texas execution | My Crime Library

Ray Jasper Texas Execution

Ray Jasper was executed by the State of Texas for a robbery murder. According to court documents Ray Jasper would attempt to steal recording equipment from David Alejandro and in the process would slit his throat causing his death. Ray Jasper would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death. Ray Jasper would be executed by lethal injection on March 19, 2014

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Ray Jasper, who was convicted 14 years ago of killing a man he intended to rob of recording equipment by slashing his throat, has been executed.

Officials pronounced Jasper dead at 6:31 p.m. Wednesday, after a lethal dose of pentobarbital was injected into his system.

Of the three men found guilty of David Alejandro‘s November 1998 slaying, Jasper, 33, was the only one to receive a death sentence.

Co-defendants Steve Russell and Douglas Williams are each serving life sentences. Russell took a plea deal days after a jury sentenced Jasper to death and Williams was sentenced to life by a jury six months later.

No one from Jasper’s family was in Huntsville Wednesday to witness the execution. No one from the Alejandro family, who are against the death penalty, attended either — instead opting to spend the evening together in San Antonio.

During his capital murder trial in 2000, Jasper, a local rapper, admitted to using a kitchen knife to cut David Alejandro’s throat during what was supposed to be a recording session at the victim’s studio.

But Jasper also insisted that he wasn’t responsible for Alejandro’s death. It was instead the 25 stab wounds inflicted by Williams and Russell that caused the death, he asserted on the witness stand.

In a seven-page letter Jasper recently sent to Gawker.com that he has described as his final statement, he continued to deflect responsibility.

“I’m on death row and yet I didn’t commit the act of murder,” he said in the letter, which has been touted by Gawker.com for having been read 1.7 million times.

He is the third inmate executed in Texas this year.

https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/S-A-rapper-Ray-Jasper-executed-5332421.php

Edgar Tamayo Texas Execution

Edgar Tamayo was executed by the State of Texas for the murder of a police officer. According to court documents Edgar Tamayo would shoot and kill Houston police officer Guy Gaddis in 1994. Edgar Tamayo who was an illegal immigrant scheduled execution caused a riff between Mexico and the State of Teas however in the end Edgar Tamayo would be executed by lethal injection on January 22, 2014

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A last-ditch push to keep a convicted cop killer alive failed Wednesday night when the U.S. Supreme Court denied a motion to stay his execution.

Edgar Tamayo Arias, a Mexican national, was executed at 9:32 p.m. CT, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said.

His execution marks the first of the year in Texas and the 509th in the state since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.

Tamayo did not make a statement before his death, department spokesman Jason Clark said.

Mexico’s government had been pushing to block Tamayo’s execution, arguing that it would violate international law.

Lawyers for Tamayo criticized the Supreme Court’s ruling.

“He will be executed tonight, despite the indisputable fact that his right to consular assistance was violated,” attorneys Sandra L. Babcock and Maurie Levin said in a statement before Tamayo’s lethal injection.

Tamayo, 46, was convicted of the 1994 murder of a Houston police officer.

Officer Guy Gaddis was fatally shot after arresting Tamayo and another man for robbery.

Tamayo’s supporters say he was denied access to his consulate when arrested, as required by an international treaty.

In the past five years, Texas has executed two other Mexicans convicted of murder who raised similar claims. The Supreme Court refused to delay either of those executions, which took place in 2008 and 2011.

Tamayo’s lawyers argued the consulate access violation was more than a technicality — that Mexican officials would have ensured he had the most competent trial defense possible, if they had been able to speak with him right after his felony arrest.

The Bush and Obama administrations had urged Texas and other states to grant Tamayo and inmates in similar situations new hearings, fearing repercussions for Americans arrested overseas.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has also weighed in on Tamayo’s case, arguing that setting an execution date is “extremely detrimental to the interests of the United States.”

“I want to be clear: I have no reason to doubt the facts of Mr. Tamayo’s conviction, and as a former prosecutor, I have no sympathy for anyone who would murder a police officer,” Kerry wrote. “This is a process issue I am raising because it could impact the way American citizens are treated in other countries.”

Lucy Nashed, a spokeswoman for Texas Gov. Rick Perry, said the state was committed to enforcing its laws.

