|
|
| Texas Executes Third Inmate This Month |
| By Reuters |
| Published: 01/22/2004 |
|
A man who murdered an oilfield worker in a 1987 robbery was put to death on Wednesday in the third execution this month in Texas. A sobbing Kevin Zimmerman, 42, apologized for the crime as he received a lethal injection while strapped to a gurney in the Texas death chamber. "In the name of Jesus, I am so sorry for the pain I caused you all," he told execution witnesses while choking back tears. "Gilbert didn't deserve to die and I want you all to know I am sorry." Zimmerman came within 20 minutes of execution last month before his attorneys won a stay on grounds that lethal injection, the favored manner of execution in the United States, is cruel and unusual punishment. They argued that the recipient is paralyzed by the injection and unable to describe the pain they suffer before death. The stay was overturned and a new execution date set when the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the appeal. Zimmerman was condemned for killing oilfield worker Leslie Gilbert Hooks in a Beaumont, Texas motel on Oct. 23, 1987. He confessed to stabbing Hooks 31 times so he could get his wallet. He was the 316th person to be put to death in Texas since the state resumed capital punishment in 1982 after the U.S. Supreme Court lifted a national ban on executions. Twelve more executions are already scheduled this year in Texas, which is the nation's leader in capital punishment. |
advertise
|
privacy policy
|
add URL
|
about us
|
terms/disclaimer
|
contact us
|
join our team
|
help
Comments:
No comments have been posted for this article.
Login to let us know what you think