This evening, November 12, 2026, Texas is set to execute John Rubio. He was convicted of killing his three young children—Julissa Quesada, John E. Rubio, and Mary Jane Rubio—in 2003 in Brownsville, Texas (Cameron County), out of a belief that they were possessed by evil spirits.
In 2007, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned Rubio’s conviction and death sentence after determining prosecutors had erred in presenting statements by Rubio’s then common-law wife, Angela Camacho, during the trial. Camacho, the mother of the children, is serving three life terms for her role in the murders.
Rubio’s 2010 retrial resulted in another death sentence. He pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity at both trials.
Most recently, Rubio’s attorneys argued that he is incompetent to be executed because of his long standing mental illness, including fixed delusions. After a hearing in October 2026, a judge rejected those arguments and deemed Rubio competent.
On November 5, 2026, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied Rubio’s motion for a stay of execution as well as his habeas petition, in which he raised the claim that prosecutors had knowingly elicited or failed to correct false testimony from a mental health expert during the 2010 trial.
More information about recent appeals is available from the Austin Chronicle.
The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles declined to recommend clemency to Rubio on November 10, 2026.
If the execution proceeds, Rubio will be the 8th person executed by Texas this year and the 7th person convicted in Cameron County to be put to death.