US state executes man for killing wife, daughter

A prison inmate in Texas, United States, Gary Green, who was convicted for killing his estranged wife and daughter, has been executed by lethal injection.

The 51-year-old received the lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville on Wednesday morning after his appeals for a stay of execution was rejected by Texas authorities.

He was sentenced to death for killing Lovetta Armstead, 32, and her daughter, Jazzmen Montgomery, in September 2009.

Green had on that fateful day stabbed Armstead to death and drowned her six-year-old daughter in a bathtub at the home in Dallas.

Before his execution, a Buddhist spiritual adviser chosen by Green stood beside the death chamber gurney at the inmate’s feet and said a brief prayer while he apologised profusely when asked by the warden if he had a final statement.

READ ALSO: Serial killer bags two life sentences for killing 22 women in Texas

“I apologize for all the harm I have caused you and your family,” Green said, looking at relatives of his victims who watched through a window close by.

“We ate together, laughed and cried together as a family. I’m sorry I failed you.

“We were all one and I broke that bond. I ask that you forgive me, not for me but for you all. I’m fixing to go home and you all are going to be here. I want to make sure you don’t suffer. You have to forgive me and heal and move on. I’m not the man I used to be.”

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