Texas executes Michael Yowell

Michael Yowell (left) in 1998

HUNTSVILLE, Texas -- A Lubbock man was executed Wednesday evening for killing his parents at their home 15 years ago during a drug-influenced rampage that also left his 89-year-old grandmother dead.

Michael Yowell, 43, told witnesses, including his daughters and his ex-wife, that he loved them.

"Punch the button," he told the warden.

He took several deep breaths, then began snoring. Within about 30 seconds, all movement stopped.

He was pronounced dead 19 minutes later at 7:11 p.m. CDT. 

Michael Yowell tried to delay his execution by joining a lawsuit with two other condemned prisoners that challenged Texas prison officials' recent purchase of a new supply of pentobarbital for his scheduled lethal injection.

The prisoners argued use of the sedative could cause unconstitutionally needless pain and suffering because the drug, replacing a similar inventory that expired at the end of September, was made by a compounding pharmacy not subjected to strict federal scrutiny. Texas, like other death penalty states, has turned to compounding pharmacies that custom-make drugs for customers after traditional suppliers declined to sell to prison agencies or bowed to pressure from execution opponents.

The lawsuit sought an injunction to delay the execution and gain more time to ensure "the integrity and legality" of the drug and be certain its use was within constitutional protections.

Yowell's parents, John, 55, and Carol, 53, were found dead in the wreckage of their home following an explosion on Mother's Day weekend in 1998. Yowell's 89-year-old grandmother, Viola Davis, who was staying there, died days later of injuries suffered in the blast.

Yowell already was on probation for burglary and drug convictions. He was arrested on federal firearms charges and charged with his parents' slayings after authorities determined his mother had been beaten and strangled and his father was shot. Prosecutors showed John Yowell was killed when he caught his son stealing his wallet. Yowell then attacked his mother, opened a gas valve and fled. The home blew up.

Evidence showed Yowell had a $200-a-day drug habit he supported by stealing. Evidence also showed he burned some of his bloody clothes and hid a blood-stained jacket and the murder weapon in the crawl space of a friend's house. Defense attorneys unsuccessfully tried to show Yowell was insane.

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review appeals that contended Yowell received shoddy legal help at his 1999 trial and in the early stages of his appeals.

Yowell becomes the 14th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Texas and the 506th overall since the state resumed capital punishment on December 7, 1982. Yowell becomes the 267th condemned inmate to be put to death in Texas since Rick Perry became governor in 2001.

Yowell becomes the 30th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA and the 1350th overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977.

There are 8 more scheduled executions in the USA during the remainder of the year, including 3 more later this month, 4 in November and 1 set for December. In 2012, the USA carried out a total of 43 executions.

Sources: AP, Rick Halperin, October 9, 2013