Texas’ oldest death row inmate was put to death Thursday for killing a policeman almost 32 years ago as people gathered to support the fallen officer.
Seventy-eight-year-old Carl Wayne Buntion was put to death inside the state penitentiary in Huntsville after being condemned for the 1990 shooting of Houston Police Officer James Irby, CBS News reported Friday.
“I wanted the Irby family to know one thing: I do have remorse for what I did,” Buntion commented as he lay strapped to a gurney. He was pronounced dead at 6:39 p.m.
A large crowd of motorcyclists who came to show support for the fallen motorcycle officer revved their engines during the execution.
One social media user shared video footage of what appeared to be the group, noting the display went on for approximately six minutes:
The CBS report continued:
Buntion had been on parole for just six weeks when he shot the 37-year-old Irby. Buntion, who had an extensive criminal record, was a passenger in the car that Irby pulled over. In 2009, an appeals court vacated Buntion’s sentence, but another jury resentenced him to death three years later.
Following the execution, the officer’s widow, Maura Irby, stated, “I’m sorry someone died. But I didn’t think of him as a person. I just thought of him as a thing, as a cancer on the face of my family.”
Meanwhile, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said, “Carl Buntion was a career criminal when he graduated into sex offending and became a child rapist. After that, he became a cold-blooded executioner. God rest the soul of James Irby,” she commented.
Irby said the ordeal was a reminder of her advocacy efforts following her beloved husband’s death which included assisting with legislation allowing victim impact statements to be heard during trials.
“I still miss him, 32 years later,” she added.