By KERA News & Wire Services
Dallas, TX –
Texas inmate Robert Lee Thompson has been executed for his part in a fatal Houston store holdup after Gov. Rick Perry rejected a parole board's recommendation to spare Thompson because he wasn't the gunman.
The 34-year-old Thompson was an accomplice to triggerman Sammy Butler when 29-year-old store clerk Mansoor Bhai Rahim Mohammed was gunned down 13 years ago. Butler received life in prison. A jury gave Thompson death.
Thompson's lawyer told the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles Thompson's punishment under the Texas law of parties wasn't fair and the panel voted 5-2 Wednesday to recommend his sentence be commuted to life.
Perry didn't have to follow their recommendation.
The execution was carried out Thursday evening less than an hour after Perry refused to go along with the panel's endorsement.
Texan in 5-state dogfighting sting pleads guilty
An east Texas man arrested in a five-state dogfighting sting operation has pleaded guilty to a federal charge.
Harold D. Stewart of Beckville pleaded guilty Wednesday and faces up to three years in prison for conspiracy to engage in animal fighting. No sentencing date has been set.
The 41-year-old Stewart was among nine people arrested in Panola and Gregg counties in July. Nine dogs, mostly pit bull terriers, were seized in the raids.
Stewart's case was part of an operation in which as many as 350 dogs were seized and about 30 people arrested in five states. Animal welfare groups called it the largest simultaneous raid in the U.S. Beckville is about 150 miles east of Dallas.
El Paso legislator cites lack of Hispanic history
A legislator from El Paso has criticized proposed history and social studies standards for public schools as being unfair to Hispanics.
Rep. Norma Chavez raised the issue Wednesday in Austin before the State Board of Education.
Chavez says it's "as though Hispanics don't exist in many of these standards."
Chavez seeks a meeting between board members and Hispanic lawmakers before the panel in January takes its initial vote on social studies standards. A final vote is expected in March.
Board member Pat Hardy of Weatherford said Chavez seemed to be saying "that because 40 percent of our population is Hispanic, then 40 percent of all of the historical characters need to be Hispanic."
Chavez disagreed, saying that the board was not looking at the entire history of Texas and accurately reflecting what should be included.
Computers working again after outage caused flight delays
The Federal Aviation Administration says the problem has been fixed, but for the second time in 15 months a glitch in its flight plan system has triggered cancellations and delays that are still affecting flights across the nation.
The FAA says the problem began early this morning and involved the system that collects airlines' flight plans. That forced airline dispatchers to send plans to air traffic controllers, who have been entering them manually into the system. The outage also affected traffic management, including ground stops and ground delays.
Fort Worth-based American Airlines says several hundred flights would be delayed around the country. American spokesman Tim Smith says the airline was told the problem would be fixed soon, "but once you get behind, it tends to stay that way" throughout the day.
Houston-based Continental Airlines says said delays averaged about an hour from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. Continental spokeswoman Julie King says they were concentrated at the carrier's hubs in Houston, Cleveland and Newark, N.J.
Officials at Houston's two airports and Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport report few delays but said things could get worse, especially for travelers headed east.
Passengers are being asked to check the status of their flights online before going to airports.