Last night, September 10, the State of Texas carried out its sixth execution of the year, putting Mark Anthony Soliz to death for the murder of Nancy Weatherly during a crime spree in Johnson and Tarrant Counties in 2010. During his last words, he apologized to the Weatherly family.
Read coverage from the Texas Tribune
Original post (9/10/19)
Tonight, September 10, the State of Texas is scheduled to execute Mark Soliz for killing Nancy Weatherly during a crime spree in Johnson and Tarrant Counties in 2010. He was convicted and sentenced to death in 2012. His co-defendant, Jose Ramos, pled guilty and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
According to Johnson County District Attorney Dale Hanna – and reported by the Cleburne Times Review – Soliz’s capital trial was the “most expensive and longest trial in the county’s history.”
Soliz’ trial cost the county $903,544.13, County Auditor Kirk Kirkpatrick said. Of that total, defense costs ate up $782,517.17 and prosecution expenses $120,891.13.
“Convicted killer of two set for execution,” Cleburne Times Review, September 7, 2019
On August 21, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied Soliz’s motion for a stay of execution. His petition alleged that because he suffers from Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), Soliz should be categorically exempted from the death penalty on the grounds that FASD is the “functional equivalent” of conditions already recognized as disqualifying exemptions to the death penalty, such as intellectual disability.
According to the Austin Chronicle, Soliz sought permission from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to file a second appeal for relief in the U.S. District Court in Dallas. The Texas Tribune reports that the federal appellate court denied the motion on Monday and no other court proceedings had been filed to stop the execution.