Decades after his crime, Texas executes the "dean" of the convicts
The US state of Texas executed the oldest prisoner on Thursday, more than thirty years after the murder for which he was convicted, despite pleas from opponents of the death penalty for clemency.
Carl Pontion, 78, received a lethal injection at 6.24 pm local time in Huntsville Prison in Texas, before his death was announced at 6.39 pm (23.39 GMT), according to state prison authorities.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee indicated in a tweet via Twitter that the state, which was scheduled to implement a similar sentence against its oldest prisoners Thursday, postponed the execution at the last minute.
In his last words, Karl Pontion said, "I regret what I have done. I am ready to die."
The victim's family, as well as a policeman, were present during the execution.
In this case, Karl Pontion's defenders are not seeking to prove his innocence.
But in this large conservative state in the southern United States, which is the most executioner in the country, a person can only be sentenced to death if a jury finds him to be a future danger to others.
However, Carl Pontion, who suffers especially from osteoporosis, dizziness, hepatitis and cirrhosis, is "no longer a danger" to others, according to what his lawyers confirmed in an appeal they submitted to the Texas Pardon and Parole Board.
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