Two convicted murderers executed in the USA
Since the beginning of the year in the USA, nine executions have been carried out, two of which in Texas and two in Oklahoma. A execution in the state of Idaho was halted in February as the medical team failed to gain access for the lethal injection.
Rojem had spent nearly 40 years in solitary confinement. He was sentenced to death in 1985 for kidnapping, raping, and murdering his seven-year-old former stepdaughter. Up until the end, he maintained his innocence.
The lethal injection was administered to Rojem at the McAlester City Prison on a Thursday. He was pronounced dead at 10:16 local time, according to the Oklahoma corrections department.
Rojem's stepdaughter was kidnapped from her apartment in July 1984, while her mother was at work. Her body, with multiple stab wounds, was found the following day in a field. Fingerprints on a beer mug at the girl's apartment and a condom wrapper near the body were among the evidence used to convict Rojem.
The second man executed was Ramiro Gonzales, sentenced to death in 2006 for rape and murder of an 18-year-old. The lethal injection was given to him at the Huntsville Prison in Texas on a Wednesday at 6:50 pm local time, as per the US state authorities.
Gonzales abducted, raped, and shot his friend's girlfriend in 2001. Before his execution, he addressed the victim's family: "I'm sorry. I have no words for the pain I have caused you." Gonzales confessed to the crime while in custody for another rape charge.
In the previous year, 24 death sentences were carried out in the USA. 23 of the 50 US states have abolished the death penalty. In six more states, moratoriums are in place.
- Despite the halt in Idaho, the USA saw nine executions this year, with two taking place in both Texas and Oklahoma.
- Rojem's crime spree in 1984 included kidnapping a seven-year-old girl from Idaho, raping her, and leaving her body with multiple stab wounds in Oklahoma.
- After serving 40 years for his crimes in Texas, Gonzales was executed using a lethal injection syringe, the same method used in Oklahoma for Rojem's execution.
- While the death penalty is controversial and has been abolished in 23 US states, it continues to be imposed in others, such as Texas and Oklahoma, and in states with moratoriums, like Idaho.
