HUNTSVILLE, Texas, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- A Texas convict was executed Tuesday night after a last-minute reprieve was lifted and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to stop the lethal injection.
Dominique Green was executed for the murder of Andrew Lastrapes Jr., during a 1992 Houston robbery. He was pronounced dead at 7:59 p.m., prison officials said.
In his final statement, Green thanked his friends and supporters who were witnesses.
"I am not angry, but I am disappointed that I was denied justice," he said. "But I am happy that I was afforded you all as family and friends. You all have been there for me; it's a miracle. I love you."
Green was the focus of an international appeal to save his life because supporters said he had turned his life around. Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu visited him this year and relatives of the victim opposed the execution.
Earlier in the day, a federal judge granted a reprieve sought by attorneys who wanted to examine newly discovered files in the Houston crime lab, but an appeals court lifted the reprieve and the Supreme Court later rejected a stay.
Green was the 18th person executed in Texas this year.
