Charles Victor Thompson, a Texas inmate who previously escaped custody, was executed for the 1998 murders of his ex-girlfriend and her partner, becoming the first person executed in the US in 2026.
Texas Inmate Charles Victor Thompson Executed, First in US in 2026 (Source: X/ @ShadeSalvo)
A Texas man who had previously escaped custody after being sentenced to death was executed by lethal injection, becoming the first person put to death in the United States this year. Charles Victor Thompson was announced dead at 6:50 pm CST on Wednesday at the Huntsville state penitentiary. Thompson had been convicted of fatally shooting his former girlfriend and her new partner in Houston in 1998.
Charles Victor Thompson was a 55-year-old Texas inmate convicted of murdering his former girlfriend Glenda Hayslip and her partner Darren Cain in 1998. He had previously escaped custody after being resentenced to death in 2005 and became widely known for that daring escape. Thompson spent decades on death row before being executed.
Thompson was sentenced to death for killing Glenda Dennise Hayslip, 39, and Darren Keith Cain, 30, at Hayslip’s apartment in a Houston suburb.
The Court records show that Hayslip and Cain were dating when Thompson arrived at her apartment around 3 am. An argument erupted between Thompson and Cain, prompting police to arrive and instruct Thompson to leave the complex.
Approximately three hours later, Thompson returned and shot both victims. Cain died at the scene, while Hayslip succumbed to her injuries in the hospital a week later.
In his last words, Thompson asked the victims’ families for forgiveness. He said, “There are no winners in this situation,” after a spiritual adviser prayed over him for about three minutes, just before a lethal dose of pentobarbital was administered.
He also said, “This creates more victims and traumatises more people 28 years later.” “I’m sorry for what I did. I’m sorry for what happened, and I want to tell all of y’all, I love you and that keep Jesus in your life, keep Jesus first.” As the injection took effect, Thompson gasped, took several breaths that turned into snores, and stopped moving. He was pronounced dead 22 minutes later.
Thompson’s lawyers had argued he was not given a chance to challenge medical evidence suggesting Hayslip died from a gunshot to the face. They claimed she actually died due to medical negligence, including oxygen deprivation following a failed intubation.
Prosecutors countered that a jury had already rejected this argument, saying Thompson was legally responsible because her death would not have occurred without his actions. Hayslip’s family had previously sued one of her doctors for negligence, but a jury ruled in favor of the doctor in 2002.
Thompson’s original death sentence was overturned, prompting a new punishment trial in November 2005. He was again sentenced to death by lethal injection.
Shortly after being resentenced, Thompson escaped from Harris County Jail in Houston, leaving the facility with minimal resistance. He later told that he slipped out of his handcuffs and jail uniform, and even used a makeshift badge to pass deputies.
He recalled, “I got to smell the trees, feel the wind in my hair, grass under my feet, see the stars at night. It took me straight back to childhood being outside on a summer night.” He was captured three days later in Shreveport, Louisiana, while trying to arrange money transfers to flee to Canada.
Texas has historically carried out the most executions of any US state. In 2025, Florida recorded the highest number with 19 executions. The next scheduled execution in the US is on 10 February. Ronald Palmer Heath is set to be executed in Florida for the 1989 murder of a traveling salesman during a robbery in Gainesville.
