnt change what they did and what they have been judged on. Marcus, I have never seen such objective view wow. The dad, Kent, survived as did their son, Bart. He banned drones from flying over. Related: Guilt or Innocence: The Shocking Twists of the Sam Sheppard Case. Cliff made his way toward Kent. [citation needed][clarification needed], Kent Whitaker had already forgiven his son and his co-conspirators for their parts in the murders (reported on as early as 2007),[20] and had tried at the time of his son's trial, years earlier, to persuade the jury not to deliver a death sentence. Additional factors make the decision more complex.". The nineteen-year-old son of Tricia and Kent Whitaker stopped breathing. Tricia Whitaker continued to moan in agony. We know little about the family due to the Whitakers secretive nature WebBart Whitaker, arranged the murder of his family. In 2007, Whitaker founded an inmate blog, originally created with the assistance of his father, now maintained by volunteers, entitled Minutes Before Six; it has published his work and trial records, and articles, poetry, and art from inmates held in prisons in the United States. It is for this reason that I would never sign for it, even if that were the only way to evade a return to death row. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. That is, if it is a scandal that anyone is judicially executed, it is so if some are and some are not merely given the contingency of special pleading. "I did not because I felt comfortable with my determination," Riemer said. In September2005, Whitaker was handed over to U.S. authorities at the border town of Laredo, Texas, where he was arrested for capital murder. I swear I heard a shooting outside.. His mother Tricia and brother Kevin both died. Although Texas very rarely commutes to life-imprisonment for capital sentences there are surely more meritorious than his case. Champagne led police to the spot where he and Brashear threw a bag with the murder evidence into Lake Conroe. Little did Kent, Patricia, and Kevin Whitaker know that their life together was just a house of cards. Bart Whitaker was found guilty of capital murder that occurred on Dec. 10, 2003, when an assailant entered the Whitaker home in the Sugar Lakes subdivision and killed Barts mother, Trisha, 56 years old, and his brother, Kevin, 19. Brandon Stanley followed directly behind his father. He blatantly planned out his parents murder then he ran away in hiding. Hes no longer listed with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Subscribe to the ad-free version here! Prosecutors also called back to the stand the pathologist who did the autopsies on the victims and their expert who studied the crime scene. You are a good candidate for governor of Texas. E: bpp_pio@tdcj.texas.gov. Both victims appeared to be surprised with their hands down. v. Oliver J. The field trip came as prosecutors made their closing arguments in the weekslong trial where Alex Murdaugh stands accused of murdering his wife, Maggie, and son Paul. That factor alone may not warrant commutation for someone like Mr. Whitaker who recruited others to commit murder. Faithful father. He needed to get the hell out of there. Well known that the USs neighbour, Canada, has a much lower rate 1.6 raising the question why. Kinsey testified his opinion was also based on being certain the fatal shotgun wound to Paul Murdaugh was fired from down low and headed up through the head instead of downward with the gun pressed against his head. It sounds like his parents were wonderful and he had all the trappings of a nice life. Explaining his decision, Abbott said: "The murders of Mr. Whitaker's mother and brother are reprehensible. Police initially thought they had a suspect in an armed robber who struck a different house soon after the Whitaker attack, but bloodhounds didnt pick up his scent at the Whitakers. He argues that he is to be re-made a victim if his son is executed. Before the sentencing phase, both Kent Whitaker and Tricia Whitakers brother asked that Bart be spared the death penalty. He had transferred from Baylor University in Waco where an informant tipped off police about Barts aborted plan to kill his family in 2001 to Sam Houston State University. WebGetty. [citation needed] He was named a 2018-2019 PEN America Writing for Justice Fellow,[45] a program that aims to support creation of "written works of lasting merit that illuminate critical issues related to mass incarceration and catalyze public debate". I also want to get Early Bird Books newsletter featuring book deals, recommendations, and giveaways. Maggie and Paul Murdaugh. When Cliff witnessed the carnage before him, he yelled back at his son, Go back inside and call 911! Somethings going on outside. If I were a board member confident of my decisions Id be content to be answerable to the public, Helen: The Derek Severs ep: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7geqiz8wb7I We did have one murder from the UK on MD/FF have you seen the one about Graham Backhouse? Brashear shot Kent, Patricia, and Kevin as they entered the house and then gave Bart his courtesy wound in the arm. The unfairness of the situation is, ironically, an argument against the penalty, illustrating unjustness in US criminal practice. I consider it profoundly wrong that the victim may determine the difference between life (imprisonment) and death, as if the law is not a public entity, answerable to the many, as consistent, proportionate and impartial, not an indirect instrument for the vagaries of passions: anger, revenge, mercy, forgiveness, etc. But investigators couldnt help but notice that the drawers were all neatly pulled out to the exact same length and nothing had been removed from them. Their mental highlight reel was probably playing footage of an 8-year-old Bart teaching his little brother how to ride a bike. After the dinner ended, the family returned to their home in a wealthy Houston suburb to continue the celebration. So why did Bart kill the people he supposedly loved? Especially when it has been said that capital punishment is punishment for them that dont have the capital. Copyright 2023 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. It was natural instinct. Suddenly Cliff saw his friend lurch sideways and mutter something. While out having a celebratory dinner, no one in his family could've imagined the horror that waited for them when they got back home. [38][c] [11], Whitaker appealed his death sentence, suggesting nine points of error. Help!. Champagne explained that he staked out the Whitakers at the graduation dinner at Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen where Bart enjoyed bread pudding with Congratulations spelled out in chocolate sauce and called Brashear to let him know when the group left the restaurant. Rebecca I couldnt find it, but it would be great if you reviewed it! In his haste to exit the scene, Brashear gathered up Barts cellphone instead of the gun. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Apparently he skipped a lot of classes, then stopped going entirely, and blew his tuition funds on some form or recreation; its not clear what kind. 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