Post by injector on Jun 7, 2005 18:34:46 GMT -5
Houston killer who wanted to die executed
Associated Press
HUNTSVILLE — Condemned killer Alexander Martinez was executed today for the robbery and fatal stabbing of a prostitute at a Houston house almost four years ago.
In a brief statement while strapped to the death chamber gurney, he thanked his family and friends and expressed his love for them.
"And thanks for the friends at the Polunsky Unit that helped me get through this that didn't agree with my decision and still gave me their friendship," he said.
Martinez, who would have turned 29 next week, ordered no appeals filed that could stop his punishment.
As the drugs began flowing, he gasped, coughed and let out a long wheeze. Eight minutes later at 6:18 p.m., he was pronounced dead.
In a handwritten statement he prepared about two hours before his death, Martinez acknowledged that "I have caused so much pain to so many people. I especially want to apologize to my victim's family for the life I took.
"I am only taking full responsibility for what I have done. I am truly sorry and, though some may not believe this, God only knows the truth and for that I know that's all that matters. I am ashamed for what I've done!"
His English-born wife by proxy and a sister-in-law were the only witnesses.
His execution was the ninth this year in Texas, the nation's leading capital punishment state.
"I don't like what I did," Martinez said in a recent death row interview. "I'm ashamed for what I did. I can say I'm sorry, but my actions mean so much more."
Martinez was supposed to be put to death in March. That date was put off, however, when his lawyer filed an appeal in the state courts against Martinez's wishes.
"You should have heard him," attorney Pat McCann said. "He was furious."
When the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals dismissed the appeal, it cleared the way for setting the punishment today.
At least two psychiatrists examined Martinez last year and determined he was mentally competent to make the decision.
"I think he actually looks at this execution as peace if one can understand that," McCann said. "The system up there is so grim, some of them actually long for some kind of release."
The eighth-grade dropout who said he never had a real job was out of prison in August 2001 only three weeks on an attempted murder conviction when he telephoned an escort service that doubled as a prostitution operation.
With a promise she would be paid $300, Helen Oliveros, 45, showed up at the Houston house where Martinez was staying.
"I didn't have $300," he said. "She got real mad and we got into a fight. I stabbed her."
Evidence showed he slit the woman's throat with a knife, had sex with her and took about $150 from her. Then he folded her body into a trash bag and stuffed it in a closet. After a few days, he dumped the body in a nearby vacant field on Houston's east side.
He later attacked his stepmother, seriously injuring her by slashing her throat. When he told other relatives of that assault, they became afraid and called police. Prosecutors said he then confessed to the Oliveros slaying.
Martinez had been in and out of jail and prison since he was 15, when he was first arrested for stealing cars. In August 1994 he was convicted of attempted murder in Houston for stabbing a worker at a pizza place and was sentenced to seven years. A year later he was paroled, then returned to prison the following year for violating parole.
On July 20, 2001, Martinez was freed under mandatory supervision. Oliveros was killed 23 days later.
Her name, along with the name of Martinez's stepmother, are on tombstones among extensive tattoos on his arms.
"He did it before the trial," said Marie Munier, a Harris County assistant district attorney who was among the prosecutors handling Martinez's case. "One gave us the name of the complainant and said $300 and R.I.P.
"He was really creepy."
At least six other Texas inmates have execution dates. Scheduled next for injection is Charles Dean Hood, set to die June 30 for the fatal shootings of a man and woman in the Dallas suburb of Plano in 1989.
Associated Press
HUNTSVILLE — Condemned killer Alexander Martinez was executed today for the robbery and fatal stabbing of a prostitute at a Houston house almost four years ago.
In a brief statement while strapped to the death chamber gurney, he thanked his family and friends and expressed his love for them.
"And thanks for the friends at the Polunsky Unit that helped me get through this that didn't agree with my decision and still gave me their friendship," he said.
Martinez, who would have turned 29 next week, ordered no appeals filed that could stop his punishment.
As the drugs began flowing, he gasped, coughed and let out a long wheeze. Eight minutes later at 6:18 p.m., he was pronounced dead.
In a handwritten statement he prepared about two hours before his death, Martinez acknowledged that "I have caused so much pain to so many people. I especially want to apologize to my victim's family for the life I took.
"I am only taking full responsibility for what I have done. I am truly sorry and, though some may not believe this, God only knows the truth and for that I know that's all that matters. I am ashamed for what I've done!"
His English-born wife by proxy and a sister-in-law were the only witnesses.
His execution was the ninth this year in Texas, the nation's leading capital punishment state.
"I don't like what I did," Martinez said in a recent death row interview. "I'm ashamed for what I did. I can say I'm sorry, but my actions mean so much more."
Martinez was supposed to be put to death in March. That date was put off, however, when his lawyer filed an appeal in the state courts against Martinez's wishes.
"You should have heard him," attorney Pat McCann said. "He was furious."
When the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals dismissed the appeal, it cleared the way for setting the punishment today.
At least two psychiatrists examined Martinez last year and determined he was mentally competent to make the decision.
"I think he actually looks at this execution as peace if one can understand that," McCann said. "The system up there is so grim, some of them actually long for some kind of release."
The eighth-grade dropout who said he never had a real job was out of prison in August 2001 only three weeks on an attempted murder conviction when he telephoned an escort service that doubled as a prostitution operation.
With a promise she would be paid $300, Helen Oliveros, 45, showed up at the Houston house where Martinez was staying.
"I didn't have $300," he said. "She got real mad and we got into a fight. I stabbed her."
Evidence showed he slit the woman's throat with a knife, had sex with her and took about $150 from her. Then he folded her body into a trash bag and stuffed it in a closet. After a few days, he dumped the body in a nearby vacant field on Houston's east side.
He later attacked his stepmother, seriously injuring her by slashing her throat. When he told other relatives of that assault, they became afraid and called police. Prosecutors said he then confessed to the Oliveros slaying.
Martinez had been in and out of jail and prison since he was 15, when he was first arrested for stealing cars. In August 1994 he was convicted of attempted murder in Houston for stabbing a worker at a pizza place and was sentenced to seven years. A year later he was paroled, then returned to prison the following year for violating parole.
On July 20, 2001, Martinez was freed under mandatory supervision. Oliveros was killed 23 days later.
Her name, along with the name of Martinez's stepmother, are on tombstones among extensive tattoos on his arms.
"He did it before the trial," said Marie Munier, a Harris County assistant district attorney who was among the prosecutors handling Martinez's case. "One gave us the name of the complainant and said $300 and R.I.P.
"He was really creepy."
At least six other Texas inmates have execution dates. Scheduled next for injection is Charles Dean Hood, set to die June 30 for the fatal shootings of a man and woman in the Dallas suburb of Plano in 1989.
