Texas Clearing Its Prisons: Six Set to Die This Month

Texas and other states will be cleaning house for the new year, with more than two dozen convicted inmates scheduled to die for 2009. In January alone, there are 8 on the books, 6 of them from Texas.

Some are in complete opposition, citing that it is inhumane to kill criminals. Others, well, they share arguments on the opposite end of the spectrum, calling for an "eye for an eye." In the most notorious state for carrying out United States executions, Texas is cleaning house this month with six prisoners scheduled to die by lethal injection before the month's end. That brings January's expected number of criminals to be executed in the US up to eight. Penciled in as the first to "go" for the new year will be Curtis Moore, a convicted killer out of Fort Worth, Texas. He is convicted of slaying three people during a drug robbery in the mid 90s. He is set to die this week. Next week, Texas has two on the books and another three the following week. That is almost half of those who are on the execution books in the state for 2009. In the United States, there are about two dozen convicted death row inmates booked for their appointment with death. The high number is being attributed to a possible "backlog" for nearly a year due to a Kentucky case from 2007 attempting to outlaw lethal injections, calling them inhumane and unconstitutional. In April of last year, justices of the Supreme Court approved the method as a humane. A news report explained that the influx is across the nation, with states like Alabama seeing no executions in 2008 but five on the books already for 2009. Other states on the schedule are Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Virginia. Texas is still the leader in executions, much related to its high population and governmental views. In 2000, a record number of prisoners were executed in the state. Those on the books are said to have spent the appeals process or are in final stages of their appeals. Moore received a stay of execution in 2002 just three hours before his date with destiny, because his lawyers claimed he was mentally retarded. The Supreme Court later denied his appeal. He is on death row for murdering three people and the attempted murder of another. One of his victims survived the almost fatal shooting and burning and was able to help police identify the killer. Also set to die in Texas this month:

Frank Moore (47) - gang member with extensive criminal history who shot and killed two people in San Antonio, TX 15 years ago.

Reginald Perkins (53) - strangled his step mom in 2000 in Fort Worth, TX. The death of five other women are tied to him.

Virgil Martinez (40) - shooting rampage that killed his ex-girlfriend and her 3-year-old and 6-year-old child. One other was killed.

Ricardo Ortiz (46) - murder of a prison inmate to prevent him from testifying against him. Ortiz was already in prison.

Larry Swearingen (37) - abduction and strangulation of a 19-year-old college student in the Houston area ten years ago.

Swearingen blames his death sentence on his court appointed attorneys and a conspiracy against him, stating they were part of a "bubba system" orchestrated to wrongly convict him. Since the Supreme Court allowed capital punishment in 1976, Texas has executed over 420 inmates. Virginia has executed the second most, with 102.