Texas man convicted in beheading of 3 children is put to death, hours after an Oklahoma execution

Key Points:

• John Allen Rubio, convicted of fatally stabbing and beheading three young children in Brownsville, Texas in 2003, was executed by lethal injection on Thursday evening at Huntsville State Prison. Rubio expressed remorse and readiness to face heaven before his death.
• Rubio and his girlfriend, Angela Camacho (serving life), were responsible for the deaths of three children in a squalid apartment, which was later demolished and replaced with a park and community garden. Rubio’s initial conviction was overturned, but he was reconvicted and sentenced to death.
• Rubio was diagnosed by defense experts with paranoid schizophrenia, citing a traumatic childhood, but this was disputed by prosecution experts. He claimed the children were possessed and that he was a "chosen one" during his trials.
• Earlier the same day, Oklahoma executed James Pavatt, convicted for the 2001 murder of advertising executive Rob Andrew, who was killed amid a complex affair and conspiracy involving Andrew's wife, Brenda Andrew, who remains on death row.
• The executions come amid ongoing national debates on the death penalty, with California’s governor recently announcing mass commutations and the U.S. on track for over 40 executions this year, driven largely by Florida.