Arthur Brown defiant before execution and calls his death 'murder of an innocent man'

On Thursday evening, Arthur Brown Jr. was executed by lethal injection for the June 1992 slayings of three people in Houston. Brown was 52 years old at the time of his death. His execution took place at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. Brown was sentenced to death for the killings, which occurred during a drug robbery.

Brown’s lawyers argued that his sentence should have been commuted to life in prison without parole due to his low IQ and sexual assault he suffered as a child. Additionally, they argued that Brown’s confession was coerced and that the prosecutors withheld information that would have been favorable to Brown’s case. However, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and Governor Greg Abbott rejected those pleas for clemency.

Brown’s execution is the third in Texas this year and the first since February. There are four more executions scheduled in Texas this year. The state has executed more people than any other since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, with 570 executions.

The case against Brown dates back to June 1992 when he and an accomplice attempted to rob a Houston home where drug dealers lived. Brown shot and killed three people during the robbery, including a police informant who was working with the Houston Police Department. Brown’s accomplice, Elton Wayne Offord, was also sentenced to death but remains on death row.

Overall, Brown’s execution marks a continuation of Texas’ controversial approach to capital punishment. While supporters argue that the death penalty deters violent crime, opponents say it does nothing to address the root causes of criminal behavior and is often misapplied. Many anti-death penalty advocates have called for a national ban on capital punishment, arguing that it is both inhumane and a violation of human rights. However, the death penalty remains a legal form of punishment in 27 states, including Texas.



Source link