Carl Wayne Buntion: In ’22 Became The Oldest Person Ever Executed In Texas

Who was the oldest person to ever be put to death in Texas? As it turns out, he set this dubious record just three years ago. His run as Texas's oldest living death row inmate came to an end in 2022.

Carl Wayne Buntion spent 31 years on death row in Texas before being executed at the age of 78. Just days before his execution, he had been treated at the hos­pi­tal, suf­fer­ing from pneu­mo­nia and blood in his urine.

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The Oldest Living Person on Texas Death Row

In 1991, Buntion was convicted of murdering a Houston police officer in 1990 and sentenced to death. Before his execution, he, as most death row inmates do, worked to halt his execution. For Buntio, he cited his advanced age.

His clemen­cy peti­tion, which was denied April 19, argued the ​“Mr. Buntion is a frail, elder­ly man who requires spe­cial­ized care to per­form basic func­tions. He is not a threat to any­one in prison and will not be a threat to any­one in prison if his sen­tence is reduced to a less­er penal­ty.” In his 31 years sen­tenced to death, ​“he has been cit­ed for only three dis­ci­pli­nary infrac­tions,” the peti­tion said, ​“and he has not been cit­ed for any infrac­tion what­so­ev­er for the last twenty-three years.”

There you go. In 2022, Carl Wayne Buntion became the oldest man ever executed on Texas's death row.

Wondering who was the oldest prisoner ever? I was, too. According to Guinness, Bill Wallace (1881-1989) is the oldest prisoner ever, on record. He spent the last 63 years of his life in Aradale Psychiatric Hospital in Australia. Upon his death in July 1989, he was 107 years old.