Citations:
Clark v. State, 881 S.W.2d 682 (Tex. Cr. App. 1994), cert. denied 115 S.Ct. 1114 (1995).
Clark v. Johnson, 202 F.3d 760 (5th Cir. 2000).

Final / Special Meal:

Last Words:
"First, I would like to say to the family that I am sorry, and I do ask for forgiveness. There will be also a funeral mass at St. Thomas and I would like to invite all of those from the State and the family to be there if they would like to come. My last words will be: And He was the light that shineth in the hearts of all man from the foundations of the world. If we confess our sins He is just and true to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Peace and goodness."

Internet Sources:

Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Executed Offenders (Jack Wade Clark)

Texas Attorney General

Friday, January 5, 2001 - MEDIA ADVISORY - Jack Wade Clark Scheduled To Be Executed.

AUSTIN - Texas Attorney General John Cornyn offers the following information on Jack Wade Clark who is scheduled to be executed after 6 p.m., Tuesday, January 9th. Jack Wade Clark was convicted and sentenced to death for the October 1989 rape and murder of Melisa Ann Garcia in Lubbock, Texas:

The following is from the written confession Clark gave police. Clark's confession was used as evidence admitted at trial.

In the early morning hours of October 15, 1989, Clark saw Melisa Ann Garcia, who was making a telephone call at a public telephone. He approached her, asked her for a light for his cigarette, walked around the corner to wait for her to finish her call, and then stabbed her in the shoulder. He then forced her into her own car, drove it away, and sexually assaulted her. Garcia remained in a semi-conscious state as she was being raped. After sexually assaulting her, Clark stabbed Garcia in the heart. He drove her car and parked it near his house, cleaned the knife, and hid it in the attic.

Clark's confession was supported by the trial testimony of a high school honor roll student, who was in jail with Clark while he was in the Lubbock County Jail. Clark had confided in the inmate regarding his involvement in Garcia's murder. The witness testified that Clark bragged about how he had asked the victim for a lighter, stabbed her, forced her into the car, drove her somewhere, and raped her. Clark further explained to the witness that he stabbed her again so that she could not identify him, and that he had ground the knife down so that it could not be identified as the murder weapon. There was no evidence that the witness received any benefit for coming forward with Clark's jailhouse confession some six weeks after the witness was released from jail.

The state's pathologist confirmed both of the stab wounds as well as the injuries which were indicative of sexual assault, i.e. traumatized external genitalia, swelling of the vaginal area and various cuts and bruises. The evidence presented at trial also included testimony that the knife later retrieved from Clark showed evidence of recent grinding.

The state produced evidence of Clark's desertion from the Navy and the Army; assault and attempted rape of a relative; hostile and threatening behavior towards Children's Protective Services workers; neglect and abuse and lack of appropriate supervision of his children; threatening behavior toward a landlord and neighborhood boy; intimidating and threatening and assaultive behavior toward his neighbors; faking mental illness and suicidal thoughts in jail; possession of "shanks" in jail; intimidation of guards; and fighting with inmates.

Eight different courts, state and federal, including the United States Supreme Court have reviewed Clark's appeals and rejected them.

Texas Execution Information Center by David Carson.

In October 1989, Clark, then 26, spotted Melisa Ann Garcia at a telephone booth. He asked her for a light for his cigarette, then went around a corner and hid. After she finished her call, walked by him. As she passed, Clark stabbed her in the shoulder, then forced her into her car. She drove them to an abandoned area, where Clark raped her repeatedly then stabbed her twice through the heart.

Afterward, Clark led police to Garcia's body, telling them he spotted it in some tall weeds while making a U-turn on a highway. Based on his description of the scene, police immediately suspected him. He was arrested a few weeks later, and confessed.

At his trial, one of Clark's fellow inmates at the county jail testified that Clark had bragged to him about Garcia's rape and murder. Other testimony showed that Clark had a history of abusing his children and assaulting and threatening relatives and neighbors. In jail, he made weapons and fought with other inmates.

On death row, Clark claimed that he was innocent and that his signed confession was insincere. When recent DNA tests tied him to the crime scene and the rape, he said that the evidence was planted.

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Clark's appeal in October. Governor Rick Perry rejected his clemency request. This was the first execution in Texas in 2001 and the first during Perry's tenure. Perry, formerly lieutenant governor, became governor upon the resignation of President-elect George W. Bush. Perry had also allowed some executions during Bush's six years as governor, when Bush was out of the state and Perry was the acting governor.

