The state of Texas executed Jedidiah Murphy by lethal injection Tuesday for the carjacking murder of a 79-year-old Garland woman in 2000.
Lawyers for Murphy, 48, had filed multiple requests in state and federal court to have his execution postponed because of issues with execution drugs and DNA testing of evidence.
Those requests were denied Tuesday, and he was killed Tuesday night, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice confirmed.
In his final words recorded by TDCJ, Murphy expressed remorse.
“To the family of the victim I want to say I sincerely apologize for all I did,” he said. “I hope this brings you closure, thank you.”
He then recited a version of Psalm 34 of the New Testament, and another verse from the Bible.
Murphy was convicted in 2001 for shooting and killing Bertie Lee Cunningham after forcing her to give him a ride at gunpoint, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday granted Texas’ request to lift a pause on Murphy’s execution.
In its request, the Texas attorney general's office argued Murphy's claims came too late in the process and that his reasoning didn’t show how new DNA evidence would prove his innocence.
A lower federal court first halted the execution in part because Murphy’s lawyers successfully argued the DNA evidence used to prove he was a future danger to the public was insufficient. They requested new testing of that evidence.
The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals declined to lift the stay of execution, ruling it should be on hold while they weighed in on a similar case, Gutierrez v. Saenz.
The Fifth Circuit heard oral argument in that case Sept. 20 but did not issue a ruling before the Supreme Court’s order Tuesday night.
Murphy's lawyers also argued in both federal and state courts to halt the execution because of a recent fire at the Huntsville prison, which they said made the lethal injection drugs unsafe and would constitute "cruel and unusual punishment."
Both the U.S. Supreme Court and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals — the state's highest criminal court — denied those requests.
Tuesday was also World Day Against the Death Penalty. The Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty hosted vigils across the state to mark the day and protest Murphy's execution.
The coalition and supporters had sent numerous emails to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and Governor Greg Abbott pushing for more humane alternatives, like life without parole.
Speaking at a vigil in downtown Dallas, the coalition’s deputy director Tiara Cooper said there should be room for transformation.
“The system as it lives doesn't care about accountability. It cares about punishment," she said. "And those are huge differences."
Members of the coalition stayed in direct contact with Murphy’s attorneys for continues updates Tuesday evening but the closer his sentencing got, the less they could do.
Dominique Alexander attended the vigil in Dallas and said he believes the death penalty only adds more pain to the situation.
“We talk about the atrocity and the pain that that family is going through, but yet we do it in the same way," he said. "Violence in any kind of way is not, should not be permitted but yet in America, we justify everything.”
After spending 23 years on death row and showing remorse, Murphy filed an application with the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles asking for a lesser penalty which was unanimously voted against.
Texas has executed more people than any other state since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976.
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