Double Murderer Executed in Texas After Three Decades on Death Row
Charles Victor Thompson, a convicted double murderer who once escaped from custody, was executed by lethal injection today at a prison in Huntsville, Texas. The 55-year-old became the first person put to death in the United States this year, nearly 30 years after he fatally shot his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend.
Final Moments and Plea for Forgiveness
In his final moments, Thompson begged for forgiveness from the families of his victims. With his last words, he asked them to find it in their hearts to forgive him, stating: "that you can begin to heal and move past this." After a spiritual adviser prayed over him for approximately three minutes, Thompson remarked: "There are no winners in this situation."
He expressed remorse, saying: "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." Thompson also commented that his execution "creates more victims and traumatises more people 28 years later."
The 1998 Murders and Subsequent Escape
Thompson shot dead his ex-girlfriend, Glenda Dennise Hayslip, 39, and her new boyfriend, Darren Keith Cain, 30, at Hayslip's suburban apartment in Houston, Texas, in April 1998. According to court records, Thompson and Hayslip had been romantically involved for one year in the mid-1990s but split after Thompson "became increasingly possessive, jealous and abusive."
On the night of the killings, Thompson arrived at Hayslip's apartment around 3am and began arguing with Cain. Police were called and instructed Thompson to leave the apartment complex. He returned three hours later and shot both victims. Cain died at the scene, while Hayslip succumbed to her injuries in hospital one week later.
Prosecutors from the Harris County District Attorney’s Office noted in court filings: "The Hayslip and Cain families have waited over 25 years for justice to occur."
Legal Proceedings and Jailbreak
Thompson had his original death sentence overturned, leading to a new punishment trial in November 2005. A jury again ordered him to die by lethal injection. Shortly after being resentenced, Thompson escaped from the Harris County Jail in Houston by walking out the front door virtually unchallenged by deputies.
He later told reporters that after meeting with his attorney in a small interview cell, he slipped out of his handcuffs and orange jail jumpsuit and left the unlocked room. Thompson used an ID badge fashioned from his prison ID card to bypass several deputies, spending three days on the run before being recaptured.
Execution Details and Reaction
As the lethal injection began taking effect, Thompson gasped loudly, then took about a dozen breaths that evolved into three snores. All movement ceased, and he was pronounced dead 22 minutes later. One witness, whose son was killed by Thompson, exclaimed: "He’s in hell" as the killer was declared dead by a physician.
The execution marks the culmination of a long and tumultuous legal journey for Thompson, whose crimes and subsequent escape have kept this case in the public eye for nearly three decades.