At his execution, Clark apologized to Garcia's family, asked for their forgiveness, and quoted a verse of Scripture. He was pronounced dead at 6:27 p.m.

Lubbock Online

"Former Lubbock resident Jack Wade Clark executed," by Elizabeth Langton. (Tuesday, January 9, 2001)

HUNTSVILLE As he lay waiting to die, former Lubbock resident Jack Wade Clark asked forgiveness for a murder that just a week earlier he denied committing. Tuesday night, the state of Texas executed Clark, 37, for the 1989 kidnapping, rape and murder of 23-year-old Melisa Ann Garcia of Slaton.

"First, I would like to say to the family that I am sorry, and I do ask their forgiveness," Clark said, strapped to a gurney in the death chamber. During an interview on death row last week, Clark told a reporter that he was innocent of Garcia's murder. "I know I didn't do that," he had said. "I know for a fact I didn't rape that girl. Never happened."

While in Lubbock County Jail soon after the murder, Clark bragged about the rape and murder to another inmate, who testified against him at his trial. Evidence also showed that Clark was a military deserter, was accused of assaulting and attempting to rape a relative, threatening child welfare workers, neglecting and abusing his children and of threatening and assaultive behavior toward neighbors.

Mary Jane Garcia, Melisa Garcia's mother, said she doesn't believe Clark's last-minute apology. "He said he was sorry, but I don't think he meant it," Garcia said after witnessing Clark's death. "I needed to be here because of what he did to my daughter. Seeing him take his last breath made me feel better."

The Slaton woman plans to witness a second execution next month. Adolph Gil Hernandez, the man who robbed and killed her mother, is scheduled for lethal injection Feb. 8. "I'm praying. God is helping me. I know I can come again," Garcia said. "That way these two chapters in my life can be closed. I've been waiting 12 years. Once it's over, I'll never remember (the killers') names again."

During Clark's final statement, he invited prison officials and Garcia's family to attend his funeral and quoted from the Bible. "My last words will be: And he was the light that shineth in the hearts of all men from the foundations of the world. If we confess our sins, he is just and true to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Peace and goodness."

Clark died at 6:27 p.m., nine minutes after the lethal drugs started flowing into his arms. He fixed his gaze toward five friends and his priest, who held hands and prayed as Clark emitted two gasping breaths and closed his eyes. One of the women sobbed.

Garcia said Clark fared better than her daughter and mother. "I think when you commit a crime that bad, you should suffer. He didn't suffer. He just closed his eyes and went to sleep," she said. "My daughter didn't die like that. She was a really good person. She helped people. Everybody loved her."

Clark abducted Garcia as she talked on a pay phone in the early morning hours of Oct. 16, 1989. He stabbed her in the shoulder, forced her into her car and drove to an isolated area near East 40th Street and Southeast Drive. Clark beat and repeatedly raped Garcia, then fatally stabbed her in the heart. He took her car, parking it about a block from his home. About 12 hours later, Clark called police and said he had seen a body in a vacant lot. Officers found Garcia lying among tall weeds and obscured by a concrete wall.

Detective Rey Martinez said Lubbock police considered Clark a suspect from the beginning. After about a week of police scrutiny, Clark called Martinez from work. "He said, 'This is Jack. Y'all can come get me, but you better be ready to kill me,' " Martinez said. "I asked him why, and he said, 'Because I killed that girl.' "We pretty much thought he wanted a confrontation."

Detectives set up surveillance at Clark's workplace. As they watched, Clark came out and drove away in a van. Detectives followed Clark, who led them to the murder scene, Martinez said. He emerged from the van brandishing a knife. When officers drew their guns, Clark surrendered. "He had it in him, and he had the opportunity, and he thought he could get away with it," Martinez said of the murder. "I think when it finally dawned on him, he knew he was caught."

Clark confessed to police. DNA tests conducted within the past year confirm that Clark raped Garcia, Criminal District Attorney Bill Sowder said. The tests were not yet available during Clark's 1991 trial. Police and prosecutors agreed to voluntarily submit the evidence to the Department of Public Safety crime lab. Had they not done so, the state Board of Pardons and Parole likely would have recommended delaying Clark's execution in order to perform the tests, Sowder said. "They (board members) were really concerned about it," he said. "Even though he had confessed, I have no doubt they would have put that execution off."

