Texas Executes Retarded Killer

A killer with the mind of a child was executed by lethal injection early today for the rape and strangling of his 14-year-old niece.

Mario Marquez, 36, a sixth-grade dropout with an IQ of 65, was also accused of raping and strangling his estranged wife in the attack but was never tried for the crime.

In a final statement, he apologized and said he was sorry, but added that he was not responsible for all of what happened.

As witnesses left the prison, some people gathered outside cheered.

It was the second execution this year in Texas and the 259th since the Supreme Court allowed states to resume using the death penalty in 1976.

Marquez’s lawyers argued that retarded people should not be put to death.