Serial killer Garcia Glenn White is executed via lethal injection
A violent rapist and serial killer who has spent three decades on death row uttered just a few final words before his execution.
A serial killer and violent rapist who is responsible for the horrific murders of five people has been executed after spending almost three decades on death row.
Garcia Glenn White took his final breaths last week in front of his family and witnesses in the Huntsville State Prison in Texas.
The 61-year-old was put to death via lethal injection as he was strapped to the gurney in the specially-made execution chamber of the jail.
He used his last words to apologise for his gruesome crimes before breaking out into a religious hymn.
“I would like to apologise for all the wrong I have done, and for the pain I’ve caused,” he said shortly before the lethal dose of the sedative pentobarbital began flowing into his arms.
Suddenly, in a “loud and strong” voice, he began singing ‘I Trust in God’ before telling his family and friends to “just keep pushing forward, keep loving one another.”
He also thanked the prison guards for treating him “like a human being”.
As the lethal injection began taking over his body, White exhaled softly several times before letting out what sounded like snores.
He burped, snored quietly once again and gulped. Seventeen minutes later, he was pronounced dead.
Unthinkable crimes
The convicted rapist and killer was sentenced to death back in 1996 for the horrific murders of three women, although he has been linked to two more.
In 1989, White viciously beat a 27-year-old sex worker to death. Shortly after, he went to visit his friend Bonita Edwards, 38, intending to have sex with her.
However, the pair got into a fight when she refused intercourse. Enraged, he pulled out a knife and stabbed Edwards to death in a violent attack.
White then went into the bedroom of her two twin teenage daughters, Annette and Bernette, both 16.
He sexually assaulted Annette before stabbing her in the chest and slashing her throat. He then went into the bathroom, where a terrified Bernette was hiding, and did the same vile act before murdering her.
The bodies of the mother and her daughters went undiscovered for days until a concerned neighbour broke in and was confronted by the chilling scene.
Unbelievably, White got away with the crime for a staggering six years before he was arrested.
He had attempted to rob a convenience store in Houston with his old acquaintance, Tecumseh Manuel, which resulted in the death of the cashier, Hai Van Pham.
While both men were arrested for the murder, Manuel told police that White had divulged the details of the triple murder he committed back in 1989.
While he initially denied any involvement, he eventually admitted to the crime after being confronted by Manuel’s interview.
DNA and serology tests later identified his semen and blood samples to be a match for those at the crime scene.
Victim’s families
“My sister won’t be truly free until he’s executed, until he pays his debt,” Dewanta Washington told USA TODAY about her older sister Bonita.
“He has lived longer in prison than my sister lived on this Earth.
“It’s time for him to pay the piper. He just needs to go meet his maker.”
She told the outlet that her sister was “beaten beyond recognition” and that her injuries were so bad the family could not have an open casket.
The sisters were just two years apart, with Dewanta saying they grew up as best friends who did everything together and dreamt of one day getting married and having children.
Sadly, Dewanta never got the chance before her sister’s murder. She is planning on travelling back to where her family is from in Chicago to finally spread her sister’s ashes.
White’s fifth victim, convenience store cashier Hai Pham, had moved his wife and his four youngest children to the US from Vietnam in September 1994.
Just nine months later, he was brutally killed.
His son Hiep Pham, who was 17 at the time of the murder, told USA TODAY that his father had been teaching his children English even before they left Vietnam.
Hai’s big dream was for his other grown children to reunite with the family in the US eventually — a dream that tragically never came true.
“I feel angry still,” he said fighting back tears.
“We never celebrated Father’s Day for my dad. And I always dreamt of that, having a beer with my dad.”
Both Dewanta and Hiep witnessed the execution.
Hiep said he felt relief when he learned that White’s execution had been scheduled.
“I went back home and told my family during dinner that night: ‘I don’t know about y’all, but I’m going,’” he said.
“It’s hard to see somebody die, but I think it’s justice for my dad.”
Sentenced to die
In July 1996, White was found guilty of his crimes and sentenced to death.
He appealed his sentence several times but was unsuccessful. In April 2014, an execution date was set for January 28, 2015.
White’s lawyers filed an appeal challenging his death sentence, citing his client’s clean incarceration record, his childhood trauma and “low intelligence”.
His initial execution date was halted and was rescheduled for October 1st, 2024.
White remained on death row at the Allan B. Polunsky Unit at West Livingston, Texas, until he was transported to the execution chamber at the Huntsville Unit.
White is the 19th inmate to be executed in the US this year.
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