Execution Report: Robert Rowell

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A jury convicted Rowell of capital murder in April 1994 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in December 1996. All of his subsequent appeals in state and federal court were denied.

Rowell declined to speak with reporters while on death row. In a 1998 psychological evaluation report, Rowell stated, "The whole neighborhood did drugs, and once you do them, you always want them. Before I did drugs, I stayed with my grandfather and fished, and I was happy."

There were no serious efforts to stop Rowell's execution, either by his own lawyers or by anti-death-penalty organizations.

"I would like to apologize to the victim's family and all the grief I have caused them," Rowell said in his last statement. He also expressed love to some friends who attended his execution. He concluded his last statement by saying, "Praise the Lord. Let's go warden. That's it." The lethal injection was then started. He was pronounced dead at 6:24 p.m.

By David Carson. Posted on 16 November 2005.
Sources: Texas Attorney General's office, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Associated Press, Houston Chronicle, court documents.