HUNTSVILLE, Texas, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- An ex-informant for the Drug Enforcement Administration was executed Tuesday night for the 1989 murder of a Houston police officer.
Craig Ogan, 47, was pronounced dead at 7:13 p.m. shortly after receiving a lethal injection for shooting officer James Boswell, 27, during an argument near the Astrodome in downtown Houston.
In his final statement, Ogan claimed the case against him was fabricated and that he killed Boswell in self-defense.
"The people responsible for killing me will have blood on their hands for an unprovoked murder," he said. "I am not guilty; I acted in self defense and reflex in the face of a police officer who was out of control."
Ogan alleged Boswell's aggression might have been due to a beating the officer had received five months earlier from a crack dealer.
Ogan had moved from St. Louis only weeks before the shooting. He had been a volunteer DEA informant there, but when he arrived in Houston the DEA told him not to carry a gun or work any more drug deals.
Ogan armed himself, however, and tried to get involved in drug transactions again, according to court records. The incident with Boswell occurred after he had gotten in an argument with a motel clerk.
Ogan saw Boswell and his partner, Clay Gainer, had made a traffic stop across the street and he approached their patrol car, tapping on the window and stating he was an undercover agent.
Boswell repeatedly told him to wait a minute but he continued to knock on the window. The officer then got out of the car and told him he was facing arrest. Bogan then shot Boswell in the head.
Boswell was the 30th convicted killer executed this year in Texas and the 286th since the state restored the death penalty in 1982.
