Texas executes man 20 years after he strangled, stabbed a young mother to death
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A Texas man who was convicted of brutally killing a young mother and setting her body on fire just over two decades ago was executed by lethal injection late Wednesday.

Moises Sandoval Mendoza, 41, was pronounced dead at the Huntsville state penitentiary at 6:40 p.m., according to The Associated Press.

Mendoza was convicted in the March 2004 death of 20-year-old mother, Rachelle O’Neil Tolleson, and taking her body to a field behind his house, where he kept it for several days, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said.

U.S. Supreme Court justices on Wednesday denied Mendoza’s request for a stay of execution and a petition for a writ of certiorari, finding a previous appeals attorney who represented him did not fail to provide effective counsel, as alleged, according to the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (TCADP).

lethal injection table

Moises Sandoval Mendoza, 41, was executed by lethal injection on Wednesday night. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)

Similarly, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles on Monday denied a request to commute his death sentence. The board previously declined to recommend clemency.

The TCADP, an advocacy organization aimed at ending the death penalty in Texas, claimed that over the last two decades behind bars, Mendoza “transformed from an impulsive, risk-taking, and self-centered late adolescent to an empathic man of faith who has a positive influence on those around him, including guards, chaplains, and wardens.”

He earned certificates in multiple self-improvement and faith-based programs and maintained meaningful relationships with his family, according to the TCADP.

Mendoza was the third person executed in Texas this year and the thirteenth person put to death nationwide.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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