This week in 1995

I have news for you—there is not going to be an execution. This is premeditated murder by the state of Texas. I hope in my death I’m that little bitty snowball that starts to bury the death penalty. I have committed lots of sin in my life but I am not guilty of this crime. I would like to tell my son, daughter and wife that I love them—Eden, if they want proof, give it to them. Thanks for being my friend.”

— Jesse Dewayne Jacobs, convicted of murder, lethal injection, Texas.
Executed January 4, 1995

Jacobs and his sister, Bobbie Jean Hogan, were convicted of the shooting death of Etta Ann Urdiales, ex-wife of Hogan’s boyfriend. Jacobs confessed that his sister offered him five hundred dollars and a room if he would kill Urdiales, who allegedly was pestering Hogan’s boyfriend about child support and custody. Jacobs later recanted and said Hogan actually pulled the trigger. Hogan was convicted of manslaughter and then released.