TEXAS LAST MEAL
ROBERT JAMES NEVILLE, JR.
February 8, 2006

Last Meal: Chicken Fried Steak, mashed potatoes with gravy, fried okra, bread with butter, mixed fresh veggies, donuts, chocolate cake with icing and sweet tea.

The skinny: Neville, a paroled burglar who claimed he wanted to be a serial killer of minorities, was executed for the torture-slaying eight years ago of a 19-year-old mentally impaired woman who once worked with him.

More skinny: Neville and Michael Wayne Hall worked at the same grocery store where the 19-year-old victim was employed as a sacker. The victim suffered from Turner's syndrome, a rare chromosome disorder found only in women and characterized by short stature and lack of sexual development at puberty.

One morning on the way to work together, they saw the woman riding her bicycle and offered her a ride. Instead, they took her to a rural field in Fort Worth where she was shot repeatedly with a pellet gun, then killed with shots from a .22-caliber rifle as she begged for her life.

During the investigation of her disappearance, Hall’s stepbrother told police that Hall had told him that he and Neville had abducted and killed the woman. The two were arrested attempting to cross over into Mexico. Upon arrest, Neville acknowledged killing the woman and told police where to find the body. Neville told police that he and Hall were white supremacists and that they wanted to kill blacks. Neville and Hall purchased two .22-caliber rifles and ammunition and practiced shooting the rifles. Neville boasted about the slaying and told investigators, as well as TV and newspaper reporters, that he laughed as the womann lay on the ground, gasping for air. Neville explained in a TV interview that he and Hall killed the woman "for the adrenaline rush" and that the girl was used for "target practice."

Both Hall and Neville were convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

Hall, 26, remains on death row. He does not have an execution date.

On parole: Neville was released from prison eight months prior to the murder after serving two years of a 10-year prison term for burglary.

Last words and such: In the hours before his execution, Neville met with visitors and napped in the holding cell near the death chamber. A prison official described his demeanor as "very quiet" as the execution procedure was explained.

Neville apologized profusely, addressed his victim's mother by name as she and her two daughters stood close to the glass with their arms around each other. He expressed love to them. "I hope you can find it in yourselves to forgive me and I hope all this here will kind of settle your pain. And I hope the Lord will give you comfort and peace. I just want you to know I am very sorry for what I have done. If I see Amy on the other side, I will tell her how much you love and miss her. And we will have a lot to talk about." Neville then turned toward his parents, who watched through an adjacent window. "I am sorry for putting you through all this pain and stuff," he said. "I love you all and I will see you on the other side."

Factoids: Neville was the...

7th murderer executed in U.S. in 2006
1011th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
3rd murderer executed in Texas in 2006
358th murderer executed in Texas since 1976

Neville, 31, was the third Texas prisoner executed this year and the first of three over the next 15 days in the nation's most active capital punishment state.