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Biden Commuted Their Death Sentences. Now What?

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As three men challenge their commutations, others brace for imminent prison transfers and the finality of a life sentence with no chance of release. In the days after President Joe Biden commuted his death sentence, 40-year-old Rejon Taylor felt like heā€™d been reborn. After facing execution for virtually his entire adult life for a crime he committed at 18, he was fueled by a new sense of purpose. He was ā€œa man on a mission,ā€ he told me in an email on Christmas Day. ā€œI will not squander this opportunity of mercy, of life.ā€

Texas executes William Josef Berkley

The state of Texas has executed a condemned inmate convicted of fatally shooting an El Paso high school senior after robbing and sexually assaulting her.

Thirty-one-year-old William Josef Berkley (pictured) received a lethal injection Thursday night for the March 2000 fatal shooting of 18-year-old Sophia Martinez, whose body was found in the El Paso desert after being robbed at a drive-through ATM. She had been shot in the head five times and there was evidence she'd been raped.

Berkley is the sixth prisoner to be put to death this year in Texas, which executes more prisoners than any other U.S. state.

About 4 p.m. today, the U.S. Supreme Court turned down Berkley's appeal. The high court last year refused to review his case. On Wednesday, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected his appeal.

Before his death, William Josef Berkley thanked his parents, girlfriend and spiritual adviser. Then he told prison staff to "Let it rip," referring to the lethal cocktail he was to be administered. Berkley didn't acknowledge Martinez's family, said prison spokesman Jason Clarke.

In his brief statement, Berkley thanked Gray and Harbour and asked them to take care of his "princess" in reference to his 13-year-old daughter. He did not address the Martinez family.

Berkley told Gray and Harbour that it's all about "death before dishonor."

Martinezā€™s family and El Paso District Attorney Jaime Esparza traveled to witness the execution.

Scheduled next for the Texas death chamber is Samuel Bustamante, 40, facing execution Tuesday for the fatal stabbing of a 28-year-old man during a robbery in Fort Bend County. 10 other prisoners are set to die over the next 3 months.

Berkley becomes the 6th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Texas and 453rd overall since the state resumed capital punishment on December 7, 1982. Berkley becomes the 214th inmate put to death in Texas since Rick Perry became governor in 2001.

Berkley becomes the 14th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA and the 1202nd overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977.

Source: Associated Press, April 22, 2010

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