|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
WASHINGTON, 22 GEN - Nel carcere di Huntsville, in Texas, e' stata eseguita, mercoledi' sera, la condanna a morte di Kevin Lee Zimmerman, che nel 1987 rapino' e uccise, in un motel di Beaumont, un addetto ai pozzi di petrolio della Louisiana.L' esecuzione e' avvenuta sei settimane dopo che Zimmerman s'era visto concedere una sospensione della pena in extremis, per dare tempo ai giudici di esaminare un suo ricorso.Prima di ricevere l'iniezione letale, Zimmerman ha salutato la sua famiglia e ha chiesto perdono a quella di Leslie Gilbert Hooks Junior, la sua vittima.La condanna e' stata la terza eseguita quest'anno in Texas.
HUNTSVILLE, Texas A contrite Kevin Lee Zimmerman was executed for the 1987 robbery and murder of a Louisiana oilfield worker. Zimmerman was killed six weeks after he had made a similar trip to the death chamber only to have his life spared within about 20 minutes of the scheduled execution. After expressing love to relatives and friends Wednesday, he looked at five members of victim Leslie Gilbert Hooks Jr.'s family and asked for their forgiveness. <In the name of Jesus, I'm so sorry for the pain I've caused y'all,> he said, his voice choking as he tried to hold back sobs. <I'm sorry. Gilbert didn't deserve to die and I want you to know I'm sorry,> he said. <I pray the good Lord will give y'all peace.> After telling a warden he was ready, Zimmerman began praying and was stopped in mid-sentence by a gasp as the lethal drugs began taking effect. Ten minutes later, at 6:19 p.m., he was pronounced dead. In a prepared statement, Zimmerman said his December ordeal <was a spiritual and emotional drain> and asked that <those who have the power to act> pass a law that bars setting execution dates until all appeals have been exhausted. <It is not fair for an inmate's life to be toyed with by the justice system,> he said. <It is not fair nor is it responsible for the states to allow victim's families to be put through the same cruel stress again and again.> He described himself as a born-again Christian who confessed his sins and repented. Zimmerman, 42, from Louisiana, was the third condemned inmate to die this year in Texas. Another lethal injection is set for next week, one of at least nine scheduled for the first quarter of the year in the nation's most active death penalty state. Zimmerman had expressed disappointment after a U.S. Supreme Court order Dec. 10 halted his punishment for the robbery and murder of the 33-year-old Louisiana oilfield worker who was stabbed 31 times. <I was ready to go,> he said then, complaining the reprieve meant <18 more months of this crap.> Arriving Wednesday at the death house, his attitude remained much the same. <After 16 years, another stay is just more time,> he said, saying he was not seeking a reprieve but wouldn't order attorneys to halt appeals because he was leaving it to <the will of God.> | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
the Community of Sant'Egidio
Abolitions, 
