Keith Bernard Clay (February 18, 1968 – March 20, 2003) and Shannon Charles Thomas (July 27, 1971 – November 16, 2005) were American

murderers Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the ...

who killed a total of four people between December 1993 and January 1994. Thomas was convicted of the

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation ...

, 1993 murders of 32-year-old Roberto Rios and his two children: 10-year-old Maria Rios and her 11-year-old brother, Victor Rios, in their Baytown, Texas home. Clay had also been present during the killings and confessed to attacking Roberto. Clay was convicted of the 1994 murder of a gas station clerk, during which Thomas was present. The killing occurred less than two weeks after the Rios family murders. Both were

executed Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

lethal injection Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium solution) for the express purpose of causing rapid death. The main application for this procedure is capital puni ...

by the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, in 2003 and 2005, respectively.

Crimes

Thomas and Clay's intention on Christmas Eve was to rob 32-year-old Roberto Rios, a small-time

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

and

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

dealer, of his drugs and money. In the early afternoon, Rios was duct taped to a chair, severely beaten, tortured with a pair of

shears Shears may refer to: Cutting devices * Scissors, also called shears * Hair-cutting shears * Blade shears, typically used for shearing animals * Grass shears, for lawn trimming * Kitchen shears, scissors used in the kitchen for food preparation * ...

, shot twice in the head, and stabbed in the neck with a steak knife. Thomas then went upstairs to a bedroom where Rios's two children were: 10-year-old Maria Rios and her 11-year-old brother, Victor Rios. He shot them both point-blank in the head through a pillow as they lay on the floor. It appears that the motive for the killings of the children was the elimination of witnesses. Police were unable to solve the crime for over a year until they arrested one of Thomas's friends who gave information that linked Thomas and Clay to the murders. Additionally, a postal worker and friend of the Rios's testified they had seen a "beige-looking, maybe white" car in front of the house. Clay owned a white Cadillac CTS4 with

tinted windows Window film (tint) is a thin laminate film that can be installed to the interior or exterior of glass surfaces in automobiles and boats and also to the interior or exterior of glass in homes and buildings. It is usually made from polyethylene ter ...

which he reported stolen after the murders.

Trials and appeals

During Thomas's trial, it was revealed that he had also taken part in a robbery on January 4, 1994, where Keith Clay shot Melathethil Tom Varughese, a clerk at a

Texaco Texaco, Inc. ("The Texas Company") is an American Petroleum, oil brand owned and operated by Chevron Corporation. Its flagship product is its Gasoline, fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owned the Havoline motor oil brand. Texaco was an Indepe ...

gas station. Thomas had previous criminal convictions to his name. He was on probation for delivery of a

controlled substance A controlled substance is generally a drug or chemical whose manufacture, possession and use is regulated by a government, such as illicitly used drugs or prescription medications that are designated by law. Some treaties, notably the Single ...

and had served time in a

Harris County, Texas Harris County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas; as of the 2020 census, the population was 4,731,145, making it the most populous county in Texas and the third most populous county in the United States. Its county seat is Houston, ...

boot camp for assault. After being convicted of the two children's murders, Thomas was sentenced to death by a jury on November 8, 1996. The conviction and sentence were then affirmed by the

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) is the court of last resort for all criminal matters in Texas. The Court, which is based in the Supreme Court Building in Downtown Austin, is composed of a Presiding Judge and eight judges. Article V of ...

after an automatic appeal required in all death penalty cases in Texas. An appeal for writ of

habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, t ...

was denied on November 24, 1998, by the Court of Criminal Appeals. Appeals to a U.S. district court were also denied and an application for a certificate of appealability was denied in the

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (in case citations, 5th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * Eastern District of Louisiana * M ...

on October 11, 2004. Thomas did not file a clemency petition with the

Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles (BPP) is a state agency that makes parole and clemency decisions for inmates in Texas prisons. It is headquartered in Austin, Texas. The BPP was created by constitutional amendment in 1935. It determines wh ...

