Charles Victor Thompson (born 13 June 1970) is an inmate sentenced to death in April 1999 and currently resides on Texas

Death Row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting executio ...

. He was sentenced to

death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

for the

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

of his girlfriend Dennise Hayslip, and her other boyfriend, Darren Cain, on 30 April 1998. Thompson made headlines in 2005 by

escaping Escape or Escaping may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Escape'' (1928 film), a German silent drama film * ''Escape!'' (film), a 1930 British crime film starring Austin Trevor and Edna Best * ''Escape'' (1940 film), starring Robert Taylor and ...

from Harris County Jail in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, after a re-sentencing hearing where he was sentenced to death for a second time, using a forged ID badge, claiming to be with the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

's office. He was captured four days later outside a liquor store in

Shreveport Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

where he was using a pay phone while intoxicated. He was able to get food and clothing, he told investigators, posing as a

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

evacuee. He also got money from Good Samaritans in Shreveport. Thompson is appealing his death penalty conviction as he states that there was insufficient evidence to support his

capital murder Capital murder refers to a category of murder in some parts of the US for which the perpetrator is eligible for the death penalty. In its original sense, capital murder was a statutory offence of aggravated murder in Great Britain, Northern Irela ...

conviction because intervening medical care was the direct cause of Dennise Hayslip’s death, not the actual shooting. In 2008, a biography by Roger Rodriguez was released titled ''The Grass Beneath His Feet: The Charles Victor Thompson Story''. In it, Rodriguez highlights the details regarding his escape, but he does not reveal how Thompson received a handcuff key. Thompson resides in solitary confinement on Death Row in Livingston, Texas at the Polunsky Unit. He writes on inmate blog ''

Between the Bars "Between the Bars" is the fourth track of Elliott Smith's 1997 album ''Either/Or''. It is written as a short ballad in the key of G Minor. It is one of three tracks from ''Either/Or'' that was used in the soundtrack of ''Good Will Hunting'' (19 ...

''. Thompson is featured in the fifth episode of the first season of the Netflix series ''

I Am a Killer ''I Am a Killer'' is a television documentary series on Netflix and Crime+Investigation UK that features interviews with death row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting execution after be ...

''. Thompson was also featured in an episode of "Extreme Prison Breaks", entitled "Runaway Chuck", which first aired on the Documentary Channel on 15 August 2012.

References

External links

Texas Department of Criminal Justice: Charles Victor Thompson

Faces of Death Row: The Texas Tribune
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Charles Victor 1970 births 1998 murders in the United States American people convicted of murder American prisoners sentenced to death American escapees Prisoners sentenced to death by Texas Escapees from Texas detention Living people People convicted of murder by Texas