Derrick Sean O'Brien was executed in the Texas death chamber this evening for the torture...

Derrick Sean O'Brien was executed in the Texas death chamber this evening for the torture, rape and strangling of 2 teenage girls 13 years ago. O'Brien was 1 of 6 members of a fledgling street gang arrested in the slayings of Elizabeth Pena, 16, and Jennifer Ertman, 14.
O'Brien, 31, was spared a trip to the death house May 15 when his lawyers won a reprieve from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals the day before he was to be executed. The day later, however, the same court lifted its order, clearing the way for today's execution.
O'Brien, who confessed to police, was 1 of 6 gang members convicted in the case and the 1st to face execution.
2 of the gang members, Efrain Perez and Raul Villarreal, had their death sentences commuted to life in prison when the Supreme Court last year barred executions for those who were 17 at the time of their crimes. Peter Cantu, described by authorities as ringleader of the gang, remains on death row without an execution date. Jose Medellin, who was condemned and who O'Brien said was at one end of the belt being pulled around Ertman's neck as he yanked on the other, had his case returned to the state courts under an order from President Bush. Medellin is among some 50 Mexican-born offenders who argue that under international law they should have been allowed assistance from the Mexican Consulate before trial. A 6th person convicted, Medellin's brother, Vernancio, was 14 at the time and received a 40-year prison term.
O'Brien becomes the 14th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Texas, the 26th in the USA, and the 1030th overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977.