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#Post#: 565--------------------------------------------------
~ John Balentine, 08Feb23, (TX) ~
By: BuzzC Date: January 12, 2023, 5:58 pm
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Death Row Information
[IMG]
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Inmate Information
Name
TDCJ Number
Date of Birth
Date Received
Age (when Received)
Education Level (Highest Grade Completed)
Date of Offense
Age (at the time of Offense)
County
Race
Gender
Hair Color
Height (in Feet and Inches)
Weight (in Pounds)
Eye Color
Native County
Native State
Prior Occupation
auto mechanic, laborer
Prior Prison Record
Convicted in Arkansas for Burglary; Conditionally released 3/82;
Jackson County, Arkansas Cardinal Abuse Kidnapping and
Aggravated Assault with a Knife; Arkansas Department of
Corrections #883268 on a 5 year sentence for Burglary; released
on Parole 4/89; returned as a Parole Violator with a new
conviction 5 year sentence for Assessor to Robbery (cousin and
one co-defendant robbed 14-year old white male by hitting him on
the head with a bottle) #88326B; released on Parole 3/93 and
discharged 4/93.
Summary of Incident
On 01/21/98 in Amarillo, Texas, Balentine fatally shot 3 white
males, 17 year old Edward Mark Caylor, 15 year old Kai Brooke
Geyer and 15 year old Steven Brady Watson, once each in the head
with a 32-caliber pistol. Balentine entered the residence during
the night, and committed the murders while the victims were
sleeping.
Co-Defendants
None
Race and Gender of Victim
White males (3)
#Post#: 575--------------------------------------------------
Re: ~ John Balentine, 08Feb23, (TX) ~
By: BuzzC Date: February 23, 2023, 6:10 pm
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Texas executes John Balentine for killing three teens in
Amarillo--
February 8th, 2023
Texas on Wednesday evening executed John Lezell Balentine hours
after the state's highest criminal court reinstated the
execution, overruling a state district judge who had delayed it
last week because his lawyers weren't given enough notice of the
execution date.
Lawyers for Balentine, who was convicted of killing three teens
in an Amarillo home, had also filed appeals raising questions
about juror misconduct and racial prejudice at his trial. The
Court of Criminal Appeals dismissed those efforts as well,
according to his lawyers, leaving them to pursue to no avail a
last-ditch appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court as the execution
loomed.
Balentine, a 54-year-old Black man, was sentenced to death
nearly 25 years ago for shooting three male teenagers, all
white, in the head while they slept in a home Balentine had
previously shared with his ex-girlfriend, according to court
records. He was pronounced dead Wednesday at 6:36 p.m.
One of the victims was his ex-girlfriend’s brother, who had
disapproved of the couple’s interracial relationship and
previously threatened Balentine in a dispute that grew racist.
Balentine did not recognize the other two victims. A jury found
Balentine guilty of capital murder in 1999.
Although Balentine confessed to the murders, his current lawyers
have argued that racism “pervaded” the trial, leading jurors to
hand down a death sentence rather than life in prison.
In his last statement, Balentine said: "I want to thank y’all. I
love y’all for supporting me. I want to apologize for the wrong
I did to y’all. Forgive me, I’m ready."
The latest execution date was scheduled in September after the
Supreme Court did not take up the case in June.
8)
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