“It doesn’t matter where you’re from — if you commit a despicable crime like this in Texas, you are subject to our state laws, including a fair trial by jury and the ultimate penalty,” she said.

Tamayo was one of 40 Mexican citizens awaiting the death penalty in U.S. prisons.

https://www.q13fox.com/news/texas-executes-mexican-national

Raphael Holiday Texas Execution

Raphael Holiday was executed by the State of Texas for the murders of three children. According to court documents Raphael Holiday would set fire to a cabin that would kill his eighteen month old daughter and two other children. Raphael Holiday insisted he was not responsible for setting the fire however he would be found guilty and would be sentenced to death. Raphael Holiday would be executed on November 19, 2015

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A Texas inmate has been executed after failed appeals for setting a fire that killed his 18-month-old daughter and her two young half-sisters at an east Texas home 15 years ago.

Raphael Holiday, 36, became the 13th convicted killer put to death this year in Texas, which carries out capital punishment more than any other state. It has accounted for half of all executions in the US so far this year.

The lethal injection was carried out after the US supreme court rejected an appeal seeking to halt Holiday’s punishment so new attorneys could be appointed to pursue additional unspecified appeals in his case.

Earlier on Wednesday the judge in Holiday’s trial court stopped the execution after Holiday’s trial attorney filed an appeal saying the conviction and some trial testimony were both improper. The judge agreed the issues should be reviewed and withdrew his execution warrant. The Texas attorney general’s office appealed, the judge’s order was voided and the warrant reinstated, clearing the way for the lethal injection to go ahead

Holiday insisted he didn’t know how the log cabin he once shared with his common-law wife and the children in the Madison county woods about 100 miles north of Houston caught fire in September 2000.

“I loved my kids,” Holiday said. “I never would do harm to any of them.”

Evidence and testimony showed Holiday was irate over a protective order his estranged wife obtained after his arrest for sexually assaulting one of the children. Holiday, from prison, contended he knew nothing about the assault.

According to court records he showed up at the home and forced the girls’ grandmother at gunpoint to douse the interior with gasoline. After it ignited he sped away in the grandmother’s car, hit a police car that arrived outside the cabin and then led officers on a chase that ended two counties away when he wrecked.

Defense attorneys at his trial suggested an electrical problem or a pilot light started the blaze in the early hours of 6 September 2000 that killed Holiday’s daughter, Justice, and her half-sisters, Tierra Lynch, 7, and Jasmine DuPaul, 5.

The girls’ grandmother told a jury she watched Holiday bend down and then the flames erupted, court records show. Jurors convicted him of capital murder and decided he should be put to death.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/19/texas-executes-raphael-holiday-over-fire-that-killed-three-children

Licho Escamilla Texas Execution

Licho Escamilla was executed by the State of Texas for the murder of an off duty police officer. According to court documents Licho Escamilla was already wanted for another murder when he was involved in a shooting outside of a Dallas night club striking and killing off duty police officer Christopher Kevin James who was working security at the club. Licho Escamilla would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death.

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A man already being sought for a neighbor’s slaying when he killed a Dallas police officer outside a club was executed Wednesday.

Licho Escamilla was put to death for the fatal 2001 shooting of Christopher Kevin James, who was trying to break up a brawl involving Escamilla. The 33-year-old prisoner was pronounced dead at 6:31 p.m. — 18 minutes after the lethal injection began.

Escamilla became the 24th convicted killer executed this year in the United States. Texas has accounted for 12 of the executions.

Before dying, Licho Escamilla looked at the slain officer’s daughter, who was seated a few feet away watching through a window, and told her: “God bless your heart.”

He turned to his own relatives, who were in a separate witness space but could see him through the same glass, and said he loved them and all his supporters.

“Pope Francis, God’s children has asked the state of Texas to switch my death sentence to life in prison,” he said. “But the state of Texas has refused to listen to God’s children.

“They will have to take that up with God,” he added. “Let everyone know it’s not over.”

He took two breaths as the sedative pentobarbital took effect, then became still. His sister cried and screamed for God not to take him. Her wails nearly masked the sound of rumbling motorcycles outside the prison where bikers supporting the punishment gathered.

The U.S. Supreme Court refused to review Escamilla’s case last week and no additional appeals were filed as his execution neared. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles on Monday decided against a reprieve and clemency.

