Because this execution marked the 600th execution in Texas since the reinstatement of capital punishment in 1976 and due to some legal arguments being made, it drew some attention. At the last moment, the United States Supreme Court considered an appeal to halt the execution. Ultimately, the Court declined to intervene in a 7–2 decision, allowing the lawful sentence imposed by a Tarrant County jury to proceed. The case had already undergone more than two decades of appellate review and post-conviction proceedings—demonstrating the extensive procedural safeguards built into the American justice system.
Before the execution, I spent several hours with the officers assigned to assist the witnesses. During that time they explained the process and spoke about their broader responsibilities—protecting society from dangerous offenders, helping some inmates obtain education and skills for reintegration, and managing a system that houses tens of thousands of prisoners. Their work offered a sobering glimpse into the difficult balance between punishment, rehabilitation, and public safety.
When the time came, I was escorted to the viewing chamber. Busby was able to see the witnesses through the glass. I looked at him with neutral eyes. During his final statement he pleaded that those present not to hate him and said that he had accepted responsibility for his actions. He then spoke at length about religion, suggesting that if we did not forgive him as Jesus had forgiven him, we ourselves might not be forgiven. Whether one agreed with his words or not, they reflected a man facing the final moments of his life.
When he finished speaking, he told the warden he was ready. The execution proceeded. After the drugs were administered, he made several brief gasping sounds and then grew quiet. Because he was a very large man and very overweight, the process took longer than usual. At 8:11 p.m., a physician entered the chamber, checked his eyes and vital signs, and formally pronounced him dead.
During those moments my thoughts were not focused on Busby but on Dr. Laura Lee Crane and the terrifying ordeal she endured when she was abducted in 2004, bound with duct tape, placed in the trunk of her own vehicle, and ultimately suffocated before her body was abandoned in rural Oklahoma.
Following the execution, the prison staff carefully escorted Busby’s family away from the facility before bringing the witnesses to a press room where I delivered a statement on behalf of the Crane family.
The family asked that the following be made clear:
The members of Dr. Crane’s family neither support nor oppose the death penalty as a general matter. However, they believe deeply in respecting the rule of law. Because both Dr. Crane and Edward Lee Busby Jr. were residents of Texas, the case was prosecuted under Texas law. A Tarrant County jury convicted Busby of capital murder, and the death sentence was imposed. After more than twenty years of appeals and legal review, the sentence was carried out in accordance with the law. The family supports that legal process—nothing more and nothing less.
