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Thursday, May 29, 1997

Texas man convicted of killing father and son executed

By MICHAEL GRACZYK / Associated Press Writer

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) - A Harris County man with a drug history was executed Wednesday evening for murdering a father and son while they were on a hunting trip almost a dozen years ago.

Robert Madden, 33, was pronounced dead at 6:42 p.m. CDT, seven minutes after an executioner released a lethal dose of drugs into his arms.

In a confusing and rambling final statement, Madden apologized to members of his victims' family, who watched through a window a few feet away. But the condemned man professed his innocence.

"I apologize for your loss and pain, but I didn't kill those people. Hopefully we all will learn something about ourselves and about each other and we'll learn enough to stop the cycle of hatred and vengeance," Madden said.

"You can't look back. I forgive everyone for this process, for doing what seems to be wrong. I understand we all have to deal with experiences we create."

As the drugs took effect, he took two deep breaths and stopped moving.

Madden was the eighth condemned killer to receive lethal injection this month in Texas, extending a record total of executions in a single month.

The punishment also was the 16th this year, closing in on the record 19 injections Texas carried out in 1995. The pace of executions in the nation's most active capital punishment state is quickening this year as longtime inmates exhaust their appeals and new laws designed to speed the appeals process take effect.

At least 10 executions are set for next month, including four next week.

A final-day appeal for Madden was filed in the federal courts, contending his trial lawyers were incompetent and that his execution would be cruel and unusual punishment because he was incompetent.

The execution was delayed about 30 minutes while officials waited for a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court, which rejected an appeal.

Madden had been out of prison only a few months in 1985 following a conviction for methamphetamine possession when he was arrested for the fatal shooting and slashings of Herbert Megason, 56, and Megason's 22-year-old son, Don, both of Alvin.

The man and his son had been hunting Sept. 15, 1985, at a ranch in Leon County, about midway between Houston and Dallas.

Madden, who had been undergoing drug rehabilitation in Killeen, was arrested in New Mexico after signing his own name to the elder Megason's gasoline credit card.

Authorities believe Madden was driving a stolen car, had run out of gasoline and somehow crossed paths with the father-son hunting partners.

"We don't know exactly what happened but apparently he was able to get control," said former Leon County District Attorney Latham Boone, who prosecuted Madden. "He tied them up and it looked like he tortured both of them with a knife, shot them with a .22 (caliber gun) and possibly a shotgun, cut their throats and dragged them off into a ravine, a dry creek bed, and covered them with brush."

Boone said the victims' relatives became concerned when the two men didn't return home. Sheriff's deputies found the bodies.

Court records showed Madden told an acquaintance he had stolen the Megasons' truck and also was carrying a number of items belonging to the victims. Also in his possession were a .22-caliber pistol, a .22-caliber rifle and a bloodstained knife, all tied to the two killings.

Madden's 1982 drug conviction resulted in a five-year probation that was revoked the next year when he was convicted of burglary. At the time of the slayings, he also was awaiting the outcome of charges of assault on a police officer, resisting arrest and carrying a prohibited weapon.

At his capital murder trial, defense attorneys noted Madden, who worked as a cook in the Houston area, long had suffered a substance abuse problem.

"I'm satisfied that justice was done in the case," said Boone, who recalled he was surprised when Madden unexpectedly thanked him at the conclusion of the trial for doing a good job. "I don't have any satisfaction that somebody is being killed, but that is the law and I believe it should be enforced." Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
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