Texas inmate executed for killing prison supervisor in 2003
HOUSTON - A Texas inmate has been executed for killing a supervisor at a state prison shoe factory in Amarillo nearly 17 years ago.
Travis Runnels received a lethal injection Wednesday evening at the state penitentiary in Huntsville.
The 46-year-old Runnels was sentenced to death in the January 2003 killing of 38-year-old Stanley Wiley.
Prosecutors say Runnels slashed Wiley's throat with a knife used to trim shoes.
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected claims by Runnels' attorneys that he was sentenced to death because of false testimony at trial.
Runnels is the 22nd U.S. inmate put to death this year and the ninth in Texas.