Execution Report: Miguel Richardson

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A jury convicted Richardson of the capital murder of John G. Ebbert in September 1981, and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in October 1987. The U.S. Supreme Court vacated his conviction twice, first in July 1989 and again in September 1994. Each time, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction upon review. In June 1995, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case again. Richardson filed eight more appeals in state and federal courts over the next five years, all of which were denied.

Richardson's appeals centered around his competency at the time of the crime and his competency to be executed. He claimed that he suffered from a bipolar disorder at the time of the killings. He also claimed that the state of Texas was medicating him in order to keep him mentally competent so that he could be executed.

In May 1997, Richardson and several other inmates attempted to escape while being transported.

In June 2001, Richardson filed seven more appeals in state and federal courts. All of these appeals were denied. He also filed a clemency request with the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, which was rejected.

At his execution, Richardson spoke for nearly eight minutes, speaking repeatedly of love. "I go out loving everyone and everything ... I shed tears of love - may they nourish everyone." He also said, "I am a minister of love." As the lethal drugs began flowing, he said that it was a "good day to die. Take me, God." He was pronounced dead at 6:28 p.m.

After the execution, John Ebbert's wife noted that Richardson did not apologize for the murders, nor did he ask for forgiveness. However, she did say that justice had been served. "It was a promise I made to my husband 22 years ago when he was lying in his coffin that I was going to see this through to the end. This is the end."

Of the 455 offenders currently on Texas' death row, 16 are there for crimes committed in the 1970's.

By David Carson. Posted on 28 June 2001.
Sources: Texas Attorney General's Office, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Associated Press, Huntsville Item.