Texas inmate executed for killing girlfriend in 2000
Man was the second inmate from the state to be put to death in two days
HUNTSVILLE, Texas — A Texas inmate was executed Thursday evening for fatally running over his girlfriend in a jealous rage more than 18 years ago. It was the state’s second execution in as many days.
Daniel Acker was condemned for the March 2000 slaying of Marquetta George of Sulphur Springs. Prosecutors said he ran over George with his truck in rural northeast Texas because he believed she had been unfaithful to him.
Asked by the warden if he had any final statement, Acker replied: “No, sir.”
He closed his eyes, took a breath, then slightly exhaled as the lethal dose of the sedative pentobarbital began taking effect. There was no additional movement. He was pronounced dead 14 minutes later at 6:25 p.m.
Acker did not acknowledge the presence of George’s brother, Christopher Follis, who watched through a window a few feet away from him.
Follis declined to speak with reporters after witnessing the punishment. Acker had no friends or relatives present.
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Acker’s attorneys on Thursday afternoon. They had argued that Acker was innocent of capital murder because his 32-year-old girlfriend’s fatal injuries were due to her decision to jump from his truck after he abducted her. A similar appeal was rejected earlier this month by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
The 46-year-old Acker became the 18th inmate put to death this year in the U.S. and the 10th given a lethal injection in Texas, the nation’s busiest capital punishment state.
Acker also was the second Texas inmate put to death in two days. Troy Clark received a lethal injection Wednesday for torturing and drowning an East Texas woman in his bathtub and then stuffing her body into a barrel.