USA - Texas. Michael Lynn Riley, 51, black, was executed today

Michael Lynn Riley, 51, black, was executed today. Riley had confessed to the 1986 slaying of Wynona Harris, 23, a convenience store clerk during a robbery. He was convicted in 1986 and sentenced to death but the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in 1991 overturned the conviction, finding a potential juror was dismissed improperly. At his retrial in 1995, he pleaded guilty and lawyers argued for life in prison. Prosecutors sought death and jurors agreed with them. Riley becomes the 15th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Texas and the 438th overall since the state resumed capital punishment on December 7, 1983. Riley becomes the 199th condemned inmate to be put to death since Rick Perry became governor of the state in 2001. Riley also becomes the 28th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA and the 1164th overall since the nation resumed executions on Janauary 17, 1977.