Texas Execution Scheduled for 1998 Double Murder After Decades-Long Legal Battle
Charles Victor Thompson, a 55-year-old Texas death row inmate, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection on Wednesday evening at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. This execution would mark the first person put to death in the United States this year, following a protracted legal saga spanning nearly three decades.
Details of the 1998 Tomball Shootings
Thompson was condemned for the April 1998 shooting deaths in the Houston suburb of Tomball. His ex-girlfriend, Glenda Dennise Hayslip, 39, and her new boyfriend, Darren Keith Cain, 30, were fatally shot at Hayslip's apartment. Prosecutors detailed that Thompson and Hayslip had been romantically involved for a year but split after Thompson "became increasingly possessive, jealous and abusive".
According to court records, the tragic events unfolded when Thompson arrived at Hayslip's apartment around 3am and began arguing with Cain. Police were called and instructed Thompson to leave the complex. However, he returned three hours later and shot both victims. Cain died at the scene, while Hayslip succumbed to her injuries in hospital a week later.
Legal Appeals and Medical Controversy
Thompson's attorneys have urgently petitioned the US Supreme Court to stay his execution, arguing a critical point of contention. They claim Thompson was not permitted to refute prosecution evidence that concluded Hayslip died from a gunshot wound to the face. Instead, they assert that Hayslip actually died from flawed medical care post-shooting, which resulted in severe brain damage due to oxygen deprivation following a failed intubation.
"If he had been able to raise a reasonable doubt as to the cause of Ms. Hayslip's death, he would not be guilty of capital murder," Thompson's attorneys stated in court filings. Prosecutors countered that a jury has already rejected this claim, concluding under state law that Thompson is responsible for Hayslip's death because it "would not have occurred but for his conduct".
In a related civil matter, Hayslip's family filed a lawsuit against one of her doctors, alleging medical negligence during treatment left her brain-dead. A jury in 2002 ruled in favour of the doctor.
Escape and Recapture in 2005
Thompson's case has seen dramatic twists, including a notable escape. After having his death sentence overturned and a new punishment trial in November 2005 where a jury again ordered lethal injection, Thompson escaped from the Harris County jail in Houston. He walked out the front door virtually unchallenged by deputies.
Thompson later described to the Associated Press how he slipped out of handcuffs and his orange jail jumpsuit after a meeting with his attorney in an unlocked interview cell. Using an ID badge fashioned from his prison card, he bypassed several deputies. "I got to smell the trees, feel the wind in my hair, grass under my feet, see the stars at night. It took me straight back to childhood being outside on a summer night," Thompson recounted about his three days on the run. He was arrested in Shreveport, Louisiana, while attempting to arrange wire transfers from overseas to reach Canada.
Broader Context of Capital Punishment
If the execution proceeds, it will underscore Texas's historical prominence in carrying out death sentences, though Florida led with 19 executions in 2025. The Harris County District Attorney's office emphasised the long wait for justice, stating, "The Hayslip and Cain families have waited over twenty-five years for justice to occur." The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied Thompson's request to commute his sentence to a lesser penalty on Monday, setting the stage for this pivotal moment in US criminal justice.
