Donald Newbury of ‘Texas 7′ Executed
One of the seven fugitives convicted of the murder of an Irving police officer in 2000 was put to death Wednesday night.
Donald Newbury was one of seven convicts who escaped in 2000, the largest prison break in Texas, dubbed the "Texas 7". Newbury and the other escapees killed a 29-year-old Irving police office while robbing a sporting goods store on Christmas Eve, and were finally captured a few weeks later in Colorado.
Newbury was serving a 99-year sentence for aggravated robbery at the time of his escape and had already been in prison for other crimes. Since being convicted of the 2000 murder and placed on death row, Newbury has been accused of 55 other crimes including participating in a riot and assaulting a member of the prison staff.
Newbury received a stay of execution in 2012 just one week before his scheduled execution. Newbury's lawyers argued that his lawyers during the trial failed to show that Newbury suffered from psychological damage due to abuse as a child.
Newbury was declared dead at 6:25 pm Wednesday night. Extra guards were on hand if Newberry was aggressive, but were not needed. His final words were "I love you all," after quoting scripture. Officers from the Irving Police Department were present outside of the prison and revved the engines of their motorcycles as the lethal injection was administered.
Of the other members of the "Texas 7", two others have already been executed, one committed suicide to avoid capture, and the remaining three are still on death row.
via WFAA