Man executed by lethal injection for killing Houston mother with her shoelace 27 years ago

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (KTRK) -- A Texas man who claimed an intellectual disability in a late attempt at a reprieve was executed Wednesday evening for the killing of a woman who was jogging near her Houston-area home 27 years ago.

Arthur Lee Burton, 54, received a lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville and was pronounced dead at 6:47 p.m. He was condemned for the July 1997 killing and attempted rape of Nancy Adleman, a 48-year-old mother of three.

Following his execution, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice released his final statement:

"Yes. I want to say thank you to all the people who support me and pray for me. For those of you I know and do not know, thank you for your support and prayers. '27, 27' and a full circle to all the guys at the Polunsky Unit. I love you guys. 'Bird, Bird' is going home. To all the people I have hurt and caused pain, I wish we didn't have to be here at this moment, but I want you to know that I am sorry for putting y'all through this and my family. I'm not better than anyone. I hope that I find peace, and y'all can too. Warden, I am good."

In July 1997, Adleman never returned from a run along the bayou near West Road and Beltway 8. Her partially clothed body was found in a hole a day later.

Her family and friends described her as a devout Christian, beloved wife, and mother. Years ago, a large white cross was erected along the bayou to memorialize Adleman, and it still stands today.

By August 1997, Burton was under arrest and charged with capital murder.

Then-Sheriff Tommy Thomas said Burton confessed to attacking Adleman and dragging her into the woods, where he attempted to sexually assault her before strangling her with her shoelace. He also told investigators about her dying words, Thomas said.

"She did have a conversation while this attack was taking place, and she told him that she did forgive him and asked if he believed in God," Thomas told reporters in 1997.

"She would do that. She had a very strong faith," Mark Adleman, Nancy's husband, said.

There was a capital murder conviction and two death sentences because one was reversed. The latest effort, in mid-July, called into question the death warrant paperwork. It could have put the execution on hold, but last week, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals sided with the state.

"This is an appropriate circumstance for the death penalty. Any woman who has exercised alone, this is your worst nightmare," said Josh Reiss, Chief of the Post Conviction Writs Division with the Harris County District Attorney's Office.

Wednesday morning, just hours before the scheduled execution, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene regarding claims by Burton's lawyers that he had an intellectual disability, ruling out any last-minute reprieves.

"In this case, there's no question Arthur Burton deserved what he got," Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, who witnessed the execution, said. "The appeal has lasted a series of appeals for 27 years. That's too long for any family to wait for justice."

Other witnesses include Nancy Adleman's widower, Mark Adleman, her son, and her brother. There was little fanfare, few protestors, and no problems, according to TDCJ. The Adleman family declined to comment after the execution.

In a text on Tuesday to ABC13, the victim's daughter, Sarah Adleman, wrote, "We each have a choice in every moment to create the reality from where we live. May we remember to choose kindness, especially in the face of sorrow. Loss is what connects us to one another."

Burton was the third person put to death in Texas in 2024.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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