USA - Texas. Juan Martin Garcia, 35, hispanic, was executed

Juan Martin Garcia, 35, hispanic, was executed for the September 17, 1998 killing and robbery of Hugo Solano, 36, in Houston. Garcia, 35, apologized to Solano's relatives in Spanish in the moments before the execution. Solano's wife and daughter sobbed and told the inmate they loved him. As the dose of pentobarbital began, he winced, raised his head and then shook it. He gurgled once and snored once before his movement stopped. He was pronounced dead 12 minutes later, at 6:26 p.m. CDT. Solano's wife, Ana, and her daughter raised their arms in an apparent prayer inside a death chamber witness room. Afterward, Ana Solano said she wished the execution had not taken place and that she accepted Garcia's apology because it came "from his heart." She said a person deserves to survive so they can share what they learn from their mistakes with others in similar situations. "It's about God. It's about Jesus," she said. Evidence at the 2000 trial and testimony from a companion identified Garcia, who was 18 at the time of the killing, as the ringleader of 4 men involved in Solano's shooting and robbery. Eleazar Mendoza, who was sentenced to 55 years in prison for aggravated robbery, testified that Garcia approached Solano and pointed a gun. Mendoza said Garcia ordered Solano to surrender his money then shot him when he refused. Another defendant, Raymond McBen, was sentenced to 30 years and paroled a year ago. The 4th man charged, Gabriel Morales, was given a life sentence. Garcia becomes the 11th inmate to be put to death this year in Texas, the 529th overall since Trexas resumed capital punishment on Dec. 7, 1982, the 23rd inmate to be put to death this year in the USA and the 1417th overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977.