The state of Texas executed a man convicted of killing three teenagers in their sleep in 1998 on Wednesday.
John Balentine, 54, was convicted of killing Edward Mark Caylor, 17; Kai Brooke Geyer, 15; and 15-year-old Steven Watson at a home in Amarillo, Texas, in January 1998. Balentine was 28 at the time of the teens’ deaths.
“Yes, ma’am, I want to thank you all. I love you for supporting me. I want to apologize for the wrong I did to you. Forgive me, I’m ready, ma’am,” Balentine. she said in a final statement before receiving a lethal injection.
He was pronounced dead at 6:36 p.m.
Balentine’s execution was initially up in the air because a judge withdrew the man’s execution date and order last week, saying the 54-year-old’s lawyers were not properly notified of the execution, which is required by the state law.
Late Wednesday morning, a Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reinstated both the death warrant and the injunction after a request was made by prosecutors in Potter County, where Balentine was convicted.
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John Balentine, 54, was convicted of killing Edward Mark Caylor, 17; Kai Brooke Geyer, 15; and 15-year-old Steven Watson at a home in Amarillo, Texas, in January 1998. Balentine was 28 at the time of the teens’ deaths. (Texas Department of Criminal Justice via AP)
The US Supreme Court also rejected an appeal by Balentine’s lawyers on Wednesday afternoon. On appeal, his lawyers said more time was needed for allegations of racial bias during Balentine’s trial to be reviewed.
A separate stay request filed with a federal judge in Houston on Wednesday was also denied, and the Texas parole board voted unanimously not to reduce Balentine’s death sentence to a different punishment or a 30-day suspension.
The appeals court rejected a request to stay Balentine’s execution on allegations that “racism and racial issues ran rampant” during his trial.
Texas prosecutors said the shooting was the result of an ongoing dispute between Balentine and Caylor.
Balentine confessed to murdering the teens, but one of his trial lawyers said he turned down a plea deal that included a life sentence because he was afraid of how he would be treated in prison.
According to prosecutors, Balentine said he received threats because of his relationship with Caylor’s sister, who is white.
Shawn Nolan, Balentine’s attorney, said the appeals court “is unwilling to address issues of bias and misconduct … it’s even more problematic.”
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John Balentine mugshot (Texas Department of Criminal Justice)
Among the complaints from Balentine’s lawyers is that Dory England, the foreman of the jury, held racist beliefs and intimidated other jurors into changing their minds about sentencing live.
England also released a statement before he died in 2021, saying he had pushed for Balentine to be sentenced to death because he was concerned that if the man were ever released he “would have to hunt him down”.
Balentine’s lawyers also say prosecutors used their power to remove all potential black jurors from serving on the jury.
“Without thorough judicial consideration of Mr. Balentine’s claims, we cannot be confident that the death verdict is not tainted by racial bias,” Nolan said.
According to Balentine’s current lawyers, the trial lawyers allegedly referred to their sentencing proceedings as a “justifiable lynching” in a memo.
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Randall Sherrod, a Balentine trial attorney, said he did not remember passing that note and said that he, like James Durham Jr., the other trial attorney, did not hold racist beliefs toward Balentine.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
