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Texas executes man who fatally shot 80-year-old woman during carjacking in 2000 (www.nbcnews.com)

submitted 1 year ago by MicroWave to c/news

47 comments fedilink hide all child comments

A Texas man who unsuccessfully challenged the safety of the state’s lethal injection drugs and raised questions about evidence used to persuade a jury to sentence him to death for killing an elderly woman decades ago was executed late Tuesday.

Jedidiah Murphy, 48, was pronounced dead after an injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville for the October 2000 fatal shooting of 80-year-old Bertie Lee Cunningham of the Dallas suburb of Garland. Cunningham was killed during a carjacking.

“To the family of the victim, I sincerely apologize for all of it,” Murphy said while strapped to a gurney in the Texas death chamber and after a Christian pastor, his right hand on Murphy’s chest, prayed for the victim’s family, Murphy’s family and friends and the inmate.

“I hope this helps, if possible, give you closure,” Murphy said.

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[–] GONADS125 19 points 1 year ago

I worked with this population for years. People can change and redeem themselves. I learned at that job that we all really live in the grey, and that anyone is capable of bad actions when pushed beyond their threshold for rationality or are out of their mind on drugs.

I helped reintegrate someone who was guilty of a very heinous murder, and he arrived at the residential care facility in my catchment in shackles and a Hannibal Lector mask. Made all the other residents terrified of him..

But he soon became the most liked resident by residents and staff alike, and he helped out the facility in many ways, including cleaning and maintenance.

After 24 years in prison, he would say "I'm not going to screw up. I'm not going back." He may have still been a little antisocial and manipulative, but he wasn't a terror to behold.

In fact, most of my favorite clients were from the DOC. Clients who came from incarceration tended to handle the ridged rules and routine at the care facilities a lot better than those who were not previously incarcerated. Contrary to what a lot of people would assume, my DOC folks tended to offer more respect to care staff and authority figures. They also tended to have good senses of humor and I would often have some fun with them.

One of my favorite clients was a prolific bank robber in the 70s who was banned from his home state. He was one of the funniest people I ever met. Definitely the most contagious laugh that would bring you to tears. He had scars all over him; he was missing part of his ear and had scars on his eyelids from the same knife attack where the attacker tried to cut out his eyes; he still had buckshot in him; and he was stabbed in the chest by one ex wife, and stabbed in the back by another!

He was such a character and I genuinely miss working with him. He could be an asshole, but so can we all. He had a sordid past but he was a great person who enhanced the lives of those around him (usually..). He died shortly into the covid lockdowns.