TEXAS LAST MEAL--CHRISTOPHER BERNARD COLEMAN

TEXAS LAST MEAL
CHRISTOPHER BERNARD COLEMAN
September 22, 2009

Last Meal: Coleman had no final meal request.

The skinny: Coleman, 37, was executed for his role in a triple-murder that took place in Houston almost 14 years ago. Coleman was condemned for his part in a scheme by a Colombian man who hoped to eliminate a drug debt by staging a robbery. Four people wound up shot in a car on a dead-end street. Three of them, including a 3-year-old boy, died.

More skinny: Coleman and Derrick Graham were paid $12,000 to take part in the scheme hatched by Genero Garcia so Garcia would not have to pay an $80,000 drug debt for four kilos of cocaine. The victims met that night believing that they were to the collect debt. They arranged a meeting with the drug suppliers and stopped on a dead end street in a residential neighborhood. Coleman and the two other men got out of their car and approached the second vehicle, where one of Coleman's companions spoke to the driver. Then, standing close to the passenger side of the car, Coleman fired eleven shots at the occupants of the second vehicle. Three were killed, one survived and later testified against Coleman at trial.

The surviving woman told police that she got a good look at the shooter and would never forget his face, and she later identified the shooter as Coleman from a photo spread nine days after the shooting. On 29 December, Coleman was arrested in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. Officers investigating the murders flew to Tennessee and questioned him. Coleman admitted to being at the scene of the crime, but he denied firing the shots. At his trial, Coleman’s lawyers argued he was not the gunman.

Coleman was found guilty and sentenced to death.

Accomplices Garcia and Graham received life prison terms for their role in the plot.

Coleman had a prior conviction for assault, for which he served 60 days in the Harris County jail.

Last words and such: Aside from a few reporters, no witnesses attended Coleman's execution. When asked if he had a statement, Coleman said, “Yes. Ain’t no way fo fo, I love all y’all,” were the last and only words uttered by Coleman at 6:14 p.m., just eight minutes prior to his being pronounced dead at 6:22 p.m.

It was unclear what “fo fo” meant, although in urban slang it can refer to a .44-caliber pistol or distinctive car rims made in 1984 and apparently popular in Houston.

Factoids: Eight other Texas inmates have execution dates before the end of the year.

Coleman was the...

39th murderer executed in U.S. in 2009
1175th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
18th murderer executed in Texas in 2009
441st murderer executed in Texas since 1976