Texas man executed by lethal injection for setting store clerk on fire
His execution marked the second of three scheduled in the United States this week.
Matthew Johnson, 49, who admitted to killing a convenience store employee by setting her on fire, was executed by lethal injection in Texas on Tuesday.
His execution marked the second of three scheduled in the United States this week.
Johnson was pronounced dead at 6:53 pm local time (2353 GMT) at the Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville.
He was sentenced to death for the 2012 murder of Nancy Harris, a 76-year-old grandmother.
At his trial, Johnson admitted to dousing Nancy Harris with lighter fluid and setting her on fire during an early morning robbery at a Garland, Texas store.
Harris endured severe burns and was taken off life support five days later.
In his final statement, Johnson expressed gratitude to God and sought forgiveness from Harris’s family, saying, "I never meant to hurt her."
He also apologized to his wife and asked for her forgiveness, as well as that of their three daughters.
"Please know it’s not because of anything you did," he told his family. "I made wrong choices, I made wrong decisions, and now I’m paying the consequences."
Johnson’s execution occurred just hours after Indiana carried out its second execution since 2009. Benjamin Ritchie, 45, was put to death by lethal injection at Indiana State Prison for the 2000 murder of Officer Bill Toney.
Toney, a father of two, was killed after pursuing a van stolen by Ritchie and an accomplice from a gas station in Beech Grove.
The final scheduled execution this week is set to take place in Tennessee.
Oscar Smith, 75, is scheduled for execution by lethal injection on Thursday for the 1989 shooting and stabbing deaths of his estranged wife, Judy Smith, and her two sons, Chad and Jason Burnett.
So far this year, the United States has carried out 18 executions: 14 by lethal injection, two by firing squad, and two using nitrogen gas.
Capital punishment has been abolished in 23 states, while California, Oregon, and Pennsylvania currently have moratoriums on its use.
President Donald Trump, a strong supporter of the death penalty, called on his first day in office for its expanded application "for the vilest crimes."
