Raymond Riles

When the manager refused to give them job applications, Riles and Washington robbed the manager and his wife at gunpoint, getting away with about $1800.

Police officers later spotted the pair in Washington's car, and a police chase ensued at speeds of up to 100 mph. When Washington crashed his car into a truck, Washington and Riles exchanged gunfire with police officers before fleeing on foot.

Washington was shot in the hand and then apprehended quickly, but Riles, bleeding from a wound to the arm, entered a nearby home.

The homeowner, who was a San Jacinto College police officer, placed a tourniquet on Riles's arm and subdued him until help arrived.

At trial, Riles's lawyers called expert witnesses who testified that Riles suffered from delusions, psychotic thoughts, and schizophrenia.

The state presented experts who testified that Riles was faking mental illness.

A psychiatrist testified that Riles acted like a dog when she tried to interview him; he bayed at the moon, barked, and tried to bite her.

Washington testified that he once saw Riles attempt to tie his wife to a railroad track as a train neared, screaming at her, "Repent, Jezebel!"

Riles had multiple outbursts in the courtroom.

At various points, he broke a doorjamb, screamed at the judge and prosecution team, and attempted to jump over the defense table to attack the judge.

Riles ultimately had to be held in a nearby cell while the proceedings continued.

The prosecutor later said that he thought Riles was attempting to act like he was insane, but he also said that the judge started to carry a handgun under his robe after the trial.

Riles was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death.

Washington was also sent to death row on a capital murder conviction, but it was later thrown out; he was then sentenced to 50 years for the attempted murder of a police officer.

Raymond George Riles (born June 1, 1950) is an American convicted murderer who was on death row in Texas from 1976 until he was resentenced to life imprisonment in June 2021.

At the time of his resentencing, Riles had been on death row longer than anyone else in the United States.

Riles was born in 1950 in Harris County, Texas.

He completed seven years of education and later earned a general equivalency diploma (GED).

Riles's arrest record, which began when he was a juvenile, included arrests for attempted rape, burglary, and robbery.

He worked as a truck driver.

Family members said that Riles was always "a little funny"; they said he prayed in foreign languages and sometimes referred to himself by other names.

A judge said that he had several members of Riles's family involuntarily committed.

Riles was ruled competent to stand trial in the 1970s, but while on death row he was repeatedly found to be too mentally ill to execute.

Riles's initial capital conviction was reversed on appeal because prosecutors improperly introduced evidence of a separate crime during that trial.

He was convicted of the December 1974 capital murder of John Henry, a Houston used car salesman.

In December 1974, Riles fatally shot John Thomas Henry, the 31-year-old owner of a used car dealership in Houston.

Riles had accompanied Herbert Washington to John Henry Motors, where Washington had purchased a used vehicle.

Armed with guns, Riles and Washington approached Henry about problems they had with the car; the men demanded a refund of the down payment.

Henry said that he would not issue a refund but that he would repair the vehicle.

In response, Riles pushed Henry and then shot him from behind.

The bullet went into Henry's brain, but he was still alive when Riles stood over him and again demanded money.

After Henry gave Riles a roll of bills, Riles and Washington went to Herby's Foods and asked the store manager about job openings.

In 1978, Riles was convicted again and resentenced to the death penalty.

In 1985, he was badly burned when he set his prison cell on fire in a suicide attempt.

A 1986 scheduled execution was stayed because of concerns over whether the death penalty was disproportionately applied to black perpetrators with white victims.

In 2008, an assistant district attorney in Harris County said that Riles's mental illness prevented him from being executed, but she said his mental health was tested on a regular basis on death row and that he could become eligible for execution.

In February 2021, attorneys for Riles filed a habeas petition for a new punishment hearing before the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals because potential mitigating factors such as mental illness were not considered in the 1970s when Riles received his death sentence.

On April 15, 2021, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted the petition, indicating that Riles was entitled to the same considerations as someone who was being sentenced to the death penalty in recent years.

On June 9, 2021, Riles was resentenced to life in prison.

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles is expected to conduct a parole review in his case.