Posted on 05/22/2002 6:44:57 PM PDT by Dallas
HUNTSVILLE, Texas --
A man who killed a convenience store clerk was executed Wednesday despite an extraordinary plea by the victim's mother to commute the sentence.
Johnny Joe Martinez was apologetic but bitter in a statement and blamed his lawyers for failing to get him off death row. Appeals this week were rejected.
Martinez apologized to the parents of the slain clerk, Clay Peterson. Peterson's mother, Lana Norris, lobbied for his sentence to be reduced to a life term.
"I want to thank you," he said, referring to Norris, who did not witness the execution. "It meant a lot to me."
Norris asked the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to spare Martinez, saying she believed he had repented. The board rejected clemency in an unusually close 9-8 vote Monday.
Martinez said he was drunk and had smoked marijuana at a party when he walked into the store where Peterson was working alone about 3 a.m. July 15, 1993.
The robbery of $25.65 from the cash register and the gruesome killing of the 20-year-old Peterson were caught on videotape by the store's security camera.
Martinez was the 13th Texas inmate executed this year and the fourth in the past four weeks. Two more are set to die next week.
Copyright © 2002, The Associated Press
Hey, Johnny, lawyers win some and they lose some. Roll of the dice. Bye.
A disgustingly lame excuse for taking the life of another. I pray for his soul.
I won't. I'll pray for the victim instead.
I'm sure the "legalize drugs" crowd would agree, since drug use doesn't harm anyone. /sarcasm off/
I said I would pray for him because that is what Christ instructed me to do--pray for my enemies. And when it comes time for my judgement, I hope God in his mercy, remembers mine.
Also, if your first name is Leroy or your middle name is Lee (especially if preceded by Calvin or Wayne) you're probably just an accident waiting to happen.
What if your last name is Leroy?
Depends how it is pronounced. If it is like "le ROY" (like French sort of) you get a free pass. If on the other hand it is like "LEE-roy" I'd get myself the best lawyer I could find. And if Bubba is one of your other names and Leroy is pronounced the second way- Johnny Cochran couldn't get you off.
On a side note, initials don't count as names- hence OJ Simpson getting off. Another moniker your mom is hanging the old "execute me" sign on you with is "Otis". "Otis" is a quick trip to the cemetary.
Don't spoil my fun! My uncle's name is Calvin Lamar___ and I like to kid him about it.
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