Texas death row inmate Wesley Ruiz says 'I'm ready to ride' before being ... trends now
A Texas death row inmate who fatally shot a Dallas police officer following a high-speed chase 16 years ago has been executed hoping his death will bring the victim's family closure.
Wesley Ruiz, 43, received a lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas, for the March 2007 killing of Dallas Police Senior Corporal Mark Nix, 33.
Ruiz was denied a final meal request, eating what was readily available at the prison on the day and in his final words made an apology to the victim's family before telling the warden 'I'm ready to fly, I'm ready to ride.'
The 43-year-old did not look at relatives or friends, including the corporal's mother and sister, who were watching through a window just feet away from the cop killer.
Wesley Ruiz, 43, was sentenced to death after he shot and killed Dallas Police Senior Corporal Mark Nix in 2007. He apologized to the victim's family and hoped his death would bring 'closure' when he was executed on Wednesday
'I would like to apologize to Mark and the Nix family for taking him away from you,' Ruiz said as he lay strapped to a gurney in the death chamber. 'I hope this brings you closure.'
Ruiz thanked his family and friends for supporting him and urged his children to 'stand tall and continue to make me proud.'
'Don't worry about me. I'm ready to fly,' he said. 'All right warden, I'm ready to ride.'
As the lethal dose of the powerful sedative pentobarbital began taking effect, he took two quick breaths, then began snoring.
His 11th snore was his last and there was no further movement. Twenty-two minutes later, at 6.41 pm, he was pronounced dead.
Immediately before his statement, a spiritual adviser standing near Ruiz offered a brief prayer.
Outside the brick walls of the prison, a group of about a dozen pro-police motorcyclists sat on their bikes in a cold drizzle, revving their engines and nearly drowning out her words for those inside.
Ruiz has been on death row since 2008, after gunning down Nix, a US Navy veteran of Operation Desert Storm, the previous year.
Nix, a US Navy veteran of Operation Desert Storm, had served on the Dallas force for nearly seven years and was engaged to be married when he was killed
A wounded Nix was seen wheeled away after a SWAT team removed him from his vehicle after the shooting and stand off in west Dallas, Friday, March 23, 2007
Police had been searching for a murder suspect and instead happened upon Ruiz who was spotted driving a red Chevrolet that matched the description of one seen fleeing a recent slaying.
Police attempted to pull Ruiz over but he sped away at over 80mph because he had been in possession of illegal drugs and had also taken drugs at the time.
The chase came to an end when Ruiz's car eventually slid off the road and Nix rushed over to try and smash the passenger window with his police baton.
Ruiz fired a single shot that would change his life hitting Nix's police badge, which then splintered and sent fragments flying into an artery of the beloved officer's neck.
Nix died later in hospital, and Ruiz was sentenced to death in July the following year.
At his trial, Ruiz testified that he had been afraid for his life when he fired in 'self-defense' on Nix after the officer allegedly threatened to kill him.
He also said that he believed police fired their weapons first.
'I didn´t try to kill the officer. I just tried to stop him,' Ruiz testified.
Gabriel Luchiano, who knew Nix when he worked as a security guard, said at the time of the trial that the officer was always there when people were in need of help.
He was a 'guardian angel,' said Luchiano. 'It's still painful no matter what. Nothing is going to close it.'
Ruiz's execution wasn't without controversy.
Ruiz was on death row for nearly 16 years after he gunned down Nix and didn't look at Nix's family and friends who watched his execution just feet away from the cop killer
Ruiz was executed at Texas' Huntsville penitentiary on Wednesday amid a controversial legal battle over the state's use of expired lethal injection drugs
The cop killer's attorneys unsuccessfully attempted to halt proceedings after arguing jurors relied on 'racist' stereotypes when deciding the killer's fate. Ruiz identifies as Hispanic.
They petitioned to the US Supreme Court that jurors relied upon 'overtly racist' and 'blatant anti-Hispanic stereotypes' when deciding whether Ruiz would be a future danger, an element needed to secure a death sentence in Texas.
In court documents filed late Tuesday with the Supreme Court, the Texas Attorney General's Office said Ruiz's claim of juror bias has no merit because a review conducted a week ago rejected the allegations.
One of the jurors accused of bias by Ruiz's attorneys told the review: 'I was not nor am not bias(ed) to anyone or any race,' according to the court filing.
Wednesday's execution also comes amid a controversial legal battle that alleges the use of expired and unsafe execution drugs on death row inmates violates the US Constitution's prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment.
Ruiz is one of five inmates facing lethal injection who are part of legal proceedings to sue the Texas prison system for using the expired execution drugs.
The lawsuit stems from an issue with a lack of pharmacies willing to produce execution drugs, which has led the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to extend the use-by dates.
The cop killer's attorneys unsuccessfully attempted to halt proceedings after arguing jurors relied on 'racist' stereotypes when deciding his fate
As the lethal dose of the powerful sedative pentobarbital began taking effect, he took two quick breaths, then began snoring. His 11th snore was his last and there was no further movement. Twenty-two minutes later, at 6.41 pm, he was pronounced dead
The authority prolongs the use of the drug pentobarbital, the only medication used in Texas executions, after retesting its potency levels, and previous lawsuits attempting to halt the practice have failed in court.
Prison officials deny the lawsuits' claims that the expired drugs make their execution more painful, and said the state's supply of drugs is safe.
Despite a civil court judge in Austin preliminarily agreeing with the claims, the state's top two courts have still allowed the execution of another inmate who joined Ruiz in the litigation on Jan 10.
Ruiz would be
