LUBBOCK, Texas, Sept. 25 (UPI) -- Texas Tuesday executed former Army recruiter Cleve Foster for his role in a 2002 rape and fatal shooting after three prior stays of execution.
Foster, 48, became the ninth prisoner executed in Texas in 2012 when he was pronounced dead at 6:43 p.m., KJTV-TV, Lubbock, reported.
Foster was sentenced to death for the 2002 killing of Nyaneur "Mary" Pal in Tarrant County and was also charged -- through never tried -- in the 2001 killing of Lubbock resident Rachel Urnosky in Fort Worth.
The U.S. Supreme Court granted three stays of execution in 2011 to allow for review of his requests for appeals but declined Tuesday to delay his sentence a fourth time.
Foster expressed love for his family, grandson and friends in his last statement, Nexstar Broadcasting's EverythingLubbock.com website reported. He said he prayed "one day we will all meet in heaven."
"Over the years, I have learned to love," he said in his statement. "God is everything. God is my life. Tonight I will be with him."
"Warden, I am looking to leave this place on wings of a homesick angel. Ready to go home to meet my maker. What a friend we have in Jesus ... ."
