Bio

Henry Martinez Porter was born on December 12, 1941. He grew up in San Antonio, Texas. Porter became involved in criminal activities. He had a history of robbery, which likely contributed to his troubled life. He struggled with substance abuse, particularly heroin. 

In 1959, while serving time for robbery, Porter was sent from a reformatory to a psychiatric hospital due to experiencing hallucinations. He reportedly had episodes of seeing and speaking to his father, which suggests he faced serious mental health issues even at a young age. After a month in the hospital, he managed to escape.

Porter later returned to a life of crime, leading to several arrests and periods of incarceration. His legal issues continued to escalate until his involvement in a deadly encounter with law enforcement on November 29, 1975.

Murder Story

On the morning of November 29, 1975, Henry Martinez Porter shot Officer Henry Paul Mailloux in Tarrant County, Texas. The officer had pulled over Porter’s car. During the encounter, Porter was shot in the side. He then fired back, killing Officer Mailloux. Porter claimed he shot in self-defense, stating that the officer threatened to kill him over recent robberies in the area.

Porter faced a trial for the murder of the police officer in 1976. Initially, he was convicted and sentenced to death. However, this conviction was later overturned by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals due to a violation of Porter's constitutional rights. The court found that evidence from a file regarding Porter's past conduct while on federal parole should not have been admitted at trial.

He was retried and again convicted. In the course of these proceedings, concerns about Porter’s mental health were raised, with evidence suggesting he suffered from severe mental health issues and addiction problems. Nevertheless, the trial proceeded, and he was sentenced to death again.

Porter attempted to appeal his case several times. He sought a review from the Supreme Court but was unsuccessful. His execution was delayed twice due to these appeals. As his execution date approached for the third time, he instructed his lawyer not to file any additional appeals to prevent the execution.

On July 9, 1985, Porter was executed by lethal injection. Before his execution, he expressed his thoughts about the justice system, claiming it was biased against him because of his Mexican heritage. He dined on a meal that he chose and said goodbye to his family. At 12:31 a.m., he was pronounced dead.