As reported in this local article, "Robert Jennings was on Texas’ death row for nearly 30 years. On Wednesday, the 61-year-old was put to death in the nation’s first execution of 2019." Here is more:
Jennings was sentenced to death in the 1988 murder of Houston police officer Elston Howard. According to court records, Jennings walked into an adult bookstore to rob it, and Howard was there arresting the store clerk for a municipal violation. The clerk testified that Howard had no time to even reach for his gun before Jennings shot him multiple times, killing him.
Less than an hour after his final appeals were rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, Jennings was injected with a lethal dose of pentobarbital at 6:15 p.m. in the state's execution chamber in Huntsville. He was pronounced dead 18 minutes later. In his final words uttered strapped to a gurney, he told his friends and family it was "a nice journey."
"To the family of the police officer, I hope this finds you peace," he said. "... Enjoy life's moments because we never get them back."
The lengthy stretch of time between Jennings' 1989 sentencing and his execution shines a light on the complications that can arise during the appeals process in the face of constantly evolving death penalty law. In their last attempt to halt Jennings' execution, his lawyers zeroed in on changes in how death penalty juries weigh "mitigating evidence"— factors that can lessen the severity of the punishment that are largely based on the defendant's background, like an abusive childhood or intellectual disability.
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