|
TEXAS (USA): BARNEY RONALD FULLER EXECUTED
October 5, 2016: Barney Ronald Fuller, 53, White, was put to death by lethal injection.
Fuller's execution broke a 6 months gap between executions in Texas.
It also marks the 1st time Houston County has put someone to death since the penalty was reinstated in the United States in 1976.
Fuller was sentenced for killing his neighbors after a long-running dispute. He shot Annette (39) and Nathan (43) Copeland, in the early morning of May 14, 2003. Their son, Cody, 14, was shot twice in the shoulder, but survived.
Fuller pleaded guilty to the murders in court. After a sentencing trial, the jury handed down the death penalty. Fuller waived all further review of his case in May, according to his lawyer, Jason Cassel.
Reports suggested the killer took an agonising 38 minutes to die as witnesses including the victims' two children looked on.
Fuller becomes the 7th inmate to be put to death this year in Texas, the 538th overall since the state resumed capital punishment on December 7, 1982, the 16th inmate to be put to death this year in the USA and the 1438th overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977. (Sources: Texas Tribune & Rick Halperin, 05/10/2016)
|
