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Texas executed death row inmate Arthur Lee Burton on Wednesday for the murder of a mother of three during an evening jog in Houston, making him the third man put to death in the state this year and the 11th in the nation.
Burton, 54, was executed by lethal injection in the Huntsville Unit north of Houston for the 1998 murder of 48-year-old Nancy Adleman, whose daughter described her as someone who «chose joy» every day of her life. Burton’s time of death was 6:47 p.m., according to Amanda Hernandez, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Burton’s attorneys filed numerous appeals throughout his time on death row, including two in July that were recently denied by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
Burton confessed to the murder to police and told a prison sociologist it was «something I couldn’t help,» according to court records.
Here’s what to know about Burton’s execution, his last words, the case and the victim.
Arthur Lee Burton’s last words: ‘Bird is going home’
Before Burton was executed, he spoke his last words in the death chamber.
«I want to say thank you to all the people who support me and pray for me,» he said. «For those of you I know and do not know, thank you for your support and prayers … And a full circle to all the guys at the Polunsky Unit (prison), I love you guy … Bird is going home.»
Burton also addressed those affected by his crimes.
«To all the people I have hurt and caused pain, I wish we didn’t have to be here at this moment, but I want you to know that I am sorry for putting y’all through this and my family,» he said. «I’m not better than anyone. I hope that I find peace and y’all can, too.»
Nancy Adleman’s murder
Nancy Adleman was killed on July 29, 1997, while out jogging along Brays Bayou in Houston.
Harris County sheriff’s deputies found Adleman’s badly beaten body in a 4-foot hole in a heavily wooded area along the bayou the next day.
Burton was arrested by authorities 10 days after the murder, and although he initially denied killing Adleman, he eventually confessed in a written statement after officers found inconsistencies in his alibi.
In Burton’s written statement, he admitted to attacking Adleman, dragging her into the woods, choking her unconscious, removing her shorts and underwear and raping her, according to a 2004 court filing. When Adleman regained consciousness and began screaming, Burton choked her unconscious again and dragged her into the hole officials found her in.
When Burton was about to leave, he saw another person walking nearby, so he returned to the hole and strangled Adleman to death with her own shoelace, the court document says.
In his confession to police, Burton said that Adleman’s last words before her death were: «God forgives you and I do, too,» according to Adleman’s daughter, Sarah Adleman, who was 16 at the time and recently talked to USA TODAY about the crime.
«For any woman who has ever exercised alone, or walked to their car alone at night, this case is their worst nightmare,» Josh Reiss, chief of the Post-Conviction Writ Division of the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, told USA TODAY.
Nancy Adleman’s daughter not attending execution
Sarah Adleman told USA TODAY earlier this week that she would not be attending Burton’s execution, and would instead gather by a river with friends and family for an afternoon of «play and laughter.»
She was 16 years old when her mother was murdered while out on a jog in Houston. Now Sarah Adleman is 43 and a mother herself.
«I think the greatest way to honor my mother’s life is to be present with the joy in mind,» Sarah Adleman said. «We will have a gratitude and a forgiveness ceremony, a funeral of sorts. A letting go of the past 27 years.»
She recalled how her mother made it a point to choose joy.
«She woke most mornings to pray, meditate (and) write before anyone else was awake,» she recalled. «She understood that joy is a choice.»
Sarah Adleman said her brother, Geoff, and father, Mark, would be attending the execution. Geoff was 14 when his mother was killed, and Mark had been married to Nancy for 18 years.
When is the next execution?
The next execution is scheduled for Thursday, when Utah is expected to execute Taberon Dave Honie for the 1998 murder of 49-year-old Claudia Benn, who was the mother of his girlfriend at the time.
If the execution commences as planned, Honie will become the 12th inmate to be executed in the U.S. this year and the first executed in Utah since a 2010 execution by firing squad.
