Texas — A 38-year-old father named T. Mullis paid the greatest price for a crime that shocked the United States sixteen years ago. It was a sad ending to a disturbing case out of Texas. After Mullis was put to death by lethal injection at a state prison, the case that had been bothering many people was finally over.
It’s unthinkable what Mullis did to his 3-month-old son in 2008. He was charged with murder and given the death penalty for the death of his baby son. Authorities wanted to give the person who killed an infant without any defense the death sentence because the crime was so horrible.
The terrible things that happened happened after Mullis got into a fight with his girlfriend at their home. He was upset, so he took his 3-month-old son and drove to a nearby city. On the way, he stopped at an empty parking lot. That’s where he sexually abused the child.
When Mullis heard his son crying, he put his hands around his neck and began choking him. He then took the baby out of the car and stomped on his head until he died. Mullis killed his son, left his body by the side of the road, and then fled the state. This led to a search that stopped in Pennsylvania, where he turned himself in without any problems.
Mullis was put to death after being found guilty of capital murder. He took blame for his actions and gave up his right to appeal over the years, which sped up the execution process. On Tuesday, while he was waiting for his death shot, Mullis said his last words, which were words of regret and thanks.
His last words were to the people who helped him while he was on death row, and they talked about how he had grown as a person and how he was trying to get better. He said, “I’d like to thank everyone who accepted me for the person I became in my best and worst times.”
He admitted that what he did could not be undone, said sorry to his son’s mother, and said he had no bad feelings toward the people who were putting him to death.
However, there were some problems with the performance. At first, technicians had trouble finding a good vein for the IV, which added about 20 minutes to the wait time for the lethal shot. Even though there were some last-minute doubts, the sentence was carried out, and Mullis was declared dead at 7:01 p.m. CDT.
S. Nolan, Mullis’s lawyer, said it was sad to put to death a “redeemed man” who had always taken responsibility for his acts. This thought shows how complicated the relationships are between punishment, justice, and forgiveness.
This was the fourth execution in Texas this year, and it happened with Mullis. At the same time, a killer named M. Williams was put to death in Missouri after his appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was turned down. This week, there will be two more killings in Oklahoma and Alabama. Also, F. Owens was put to death in South Carolina last Friday.