US Supreme Court appeal against client's wishes fails; execution takes place
Updated: Against the wishes of a 27-year-old convicted murderer, his counsel appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court in an effort to circumvent his death sentence.
In a brief order, the nation’s top court on Wednesday rejected the appeal, setting the stage for the scheduled Texas execution of Daniel Lee Lopez to take place. the Associated Press reports. An earlier Associated Press article provides additional details.
Lopez’s lethal dose was injected at 6:16 p.m., and Lopez was pronounced dead at 6:31 p.m., according to the Associated Press.
Although Lopez had been found competent by lower courts to end his appeals, attorney David Dow argued that “obvious and severe mental illness” was behind Lopez’s attempt to effectively commit suicide, as shown by the inmate’s “well-documented history of irrational behavior and suicidal tendencies.”
Dow also had said that Lopez should not get the ultimate penalty because he had not intended to kill Corpus Christi police Lt. Stuart Alexander, the AP reports. The officer died in 2009 when he was struck by Lopez’s fleeing vehicle. According to trial testimony, Lopez ran a stop sign, fled at high speed with his lights off and rammed several police vehicles.
“It’s crazy they keep appealing, appealing,” Lopez told the news agency last week, concerning the ongoing work by his lawyers. “I’ve explained it to them many times. I guess they want to get paid for appealing.”
Lopez had six children. Court records show that he told the mother of a former girlfriend that he expected his children to qualify for social security benefits after his death, until they turn 18.
Updated at 10:30 p.m. to indicate that the execution took place.
