Execution Report: Granville Riddle

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A jury convicted Riddle in November 1989 of capital murder and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in June 1994. All of his subsequent appeals in state and federal court were denied.

In 1992, Dr. Ralph Erdmann was convicted of falsifying autopsy reports in other cases. He received a 13-year prison sentence and was released in 1997. In his last round of appeals, Riddle claimed that the state's case was flawed because Erdmann, one of their key witnesses at his trial, had been discredited. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rejected this claim by a 6-3 vote the day before his execution.

While on death row, Riddle married Mallory Kessler, a Swiss death-penalty opponent who he met as a penpal. Kessler attended the execution. Riddle began his last statement by speaking to her in French. Switching to English, he spoke lovingly to his family. He then stated, "I have no grudges against anyone, or any of the things that have gone wrong. I would like to say to the world, I have always been a nice person. I have never been mean-hearted or cruel. I wish everybody well." Telling Kessler one more time, "Je t'aime," he gasped and let out a long breath as the drugs began to take effect. He was pronounced dead at 6:17 p.m.

By David Carson. Posted on 1 February 2003.
Sources: Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Texas Attorney General's Office, Associated Press, Huntsville Item.