Ten people came to the Governor’s Mansion in Austin today to protest the execution of Clyde Smith, who became the 359th person executed by Texas since 1982. There were lots of people who drove by and honked or waved to show support for the people protesting the execution. Only one person was noticed giving the thumbs down sign. More than 100 people used TMN’s email system to send emails to Governor Perry protesting the execution. Smith dropped out of the ninth grade in Laurel, Miss.
The Houston Chronicle reports on the execution here.
HUNTSVILLE — Convicted killer Clyde Smith was executed today for the 1992 fatal shooting of a Houston cab driver during a robbery.
“I want to thank you all for being here and for your love and support,” Smith said to friends who watched from a nearby window.
Smith, who was executed for the 1992 death of cab driver David Jacobs, did not acknowledge the relatives of another slain cab driver who were present for the execution.
Seven minutes after the lethal drugs began to flow, he was pronounced dead at 6:17 p.m. CST.
His execution was the fourth this year in Texas and the second of three scheduled this month in the nation’s busiest capital punishment state.
Our sympathies go out to the family of Clyde Smith and to the families of David Jacobs and Victor Bilton, who were murdered by Smith.
Next on the execution schedule is Steven Staley, scheduled to be executed Feb. 23.
