Execution Report: Luis Salazar

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Salazar had no previous felony convictions, but in 1988 he was arrested for three convenience store robberies. He was not charged at the time, but after his capital murder trial, he was tried and convicted of two counts of aggravated robbery for the 1988 incidents. He received two additional life sentences for those convictions. In addition, testimony at his punishment hearing indicated that in 1991, he raped a mentally retarded 18-year-old woman.

A jury convicted Salazar of capital murder in October 1998 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in April 2001. All of his subsequent appeals in state and federal court were denied.

In his last statement, Salazar expressed love to his family, friends, and minister. Next, he recited the Lord's Prayer. He then asked Jesus to forgive his sins. He did not address his crime or speak to the witnesses who attended on behalf of his victim. With his last statement completed, the lethal injection was started. He was pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m.

Update: About an hour and a half before his execution, Salazar confessed to a spiritual counselor about the crimes he had committed. One of those crimes included the 1992 fatal stabbing of a convenience store clerk in San Antonio. San Antonio police said that Salazar's confession solved the murder of Melissa Morales, a cold case in which Salazar had not been previously considered a suspect.

By David Carson. Posted on 25 March 2009. Updated on 6 April 2009.
Sources: Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Texas Attorney General's Office, Associated Press, court documents.