Man From Texas Set to be First Executed in the U.S. This Year
A man from Texas, who once managed to slip from custody and spent three days on the run after receiving a death sentence for killing his former girlfriend and her new partner nearly three decades ago, is anticipated to be the first individual to face execution in the U.S. this year.
Charles Victor Thompson, 55, is expected to be administered a lethal injection on Wednesday evening at the state penitentiary. He was sentenced to death for the April 1998 killings of his former girlfriend, Glenda Dennise Hayslip, 39, and her new partner, Darren Keith Cain, 30, which took place in her apartment located in a suburb of Houston.
Past Relationship and the Night of the Killings
Thompson and Hayslip had a romantic relationship that lasted a year, but it ended because Thompson became more and more possessive, jealous, and violent, according to prosecutors. Legal documents reveal that Hayslip and Cain were in a relationship when Thompson arrived at Hayslip’s apartment and started an argument with Cain around 3 a.m. on the night of the murders. The police were called to the scene and instructed Thompson to leave the premises. However, Thompson returned three hours later and shot both Hayslip and Cain, who passed away at the scene. Hayslip succumbed to her injuries in the hospital a week later.
"The Hayslip and Cain families have been waiting for justice for over a quarter of a century," said the prosecutors from the District Attorney’s Office.
Thompson's Legal Battle
Thompson's legal representatives have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to delay his execution. They argue that Thompson was not given the opportunity to challenge the prosecution’s assertion that Hayslip died from a gunshot wound to the face. Instead, they contend that Hayslip's death resulted from improper medical treatment she received after the shooting, which led to severe brain damage from a lack of oxygen following an unsuccessful intubation.
Earlier this week, Thompson's plea to reduce his death sentence to a lesser penalty was denied by the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. "If he had been able to raise a reasonable doubt as to the cause of Ms. Hayslip’s death, he would not be guilty of capital murder," stated Thompson's legal representatives.
However, prosecutors countered this claim, stating a jury has already dismissed the argument and determined, according to state law, that Thompson is responsible for Hayslip’s death, as it "would not have occurred but for his conduct."
Thompson's Previous Sentence Overturned
In 2002, Hayslip’s family filed a lawsuit against one of her doctors, claiming medical negligence during her treatment left her brain-dead. The jury ruled in favor of the doctor. Thompson's death sentence was overturned and a new punishment trial was held in November 2005, which resulted in the jury again sentencing him to death by lethal injection.
Thompson's Escape and Recapture
Soon after being resentenced, Thompson managed to escape from jail in Houston by walking out the front door virtually unchallenged. He explained that after meeting with his lawyer in a small interview cell, he managed to free himself from his handcuffs and orange jumpsuit and left the room, which was not locked. Thompson used a fake ID badge to get past several deputies.
Thompson described his brief taste of freedom by saying, "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." However, his freedom was short-lived as he was apprehended in Louisiana while trying to arrange for wire transfers of money from overseas so he could flee to Canada.