A US man who spent three decades on death row in Texas has been executed.
Brent Ray Brewer was just 19 in 1990 when he stabbed 66-year-old Robert Laminack in the neck, causing fatal injuries.
Laminack had been driving Brewer and his girlfriend to the Salvation Army in Amarillo when the crime unfolded. After the stabbing, Brewer robbed $140 from Laminack.
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He was sentenced to the death penalty in 1991, but in 2007 his sentence was overturned after his lawyers successfully argued that jurors hadn’t been given important information about abuse Brewer suffered in childhood.
Brewer went back on trial in 2009, where, once again, the jury decided he should face the death penalty for his crimes.
His lawyers had attempted to have his sentence commuted to life in prison, claiming that evidence submitted to the trial by prosecution expert Richard Coons was ‘false’.
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Brewer also argued that he had been a model prisoner with a good record and that had no history of violent incidents during his 33-years inside.
But last Tuesday (7 November), the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals voted 7-0 against commuting Brewer’s sentence.
Following the ruling, Brewer’s lawyer Shawn Nolan said: "We are deeply disturbed that the (appeals court) refuses to address the injustice of allowing Brent Brewer to be executed without an opportunity to challenge Dr. Coon's false and unscientific testimony.”
Brewer was executed last Thursday (9 November), in his final statement he told Laminack’s loved ones that he hoped they would find peace.
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The 53-year-old was given the lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, and was pronounced dead around 15 minutes later.
Prior to his execution, he prayed with a spiritual adviser in the death chamber before issuing his final statement.
Brewer said: “I would like to tell the family of the victim that I could never figure out the words to fix what I have broken.
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“I just want you to know that this 53-year-old is not the same reckless 19-year-old kid from 1990.
“I hope you find peace, and I mean it.”
In a statement after the execution Laminack’s daughter, Debra Corbin, said: “Brent Ray Brewer was in prison more than 33 years.
“Our mom says our family has been in prison 33 years. We have been released today.”
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Brewer’s execution is the seventh in Texas so far in 2023 and the 21st in the US.
Claire Reid