James and three other uniformed officers were working off-duty security in November 2001 when a brawl started outside a Dallas club. Licho Escamilla, who was involved in the brawl, pulled out a gun and opened fire on the officers as they tried to end the fight.

The bullets from his 9 mm semi-automatic handgun struck James twice, knocking him to the ground. Escamilla then calmly walked up to the officer and fired three more shots into the back of his head before running and exchanging shots with other officers, witnesses said. A second officer wounded in the shootout survived.

A wounded Licho Escamilla was arrested as he tried to carjack a truck.

About a half-dozen Dallas police officers stood at attention and saluted as relatives of the slain officer entered the prison in Huntsville ahead of the execution. More arrived later to show their support and also saluted when they emerged.

“It’s been a long time waiting for justice to be served,” said Kevin Janse, a family spokesman who read a statement afterward. “We will grieve for him forever.

“Kevin was dedicated to making a difference,” he said, referring to James by his middle name. “The night he died he ran straight into gunfire to protect and serve those in harm’s way.”

James, 34, had earned dozens of commendations during his nearly seven years on the Dallas police force after graduating at the top of his cadet class. He was working the off-duty security job to earn extra money so he and his new wife could buy a house.

Escamilla was 19 at the time of the officer’s killing and a warrant had been issued for him in the shooting death of a West Dallas neighbor nearly three weeks earlier.

Escamilla’s trial attorneys told jurors he was responsible for James’ slaying but argued it didn’t merit a death sentence because James wasn’t officially on duty, meaning the crime didn’t qualify as a capital murder.

He was sentenced to death in October 2002. At his trial in Dallas, Escamilla grabbed a water pitcher off the defense table and threw it at the jury as the judge was reading his sentence.

Escamilla also started kicking and hitting people and hid under the table until he was subdued by deputies who triggered an electronic stun belt he was wearing.

Testimony showed Escamilla bragged to emergency medical technicians who were treating his wounds that he had killed an officer and injured another and that he’d be out of jail in 48 hours. He also admitted to the slaying during a television interview from jail.

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2015/10/14/texas-executes-inmate-for-dallas-police-officers-2001-death/

Juan Garcia Texas Execution

Juan Garcia was executed by the State of Texas for a robbery murder. According to court documents Juan Garcia would shoot and kill Hugo Solano during a robbery that netted Garcia $8.00. Juan Garcia would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

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A convicted killer in Texas was executed on Tuesday for fatally shooting another man in a robbery that yielded just $8.

No late appeals were filed for Juan Martin Garcia, who was lethally injected for the September 1998 killing and robbery of Hugo Solano in Houston. Solano, a Christian missionary from Guadalajara, Mexico, had moved his family to the city just weeks earlier so his children could be educated in the US.

Juan Garcia, 35, apologized to Solano’s relatives in Spanish ahead of the execution. Solano’s wife and daughter sobbed and told the inmate they loved him.

“The harm that I did to your dad and husband I hope this brings you closure,” he said. “I never wanted to hurt any of you all.”

He told his sister and several friends in English that he loved them. “No matter what, remember my promise,” Garcia said. “No matter what, I will always be with you.”

As the dose of pentobarbital began, he winced, raised his head and then shook it. He gurgled once and snored once before his movement stopped. He was pronounced dead 12 minutes later, at 6.26pm CDT.

In an interview with the Associated Press last month, Garcia acknowledged he shot Solano but denied the robbery, an accompanying felony that made it a capital case.

Garcia, who was linked to at least eight aggravated robberies and two attempted murders in the weeks before and after Solano’s death, also insisted jurors had unfairly penalized him because he didn’t take the witness stand in his own defense at trial.

The US supreme court refused to review Garcia’s case in March. The Texas pardon and parole board, in a 5-2 vote, refused a clemency request from Garcia last week.

The execution was the 11th this year in Texas, which carries out capital punishment more than any other US state.

Evidence at the 2000 trial and testimony from a companion identified Garcia, who was 18 at the time of the killing and a street gang member, as the ringleader of four men involved in Solano’s shooting and robbery. The slaying and string of other violent crimes tied to Garcia convinced a Harris county jury he should be put to death.

Three more Texas inmates are scheduled for executions in upcoming weeks.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/07/texas-executes-juan-martin-garcia-over-8-robbery-and