USA - Texas. Preston Hughes, 46, black, was executed. Hughes was the last scheduled this year.

Preston Hughes, 46, black, was executed. Hughes was the last scheduled this year. Hughes was convicted in 1989 of fatally stabbing LaShandra Charles, 15, and her brother Marcell Taylor, 3, in September 1988. Hughes confessed to the murder during the investigation. During his trial, however, he denied involvement. No biological evidence tied him directly to the crime. Hughes becomes the 15th condemned inmate to be put to death in Texas this year and the 492nd overall since the state resumed capital punishment in 1982, the 40th this year in the USA and the 1317th overall since executions resumed on January 17, 1977.