The Lamp of Hope (Houston Chronicle & Rick Halperin)

January 9 - TEXAS - Convicted killer Jack Wade Clark was executed this evening for the abduction, rape and fatal stabbing of a 23-year-old Lubbock County woman more than 11 years ago. The execution was the 1st in Texas' death chamber this year.

In a brief final statement while strapped to the death chamber gurney, Clark expressed remorse and prayed. "I would like to say to the family that I am sorry and I do ask their forgiveness," he said as five members of his victim's family stood a few feet away watching through a window. He invited people to attend his funeral Mass and then recited a short prayer, closing with the words "peace and goodness." He sputtered and gasped slightly before slipping into unconsciousness. He was pronounced death at 6:27 p.m., 9 minutes after the lethal drugs started flowing. "If we confess our sins, He is just and true to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness," Clark said.

Gov. Rick Perry, in his 1st execution case since succeeding President- elect Bush 3 weeks ago, cleared the way for the execution when he rejected Clark's request for clemency. Last year, with then-Lt. Gov. Perry frequently assuming Bush's duties when the GOP presidential candidate was campaigning out of the state, Texas carried out a record 40 executions.

Clark, 37, led police to the body of 23-year-old Melisa Ann Garcia of Slaton, saying he spotted her body in some tall weeds off a highway while making a U-turn. "But the way he described the scene, he almost had to be the murderer," Rebecca Atchley, the former assistant prosecutor in Lubbock who tried Clark, said. Clark was arrested and confessed to the murder but insisted from death row he was innocent. "I know I didn't do that," Clark said in an interview last week. "I know for a fact I didn't rape that girl. Never happened." Recent DNA tests on evidence tied him to the crime scene. Clark contended the evidence was planted.

Garcia was making a telephone call outside a convenience store the early hours of Oct. 15, 1989, when Clark approached her and asked if she had a light for a cigarette. When she finished her call, testimony showed he stabbed her in the shoulder, forced her into her own car, drove away and repeatedly raped her before fatally stabbing her in the heart. Clark said he signed his confession in frustration. "I was truly seeking a way out," he said. Clark, brandishing a knife at officers, was arrested following a brief highway police chase a few weeks after he told officers he spotted the body. "There was no possible way this guy could have seen the body," said former Lubbock District Attorney Travis Ware, who went to the murder scene. "Sometimes these guys will commit a crime like this and get to be the hero by discovering the body. That apparently was what he was up to. "Melisa Ann Garcia was a totally innocent victim of circumstance."

While in the county jail, Clark bragged about the rape and murder to another inmate, who testified against him at his trial. Evidence also showed Clark was a military deserter, was accused of assaulting and attempting to rape a relative, threatening child welfare workers, neglecting and abusing his children and of threatening and assaultive behavior toward neighbors. He also had a history of making weapons while in jail, trying to intimidate guards and fighting with inmates.

Garcia's death was not the 1st murder tragedy for her family. Her 69-year-old grandmother, Elizabeth Alvarado, was beaten to death during a robbery at her home a year before Garcia was killed. The man convicted of that killing, Adolph Gil Hernandez, is set for execution next month. "We have been waiting so long for this day to come," Josie Vargas, Garcia's aunt and Alvarado's daughter, told the Lubbock Avalanche- Journal. "It's been terrible. I don't know how we survived." "That made this case really tragic," Atchley said. "2 victims of vicious murders in one family. It's very horrific."

Clark becomes the 1st condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Texas and the 240th overall since the state resumed capital punishment on Dec. 7, 1982. Clark becomes the 1st condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA, and the 684th overall since America resumed executions on Jan. 17. 1977.

ProDeathPenalty.Com

Jack Clark was sentenced to die for the rape and stabbing murder of 23-year-old Melisa Ann Garcia in October of 1989. Clark, a transient, told police he spotted Melissa at a telephone booth, asked her for a light for his cigarette, then stabbed her in the shoulder before forcing her into her car. She drove to an abandoned area, where she was raped and stabbed through the heart.

