The Latest: Texas man who killed 2 neighbours put to death

HUNTSVILLE, Texas – The Latest on the execution of a convicted killer in Texas (all times local):

7:05 p.m.

An East Texas man who pleaded guilty to killing a neighbour couple during a shooting rampage 13 years ago has been put to death.

Barney Fuller Jr. had asked that all his appeals be dropped to clear the way for his lethal injection Wednesday evening. It’s the seventh execution this year in Texas and the first in six months.

A federal judge ruled earlier this year, after a hearing in which Fuller testified, that the 58-year-old prisoner was competent to make the decision to end his appeals.

Fuller pleaded guilty and then refused to participate in his trial where jurors decided he should die for a May 2003 shooting rampage in which his neighbours, 43-year-old Nathan Copeland and Copeland’s 39-year-old wife, Annette, were killed in their home about 100 miles north of Houston.

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5 p.m.

An East Texas man set to die for killing a neighbour couple 13 years ago during a shooting frenzy remains adamant about moving forward with his execution.

Barney Fuller Jr. has told prison officials he’s not changing his mind about dropping court appeals.

He was taken Wednesday afternoon from the prison that houses the state’s male death row inmates and moved about 45 miles west to the Huntsville Unit prison in downtown Huntsville where executions are carried out.

Prison agency spokesman Jason Clark says the 58-year-old Fuller has been in good spirits and has said he doesn’t want to talk with his lawyer.

Fuller has been taken to a small holding cell a few feet from the Texas death chamber to await his lethal injection scheduled for Wednesday evening.

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12:30 a.m.

An East Texas man who pleaded guilty to killing a neighbour couple during a shooting rampage 13 years ago appears headed for an execution that he wants.

Barney Fuller Jr. asked that his appeals be dropped to expedite his lethal injection set for Wednesday evening.

The 58-year-old Fuller would be the seventh prisoner executed this year in Texas and the first in six months in the nation’s most active death penalty state. It would be only the 16th execution this year nationally amid a downturn in capital punishment.

A federal judge earlier this year ruled Fuller was competent to proceed with his execution for the May 2003 fatal shootings of his neighbours, 43-year-old Nathan Copeland and Copeland’s 39-year-old wife, Annette, inside their rural home about 100 miles north of Houston.