InterAksyon.com
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WASHINGTON -- Authorities in the southern US state of Texas executed an African American man on Tuesday despite protests from human rights groups that said he was mentally disabled.
Marvin Wilson, 54, who was condemned to death for a murder committed in 1992, was declared dead by lethal injection at 6:27 p.m. local time (2327 GMT), according to a release from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
The US Supreme Court rejected a final appeal from defense lawyers in the hours before the execution.
Amnesty International called the decision "highly disturbing" and several other rights groups criticized the sentence.
In 2004, Wilson was diagnosed with mild mental retardation, with an IQ of 61, according to Amnesty.
Prior to his execution, Wilson told family members he loved them.
"Take me home Jesus. Take me home Lord. I love you all. I'm ready," Wilson reportedly said in his final statement.
In 2002, the Supreme Court ruled against executing mentally disabled convicts, concerned that doing so would lead to wrongful executions. The court left it to individual states to determine what constitutes a mental handicap.
According to the Texas definition, Wilson did not suffer from mental disability.
Last month, another African American diagnosed with a mental disorder, Yokamon Hearn, 34, was executed in Texas despite international protests.
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