'I am an innocent man': The last words of Texas man executed using new animal euthanisation drugs
Dead: Cary Kerr, 46, became the first inmate on death row in Texas to be executed using a new type of drug
He always protested his innocence.
And on Tuesday, when Cary Kerr became the first man in Texas to be executed using a sedative which is often used to euthanize animals, they were also his last words.
The 46-year-old was put to death by lethal injection for the 2001 sexual assault and murder of Pamela Horton.
The new drug, pentobarbital, replaced sodium thiopental in Texas' three-drug execution protocol.
They made the change after Hospira Inc of Illinois announced in January it would stop making the sodium thiopental after Italy objected to Hospira manufacturing an execution drug in that country which caused a shortage.
Ohio and Oklahoma have already successfully switched to use of pentobarbital in executions.
According to the Star Telegram, once the lethal cocktail was administered he said after a deep breath: 'Here we go.' He took two more deep breaths, then uttered 'Lord Jesus, Jesus,' and then was silent.
Kerr was pronounced dead at 6.19pm.
For his last meal he requested a long list of food, including lasagna, spaghetti, pizza, fried chicken, baked chicken, tacos, pork ribs, deep-fried mushrooms, a cheeseburger, french fries, quiche and ice cream
Spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Michelle Lyons said his last words were: 'To the state of Texas, I am an innocent man. Never trust a court-appointed attorney. I am ready warden.'
Murdered: Mother-of-four Pamela Horton, 34, was found raped and strangled in 2001 on the side of the road in Fort Worth
On the night of Horton's death, Kerr said he and his neighbour had visited a couple of bars and ended up in his place, had sex and then argued. She left his home alive, according to Kerr.
Tarrant County prosecutors convinced a jury in 2003 that Kerr had a history of violence toward women. They said he took advantage of the mother-of-four's drunk condition, raped, beat and strangled her and then dumped her body on a street in Haltom City, about five miles north of Fort Worth.
While he was on death row, Kerr told journalists: 'I never denied being with her, I told police everything I know. And yet here I am sitting on death row.'
He said being the first to have the drug used on him was 'scary': 'This is a drug not even supposed to be used on pets and yet they're saying we're using it on a human being? That's preposterous it's come to that.'
Another Texas inmate, Cleve Foster, had been scheduled to be the first person in the state executed using the new drug last month. But Foster received a temporary stay of execution from the U.S. Supreme Court over concerns his state-appointed lawyers were ineffective.
Kerr was the third prisoner to be put to death this year in Texas, which executes more prisoners than any other state.
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