Texas executes man for 1986 murder

HUNTSVILLE, Texas, May 19 (UPI) -- A man apologized to the husband and daughters of a convenience store clerk he killed in 1986 before he was put to death in Texas Tuesday by lethal injection.

Michael Lynn Riley's execution was the 15th in the state this year, KMOO.com reported. The execution was carried out at 6 p.m. at the state prison in Huntsville.

"I know I hurt you very bad," Riley told the family of Wynona Harris. "I want you to know I'm sorry. I hope one day you can move on and, if not, I understand."

He also apologized to his mother.

"Mama, I'm sorry," he told her. "I'm not the son I should have been."

Harris, 23, was a clerk in the Shop-A-Minit store in Quitman, 75 miles east of Dallas, when she was stabbed.

Brandy Oaks, the elder of Harris's two daughters, said after the execution that she accepted his apology.

Mark Taylor, who prosecuted Riley as Wood County district attorney, welcomed the execution in a recent interview.

"He's been on death row longer that Wynona Harris was on this earth," he said.