USA - Texas. John Allen Rubio, 46, Hispanic, was executed on November 12

November 12, 2026 - Texas. John Allen Rubio, 46, Hispanic, was executed on November 12, 2026, 

Rubio was executed by lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. 

Rubio received a lethal dose of pentobarbital and was pronounced dead 21 minutes later at 6:47 p.m. CST. His execution marked the eighth carried out by the state of Texas in 2026 and occurred hours after Oklahoma executed James Pavatt.

Following a brief prayer from a spiritual adviser, Rubio thanked his friends and family for their "love and understanding". He also stated that he was "not the same person I once was". 

On March 11, 2003, Rubio fatally stabbed and decapitated three children in a windowless apartment in Brownsville, out of a belief that they were possessed by evil spirits. The victims were his 2-month-old biological daughter, Mary Jane Rubio, and his common-law wife's two children whom he helped raise, 14-month-old John Esteban Rubio and 3-year-old Julissa Quesada. 

The children's mother and Rubio's then-common-law wife, Angela Camacho, was convicted of capital murder for her role in the killings. She is currently serving three life sentences.

Rubio was originally convicted and sentenced to death in 2003. In 2007, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned that conviction after determining prosecutors improperly introduced statements from Camacho. 

At the 2010 retrial Rubio was sentenced to death a second time. He pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity at both trials.

His final appeals to delay the execution were rejected earlier in the week. 

On Rubio’s case see also HoC 12/09/2007 and 29/07/2010.

Rubio becomes the 8th person executed in Texas this year and the 604th since Texas resumed executions in 1982, the 35th executed this year in the US, and the n° 1689 overall since the nation resumed executions in 1977.