David McGowan observes in article, “Henry – Portrait of an MK-ULTRA Assassin?“, the curious consideration given to serial killer Henry Lee Lucas (picture, left) by then Texas Governor George W Bush! “Bush had not granted clemency to any condemned man in his tenure as governor. In fact, no governor of any state in the entire history of the country has carried out more judicial executions than has Governor George. At last count, the state of Texas had dispatched 130 inmates on Bush’s watch…On June 18 [1998], just twelve days before Henry’s scheduled demise, Governor Bush asked the State Board of Pardons and Paroles, whose members are appointed by Bush himself, to review Henry’s case. Strangely enough, eight days later the Board uncharacteristically recommended that Henry’s execution not take place. The very next day, just three days short of Henry’s scheduled exit from this world, Lucas became the first – and to date only – recipient of Governor Bush’s compassionate conservatism.”

It is, certainly, at the very least, a notable inconsistency in Bush’s record! McGowan doesn’t stop there, however!

“And why is it that Henry was granted full clemency, rather than a temporary stay during which his case could have been reviewed?”

“Clearly, there was something more at work then in the Lucas case than simply a question of guilt. There had to be another reason why Bush would take such extraordinary steps to spare the life of a man who had led a life of such brutality.”

McGowan ratchets up his arguments to pique any reader’s curiosity:

“…We need to look at some of the more infrequently noted details of Henry’s life history, many of them provided by Lucas himself. Henry, as it turns out, has some interesting stories to tell. In 1985, just a couple years into his incarceration, he attempted to tell his story in a book, written for him by a sympathetic author. The book, titled The Hand of Death: The Henry Lee Lucas Story, tells of Henry’s indoctrination into a nationwide Satanic cult. Lucas claimed that he was trained by the cult in a mobile paramilitary camp in the Florida Everglades in the fine art of killing, up close and personal. Other training involved abduction and arson techniques.”

“He further claimed that leaders of the camp were so impressed with Henry’s handling of a knife that he was allowed to serve as an instructor. Following his training, Henry claimed to have served the cult in various ways, including as a contract killer and as an abductor of children, who were then taken just over the border to a ranch in Mexico near Juarez. Henry has said that this cult operated out of Texas and from a ranch in northern Mexico, trafficking in children and drugs, among other nefarious pursuits. In essence, Henry claimed that what appeared to be the random work of a serial killer was in fact a planned series of crimes often committed for specific purposes.”

“Some of the murders were political hits, according to Henry, including the occasional assassination of foreign dignitaries. This was not true for all of Henry’s crimes. Some he did just because that’s what he liked to do. And it was the one thing that he was really good at.”

McGowan pours on the sarcasm, when the writer realizes something stinks:

“Of course, it could just have been lucky guesses by Henry about the cult-run ranches and the networks of Satanic cults
running murder-for-hire operations. And it could just be a coincidence that Toole, who was convicted in the state of Florida, shared with Henry
the fate of having his death sentence commuted. Florida is, of course, a state that is also overly zealous in its application of the death
penalty. Not zealous enough to execute the likes of Ottis Toole (picture, center), however. In any event, it’s interesting that both of these men had their
death sentences set aside in states run by a member of the Bush family.”

Yes, they are just interesting coincidences both Lucas and Toole received commuted sentences! Two of the most eligible candidates for execution are spared in the states of Texas and Florida, both well-known for their execution records! Were Lucas and Toole rewarded with their lives for services rendered? There’s nothing to see here please move along!