Texas Execution Information Center

Execution Report: Christopher Coleman

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A jury found Coleman guilty of capital murder in June 1997 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in May 1999. All of his subsequent appeals in state and federal court were denied.

Enrique Mosquera was also tried for capital murder, but the jury could not agree on giving him the death sentence, so he automatically received a life sentence. Derrick Graham also received a life sentence.

As Coleman's execution drew near, his appeals lawyers tried to get the execution stopped by bringing forward evidence that the state's witness, Elsie Prado, and Coleman's co-defendant, Enrique Mosquera, had known each other in Colombia. They claimed that Prado's Colombian relatives could have been endangered if she had named Mosquera as the triggerman instead of Coleman. The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected this appeal on the grounds that Coleman could have been convicted and sentenced to death without Prado's testimony. Under Texas law, a capital murder defendant can be found guilty for participating in a murder, even if he or she does not directly cause a victim's death.

"I don't think anybody can say who shot whom," said Coleman's attorney, Patrick McCann. Coleman declined to be interview by reporters while on death row.

Aside from a few reporters, no witnesses attended Coleman's execution. For his last statement, Coleman said, "Ain't no way, fo fo. I love all y'all." The lethal injection was then started. He was pronounced dead at 6:22 p.m.

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By David Carson. Posted on 23 September 2009.
Sources: Texas Attorney General's office, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Associated Press, WOAI News, court documents.

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