HOUSTON - Kent Whitaker left his Sugarland home Thursday morning not knowing whether today would be the last day he sees his son, Bart Whitaker.
“This may be it, we just don’t know,” said Whitaker.
Earlier this week, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles voted unanimously to recommend clemency for Whitaker. But it’s now up to the governor to officially commute his sentence to life in prison, or the execution scheduled for tonight will be carried out.
Governor Greg Abbott can either approve the parole board's decision or grant a 30-day reprieve to review the case.
The execution is set for 6 p.m. It's late in the day to allow any last minute appeals to be heard. In the afternoon the witnesses, including family, will begin arriving. They meet with state employees for briefings about what they're about to see.
Bart Whitaker will also have to be transferred from death row at the Polunsky Unit in Livingston to Huntsville, where the executions are carried out. The drive is only about 45 minutes and could happen Wednesday night or in the morning. They don't share the details for security reasons.
“I hope the governor will focus on what this was. It was the parole board’s decision. It had nothing to do with the trial.”
Bart Whitaker is on death row, convicted of the 2003 plot to kill his family. His mother, Patricia and younger brother, Kevin died. Kent survived a gunshot wound, forgave his son and continues to fight for his son’s life.
Whitaker says he respects the jury’s decision all those years ago, but the events since then were what he believes guided the parole board’s decision and the governor should consider them as well.
“He can be tough on crime with life in prison,” said Whitaker.
During a campaign stop in Houston, the governor was asked if he will halt the execution.
"I think the most important thing is both I and my staff have the opportunity to evaluate all the facts, all the circumstances, all the law, and base our decision on all of that information," Gov. Abbott said.
The last time the parole board voted to take someone off death row was 2007. It would be extremely rare for the governor to go against the parole board's decision.
