A man sentenced to death for murder and robbery more than 30 years ago was executed Thursdaydespite the fact that his lawyers argued that the verdict was supported by disqualified psychiatric testimony.

The implementation of Brent Brewer, 53 years old, took place at the Texas State Penitentiary, in the city of Huntsville. He was sentenced to death in 1991 for the 1990 murder of Robert Laminack, 66, of whom he robbed $140.

Laminack was driving Brewer – then 19 – and his girlfriend, Krystie Lynn Nystrom, to a Salvation Army facility when he was stabbed. She was sentenced to life in prison.

“I would like to tell the victim’s family that I could never find the words to fix what I broke. I want you to know that this 53 year old man is not the same reckless 19 year old kid from 1990. I hope they find peace,” Brewer said before he was given the lethal injection after more than 30 years on death row, as the list of death row inmates is known.

The convicted man had asked the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles for a stay of execution this week, but it was denied. A motion filed with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) was also denied.

Brewer’s lawyers had asked the CEC to halt the execution on that basis A psychiatrist who testified at the trial, Richard Coons, was discredited.

Brewer’s 1991 sentence was reviewed in 2009 and a jury again sentenced him to death based on the expert testimony of Coons, who never interviewed Brewer but said he had “no conscience” and would commit violent acts in the future. In a later case it was ruled that Coons had no scientific basis for his views.

“The death sentence was a fraud. Texas used the unscientific and unsubstantiated testimony of Dr. Richard Coons to claim that Brent would be a future danger, even though the state and the courts have admitted for years that this doctor’s testimony was unreliable and should not be considered by juries in capital cases.” said Shawn Nolan, Brewer’s attorney, after the Supreme Court on Thursday denied his request to stay the measure, exhausting all options.

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Misinformed jury

The lawyers also asked for leniency, saying a juror in his 2009 sentencing trial admitted he had misinterpreted instructions. A death sentence requires a unanimous jury vote.

“One juror clearly expressed his belief that Brent deserved a life sentence, But the Texas jury’s misleading instructions confused her into thinking her vote would make no difference.Nolan added.

“Brent’s story is one of complete redemption. “He acknowledged and repented of the actions he had committed, and completely redeemed himself during his thirty-four years in captivity,” he said.

This means there have been 21 executions in the United States this year, seven of which were in Texas.

According to a Gallup poll released this week, 53% of Americans support the death penalty for someone convicted of murder, the lowest level since 1972.

The death penalty has been abolished in 23 US states, while three others (California, Oregon and Pennsylvania) maintain a moratorium on its use.

In recent years, the death penalty has mainly been applied through lethal injections, But the southern state of Alabama plans to execute a prisoner next year using nitrogen gas. The execution date for Kenneth Smith, 58, sentenced to death for a murder committed in 1988, was set for January 25. (JO)