ChicagoAvenger
11-20-2009, 04:46 AM
Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009
Texas inmate executed after gov. rejects clemency
http://media.sanluisobispo.com/smedia/2009/11/18/20/Texas_Exectuiton_.sff.mi_embedded.prod_affiliate.7 6.jpg
Inmate Robert Lee Thompson was executed Thursday evening for his part in a fatal Houston store holdup after the Texas governor rejected a parole board's recommendation to spare him because he wasn't the gunman.
Thompson, 34, was an accomplice to triggerman Sammy Butler who gunned down 29-year-old store clerk Mansoor Bhai Rahim Mohammed 13 years ago.
Butler received life in prison. A jury gave Thompson death.
Click image to see caption
This photo made Nov. 4, 2009, shows death row inmate Danielle Simpson. Simpson volunteered for execution and in recent weeks changed his mind and hoped the U.S. Supreme Court would spare him from a trip to the Texas death chamber Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009. Simpson, 30, is set to die for the abduction-slaying of an 84-year-old East Texas woman who was bound with tape, driven around all day in the trunk of her car, then was beaten and weighted down with a cinder block before being thrown into a river. (AP Photo/Michael Graczyk)
By Michael Graczyk | AP larger version purchase prints
In this photo taken Nov. 4, 2009, is death row inmate Robert Lee Thompson during an interview in Huntsville, Texas. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, in a rare ruling, recommended the death sentence of Thompson be commuted to life in prison. Thompson, 34, was set for lethal injection Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009 for his part in the fatal shooting of a Houston convenience store clerk. He was not the triggerman when Mansoor Bhai Rahim Mohammed, 29, was gunned down 13 years ago during a robbery but was convicted under the Texas law of parties, which made him equally culpable for the slaying. The shooter, Sammy Butler, was convicted and received life in prison. Thompson, tried separately, got death.
By Michael Graczyk | AP Photo larger version purchase prints
Thompson's lawyer told the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles Thompson's punishment wasn't fair and the panel voted 5-2 Wednesday to recommend his sentence be commuted to life.
Gov. Rick Perry was not obligated to follow that rare recommendation and the execution was carried out about 45 minutes after his decision.
Thompson, in brief comments from the death chamber gurney, invoked Allah as his God, and thanked friends and his mother for their love and support.
"I know Allah will forgive me," he said.
He was pronounced dead at 6:19 p.m., nine minutes after he was injected with the lethal drugs.
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/topnews/story/926244.html
Texas inmate executed after gov. rejects clemency
http://media.sanluisobispo.com/smedia/2009/11/18/20/Texas_Exectuiton_.sff.mi_embedded.prod_affiliate.7 6.jpg
Inmate Robert Lee Thompson was executed Thursday evening for his part in a fatal Houston store holdup after the Texas governor rejected a parole board's recommendation to spare him because he wasn't the gunman.
Thompson, 34, was an accomplice to triggerman Sammy Butler who gunned down 29-year-old store clerk Mansoor Bhai Rahim Mohammed 13 years ago.
Butler received life in prison. A jury gave Thompson death.
Click image to see caption
This photo made Nov. 4, 2009, shows death row inmate Danielle Simpson. Simpson volunteered for execution and in recent weeks changed his mind and hoped the U.S. Supreme Court would spare him from a trip to the Texas death chamber Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009. Simpson, 30, is set to die for the abduction-slaying of an 84-year-old East Texas woman who was bound with tape, driven around all day in the trunk of her car, then was beaten and weighted down with a cinder block before being thrown into a river. (AP Photo/Michael Graczyk)
By Michael Graczyk | AP larger version purchase prints
In this photo taken Nov. 4, 2009, is death row inmate Robert Lee Thompson during an interview in Huntsville, Texas. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, in a rare ruling, recommended the death sentence of Thompson be commuted to life in prison. Thompson, 34, was set for lethal injection Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009 for his part in the fatal shooting of a Houston convenience store clerk. He was not the triggerman when Mansoor Bhai Rahim Mohammed, 29, was gunned down 13 years ago during a robbery but was convicted under the Texas law of parties, which made him equally culpable for the slaying. The shooter, Sammy Butler, was convicted and received life in prison. Thompson, tried separately, got death.
By Michael Graczyk | AP Photo larger version purchase prints
Thompson's lawyer told the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles Thompson's punishment wasn't fair and the panel voted 5-2 Wednesday to recommend his sentence be commuted to life.
Gov. Rick Perry was not obligated to follow that rare recommendation and the execution was carried out about 45 minutes after his decision.
Thompson, in brief comments from the death chamber gurney, invoked Allah as his God, and thanked friends and his mother for their love and support.
"I know Allah will forgive me," he said.
He was pronounced dead at 6:19 p.m., nine minutes after he was injected with the lethal drugs.
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/topnews/story/926244.html