One week from tonight,
the state of Texas plans to execute
Carl Wayne Bunchin for the 1990
murder of Houston Police officer
James Irby and our Grace White spoke
to Arby's family about their decades
long wait for justice and grace.
You also talked a bunchin on
death row for the first time.
We heard remorse from Carl Wayne Bunchin.
It's a case that's dragged
on for more than 3 decades,
and the family of officer James
Irby telling us this is a chapter
they are ready to close.
Such terms obituary.
It's been a long road to justice.
Yeah, I was so angry for so long a road
that was never supposed to take 30 years.
Who was my hero on June 27th, 1990?
HPD officer James Irby's,
husband and father of two was shot
and killed during a traffic stop.
Nobody wanted me to see him.
But it wasn't really gonna
be real unless I did.
And three decades later,
Mara Irby got the phone
call her husband's killer,
Carl Wayne Bundchen finally
had an execution date.
We really were caught off guard
by the decision to execute
Benson after nearly 32 years.
We just figured he was just
going to die of old age.
Bunch, it is the oldest
offender on Texas death row at 78 years
old and he agreed to an interview.
Every day for the last 32 years.
I have regretted what happened.
What happened on that day
was never in question.
Budget admits he shot and
killed Officer Irby and then
went on a shooting spree before
eventually being arrested.
Why did he, you shoot Officer Irby?
Why? Because he was fixing to kill me.
When I pull my gun it was in self defense.
Bunchin is a career criminal.
He was on parole at the time for sexual
assault of a child after the murder,
officer Arby's widow,
a young mother at the time,
became an advocate for reform and
stood over my husband's lifeless body
and shouting twice more in the back,
even getting Oprah's attention.
Don't you think we need
to relook at the system?
Stop kidding ourselves.
He was sentenced to death in 1991,
but an appeals court granted bunch in
a new punishment phase of the trial.
In 2012, putting the family
through it all over again,
it was almost like it happened to
me for the first time because I
was so young when when he died for
a second time, a jury sentenced bunch
into death, but it would be another
decade before he got an execution date.
When the jury returned,
another death sentence. Were you relieved
I was, we were.
We were quite relieved.
And again. Saddened.
It's still a conflict as I said,
I don't. I don't know if.
If I can actually watch him executed,
it's not about revenge.
It's not about anything like that,
it's just finally being able
to move on from this thing that
is affected my whole life.
And you know, most of my
mothers and my brothers,
if you could say something to Officer Arby's,
wife and children,
what would you say to them?
I wish like hell it never had happened.
Was Miss Irby sitting right there?
I tell her the same thing, I'm I'm I'm.
I'm sorry it happened.
My my heart aches every day
for her and her and her kids.
That's amazing because
he's never shown any kind
of remorse for. Any of us?
That's the first apology that he's.
I've heard that he's made.
Attorneys for Bunchin have filed a number of
appeals attempting to stop the execution,
but right now it is still scheduled to move
forward and the Urby family told us they
are ready for this all to be over so Jim
can rest in peace.
That is a long time coming.
I also know you will cover the
execution next week in Huntsville.
We'll be there, we'll be covering it.
Alright, thank you, Grace.