Peter Miniel

Peter J. Miniel, 42, was executed by lethal injection on 6 October 2004 in Huntsville, Texas for the robbery and murder of a 20-year-old man.

On 9 May 1986, Miniel, then 23, and James Russell, 21, were at the Houston-area apartment of Paul Manier, 20. Miniel suggested to Russell that they rob Manier. Russell then told Manier that he was going out to his car to get some cocaine. Manier began cleaning a mirror to use for snorting the cocaine. As he was occupied with cleaning the mirror, Miniel came behind him and struck him on the back of the head with a beer mug. He kept hitting Manier until he fell to the ground. Russell then took an automobile shock absorber and hit Manier on the head. When Russell could not knock Manier out, Miniel took the shock absorber and kept beating the victim. Russell then opened a small knife. Miniel grabbed the knife and stabbed Manier several times with it. When this also proved ineffective in subduing the victim, Miniel asked Russell to hold Manier down while he attempted to slit his throat. The knife was dull, however, so Miniel then asphyxiated Manier by stuffing a blanket down his throat. Manier suffered six blunt trauma injuries to his head, 39 stab wounds, and ten cuts.

Next, Miniel and Russell stole the victim's wallet, which contained $20. They searched the apartment for drugs and money, but could not find any, so they took the victim's stereo equipment. They then cleaned the knife and hid it, then went out to eat.

Later, Miniel fled to Indiana, then to Illinois. Miniel was arrested in Chicago two weeks later. Russell was arrested in Brookshire, Texas.

Miniel had a previous felony conviction in Illinois for aggravated battery. He was sentenced to six months' probation. He also had misdemeanor convictions in Illinois for shoplifting and weapons violations.

Miniel was offered a plea bargain in which he would be spared the possibility of execution, but he turned the deal down, preferring instead to go to trial and face a jury. Miniel pleaded innocent, but Russell testified against him. Also, the prosecution showed that some of the victim's stereo equipment was recovered from a neighbor of Miniel's in Chicago.

A jury convicted Miniel of capital murder in October 1988 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in January 1992. All of his subsequent appeals in state and federal court were denied.

James Warren Russell Jr. was also charged with capital murder, but he accepted a 50-year sentence for murder in exchange for his testimony against Miniel.

In a death row interview the week before his execution, Miniel confessed to the murder for the first time. "We got into a fight," Miniel said of the murder. "I don't remember everything, but I know the other guy started stabbing him and he wouldn't die. I started hitting him with the absorber ... One thing led to another. We shouldn't have done that. It was wrong. We were very high and drunk. That was my main problem."

Miniel said that events in his family life contributed to his life of violence and crime. "I grew up with a lot of animosity, a lot of anger," he said.

Miniel told his attorneys not to seek any final appeals on his behalf. "I've been locked up 18 years ... I want to get this over with." He said that his upcoming execution would be "a relief." "Years ago, when I first went to trial, I said I was not guilty of the crime," Miniel said. "I lied. I want to tell the truth. I am guilty. I was wrong. I want to pay the price I was supposed to."

"I've learned from all my mistakes in the past. I'm sorry for what I've done in the past and I want my future to be more peaceful in a better place. I believe in doing good now," Miniel said. He added, "I want to apologize to the family members of the deceased. I would like to make peace with them if possible."

At his execution, Miniel made no such apology, nor did he even make eye contact with the victim's family. His last statement was brief: "Into your hands, Oh Lord, I commence my spirit. Amen." He was pronounced dead at 6:22 p.m.