Texas sentenced to death Wednesday a man who fatally stabbed a suburban real estate agent in a Dallas suburb more than 16 years ago. was punished. This year was the busiest death penalty nation in the country.
His Kosoul Chanthakoummane, 41, received a lethal injection at Huntsville State Penitentiary and was pronounced dead at 6:33 p.m. He was found guilty of fatally stabbing his 40-year-old Sarah Walker in July 2006. She was found stabbed more than 30 times at her model's home in McKinney, about 30 miles north of Dallas.
In a brief statement after being strapped to a stretcher during death, Chanthakumane said, 'Jesus His Christ, the pastor of the Texas prison system, and "I am the one who has helped me on this journey. Thank you to all the people in my life.
Walker's relatives did not attend the execution, but he provided them with a message: "May my death bring them peace.
He turned to the window as 5 grams of pentobarbital, a potent sedative, began flowing through his IV lines and into the veins of each arm. His mother quietly looked a few feet away from the window and opened her mouth. I love you.
He then took four breaths, gasped slightly, and made no further movements. He was pronounced dead 15 minutes later.
Shortly before the execution took place. , at Chanthakmane's request, a Buddhist monk placed his right hand on the prisoner's chest and read out a passage from Ecclesiastes referring to "all times." He replied, "Amen."
Prosecutors say Chanthakumane entered the model home, beat and stabbed Walker with a wooden flower pot, then stole her Rolex watch and silver ring, but they were never found. did not. DNA evidence showed that Chanthakman's blood was found in various locations within the model home, including under Walker's fingernails.
Walker is home to his builder D.R.'s Top Seller was. Horton. She had two children;
Chanthakoummane admitted to being at the model's home, but she said she only went inside to drink water. He had been released on parole in Texas after serving time in North Carolina on aggravated kidnapping and robbery charges.
"I am innocent," he said, Chanthakoummane, in a letter filed in federal court in March.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals refused to stay Chanthakman's execution after lawyers challenged his DNA evidence used in his conviction. The evidence was described by the Court of Appeals as "the cornerstone of the state's case." Eric Allen, one of his attorneys, said early Wednesday that he would not appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
His lawyers argued that new science raised the possibility that Chantakman's DNA was transferred to Walker's claws without direct contact.
However, , officials said previous DNA tests in his case failed to clear Chanthakman of suspicion.
"Any belief in his Chanthakoummane that further investigation of his DNA would yield results useful in his case is fictional," an attorney from the Texas Attorney General's Office said in court documents last month. wrote to
On Monday, the Texas State Pardon and Parole Board refused to give Chanthakmain either his 120-day reprieve or a commutation of his death sentence.
Chanthakoummane's attorneys said their concerns about the DNA evidence were part of a pattern of false evidence used by prosecutors in the case.
At the Chanthakoummane trial, a forensic dentist testified that a death row inmate was responsible for the bite marks on Walker's neck. Such bite evidence has since been discredited, and in 2016 Texas became the first state to require banning bite analysis in criminal cases.
Two witnesses to Chanthakoummane, who claimed to have seen him near the murder scene, were hypnotized by Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) officers to help identify him.
According to his 2020 report by The Dallas Morning News, most Texas judges have been criticized for their distorted memories, which can lead to false convictions. Nonetheless, it still accepts evidence derived from hypnosis. In January 2021, DPS stopped using hypnosis. Last year, Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed a bill banning hypnotized people from testifying in criminal trials.
In October 2020, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that bite marks testimony was no longer admissible in court, but Chanthakman's attorneys were unable to discredit testimony related to hypnosis.
The Court of Appeal also held that the DNA evidence was still strong.
The client told the jury that he was guilty.
Walker's father, Joseph Walker, who died last year, opposed Chanthakman's execution and in 2013 told the Times Union ofNew York
that he had killed his daughter.Chanthakoummane was the ninth inmate to be sentenced to death in the United States this year.
Although Texas has the highest number of executions in the nation, executions in the state have reached historically low levels. The number of death sentences handed down by juries continues to fall, and in recent years most executions have been delayed due to the pandemic and legal issues regarding what spiritual his advisers can do in the death chamber.
- in:
- Murder
- McKinney
- Greg Abbott
- Texas
- Crime
- Dallas
- Execution
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