Thompson, who converted to Islam while in prison, opened his final remarks: “I bear witness that there is no God, but Allah. From Allah we come and to Allah we return.”
He thanked his mother and friends for their support.
“We all have to walk this path,” he said. “Smile, be happy, don’t cry.”
Thompson then apologized for his crime. “I never meant any of your family to get hurt,” he said to an empty chamber normally occupied by the victim’s family.*
Thompson’s mother, Audrey Champs, one of two people he wanted to witness his death, wept inconsolably, stamping her feet and pressing her head to the glass separating the witness room from the execution chamber.
“Oh God, oh God, oh God,” she sobbed.
At one point the woman asked to be escorted from the witness room.
Thompson was declared dead at 6:19 p.m.
–ALLAN TURNER HOUSTON CHRONICLE
*“normally” the person executed has been convicted of killing the victim
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AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry today issued the following statement regarding the execution of Robert Lee Thompson:
“After reviewing all of the facts in the case of Robert Lee Thompson, who had a murderous history and participated in the killing of Mansoor Bhai Rahim Mohammed, I have decided to uphold the jury’s capital murder conviction and capital punishment for this heinous crime. There is no reason to set aside the capital murder conviction handed down by a Texas jury and upheld by numerous state and federal courts.”
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The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles today voted to recommend that the death sentence of Robert Thompson be commuted to life. Thompson’s execution is scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday, November 19. Governor Perry will be deciding tonight or tomorrow morning whether to accept the recommendation and grant clemency to Thompson. Perry could accept or reject the recommendation from the BPP.
Call the Governor and leave a voice message at 512 463 1782 or email him through his website. Urge him to accept the recommendation of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to grant Robert Thompson clemency and commute his sentence to life.
Thompson was sentenced to death under the Law of Parties even though he did not kill the victim. Thompson’s accomplice fired the bullet that killed the victim. The accomplice received life in prison.
During the 2009 session of the Texas Legislature, the Texas House of Representatives passed a bill that would have banned executions of people convicted solely under the Law of Parties for people who do not actually kill anyone. The bill died in the Senate, but its passage in the House showed that many legislators want Texas to stop executing people convicted under the Law of Parties.
If Thompson’s execution is commuted, then other people sentenced to death under the Law of Parties could also be commuted in the future, including Jeff Wood.