Execution set for Thursday night
Oct. 25—William Speer, 49, is set to be executed by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice at the Huntsville Unit. The scheduled injection of lethal drugs is set for 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26, barring any court decisions to halt the execution.
According to a Facebook page under his name, Speer has been on Death Row since 2001 and got married on Oct. 15, 2023.
In the majority of his posts in recent days, he begs his followers to ask the Governor for clemency.
"When I stop and think about Mr Collins and I think about Mr Dickerson, I begin to think about the things that I've robbed them of, the things I have stolen from them," Speer said. "Because of what I did. Man, I'm sorry."
Speer was speeking in a Youtube video submitted to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles on Oct. 6
Speer was 16 when he was incarcerated for the murder of a friend's father, Jerry Collins. At 22, he killed a fellow prisoner, Gary Dickerson, and was sentenced to death.
He professes in the video that he thinks about the crimes he committed and they are what is driving him to beg for clemency.
TDCJ chose Speer to be the first inmate Coordinator for the Faith Based Program offered to men on Death Row in June 2023.
Another inmate on Death Row said that Speer's has helped them through his ministry and "allowed us to revisit our humanity back here, with grace and peace."
After just four months in the mentorship role, Speer claims to have become an "indispensable part" of the Faith Based Program.
Speer never denied that his childhood was rough, enduring physical, emotional and sexual abuse.
Ultimately, the Board unanimously decided to not grant Speer clemency, leaving the decision to the courts.
The state was asked by the previous inmate's attorneys to not allow the execution based on a fire that occurred in August 2023.
However, the Texas Attorney General's Office submitted a laboratory report of test results completed in late September of two pentobarbital samples.
One sample had a potency level of 94.2% while the other was found to be 100% potent.
Both samples also passed sterility tests and had acceptable levels of bacterial toxins, according to the report.
Contact Brenda Poe at editor@itemonline.com
