A late-night ambush that claimed 3 lives in 1995 added a 4th Tuesday when the shooter, Christopher Coleman, was executed by the state of Texas.
There were no personal witnesses to Coleman's execution, either from his family or those of the victims. In a cryptic final statement, he said only, "Ain't no way, fo fo. I love all of y'all."
The fatal combination of drugs caused him to sigh, struggle for breath and snort before falling silent. He was pronounced dead at 6:22.
Coleman was 1 of 3 men convicted of capital murder in connection with the drug-related shootings on Dec. 14, 1995.
Elsy "Daisy" Prado, who was injured in the shooting, identified Coleman as the trigger man. Her sleeping 3-year-old son, Danny Giraldo, was among those killed.
Also killed were Prado's brother, Hurtado Heinar Prado, and her boyfriend, Jose Garcia.
Prosecutors said he 3 were murdered because of a drug debt owed by Enrique Andrade Mosquera. Rather than pay it, he arranged a meeting and hired Coleman and a third man, Derrick Graham, as enforcers. The 2 groups met about 2 a.m. on a quiet residential street in the Acres Homes neighborhood of Houston. The shootings took place while the victims were in their car.
Coleman's attorneys contend that the state's key witness against him, Prado, was not credible. In recent years and days they have obtained affidavits from her and Mosquera acknowledging a previous relationship. Both were from the same town in Colombia. At the time of the trial, Prado insisted all the men were strangers.
Prado admitted in 2007 that she knew Mosquera, though only as an acquaintance. Mosquera says their relationship went well beyond that and that they had done drug deals together.
Coleman's lawyers contend that the jury in his case might have viewed her identification of him with skepticism if they had known of her original deception.
Mosquera and Graham are serving life sentences. Prosecutors eventually sought death against Mosquera as well because they believed he was responsible for Coleman's actions, but the jury could not agree on punishment, thereby triggering a life sentence.
Former prosecutor Luci Davidson said there was other circumstantial evidence pointing to Coleman as the shooter. She said the state would not have sought a death sentence in his case if prosecutors and investigators had not become convinced that he fired the shots.
Coleman, 37, becomes the 18th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Texas and the 441st overall since the state resumed capital punishment on December 7, 1982. 8 others have execution dates before the end of the year.
Coleman becomes the 39th condemned individuals to be put to death this year in the USA, and the 1175th overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977.
Sources: Houston Chronicle & Rick Halperin, Sept. 22, 2009
There were no personal witnesses to Coleman's execution, either from his family or those of the victims. In a cryptic final statement, he said only, "Ain't no way, fo fo. I love all of y'all."
The fatal combination of drugs caused him to sigh, struggle for breath and snort before falling silent. He was pronounced dead at 6:22.
Coleman was 1 of 3 men convicted of capital murder in connection with the drug-related shootings on Dec. 14, 1995.
Elsy "Daisy" Prado, who was injured in the shooting, identified Coleman as the trigger man. Her sleeping 3-year-old son, Danny Giraldo, was among those killed.
Also killed were Prado's brother, Hurtado Heinar Prado, and her boyfriend, Jose Garcia.
Prosecutors said he 3 were murdered because of a drug debt owed by Enrique Andrade Mosquera. Rather than pay it, he arranged a meeting and hired Coleman and a third man, Derrick Graham, as enforcers. The 2 groups met about 2 a.m. on a quiet residential street in the Acres Homes neighborhood of Houston. The shootings took place while the victims were in their car.
Coleman's attorneys contend that the state's key witness against him, Prado, was not credible. In recent years and days they have obtained affidavits from her and Mosquera acknowledging a previous relationship. Both were from the same town in Colombia. At the time of the trial, Prado insisted all the men were strangers.
Prado admitted in 2007 that she knew Mosquera, though only as an acquaintance. Mosquera says their relationship went well beyond that and that they had done drug deals together.
Coleman's lawyers contend that the jury in his case might have viewed her identification of him with skepticism if they had known of her original deception.
Mosquera and Graham are serving life sentences. Prosecutors eventually sought death against Mosquera as well because they believed he was responsible for Coleman's actions, but the jury could not agree on punishment, thereby triggering a life sentence.
Former prosecutor Luci Davidson said there was other circumstantial evidence pointing to Coleman as the shooter. She said the state would not have sought a death sentence in his case if prosecutors and investigators had not become convinced that he fired the shots.
Coleman, 37, becomes the 18th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Texas and the 441st overall since the state resumed capital punishment on December 7, 1982. 8 others have execution dates before the end of the year.
Coleman becomes the 39th condemned individuals to be put to death this year in the USA, and the 1175th overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977.
Sources: Houston Chronicle & Rick Halperin, Sept. 22, 2009
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