After 24 Long Years In Limbo, Death Comes For Texas Inmate

I was starting to think that John Lezell Balentine had more lives than a cat. For the 24 years he sat on Texas Death Row, he seemed to always narrowly avoid his fate.

Late last week, news came that Balentine's scheduled execution for this evening was going to be put on hold. 

But tonight, February 8, Balentine's original execution date went as scheduled after all. The families of his victims finally got the closure they were seeking. It was a very long road that ended for Balentine in Huntsville this evening.

One of the three teenage victims' brothers, Koda Shadix, reached out to us. His older brother, Kai Brooke Geyer, was one of the teenagers killed by John Balentine back in 1998.

Kai was just 15 years old when Balentine ended his life along with the other two teenage victims, Mark Edward Caylor, Jr (17) and Steven Watson (15).

This has been a long road for Koda for sure. He found out yesterday that the execution was still on. He left his home in Utah at noon to make the fast and furious trip from Utah to Huntsville in time. He has been long looking for closure.

I can only imagine all the emotions that Koda and all of the victim's families were feeling. Would this one finally happen? What next? This has been a long 24 years spent in limbo. A long 24 years without their loved ones.

John Lezell Balentine was pronounced dead at 6:36 pm. I can only hope that after this long road, there is some peace for the families. They are the ones who have suffered the most.