David Lee Powell was executed by the State of Texas on Tuesday, June 15, 2010. He had spent 32 years on death row for the 1978 murder of Austin police officer Ralph Ablanedo. His attorneys had argued that he did not pose a “future threat to society,” as determined by the juries that had sentenced him to death.
Powell was the 13th person to be executed in Texas this year and the 460th since the state resumed executions in 1982. Texas accounts for 13 out of 28 executions carried out nationwide thus far in 2010.
Tomorrow, Friday, June 18, the State of Utah plans to execute Ronnie Lee Gardner by firing squad. Gardner specifically requested that method of execution.