The State of Texas executed Daniel Acker last night, Thursday, September 27, just hours after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his motion for a stay. Convicted in Hopkins County, he was put to death for kidnapping and killing his girlfriend, Marquetta George, in 2000. His attorneys argued that prosecutors presented false testimony from experts and repeatedly changed their theory of the crime. Acker maintained that George jumped from his moving vehicle, which caused her death. During his trial, prosecutors told jurors that George had been strangled but later abandoned that theory of the crime during Acker’s appeals.
He was the second person put to death in the state’s execution chamber in 24 hours. On September 26, the State executed Troy Clark. Both Clark and Acker claimed innocence of the murders for which they were convicted.
The State of Texas has executed 10 men to date in 2018; six more executions are scheduled to take place in 2018.
Last year, the State put seven people to death. One key difference between 2017 and 2018 is the number of stays granted by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA): last year, the CCA stayed six executions; to date this year, it has granted just one stay (Clifton Williams).