Harris County inmate Charles Victor Thompson scheduled for Texas’ first execution of 2026 in Huntsville
Execution date set after decades on death row
A Harris County man, Charles Victor Thompson, 55, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Jan. 28, 2026, at the Huntsville Unit, according to the state’s list of scheduled executions. If carried out, it would be Texas’ first execution of 2026 and among the first in the United States this year.
State records list additional Texas execution dates later in 2026 for inmates from Tarrant and Dallas counties, reflecting a calendar of multiple planned executions in the first half of the year.
The 1998 killings that led to the death sentence
Thompson was sentenced to death for the April 1998 shootings of his ex-girlfriend, Glenda Dennise Hayslip, and her boyfriend, Darren Keith Cain, in Tomball, in the Houston area. Court accounts described a confrontation at Hayslip’s residence during the early morning hours that drew a police response, after which Thompson was escorted away from the apartment complex.
Prosecutors maintained that Thompson returned later and opened fire, killing Cain and gravely injuring Hayslip, who died in the days that followed. The case centered not only on the shooting itself but also on legal causation: whether Hayslip’s death should be attributed to the gunshot injuries or to subsequent medical complications.
Final litigation and clemency efforts
In the lead-up to the scheduled execution, Thompson’s attorneys renewed arguments that medical care, rather than the shooting, was the decisive cause of Hayslip’s death. The courts rejected those claims, leaving the death sentence intact under Texas law.
Clemency was also sought. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles declined to recommend commutation. A final round of court activity unfolded in the hours before the scheduled lethal injection, with no relief granted.
Earlier escape from custody adds to case history
Thompson’s case has also drawn attention for an escape from custody two decades after his conviction. In 2005, he broke out of the Harris County Jail by using a disguise and an identification badge, prompting a multi-day manhunt. He was captured in Louisiana and returned to Texas custody.
What happens next in the process
Texas executions are carried out at the Huntsville Unit, where inmates are transferred in advance of the scheduled time. The execution will proceed unless interrupted by a late court order or other formal action.
Scheduled execution date: Jan. 28, 2026
County of conviction: Harris County
Method: lethal injection
Texas maintains a published schedule of upcoming executions, which can change due to court orders, stays, or other last-minute developments.