Texas Carries Out Fifth Execution Of 2006

Texas carried out the fifth execution of the year Wednesday as a 31-year-old Dallas man was put to death for the 1997 murders of two women during a robbery outside of a theater.

Another story describes some of Hughes prior crimes before these murders.

During his trial, prosecutors presented evidence that Hughes had robbed three other people at gunpoint at a restaurant parking lot near the theater four days before. He was also indicted for the January 1996 slaying of Jaffar Ali, owner of a Dallas convenience store, during a robbery.
Hughes, who got a bad conduct discharge from the U.S. Marine Corps after a court-martial, was also accused by police of domestic violence against his ex-wife.

A while back, Dan and I saw a movie at this theater. As we walked to our vehicles, we talked about the crime. This was a totally random and senseless act of violence. It is exactly the reason I choose to arm myself. Because there are animals out there like this piece of shit, you need to be aware of what is going on around you at all times and be prepared to take action to protect you and your loved ones.

Erinkitola, 25, a Chicago native and a student at the University of Illinois, had been in the Dallas-area on a summer internship with GTE Corp. Mendoza, 29, originally from San Francisco, also worked for GTE. "They were very bright girls with tremendous futures ahead of them," said Toby Shook, who was lead prosecutor in the case for the Dallas County District Attorney's Office.

All this was caught on video surveillance and got a lot of play on the local news. These two friends were out to see a movie and were gunned down for what amounted to a little bit of money.

"He's such a cold-blooded psychopath that he deserves the fate that awaits him on Wednesday," Shook said.

Indeed.