Summary of Offense: Convicted and sentenced to death for the October 2, 1991 murder of Marsha Brock and Sybil Mares Dennis.
On October 2, 1991, Mason traveled from his home in Tennessee, stopped at an East Texas pawn shop, and bought a twelve-gauge shotgun and three boxes of buckshot ammunition. On the federal firearms form he listed 113 Robinwood Street, Whitehouse, Texas, as his address. This was the residence at which Marsha Brock and Sybil Mares Dennis resided. Brock and Dennis were the mother and grandmother of Mason's estranged wife.
Mason then went to the home and waited outside for Marsha Brock to return from her work. Shortly after Brock arrived, Mason entered the house and shot her once in the head at close range. Dennis was attempting to call for help when Mason began shooting her. His first shot into Dennis blew through her right forearm and entered her chest, knocking her to the ground. He then closed in on her and fired another round into her side.
A dispatcher with the Whitehouse Police Department, testified that at 4:22 p.m. she received a 911 hang-up and called the number back, at which time she heard an elderly woman scream, "Help me. Help me. Help me." Awtry stated she then heard a loud bang or crash and a man say, "Hang up the phone!" She then heard the phone being dropped and a woman moaning and whimpering, and the line went dead. Mason had previously threatened to burn the house down and police were advised to drive by to check on the residents from time to time.
Shortly after the murders, Mason called several relatives and admitted that he had committed the murders. Following his arrest, Mason laughed: "I don't know what the big deal is, over just getting rid of a mother-in-law."
Evidence was also presented that Mason had confined Melinda Mason with a gun at an athletic club on September 16, 1991, two weeks prior to the murders of Brock and Dennis. This led to a five-hour armed standoff with police.
Victims: Marsha Brock and Sybil Mares Dennis
Manner of execution: Lethal injection
Time of Death: 6:24 p.m.
Last Meal: None
Final Statement: In a bitter last statement, Mason blamed Smith County prosecutors for orchestrating his conviction and for the failure of his appeals. “They did everything but make sure I got a fair trial to prove I was innocent,” Mason, staring straight at the death chamber ceiling, said. He complained that his trial record was altered and that his “sellout lawyer” worked with the district attorney, Jack Skeen, to conspire against him in the courts. “Jack Skeen can laugh all he wants like he's the big hero after this is over with,” Mason said. “Who's getting the last laugh? The guy who got away.” As the drugs began taking effect, Mason blurted out, "This stuff has a bad taste to it."
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