The San Antonio Express-News reports, "San Antonio man executed, 14 years after triple slaying." It's by Michelle Casady.
Strapped to a gurney in the execution chamber, Miguel Angel Paredes, 32, blew kisses to his friends Tuesday night — minutes before the lethal dose that would stop his heart started flowing through his veins.
“To the victim's family, I want you to know that I hope you let go of all the hate because of my actions,” he said during his final statement. “The lion came here as a lamb.”
A series of shallow breaths gave way to slight snores and then, 22 minutes after the pentobarbital was administered, he was pronounced dead at 6:54 p.m.
And:
In a death row interview last week, Paredes told the Express-News he has tried to steer others, including his 16-year-old son, away from the lifestyle that landed him a death sentence.
“The gangs, they'll tell you they're going to be there for you, for your family if you fall, get killed, this and that,” he said. “But the reality is that if it wasn't for your loved ones, your family members, you're gonna wind up in the state cemetery.”
Accepting responsibility and coming to remorse was a slow process for Paredes, he said last week, estimating it took five years before he let go of his rage.
"Texas executes ex-gang member for deaths of 3," is the AP report filed by Michael Graczyk. It's via the Austin American-Statesman.
Paredes was pronounced dead at 6:54 p.m. CDT, 22 minutes after being injected with a lethal dose of the sedative pentobarbital. The execution was delayed slightly to ensure the IV lines were functioning properly, said Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Jason Clark. The procedure calls for two working lines.
Normally needles are placed in the crease of an inmate's arms near the elbows, but in Paredes' case, prison officials inserted IV lines into his hands.
As witnesses entered the death chamber in Huntsville, Paredes smiled and mouthed several kisses to four friends watching through a window and repeatedly told them he loved them. He told everyone gathered that he hoped his victims' family members would "let go of all of the hate because of all my actions."
"I came in as a lion and I come as peaceful as a lamb," Paredes said. "I'm at peace. I hope society sees who else they are hurting with this."
It was Texas 10th and final execution of 2014; the state's 518th post-Furman executions since 1982. There have been 31 executions in American death penalty states this year; a total of 1,390 post-Furman executions since 1977.
According to TDCJ, nine execution dates have already been set by Texas district courts for next year.
Earlier coverage begins at the link.
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