Execution Watch: 8/21/2019

Texas cranks up the death machine again on Wednesday night…

LARRY SWEARINGEN, condemned in the December 1988 slaying of a woman last seen on the campus of Montgomery Community College. The execution date is the sixth one Mr. Swearingen has received; the courts granted him stays of execution for the previous dates. He has steadfastly proclaimed his innocence and protested the lack of physical evidence linking him to the murder. Court-ordered DNA testing, some completed as late as 2019, has been inconclusive. Mr. Swearingen has challenged the use of questionable science in evidence presented at trial.

When asked how he squares his pro-life stance when it comes to banning abortion to his enthusiastic embrace of the death penalty, Texas Governor Greg Abbott hadn’t the slightest clue what to say.

See also:

Blakinger, Keri, “‘Death row inmate Larry Swearingen denied clemency before Wednesday execution,” Houston Chronicle (8/19/2019)

Davies, David, “How ‘Body Ranch’ research impacts the appeal of a Texas death row inmate,” Texas Public Radio (8/19/2019)