Larry Allen Hayes

Larry Allen Hayes (November 23, 1948 – September 10, 2003) was an American spree killer who was executed in Texas for the murders of two women in Montgomery County. On July 15, 1999, Hayes shot and killed his wife, 46-year-old Mary Hayes, at their Woodloch home, then drove to a nearby convenience store and fatally shot the clerk, 18-year-old Rosalyn Robinson. Hayes was convicted of capital murder, waived all appeals, and was executed via lethal injection in 2003. His execution drew attention as it was noted by the Associated Press that he was the first white person to be executed in Texas for killing a black person since 1854.

Early life Hayes was born on November 23, 1948, in West Plains, Missouri. In the 1970s, he served time in Missouri State Penitentiary for a drug conviction. He had been sentenced to seven years for possession of Barbiturates, however, he was confined for only nine months and paroled in 1976. The sentence was ultimately overturned two years later. Hayes later moved to Texas and had a conviction for driving while under the influence of drugs in Galveston County. The customer called the police as Hayes fled in Robinson's car. He later abandoned her car and stole a pickup truck. Hayes was shot in the back and chest but managed to survive. On May 17, he was sentenced to death for the capital murder of Mary Hayes and Rosalyn Robinson. On July 6, he chose to waive all his appeals and just allow his execution to proceed.

Execution On September 10, 2003, Hayes was executed via lethal injection at the Huntsville Unit in Huntsville, Texas.

His execution drew attention because it marked the first time in modern Texas state history that a white person was executed for killing a black person. Prior to this, the last time a white person was executed in Texas for killing a black person was in 1854, when James Wilson was executed for killing a white man's slave, meaning the punishment was essentially for a property crime. In June 2011, white death row inmate Lee Taylor was executed for the 1999 murder of a black prisoner. While some news agencies labeled Taylor's execution as the second time in Texas state history that a white person was executed for killing a black person, Dow claimed it should be labeled as the first, because there were no other white victims in the Taylor case.