He said, “One of the blessings that are going to come from this, for me, is that as time goes by, perhaps (Bart) will earn the privilege of having an open visit where I’ll be able to actually hug him and shake his hand. Kent Whitaker was a happy man after his pleas were finally answered. In a rare occurrence, the parole board recommended clemency in Bart’s case, and less than 45 minutes before Bart’s scheduled execution in February 2018, Texas Governor Greg Abbott commuted his sentence. Kent stated that Bart was a tutor and that guards never saw him as a threat. His son had gotten his bachelor’s degree and was working toward’s a master’s degree (which Bart has since completed). He believed that spending time in prison for more than a decade had changed Bart for the better.
In January 2018, Kent made one final plea to the parole board of Texas.
I think that’s God’s game plan.” He was relentless in his pursuit to have Bart’s death sentence commuted and campaigned about it for years. Tricia and Kevin were - they went early - and I’m going. Despite dealing with the unimaginable loss of his wife and younger son, Kent believed in forgiveness for Bart. …I think he gave me that gift so that when I found out that it was my son, that it would be legitimate forgiveness.”Īfter Bart was sentenced to death for the murders, Kent’s faith kept him going. He said, “It is a gift of God that allows me to do this. While he was at the hospital, Kent said that he forgave everyone involved in the attack. Soon, investigators zeroed in on Bart as a suspect after disturbing information regarding a similar plot that he devised came to the fore. Image Credit: CBS Newsīut Kent, a devout Christian, was only worried about his family while he lay there shot. All four were shot, with Kevin and Patricia losing their lives. The lives of the Whitaker family members were forever changed when a gunman attacked them as they returned home from dinner at a local restaurant. His wife, Patricia, was a retired teacher. Kent was a successful accountant and part-owner of a construction company as well. Soon, their romance blossomed into a loving relationship, and they had two sons: Bart and Kevin. Kent and Patricia met on a blind date, and they quickly hit it off.
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