Murderer Executed in Texas

In the weeks after the 911 Attack, 41-year-old Texan, Mark Stroman, shot at least three men he mistook for Arabs, killing two of them. He claimed that he shot the men out of a sense of patriotism and likened them to acts undertaken during war. Stroman was executed by lethal injection on July 20th, 2011 despite his victim’s appeal to save his life.
Dallas resident Rais Bhuiyan, one of three men shot by Stroman in 2001 — and the sole survivor — had lobbied for months for Texas to change Stroman’s death penalty to a life sentence without parole. The 37-year-old tech made an unprecedented argument on July 18th, 2011 based on the Texas Victims Bill of Rights, requesting that saving one human life is the same as saving all mankind. Claiming that he forgave him, Bhuiyan hoped he could stop the execution and save Stroman’s life. Bhuiyan’s move could have postponed Stroman’s execution for months, or even years. Although this last-minute appeal by Bhuiyan in Austin delayed the execution, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the argument.
Stroman had a long criminal record, including time in prison for robbery and credit card fraud. In a July 13th note posted on his blog, Mr. Stroman wrote that the last few days before his scheduled execution had been strangely rewarding.