Deaths in Custody
Executed

Billie Wayne Coble

70 years old · died February 28, 2019 · Huntsville State Penitentiary, Walker County, Texas

Billie Wayne Coble, 70, was a Vietnam War veteran who had served as a Marine, and his attorney said he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder from that service. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice said he was executed by a single dose of pentobarbital at the state penitentiary in Huntsville on the evening of February 28, 2019, and that he was pronounced dead at 6:24 p.m. His attorneys argued that his original trial lawyers should have presented an insanity defense and asked the courts and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to halt the execution, but the U.S. Supreme Court, a state appeals court and the parole board each declined. Before the execution he told witnesses he loved them and said "Take care." Family members in the witness room became emotional, and some were removed, with two men arrested afterward.

Cause of death, as reported: Executed by the state. Coble's attorneys argued he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder from his Vietnam service and that his original trial lawyers were negligent in not presenting an insanity defense.

Reported by: Texas Department of Criminal Justice (the agency that held him); news reporting in the accounts.

News reports (12)

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