Thomas “Bart” Whitaker’s death sentence was commuted to life without parole by Texas Governor Greg Abbott just minutes prior to his scheduled execution on February 22, 2018.

Bart Whitaker received the death penalty after being convicted of plotting the murders of his family in 2003 in Houston, Texas. Bart hired two accomplices to carry out the murders in the family home. After returning home from a family dinner at a local restaurant, Bart’s mother and brother were fatally shot upon entering the house. His father, Kent Whitaker, was the third to enter, received shots to the shoulder. Bart entered last and took a shot in arm to divert suspicion.

I first heard Kent Whitaker’s story when I attended CLASServices, Inc. (now CLASSeminars) Christian Writer’s Conference in Glorieta, NM in October 2008. Kent’s keynote speech was titled, “Grace, Obedience, and Forgiveness: Learning to Live.”

Kent’s words describing the circumstances that led up to the shooting and how the shooting unfolded sounded more like a movie script, not someone’s real life. He shared how he was transported to the hospital and treated. And how when he was alone in his hospital bed, he made a resolve to trust God when it did not make sense and he felt the peace of God come over him “that had nothing to do with the morphine drip.”[i]

After recalling the Scripture of God’s promise to work all things out for good, he felt the grace of God come over him to forgive those responsible for the shooting. As the investigation began to unfold, Kent learned the police were focused on his son, Bart, as the mastermind of the tragedy.

Kent felt strongly that the Lord spared his life for a reason. In his book, Murder by Family, Kent wrote, “It occurred to me that perhaps my purpose was to be God’s agent of guidance and instruction for Bart. If he was innocent, I would be the anchor he relied on as he weathered the storms of suspicion; I wouldn’t let him go through that horror alone. If he was guilty, I would be in a unique position to model God’s unconditional forgiveness and love. I might be the person God would use to soften Bart’s heart. And since I already had forgiven whoever was responsible, if Bart was guilty, he would be covered in pure forgiveness, granted before I ever thought it might apply to my son.”[ii]

According my notes from that evening in 2008, Kent said that Bart asked him for forgiveness and had asked God to forgive him. The forgiveness of Bart’s father led to Bart receiving the forgiveness of God through Jesus Christ.

I remember tears streaming down my cheeks when Kent explained how he related to Mary, the mother of Jesus, knowing that someday he would have to watch the execution of his son.

Three years after hearing Kent Whitaker’s testimony, we received the phone call that my own son had been arrested and how the police sought capital charges against him. Interestingly, I remembered Kent’s testimony. My thoughts went to how my son needed forgiveness. I wrote out a Scripture on a piece of paper…

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 NKJV).

On the note to my son, I scribbled “I forgive you for whatever happened, and God will forgive you too.” My husband carried the note to visit our son and the Sheriff allowed Stephen to receive it. My heart felt that pain and grief that if my son did something so heinous that he would get the death penalty, I needed to know that he was forgiven by God and we will have eternity together.

As I trusted God with my son’s situation, capital charges were not filed, but first degree. Later my son was sentenced to 20 years by a jury. My son asked for forgiveness from the Lord and now lives his life serving Him.

Kent Whitaker pleaded with the state of Texas for years to allow his last remaining immediate family member to serve life in prison and not be put to death. Finally, his plea to allow his son to live was granted by the Governor. And though it came close and Kent had already said his last goodbyes to his son, he did not have to fully experience a parent’s agony like Mary suffered at the foot of the cross.

Kent said in one interview, “Lord Jesus, we thank you for this.”

You see my friend, each of us has an innate desire to live and not die. Most of us plead to God for our family members as well as ourselves to live a long life. Yet we are all guilty of violating God’s laws and deserve the death penalty—that is the eternal separation from God.

However, Jesus Christ took the death penalty for us when He was crucified on the cross at Calgary. But our God did not allow Jesus to stay in the grave! Death was conquered and Jesus was raised from the dead. Now in Him we have life!

When we accept what Jesus did for us, we receive forgiveness. Our death sentence is commuted, and we are granted LIFE in the Kingdom of God!

We are not promised tomorrow, so do not wait. To learn how to reverse the death penalty on our lives, visit our What about Eternity? page.

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[i] Whitaker, Kent, Murder by Family, Howard Books, 2008, p, 8

[ii] Whitaker, Kent, Murder by Family, Howard Books, 2008, pp. 12-13

News Sources:

USA Today, Texas man who murdered his mom and brother spared just minutes before execution

MyStatesman.com, Abbott spares death row inmate’s life, heeding father’s plea