Meanwhile, in Texas, Governor Greg Abbott halted what would have been Thursday’s third U.S. execution, granting clemency to condemned prisoner Bart Whitaker and commuting his sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors say that in 2003 Bart Whitaker arranged to have a hitman kill his family members. He was convicted of masterminding the attack, which left his mother and brother dead. Bart Whitaker’s father, Kent, survived the attack and later spoke out against his son’s death sentence.