Manuel Garza Jr. was executed by the state of Texas tonight
for shooting a police officer in the head with the man’s own gun back in 2001.
Garza, who had already racked up a long list of criminal offenses by then,
blamed the police officer for the tragedy. “I truly think this was the cop’s fault,”
Garza said. “I don't see why he wanted to pull out his gun.” The police officer
was part of a squad investigating property crimes at apartment complexes, and
Garza became hostile when he was stopped for questioning.
Because Texas no longer allows inmates to order special last
meals, Garza was given the same food as others in his unit. For his last meal,
Garza had a grilled pork chop, sweet potatoes, green beans, black beans,
cornbread, and peach cake, with a choice of water, tea, or punch to drink.
Following a last-minute round of unsuccessful appeals, Andre Cole was executed by the state of Missouri last night. Cole earned his death sentence when he stabbed his ex-wife's boyfriend to death after an argument about child support payments. When Cole fell behind on his payments and the state began automatically deducting them from his paycheck, Cole became enraged and used a tire iron to break into his ex-wife's house, then stabbed both her and her boyfriend repeatedly. The man died, while Cole's ex-wife survived.
Cole chose not to order a special last meal and was given the same food tray as others in his unit. His last meal was a turkey and bologna sandwich, a cookie, and fruit punch.
Kent Sprouse obviously wasn’t in his right mind when he shot
and killed two men, including a police officer, outside a Dallas convenience
store in 2002. His lawyers have argued that Sprouse was mentally ill at the
time, but have recently offered a more logical explanation: “He started hitting
the meth and just went crazy,” Sprouse’s lead trial lawyer now says. “Even his
family was afraid of him.”
Sprouse was executed by the state of Texas tonight by lethal
injection. Since death row inmates there are no longer allowed to order special
last meals, Sprouse was given the same food as others in his unit. For his last
meal, Sprouse had beef noodle casserole, peas & carrots, black beans, and
cornbread, with a choice of punch, tea, or water to drink.
