A prisoner convicted of killing a man during a Christmas Eve burglary was put to death by lethal injection yesterday in Texas.
Stacey Lawton (31), was pronounced dead after a fatal mix of chemicals was injected into his arms at the state prison in Huntsville, 130 km north of Houston.
He was the 36th person executed this year in Texas, one short of the nation-leading 37 that the state put to death in 1997.
The state has two more executions scheduled this week, which would give it a record 38 for the year, the most by any state since US authorities began keeping death penalty records in 1930. Three more executions are scheduled in December.
Lawton was sentenced to die for murdering Dennis Price in Tyler, Texas, on December 24th, 1992.
Mr Price had gone out to confront Lawton and two other men as they broke into his truck. Lawton was convicted of shooting Mr Price. To the end, Lawton denied he fired the shots.
Texas, which leads the nation in capital punishment, has now executed 235 people since the US Supreme Court lifted a national death penalty ban in 1976.
Facing execution last night was Tony Chambers (32) who was convicted of sexually assaulting and murdering an 11-yearold girl in 1990.
Today, Texas is scheduled to put to death Johnny Paul Penry (44), despite his attorney's claims that he is mentally retarded. He was sentenced to die for the 1979 rape and murder of Pamela Carpenter (22), in Livingston, Texas.