A Texas inmate who once escaped custody after being sentenced to death was executed by lethal injection, becoming the first person executed in the United States this year.
Charles Victor Thompson, 55, was pronounced dead at 6:50 pm CST at the Huntsville state penitentiary on Wednesday. He had been convicted for the fatal shooting of his former girlfriend and her new partner in Houston in 1998, news agency AP reported.
Thompson was sentenced to death for killing Glenda Dennise Hayslip, 39, and Darren Keith Cain, 30, at Hayslip’s apartment in a Houston suburb.
Reportedly, court records show that Hayslip and Cain were dating when Thompson arrived at her apartment around 3 am. An argument broke out between Thompson and Cain, prompting police to respond. Officers told Thompson to leave the apartment complex.
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About three hours later, Thompson returned and shot both victims. Cain died at the scene, while Hayslip succumbed to her injuries a week later in the hospital.
‘There are no winners’
In his final statement, Thompson asked the victims’ families for forgiveness.
{{/usCountry}}In his final statement, Thompson asked the victims’ families for forgiveness.
{{/usCountry}}In his final words, Thompson asked the families of his victims to find it in their hearts to forgive him, adding, “that you can begin to heal and move past this.”
“There are no winners in this situation,” he said after a spiritual adviser prayed over him for about 3 minutes and shortly before a lethal dose of pentobarbital was administered. He said his execution “creates more victims and traumatises more people 28 years later.”
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“I’m sorry for what I did. I’m sorry for what happened, and I want to tell all of y’all, I love you and that keep Jesus in your life, keep Jesus first,” he added.
As the injection took effect, Thompson gasped loudly and took several breaths that turned into snores. He stopped moving and was pronounced dead 22 minutes later.
Reaction from witness and official
One of the witnesses, Dennis Cain, whose son Darren was killed, reacted strongly after the execution.
“He’s in hell,” he said after a physician declared Thompson dead.
Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare, whose office handled the prosecution, said the case had finally reached its conclusion.
“This chapter is closed,” Teare said. “It was justice a long time coming."
About an hour before the scheduled execution, the US Supreme Court rejected Thompson’s final appeal without explanation. Earlier in the week, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles had denied his request to have his death sentence reduced.
Thompson’s lawyers argued that he was denied the chance to challenge medical evidence suggesting Hayslip died from a gunshot wound to the face. They claimed her death was caused by poor medical treatment after the shooting, including oxygen deprivation following a failed intubation.
Prosecutors countered that a jury had already rejected that argument. They said Thompson was legally responsible for her death because it would not have occurred without his actions.
Hayslip’s family had previously filed a civil lawsuit against one of her doctors, alleging medical negligence during her treatment. In 2002, a jury ruled in favour of the doctor.
Thompson’s original death sentence was overturned, leading to a new punishment trial in November 2005. He was again sentenced to death by lethal injection.
Shortly after being resentenced, Thompson escaped from the Harris County Jail in Houston. He managed to walk out of the facility with little resistance.
He later told The Associated Press that he slipped out of his handcuffs and jail uniform after meeting his lawyer in an unlocked interview room. He said he used a makeshift badge to pass several deputies.
“I got to smell the trees, feel the wind in my hair, grass under my feet, see the stars at night. It took me straight back to childhood being outside on a summer night,” Thompson said in a 2005 interview.
He was captured three days later in Shreveport, Louisiana, while attempting to arrange overseas money transfers to flee to Canada.
Texas has historically carried out more executions than any other US state. However, Florida recorded the highest number in 2025, with 19 executions.
The next execution in the US is scheduled for 10 February. Ronald Palmer Heath is set to be executed in Florida for the 1989 murder of a travelling salesman during a robbery in the Gainesville area.
(With inputs from AP)