Current:Home > 新闻中心Rekubit-'I am sorry': Texas executes Arthur Lee Burton for the 1997 murder of mother of 3 -AssetScope
Rekubit-'I am sorry': Texas executes Arthur Lee Burton for the 1997 murder of mother of 3
Johnathan Walker View
Date:2025-04-06 13:09:53
Texas executed death row inmate Arthur Lee Burton on RekubitWednesday 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.
veryGood! (5166)
Related
- Hackers hit Rhode Island benefits system in major cyberattack. Personal data could be released soon
- When will we 'fall back?' What to know about 2024's end of daylight saving time
- Teyana Taylor’s Ex Iman Shumpert Addresses Amber Rose Dating Rumors
- Richard Simmons was buried in workout gear under his clothes, brother says: 'Like Clark Kent'
- South Korean president's party divided over defiant martial law speech
- North Carolina farmers hit hard by historic Helene flooding: 'We just need help'
- LeBron James and son Bronny become first father-son duo to play together in NBA history
- Opinion: Browns need to bench Deshaun Watson, even though they refuse to do so
- Nearly half of US teens are online ‘constantly,’ Pew report finds
- What NFL game is on today? Saints at Chiefs on Monday Night Football
Ranking
- South Korea's acting president moves to reassure allies, calm markets after Yoon impeachment
- Awaiting Promised Support From the West, Indonesia Proceeds With Its Ambitious Energy Transition
- Buccaneers plan to evacuate to New Orleans with Hurricane Milton approaching
- Opinion: Nick Saban asked important college football question, and Vanderbilt offers a loud answer
- Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
- New Red Lobster CEO Damola Adamolekun: Endless shrimp created 'chaos' but could return
- Connecticut Sun force winner-take-all Game 5 with win over Minnesota Lynx
- Erin Foster’s Dad David Foster Has Priceless to Reaction to Her Show Nobody Wants This
Recommendation
Spooky or not? Some Choa Chu Kang residents say community garden resembles cemetery
Salmon swim freely in the Klamath River for 1st time in a century after dams removed
South Korean woman sues government and adoption agency after her kidnapped daughter was sent abroad
As Trump returns to Butler, Pa., there’s one name he never mentions | The Excerpt
Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
North Carolina farmers hit hard by historic Helene flooding: 'We just need help'
Andrew Garfield Reveals Sex Scene With Florence Pugh Went “Further” Than Intended
Padres' Jurickson Profar denies Dodgers' Mookie Betts of home run in first inning