Arthur Lee Burton, 54, was executed in Texas on Wednesday evening for the 1997 murder of Nancy Adleman, a Houston jogger and mother of three. Burton’s execution proceeded despite last-minute appeals claiming intellectual disability, which the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately rejected.
Burton expressed remorse in his final statement, apologizing to those he had hurt and wishing for peace for himself and others.
Read: Florida Death Row Inmate Michael Duane Zack’s Last Words Before Execution “I Love You All”
The case drew attention due to the defense’s claims that Burton exhibited signs of intellectual disability, making him ineligible for the death penalty under a 2002 Supreme Court ruling. However, a state expert disputed these claims, stating he found no evidence of significant intellectual deficits.
Burton’s execution is the third in Texas this year and the 11th in the United States.
Loran Cole, a Death Row inmate scheduled to be executed in Florida this month, is seeking to have his death sentence vacated. His legal team argues that the abuse he suffered at the notorious Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys, a state-run reform school with a history of documented abuse, significantly impacted his life choices.
Cole, 57, was convicted in 1994 for the murder of a Florida State University student. He was 17 years old when he was sent to Dozier in 1984. His lawyers contend that the jury was not made aware of the “torturous treatment” Cole endured at the now-shuttered Marianna facility.
Read: Unsolved Execution-Style Murder Of Georgia Woman Ta’nia Baker Haunts Florida Community
Cole’s case has gained additional complexity due to a recently passed Florida law offering compensation to former Dozier students who suffered abuse.
While Cole isn’t eligible for compensation, his attorneys argue that this acknowledgment of the state’s responsibility for the abuse further supports their plea for clemency.
The state, however, argues that Cole’s experiences at Dozier have already been considered in previous appeals and are not grounds for overturning his sentence.
Cole’s execution is scheduled for August 29th, pending a final decision by Marion County Circuit Judge Robert Hodges.
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