Texan Inmate Faces Lethal Fate: BIRMINGHAM A Texan inmate, found guilty of strangling’ a 5-year-old girl taken from an El Paso store and burning’ her body nearly 22 years ago, is set for execution Thursday evening’.
David Renteria, 53, got condemned for the November 2001 death of Alexandra Flores. Prosecutors said Alexandra was Christmas shopping’ with her kin at a Walmart when Renteria snatched her. They found her body the next day in an alley 16 miles away.
Renteria claims Barrio Azteca gang, including’ one named Flaco, forced him to take the girl, threatening’ his family, sayin’ it was them who killed her.
Authorities say Renterias lawyers didn’t bring this up at trial, and evidence shows he did the abduction and killing’ alone. Prosecutors said blood in Renterias van matched the girls DNA. His palm print was on a plastic bag over her head before setting’ her body on fire. They said Renteria was a sex offender on probation at the time.
Renteria’s scheduled execution is one of two happening’ in the U.S. on Thursday. In Alabama, Casey McWhorter is set for lethal injection for fatally shooting’ a man in ’93.
Renterias lawyers filed appeals to stop the execution, sayin’ they were denied access to the prosecutions file, violating’ his rights. They argue the prosecution hindered investigating’ Renterias claims about the gang’s involvement.
Claims are based on statements by a woman in 2018 and 2020 sayin’ her ex-husband, a Barrio Azteca member, was tied to the death of a girl missing’ from a Walmart.
Renteria will be executed despite recently uncovered evidence of actual innocence,” said Tivon Schardl, one of the defense lawyers.
A federal judge in 2018 said the womans statement was fraught with inaccuracies and was insufficient to show Renterias innocence.
In August, Judge Monique Reyes in El Paso granted a request to stay the execution and ordered prosecutors to turn over files, but the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned it.
On Tuesday, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles voted 7-0 against commuting’ Renterias death sentence. Members rejected granting’ a six-month reprieve.
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Renteria patrolled the store for ’bout 40 minutes before targeting’ the 5-year-old girl, the youngest of eight children. Grainy surveillance video showed her following’ Renteria out of the store.
In 2006, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals threw out Renterias death sentence, saying’ prosecutors misled jurors, giving’ the impression he wasn’t remorseful. Renterias lawyers argued a statement he made after arrest expressing’ sympathy was remorse. The appeals court said it was made in the context of minimizing’ his responsibility for the offense.
During a new resentencing’ trial in 2008, Renteria was again sentenced to death.
Renteria would be the eighth inmate in Texas put to death this year. If Renteria and McWhorter both receive lethal injection Thursday, there would be 23 executions this year in the U.S.
Our Reader’s Queries
How long does lethal injection last?
If everything goes according to plan, the whole process takes around five minutes. The person typically dies within two minutes after the last injection. But in some cases, mistakes during the injection process have resulted in it taking more than two hours for the person to die.
How does lethal injection death penalty work?
In the usual method of lethal injection, three chemicals are used in a specific order. First, an anesthetic is given to make the inmate unconscious. Then, a second drug is used to paralyze them. Finally, a third drug is administered to stop their heart.
How are death row inmates executed in Texas?
Texas implemented the use of lethal injection for executions in 1977, with the first inmate being executed using this method on December 7, 1982.
Where are Texas female death row inmates?
Established in 1962 as a boys’ school and later taken over by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in 1975, the Mountain View Unit now accommodates female inmates of various custody levels, including those on death row.