Execution Report: Marcus Cotton

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Cotton had several previous felony convictions and prison sentences. In January 1992, he was convicted of cocaine possession and sentenced to four years in prison. Due to strict prison population caps imposed by U.S. District Judge William Wayne Justice, Cotton was never actually sent to prison. Instead, he served 3½ months in the county jail, then was released because of Justice's ruling against the state using county jails as overflow capacity. In November 1993, Cotton was sentenced to 6 years for attempted murder. He was released in February 1996.

Cotton's first trial ended in a mistrial because of a jury deadlock. A new jury in a second trial found Cotton guilty of capital murder in November 1997 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in June 1999. All of his subsequent appeals in state and federal court were denied.

Lawrence Edward Watson pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery and received a 10-year prison sentence. Information regarding his current status was not available for this report.

"Well, Mom, sometimes it works out like this," Cotton said in his last statement. He then made several more statements of love and encouragement to his family. He was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m.

By David Carson. Posted on 4 March 2004.
Sources: Source: Texas Attorney General's office, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Associated Press.