Texas man executed for 1997 shooting rampage that killed 5
Texas man executed for 1997 shooting rampage that killed 5
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A man convicted of killing five people including his ex-wife in a 1997 shooting rampage near Houston was put to death Wednesday.
Coy Wesbrook's lethal injection was the eighth this year nationally and fourth in Texas, which carries out capital punishment more than any state.
Before being executed, the 58-year-old Wesbrook apologized profusely to some of his victims' relatives who witnessed the punishment.
Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Jason Clark said prison officials had anticipated an additional appeal would be filed by a death penalty opponent whose appeal hours earlier was rejected by the Court of Criminal Appeals, the state's highest criminal court.
Neighbors who heard the gunfire and called police saw Wesbrook emerge from the apartment, place the rifle inside his truck and stand calmly by the tailgate of the pickup to wait for sheriff's deputies to arrive.