Bio

Glen Charles McGinnis was born on January 11, 1973, in Texas. He had a difficult childhood and grew up in an unstable home. His father was mostly absent, and his mother spent time in jail and reportedly struggled with drug addiction. Because of these problems, McGinnis often moved between relatives, juvenile homes, and periods of homelessness.

Reports later presented in court and clemency appeals said he suffered abuse and neglect while growing up. Authorities were involved with the family several times, but his life remained unstable. He left school at a young age and spent much of his early teenage years living on the streets and committing thefts to survive.

At age 13, McGinnis entered the juvenile justice system. In 1986 he was placed on probation after several offenses. The following year, his probation was revoked, and he was sent to the Texas Youth Commission for burglary of a vehicle.

During the next few years, he was repeatedly released and returned to custody for more crimes involving stolen vehicles, theft, and parole violations. Officials later described him as a repeat offender because of his continued criminal behavior.

In 1988 he was arrested in connection with a stolen van and stolen credit cards. In 1989 he was caught driving another stolen vehicle and was sent back into custody. He was released again in early 1990.

A few months later, McGinnis was involved in another vehicle theft in Conroe, Texas. He later received deferred adjudication and was placed on adult probation on July 27, 1990. He was ordered to report to probation officers but never did. Five days after his release, he committed the murder of Leta Ann Wilkerson.

Murder Story

On the afternoon of August 1, 1990, Leta Ann Wilkerson was working as a clerk at Wilkins Dry Cleaners in Conroe, a city in Montgomery County north of Houston. She was 30 years old, married, and the mother of two children. A customer entered the business to collect clothing and noticed that no employee came to the front counter. After observing the open cash register, he moved behind the counter and found Wilkerson lying on the floor in blood. Emergency responders transported her to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Investigators determined that Wilkerson had been shot four times, once in the face and three times in the back. The scene indicated a robbery. Cash was missing from the register, the telephone had been left off the hook, and items inside the business were disturbed. One of the most important pieces of evidence was a pile of jeans left on the front counter with the name “McGinnis” marked in the pockets. Witnesses also reported seeing a young man near the cleaners around the time of the offense.

Police soon learned that Wilkerson’s gray GMC minivan was missing from the parking lot. Later that same day, officers found it abandoned at a nearby shopping center. Inside the vehicle they recovered Wilkerson’s wallet. A fingerprint lifted from the wallet matched Glen McGinnis.

Employees working near where the van was found identified McGinnis from photographs as the man who had asked for help after the vehicle broke down. Early the next morning, August 2, 1990, police arrested him at his aunt’s apartment, located only a short distance from the cleaners. Officers found $105 in his possession.

Police then searched the residence after learning that his aunt owned a .25-caliber pistol. They located a Raven semi-automatic handgun hidden in a laundry hamper. Firearms testing later concluded that the bullets and shell casings recovered from the crime scene and victim had been fired from that weapon.

Nearly two months later, McGinnis’s aunt found a set of keys in the apartment and turned them over to police. They were identified as belonging to Wilkerson. Additional testimony also connected the jeans left at the cleaners to items stored in the aunt’s apartment.

McGinnis was indicted on October 8, 1990, for capital murder committed during the course of robbery. His trial began in 1992. Prosecutors presented forensic evidence, witness identifications, stolen property, the murder weapon, and his prior criminal history. The defense presented evidence about his abusive childhood, youth, and troubled upbringing.

On July 23, 1992, a jury found him guilty of capital murder. One week later, on July 30, 1992, he was sentenced to death under Texas law. Over the next several years, McGinnis pursued direct appeals and state and federal habeas corpus petitions. Courts upheld the conviction and sentence. His case drew international attention because he had been 17 years old at the time of the murder. Religious leaders, legal organizations, and foreign governments requested clemency, citing juvenile status and international standards regarding capital punishment. Those efforts were unsuccessful. Final appeals were denied in January 2000.

On January 25, 2000, Glen Charles McGinnis was executed by lethal injection at the Texas state prison in Huntsville. He was pronounced dead at 6:17 p.m. He did not give a final statement. The execution ended a case that remained notable both for the robbery-murder of Leta Wilkerson and for the national debate surrounding the execution of offenders who were juveniles at the time of their crimes.