Texas executes gang leader for 1994 double murder
Source: Reuters
HUNTSVILLE, Texas, March 6 (Reuters) - Texas on Tuesday executed a San Antonio man condemned to death for the murders of two rivals in a 1994 gang leadership dispute. Robert Perez, 48, was the seventh person this year and the 386th executed by Texas since the state reinstated the death penalty in 1982, six years after the U.S. Supreme Court lifted a capital punishment ban. Both totals lead the nation. In a final statement while strapped to a gurney in the Texas death chamber, Perez spoke to his family. "Tell all the kids I love them," said the father of eight children. Perez and two fellow members of a gang called the Mexican Mafia were convicted for mowing down Jose Travieso, 34, and Robert Rivas, 27, in a hail of gunfire on April 17, 1994. The victims were members of a rival faction battling for control of the Mexican Mafia, originally formed to protect Mexican inmates in prisons. For his last meal, Perez requested five pieces of fried chicken, three cheese enchiladas, two hamburgers with onion and cheese, onion rings, French fries, two colas, an onion, hot sauce, pico de gallo and jalapeno peppers. Texas has 13 executions scheduled through August with the next set for Wednesday night.
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