Texas execution story for you.
Arturo Diaz, South Texas man, executed for 1999 slaying
(AP) HUNTSVILLE, Texas - A South Texas man was put to death Thursday for a slaying 14 years ago in which the victim was bound with shoelaces and strips of bedding, stabbed 94 times and robbed of $50.
The execution of Arturo Diaz, 37, was carried out after the U.S. Supreme Court refused a last-ditch appeal to block his death by lethal injection. It was the 13th execution this year in Texas, the nation's most active capital punishment state.
Diaz smiled and blew a kiss to several witnesses watching through a window, including his mother and grandmother.
He then turned to the father of his victim, watching through an adjacent window to the death chamber. "I hope this can bring some relief for you and your family," he told him.
He spoke in Spanish to his own friends and relatives, telling them: "I am with God."
He also added that he hoped his fate "serves as an example for some youngsters. ... Think about it before you do drugs."
He was pronounced dead 17 minutes later, at 6:30 p.m. CDT.
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Diaz said he was high on drugs and alcohol during the attack on Nichols. He also confessed to a slaying that took place a month earlier. In that case, the victim's head was stomped and face beaten with a hammer. Diaz also received a 94-year prison term for aggravated sexual assault for raping a jail inmate.
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cbsnews.com
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Diaz, 37, was convicted of killing Michael Ryan Nichols in April 1999 in McAllen near the Mexican border, after the two spent a night partying with an exotic dancer and friends, according to an account of the incident by the Texas Attorney General's Office.
During the course of the evening, Nichols borrowed $100 from the dancer, who returned the following night to collect her money, the account said.
When Nichols gave her only $50, Diaz arrived with an accomplice, Joe Cordova, who held Nichols while Diaz stabbed him, the account said.
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reuters.com
Murdered for stiffing a stripper $50 on her bill.
I'm guessing Diaz's attitude is tough for you to understand. |
