Bio

Larry Hatten was born on August 31, 1974, in Texas. Official Texas death row records list Nueces County as his native county. Before the crime, he had completed 12 years of education and had worked as a food server. By 1995, Hatten was 21 years old and living in the Corpus Christi area. Court records describe the crime as part of an escalation of conflicts among people connected to local drug activity. The intended target was Isaac Robinson, who was described in court records as the boyfriend of Tabitha Thompson and the father of 5-year-old Isaac Jackson.

The dispute that led to the shooting involved retaliation. According to court records, Hatten believed he was retaliating against Robinson after conflicts connected to local drug activity had escalated. Hatten later admitted that Robinson was the person he intended to kill. His known criminal record became centered on the September 19, 1995 shooting in Corpus Christi, which killed Isaac Jackson and severely injured Tabitha Thompson.

Murder Story

In the early morning hours of September 19, 1995, Larry Hatten went to an apartment in Corpus Christi, Texas, looking for Isaac Robinson. Robinson lived there with his girlfriend, Tabitha Thompson, and their 5-year-old son, Isaac Jackson. Hatten believed Robinson was connected to earlier conflicts involving local drug activity.

Hatten broke into the apartment and went toward the bedroom. He kicked open the bedroom door and fired a .357-caliber handgun into the dark room. Hatten later admitted that he intended to kill Robinson, but Robinson was not inside the apartment at the time.

Instead, Tabitha Thompson and her son Isaac Jackson were in the bed. Thompson was struck by multiple gunshots and survived despite serious injuries. Isaac Jackson was shot and killed. Court records state that the child was shot twice.

After the shooting, Hatten moved into the kitchen area. He fled when Thompson came out of the bedroom. Police arrested him later after finding him driving around while covered in blood. He was arrested the same day as the murder.

Hatten was charged with capital murder in Nueces County, Texas. The case was treated as capital murder because Isaac Jackson was under six years old. Under Texas law, Hatten’s intent to kill Isaac Robinson transferred to the killing of Isaac Jackson.

In February 1996, a jury found Hatten guilty of capital murder. The jury answered the Texas capital punishment questions in a way that required a death sentence, and the trial court sentenced him to death.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals later affirmed his conviction in 1998 but reversed the original death sentence. After the death sentence was reversed, Hatten faced a new punishment proceeding. In December 1998, a second jury again answered the punishment questions in a way that led the trial court to sentence him to death.

In 2009, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit rejected Hatten’s federal appeal. He had argued that a juror was biased and that he had been improperly shackled during his capital murder trial. The Fifth Circuit found no basis for relief and affirmed the denial of habeas relief.

Hatten was later scheduled for execution in October 2014. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals stayed the execution because of unresolved issues connected to his earlier writ application.

Texas Department of Criminal Justice death row listing reviewed, Larry Hatten remains on Texas death row under TDCJ number 999181. His current legal status is awaiting execution.