Texas executes inmate for deadly $8 robbery when he was a teen

Juan Garcia was elected in Texas on Tuesday
(Image credit: Twitter/@BBCMundo)

On Tuesday night, Texas executed its 11th inmate this year, killing 35-year-old Juan Garcia through lethal injection. Garcia admitted to killing Mexican immigrant Hugh Solano in Houston during a botched robbery in 1998, when Garcia was 18, but insisted it was an accident during a fight for the gun. Prosecutors say Garcia got just $8 from Solano. Despite Garcia's long rap sheet, Solano's widow asked the judge not to sentence him to death, saying she forgave him for the murder. She and her daughter were at the execution, weeping, NBC News reports, and Garcia apologized to them in Spanish before he died, saying: "The harm that I did to your dad and husband — I hope this brings you closure.... I never wanted to hurt any of you all."

See more

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.