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February 23, 2018

Texas Grants Clemency to Death Row Prisoner Amid Father's Plea
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Meanwhile, in Texas, Governor Greg Abbott halted what would have been
Thursday's third U.S. execution, granting clemency to condemned prisoner
Bart Whitaker and commuting his sentence to life in prison without the
possibility of parole. Prosecutors say that in 2003 Bart Whitaker
arranged to have a hitman kill his family members. He was convicted of
masterminding the attack, which left his mother and brother dead. Bart
Whitaker's father, Kent, survived the attack and later spoke out against
his son's death sentence.


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