Gov. Rick Perry just a few minutes ago refused to commute the death sentence of a convict condemned to die for his part in the 1996 fatal shooting of a Houston convenience store clerk.
Robert Lee Thompson was set to die at 6 p.m. Prison officials said final preparations were underway.
The decision came hours after the U.S. Supreme Court refused Thompson’s final appeals, and a day after the state Board of Parsons of Paroles voted 5-2 to recommend that Perry commute Thompson’s sentence to life.
In a statement, Perry rejected that advice:
“After reviewing all of the facts in the case of … Thompson, who had a murderous history and participated in the killing of Mansoor Bhai Rahim Mohammed, I have decided to uphold the jury’s capital murder conviction and capital punishment for this heinous crime.
“There is no reason to set aside the capital murder conviction handed down by a Texas jury and upheld by numerous state and federal courts,” Perry said.
The case had marked the second time in two years that the parole board had recommended a commutation for a murderer who was convicted under Texas’ controversial law of parties, which allows accomplices to face the death penalty even if they did not actually kill.
Thompson, 34, was convicted of being an accomplice when the store clerk, 29, was gunned down. Thompson’s partner in crime, Sammy Butler, was sentenced to life in prison.