In a brief final statement while strapped to the death chamber gurney, Clark expressed remorse and prayed. "I would like to say to the family that I am sorry and I do ask their forgiveness," he said as five members of his victim's family stood a few feet away watching through a window. He invited people to attend his funeral Mass and then recited a short prayer, closing with the words "peace and goodness." He sputtered and gasped slightly before slipping into unconsciousness. He was pronounced death at 6:27 p.m., 9 minutes after the lethal drugs started flowing. "If we confess our sins, He is just and true to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness," Clark said. Gov. Rick Perry, in his 1st execution case since succeeding President-elect Bush 3 weeks ago, cleared the way for the execution when he rejected Clark's request for clemency.

Clark, 37, led police to the body of 23-year-old Melisa Ann Garcia of Slaton, saying he spotted her body in some tall weeds off a highway while making a U-turn. "But the way he described the scene, he almost had to be the murderer," Rebecca Atchley, the former assistant prosecutor in Lubbock who tried Clark, said. Clark was arrested and confessed to the murder but insisted from death row he was innocent. "I know I didn't do that," Clark said in an interview last week. "I know for a fact I didn't rape that girl. Never happened." Recent DNA tests on evidence tied him to the crime scene. Clark contended the evidence was planted. Garcia was making a telephone call outside a convenience store the early hours of Oct. 15, 1989, when Clark approached her and asked if she had a light for a cigarette. When she finished her call, testimony showed he stabbed her in the shoulder, forced her into her own car, drove away and repeatedly raped her before fatally stabbing her in the heart. Clark said he signed his confession in frustration. "I was truly seeking a way out," he said. Clark, brandishing a knife at officers, was arrested following a brief highway police chase a few weeks after he told officers he spotted the body. "There was no possible way this guy could have seen the body," said former Lubbock District Attorney Travis Ware, who went to the murder scene. "Sometimes these guys will commit a crime like this and get to be the hero by discovering the body. That apparently was what he was up to. "Melisa Ann Garcia was a totally innocent victim of circumstance."

While in the county jail, Clark bragged about the rape and murder to another inmate, who testified against him at his trial. Evidence also showed Clark was a military deserter, was accused of assaulting and attempting to rape a relative, threatening child welfare workers, neglecting and abusing his children and of threatening and assaultive behavior toward neighbors. He also had a history of making weapons while in jail, trying to intimidate guards and fighting with inmates.

Garcia's death was not the 1st murder tragedy for her family. Her 69-year-old grandmother, Elizabeth Alvarado, was beaten to death during a robbery at her home a year before Garcia was killed. The man convicted of that killing, Adolph Gil Hernandez, is set for execution next month. "We have been waiting so long for this day to come," Josie Vargas, Garcia's aunt and Alvarado's daughter, told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. "It's been terrible. I don't know how we survived." "That made this case really tragic," Atchley said. "2 victims of vicious murders in one family. It's very horrific."

Amarillo Globe-News

Wednesday, January 10, 2001 - "Clark, Convicted Killer of Slaton Woman, Executed," by Michael Graczyk.

HUNTSVILLE (AP) - Convicted killer Jack Wade Clark was executed Tuesday evening for the abduction, rape and fatal stabbing of a 23-year-old Lubbock County woman more than 11 years ago. The execution was the first in Texas' death chamber this year.

In a brief final statement while strapped to the death chamber gurney, Clark expressed remorse and prayed. "I would like to say to the family that I am sorry and I do ask their forgiveness," he said as five members of his victim's family stood a few feet away watching through a window.

Gov. Rick Perry, in his first execution case since succeeding President-elect Bush three weeks ago, cleared the way for the execution when he rejected Clark's request for clemency. Last year, with then-Lt. Gov. Perry frequently assuming Bush's duties when the GOP presidential candidate was campaigning out of the state, Texas carried out a record 40 executions.

Clark, 37, led police to the body of 23-year-old Melisa Ann Garcia of Slaton, saying he spotted her body in some tall weeds off a highway while making a U-turn. "But the way he described the scene, he almost had to be the murderer," Rebecca Atchley, the former assistant prosecutor in Lubbock who tried Clark, said. Clark was arrested and confessed to the murder but insisted from death row he was innocent. Recent DNA tests on evidence tied him to the crime scene. Clark contended the evidence was planted.

Garcia was making a telephone call outside a convenience store the early hours of Oct. 15, 1989, when Clark approached her and asked if she had a light for a cigarette. When she finished her call, testimony showed he stabbed her in the shoulder, forced her into her own car, drove away and repeatedly raped her before fatally stabbing her in the heart.