Erick Davila, who shot and killed a five-year-old girl and her grandmother at a children's birthday party, said that he may have 'lost the fight' but was 'still a soldier' as he was executed.
The 31-year-old was put to death by lethal injection in Huntsville, Texas, a prison official has said. He was pronounced dead at 6.31pm on 25 April.
In his last statement, the Mirror reports that prison officials quoted Davila as saying: "I might have lost the fight but I'm still a soldier.
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"I still love you all. To my supporters and family, y'all hold it down."
According to prosecutors, Davila was a member of the 'Bloods' street gang.
He was convicted of firing shots at a Hannah Montana-themed children's birthday party in Fort Worth back in 2008, having apparently believed a gang member of the rival 'Crips' gang was there.
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But after opening fire using a semi-automatic rifle with a laser scope,he shot and killed young Queshawn Stevenson and her 48-year-old grandmother, Annette Stevenson - also wounding several other partygoers, including the birthday girl.
Davilaspent nine years on death row for what happened, but maintained to the end that he only intended to kill his rival gang member.
"I wasn't aiming at the kids or the woman and don't know where the woman came from," he explained in a written statement to police, according to court documents.
"I don't know the fat dude's name, but I know what he looks like, so I recognized his face."
In his last appeal, he had asked the high court to overturn his execution based on new claims of drug use during the incident, as well as a conflict of interest with the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office, The Texas Tribune reports.
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His lawyer, Seth Kretzer, said: "While intoxication is not a defense to murder, it would have been an issue that would have been relevant to mitigation and sentencing."
Davila's team also requested the high court to remove the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office from the case, as the criminal district attorney was the judge who oversaw his trial - and his former state appellate attorney now works for her.
"The clients should obviously be able to trust their lawyers," Kretzer said.
"You can't get confidential information from your client and then turn around and use it against him."
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But in the state's briefing to the Supreme Court, Texas Assistant Attorney General Katherine Hayes wrote: "Davila presents no direct authority mandating the office's removal from their Texas statutory duty to represent the State, especially when the action complained of is the ministerial act of setting an execution date."
Davila has become the fifth Texas inmate to be executed this year - the ninth in the US.
Featured Image Credit: Google MapsTopics: Texas, Death Penalty, News, US News