The Huntsville Item, Huntsville, TX

Local News

Discussion

October 26, 2006

No last statement offered by condemned killer

Stewart Smith

Gregory Lynn Summers offered no final words before his execution by lethal injection Wednesday night at the Huntsville Unit.

Three of Summers’ friends came in support of him, each dressed in a pink shirt and black slacks. They offered tears and prayers to the condemned, hands pressed firmly upon the glass. As Summers’ final moments passed his friends could be seen huddled together, sending out one final silent good-bye. He was pronounced dead at 9:16 p.m.

Summers, 48, was convicted in a murder-for-hire scheme to kill three people, his parents Mandell Eugene Summers and Helen Summers, both 64, and his uncle, Bill Mack Summers, 60. Each were stabbed to death inside their home in Abilene, which was later set ablaze. It is reported that Summers promised to pay co-defendant Andrew Cantu, who was also convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death, the sum of $10,000 for killing his family members.

Summers’ execution marked the 22nd execution in Texas this year.

Attorneys for Summers tried Wednesday to block the punishment by challenging the constitutionality of the lethal injection method, accusing prosecutors of hiding evidence and raising questions about testimony from a trial witness who implicated Summers.

The U.S. Supreme Court three weeks ago refused to review his case. Additional appeals delayed the execution about three hours past its scheduled time of 6 p.m. CDT. Three appeals went to the high court late Wednesday, and all were rejected.

“When I went to trial, all they proved was there were three murders,” Summers said in recent interview on death row. “But they can’t show I did this with Cantu because it never happened.”

Gene and Helen Summers adopted their son when he was 3 days old. He was their only child. Prosecutors said Summers had hoped to collect $24,000 in insurance benefits. Relatives told authorities Summers was having financial problems and Gene Summers finally had decided to stop bailing him out financially.

Billy Mack Summers, Gene Summers’ brother, was mentally retarded and was living with the couple when they all were killed in June 1990.

“These were real people that we all loved very, very much,” Arbie McAliley, the victims’ niece, said after watching Summers die. “Justice was served, we believe in our hearts. There was nothing inhumane about this at all tonight.

“He got a better treatment than what he gave our three loved ones. It was brutal what they did. The only regrets we have is we had to sit and wait for something we knew was coming.”



— The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Text Only
Local News