Thomas Bartlett Whitaker

Thomas Bartlett Whitaker (born December 31, 1979), previously known as Bart Whitaker, is a Texas death row inmate at the Polunsky Unit in Livingston.[1] He was convicted for the December 10, 2003 murders of his mother and brother by hitman Chris Brashear.[2] Whitaker had employed him and another accomplice Steven Champagne, the getaway driver, to carry out the murders. His father Kent, was shot but survived. Following a tip off that police would shortly arrest Whitaker for the murders, he fled to Mexico in 2004. He lived there for over a year under a false name, until he was arrested without incident.[3]

Conviction

At his trial in March 2007, prosecutors alleged that although it wasn't Whitaker who pulled the trigger, he was responsible for the murders because he played the leading part in the conspiracy to commit murder.[4] Whitaker was refused a plea bargain by the District Attorney in return for his admission of guilt and was tried for capital murder. The prosecutors' chief witness, Steven Champagne, claimed that Whitaker had wanted his family dead so he could capitalize on a million-dollar life insurance payout. Whitaker denies this and says that the only life insurance policy the family had was for $50,000 on his father's life.[5] Whitaker claims that a mental disorder, exacerbated by drug abuse, caused him to want his family eliminated.[6]

Kent Whitaker had already forgiven his son for his part in the murders and had tried to persuade the jury not to deliver a death sentence.[7] However, the jury decided to convict Whitaker of capital murder under the Texas Law of Parties.[8] Chris Brashear received a life sentence in a plea bargain worked out with prosecutors.[9] Steven Champagne agreed to testify for the prosecution in return for a 15-year sentence.[2]

Whitaker has appealed his death sentence on the grounds of the ineffectiveness of his trial counsel, prosecutorial misconduct, the arbitrariness of the death penalty punishment and the cruelty of the lethal injection, in violation of the eighth amendment to the United States Constitution prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment. [10] [11]

In April 2017, his appeal against prosecutorial misconduct was dismissed by the Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit.[12]

Whitaker states that his father, Kent, will be revictimized by his execution.[13] Kent wrote a book about the murders titled Murder by Family about his forgiveness for his son's actions.[8]

Thomas Whitaker and other inmates initiated a class action suit against the conditions on Texas death row where inmates are kept in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day which was unsuccessful.[14][15] He has also authored a website listing the educational options available to prisoners called "Ten things to do in Polunsky until you're dead".[16]

He has contributed to Solitary Watch where he writes about the effects of solitary confinement on himself and other death row inmates.[17] He also won prizes in PEN America's prison writing contests for “Hell’s Kitchen”,[18] "Manufacturing Anomie" [19] and the essay “A Nothing Would Do as Well".[20] In 2007, he founded an inmate blog, entitled Minutes Before Six which is maintained by volunteers.[21][22] Texas inmates are typically executed at 6pm in the Huntsville Unit. He also contributed to Hell Is a Very Small Place: Voices from Solitary Confinement.[23]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "America's 10 Worst Prisons: Polunsky". Mother Jones. 2013-05-02. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
  2. 1 2 ERIC HANSON (2007-09-19). "Triggerman in Sugar Land slayings pleads guilty - Houston Chronicle". Chron.com. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
  3. ↑ "'Sugar Land' Culprit Made New Life in Mexico - ABC News". Abcnews.go.com. 2009-04-29. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
  4. ↑ "Bart Whitaker On The Stand". YouTube.com. Retrieved 2017-07-13.
  5. ↑ "Minutes Before Six: Attempts at "Why?"". Minutesbeforesix.blogspot.co.uk. 2007-10-17. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
  6. ↑ "THOMAS BARTLETT WHITAKER; CRIMINAL TRIAL CAUSE No. 42,969" (PDF). Minutesbeforesix.com. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
  7. ↑ Kever, Jeannie (2007-10-19). "Father forgives son who had mom, brother killed - Houston Chronicle". Chron.com. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
  8. 1 2 "'Murder by Family': Read Shocking Excerpt - ABC News". Abcnews.go.com. 2009-04-27. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
  9. ↑ ERIC HANSON (2007-11-19). "Driver in Sugar Land murder plot gets 15 years - Houston Chronicle". Chron.com. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
  10. ↑ "Whitaker, Williams vs. Livingston" (PDF). Gpo.gov. Retrieved 2017-06-19.
  11. ↑ "Whitaker vs. Stephens" (PDF). Gpo.gov. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
  12. ↑ "THOMAS BARTLETT WHITAKER vs. LORIE DAVIS" (PDF). Ca5.uscourts.gov. Retrieved 2017-06-19.
  13. ↑ "Bart Whitaker talks about eventual execution". Click2houston.com. 2012-08-01. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
  14. ↑ "KPRC-TV Death Row interview with Thomas Bart Whitaker on Vimeo". Vimeo.com. 2012-11-23. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
  15. ↑ "THOMAS WHITAKER AND CHRISTOPHER WILKINS, ET AL vs. OLIVER J. BELL, MEMBERS OF THE TX. BRD. OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE, JOHN WHITMIRE, DAVID J. CALLENDER, M.D., GOVERNOR RICK PERRY, ET AL" (PDF). Minutesbeforesix.com. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
  16. ↑ Whitaker. "Ten things to do in Polunsky until you're dead". Retrieved 2017-06-19.
  17. ↑ By Voices from Solitary July 27, 2016 (2016-07-27). "Voices From Solitary: The War of All Against All". Solitary Watch. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
  18. ↑ Bartlett, Thomas (2011-05-05). "Hell’s Kitchen - PEN America". Pen.org. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
  19. ↑ Bartlett, Thomas (2014-07-07). "Manufacturing Anomie - PEN America". Pen.org. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
  20. ↑ Bartlett, Thomas (2014-07-07). "A Nothing Would Do As Well - PEN America". Pen.org. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
  21. ↑ "Blogging From Death Row: Inmates Get Help From Victims - ABC News". Abcnews.go.com. 2011-09-13. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
  22. ↑ "Minutes Before Six: Thomas Bartlett Whitaker (TX)". Minutesbeforesix.blogspot.com. 1999-04-24. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
  23. ↑ Casella, Jean; Ridgeway, James; Shourd, Sarah, eds. (2 February 2016). "Hell Is a Very Small Place: Voices from Solitary Confinement". The New Press – via Amazon.
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