Execution Report: Arturo Diaz

Continued from Page 1

A jury found Diaz guilty of capital murder in February 2000 and sentenced him to death. He was also found guilty of attempted capital murder and aggravated robbery, with life sentences for both of those convictions. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed his death sentence in September 2002. All of his subsequent appeals in state and federal court were denied.

Jose Luis Cordova, who had two previous convictions for burglary and was on parole at the time of the killing, was convicted of capital murder and given a life sentence. He is also serving a 40-year sentence for a murder committed about a week before Nichols'. In that case, the victim's head and face were stomped and beaten with a hammer.

"I did it," Diaz said in an interview from death row, "but my mind says it wasn't me."

"I've really never been a violent person," Diaz said. "I really don't remember what happened that night right, but everybody was having fun and so high. You don't know what happened until later on. They were just looking for me, you know?"

Diaz also admitted being present for the other murder that Cordova was convicted of, but he declined to say anything else about it.

Diaz was direct about what he would do differently. "All those youngsters out there, doing drugs and stuff, I'd just tell them, stay out of drugs and educate yourselves, you know. Because I had the chance. I didn't do it. I regret all that now. And they need to understand there are consequences ... Texas is not playing. It's serious."

"I feel bad for the victim's family," Diaz added. "I feel bad for him." He also worried about his 19-year-old daughter and 3-month-old grandson. "I feel sorry for what I'm putting them through. I know it's painful, hurting them," he said.

At his execution, Diaz greeted his witnesses, which included his mother and grandmother, by smiling and by blowing them a kiss.

He then began his last statement, first addressing Forrest Nichols, the victim's father. "I don't know if you remember back in 2000," Diaz said. "... you were looking for me yourself and would have taken care of me yourself. I am glad it happened this way, too. I wouldn't want to see you in my shoes. You would have probably been here, not me. I wouldn't wish this on you. I hope this can bring some relief for you and your family."

Diaz then spoke to his family in Spanish, telling them he loved them. Finally, he said, "I hope this serves as an example for the youngsters ... Think about it before you do drugs."

Diaz then told the warden he was ready. The lethal injection was started. He was pronounced dead at 6:30 p.m.

Diaz's execution was the first performed in Texas using a supply of pentobarbital from an undisclosed source, presumably a compounding pharmacy. Drug companies, opposed to pentobarbital's use in executions, have banned the sale of the chemical to state prisons, but it can be produced in a pharmacy. Associated Press reporter Michael Graczyk, who has witnessed hundreds of lethal injections, wrote that Diaz's reaction to the drug was similar to Texas inmates who were injected with conventionally-sourced pentobarbital.

By David Carson. Posted on 27 September 2013.
Sources: Texas Attorney General's office, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, court documents, public records, Associated Press, Huntsville Item, krgv.com.