. Thomas' defense claimed that although the postal worker said that he saw two men at the Rios' home on the day of the murders, it was only under hypnosis that he identified Thomas as one of those men. Thomas continued to contend that he was completely innocent of the murders and that evidence against him was purely circumstantial. PolunskyUnitWestLivingstonTX

Shannon Charles Thomas,

Texas Department of Criminal Justice The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is a department of the government of the U.S. state of Texas. The TDCJ is responsible for statewide criminal justice for adult offenders, including managing offenders in state prisons, state jails, ...

(TDCJ) Death Row#999213, was received by the TDCJ on December 4, 1996. He was held in the death row in the

Ellis Unit O. B. Ellis Unit (E1, previously Ellis I Unit) is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison located in unincorporated Walker County, Texas, north of Huntsville. The unit, with about of space, now houses up to 2,400 male prisoners.

until 1999, when the death row moved to the

Polunsky Unit Allan B. Polunsky Unit (TL, formerly the Terrell Unit) is a prison in West Livingston, unincorporated Polk County, Texas, United States, located approximately southwest of Livingston along Farm to Market Road 350. - Note the 2010 U.S. Cen ...

.Death Row Facts
."

. Retrieved on May 7, 2010.

Executions

Clay was executed on March 20, 2003, for the murder of Melathethil Tom Varughese. Thomas was executed on November 16, 2005. No member of the Rios' family witnessed the execution. Thomas requested that his sister and a friend witness for him. Thomas requested no

last meal A condemned prisoner's last meal is a customary ritual preceding execution. In many countries, the prisoner may, within reason, select what the last meal will be. Contemporary restrictions in the United States In the United States, most states gi ...

. In his final statement, Thomas said: : "Yes. Man, I just want you to know how much I love them. I want you to be strong and get through this time. Do not fall back. Keep going forward. Don't let this hinder you. Let everybody know I love them (several names listed), Kevin - as well as everyone else in the family. Tell them that I love them and stay strong. This is kind of hard to put words together; I am nervous and it is hard to put my thoughts together. Sometimes you don't know what to say; I hope these words give you comfort. I don't know what to say. I want you to know I love you; just stay strong and don't give up. Let everybody know I love them…and love is unconditional, as Mama has always told us. I may be gone in the flesh, but I am always with you in spirit. I love you."Last Statement - Shannon Charles Thomas
."

. Retrieved on September 29, 2010. As the drugs started taking effect, Thomas asked, "Is the mic still on?" He was told that it was, but then he lost consciousness. His execution was delayed shortly by a late appeal that was denied by the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

. He was pronounced dead at 6:52 p.m. CST after being executed by

at the

Huntsville Unit Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville or Huntsville Unit (HV), nicknamed "Walls Unit", is a Texas state prison located in Huntsville, Texas, United States. The approximately facility, near downtown Huntsville, is operated by the Correctional Ins ...

Huntsville, Texas Huntsville is a city in and the county seat of Walker County, Texas. The population was 45,941 as of the 2020 census. It is the center of the Huntsville micropolitan area. Huntsville is in the East Texas Piney Woods on Interstate 45 and home to ...

. It was the 996th execution in the United States since the ''

Gregg v. Georgia ''Gregg v. Georgia'', ''Proffitt v. Florida'', ''Jurek v. Texas'', ''Woodson v. North Carolina'', and ''Roberts v. Louisiana'', 428 U.S. 153 (1976), is a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court. It reaffirmed the Court's acceptance of the use ...

'' decision in 1976.

References

External links

Media Advisory
from the

Texas Attorney General The Texas attorney general is the chief legal officer
of the

Report
from National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
Offender Information
from

Offender Information
from

Last Statement
from

Keith Bernard Clay
from ''The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney''.

from ''The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney''. * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clay, Keith and Shannon Thomas 1968 births 1971 births 2003 deaths 2005 deaths American murderers of children 21st-century executions of American people 21st-century African-American people 21st-century executions by Texas American people convicted of murder Criminal duos Executed African-American people People executed for murder Criminals from Houston People executed by Texas by lethal injection People convicted of murder by Texas

Crimes

Trials and appeals

Executions

See also

References

External links