Charles Brooks, Jr.

Charles Brooks, Jr. (September 1, 1942 – December 7, 1982) was a convicted murderer who was the first person executed by the state of Texas since it resumed capital punishment.^[1] Brooks was also the first person in United States to be executed using lethal injection.

Biography

Brooks was raised in a well-off Fort Worth, Texas family and attended I.M. Terrell High School, where he played football. He had been to prison before, serving time at the United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth for illegal possession of firearms.

On December 14, 1976, Brooks went to a used car lot and asked to test drive a car. The mechanic, David Gregory, accompanied him in the car. After Brooks picked up his accomplice Woody Loudres, they put the mechanic in the trunk of the car and Brooks and Loudres drove to a motel. There the mechanic was bound to a chair with coat hangers, gagged with tape and then shot once in the head. Neither Brooks nor Loudres would say who fired the shot. In exchange for his testimony at trial, Loudres received a 40 year sentence; Brooks received the death sentence.

The Supreme Court of the United States rejected by 6-3 a petition to grant a stay of execution. The State Board of Pardons and Paroles recommended by 2-1 that the execution should proceed.

After a last meal consisting of a T-bone steak, french fries, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, biscuits, peach cobbler and iced tea, Brooks was rolled into the death chamber at the Huntsville Unit in Huntsville, Texas. There he made his final statement. Brooks had converted to Islam while in prison and as such said a prayer to Allah: "Yes, I do. I love you. Ash Hadu an la ilah illa Allah, Ash Hadu an la ilah illa Allah, Ash Hadu anna Muhammadan Rasul Allah, Ash Hadu anna Muhammadan Rasul Allah. I bear witness that there is no God but Allah. I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. Inna li-Allah wa-inna ilayhi rajiun. Verily unto Allah do we belong, Verily unto him do we return. Be strong." ^[2]

Brooks was executed on December 7, 1982, despite serious doubts about his personal involvement in the murder of David Gregory. Even the prosecutor pleaded that his death sentence be commuted, because no one knew whether he or his co-defendant actually committed the murder. (Charles W. Colson, "That Execution Wasn't Painless," Washington Post, December 11, 1982)

See also

• Capital punishment in the United States
• List of individuals executed in Texas
• List of notable converts to Islam

References

1. ^ "part I: History of the Death Penalty". http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/part-i-history-death-penalty#reinst. 
2. ^ "Charlie Brooks, Jr.". http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/brooks006.htm. 

• Robert Reinhold (1982-12-07). "Technician Executes Murderer in Texas By Lethal Injection". The New York Times. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0D10FC355D0C748CDDAB0994DA484D81. 
• Offender Information from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved 22 August 2005.
• Last Statement from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved 22 August 2005.
• Final Meal Requests. Texas Department of Criminal Justice (2003-09-12). Archived from the original on 2003-12-02. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.
• http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/brooks006.htm

Retrieved 4 April 2011.

External links

• Appeals Court Ruling from Jurisearch.com. Retrieved 25 August 2005.
• Supreme Court Ruling from FindLaw.com. Retrieved 25 August 2005
• Clark County Prosecutor file on Charlie Brooks, Jr.
• Illustration of Brook's execution
• Texas gurney in 1982
• 1982 news
• 1982 news

Preceded by Frank Coppola

People executed in U.S.

Succeeded by John Louis Evans

Persondata
Name	Brooks, Charles, Jr.
Alternative names	Charlie Brooks
Short description	Convicted murderer
Date of birth	1942-09-01
Place of birth	Fort Worth, Texas, United States
Date of death	1982-12-07
Place of death	Huntsville, Texas, United States