Texas Man Executed by Injection for ’88 Murder, Burglary

HUNTSVILLE, Texas —  A man who beat and strangled an 84-year-old woman to death during a burglary of her home was executed by injection Friday evening.

Before he was put to death, Willis Barnes expressed love to his family and asked for forgiveness from the family of his victim.

“I’d like to give love to my mother, sisters and brothers and let them know I am thinking of them right now, and I want to thank God for giving me such a loving family,” he said. “To the victim’s family, I hope you find in your heart to forgive me as I have forgiven you.”

Barnes had insisted he did not kill Helen Greb the night of Feb. 11, 1988, but acknowledged taking a television and two guns from her home.

He became the 23rd condemned inmate executed in Texas this year.

Barnes, 51, blamed a $350-a-day cocaine addiction for a string of Houston burglaries that put him in prison in 1984 with four 30-year terms.

Three years later, however, with Texas prisons bulging and parole officials looking to ease crowding, he was freed when records showed it was his first prison stint and that his offense was a property crime.