HUNTSVILLE, Texas, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- A Texas convict was executed Thursday for the murder of a convenience store clerk during a 1985 robbery that netted $300.
James Vernon Allridge, 41, was pronounced dead at 6:22 p.m. after receiving a lethal injection for killing Brian Clendennen during the Fort Worth holdup.
In his final statement, Allridge thanked his family for their love and support and apologized to relatives of Clendennen who were witnesses.
"I am sorry I destroyed you all's life," he said. "Thank you for forgiving me. To the moon and back - I love you all."
James Allridge's brother, Ronald, was sentenced to death in 1986 for killing a woman during a robbery a month after Clendennen's death. He was executed in 1995.
Four of the original jurors and other supporters sought clemency for James Allridge on grounds that he had rehabilitated himself and become an accomplished artist.
Allridge was the 12th convicted killer executed this year in Texas and the 325th since the state restored the death penalty in 1982.
