The Standard’s news roundup gives you a quick hit of interesting, sometimes irreverent, and breaking news stories from all over the state.
The State of Texas carried out its fourth execution of the year Wednesday evening. Larry Swearingen died still proclaiming he was innocent of murder.
Texas Public Radio’s David Martin Davies reports:
Swearingen was convicted 19 years ago of the abduction, rape and murder of Melissa Trotter. Trotter was a Montgomery County college student who was with Swearingen the last day she was seen alive.
Swearingen said he didn’t do it and that he was convicted on junk science. Prosecutors say there was a mountain of circumstantial evidence. No DNA evidence linked Swearingen to the murder. After multiple appeals and five previous execution dates, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his last appeal on Wednesday.
Swearingen died by lethal injection at 6:47 p.m. His last words were, “Lord, forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing.”
Listen to the rest of the Texas News Roundup in the player above.
