Justice After 23 Years: Texas Executes John Rubio for the Murders of Three Children as Oklahoma Executes James Pavatt

More than two decades after their crimes, two men convicted of murder were put to death on Thursday, one in Texas and one in Oklahoma, as the nation's long debate over capital punishment heats up again.

Texas: John Rubio

John Allen Rubio, 46, was pronounced dead at 6:47 p.m. Thursday after a lethal injection at the state prison in Huntsville, Newsweek and Fox News reported ^[1][2]. Fox, citing the Associated Press, said the execution began at 6:26 p.m. and proceeded without incident ^[2].

Rubio was convicted in the 2003 killings of three young children in the Brownsville apartment he shared with his partner, Angela Camacho, according to both outlets ^[1][2]. The victims were 3-year-old Julissa, a toddler named John and an infant named Mary Jane, the reports said ^[1][2]. Investigators said the couple killed the children because they could not support them, while Rubio claimed the children were possessed, Newsweek reported ^[1]. Camacho pleaded guilty to three counts of capital murder in 2005 and is serving three life sentences ^[1].

The case was long and contested. Rubio was sentenced to death in 2003, but the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned his conviction in 2007; he was retried in 2010, convicted again and sentenced to death a second time, Newsweek reported ^[1]. Last month a state judge found him competent to be executed after reviewing psychiatric evaluations, and the appeals court recently rejected a request for a stay, according to Newsweek ^[1]. His lawyers had argued that his delusions made him incompetent, and he had also sued over the state's use of the drug pentobarbital ^[1].

The apartment building where the children died was later torn down, and the land became a park and community garden, Newsweek reported ^[1].

Words of Faith at the End

In his final statement, Rubio thanked friends and family for their love, said he was not the same person he once was and apologized to his wife's family, Fox News reported, citing the AP ^[2]. "I'm ready to go to heaven to be with my lord and savior," he said ^[2].

In an October interview with Houston radio station KPFT, Rubio repeatedly professed his faith, saying he found Jesus nearly 20 years ago and would tell his children he was sorry when he sees them, Newsweek reported ^[1]. "There is no sin too great that God cannot forgive," he said in that interview ^[1].

Christians can hold two truths at once: that God's grace reaches even the worst sinner who repents, and that the state, as Scripture teaches, bears the sword to punish evil. Justice for three murdered children and mercy for a repentant soul are not in conflict; one belongs to the courts and the other to God.

Related Explained: Why Alex Murdaugh's Lawyers Want His Original Murder Indictments Thrown Out Before an April Retrial

Oklahoma: James Pavatt

Earlier Thursday, Oklahoma executed James Pavatt, 73, by lethal injection at 10:12 a.m. at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, Newsweek reported ^[1]. Pavatt was convicted in the 2001 killing of Rob Andrew, a 39-year-old advertising executive who was shot in his garage as he picked up his two young children just before Thanksgiving ^[1]. Andrew was the estranged husband of Pavatt's lover, Brenda Andrew, and Pavatt fled to Mexico with her after the killing ^[1]. Pavatt maintained his innocence ^[1].

Prison officials described the execution as uneventful, and Pavatt offered no last words, according to Newsweek, citing local station KOKH ^[1].

The National Picture

Texas and Oklahoma have together carried out 12 executions this year, while Florida has carried out 19, tying the state record it set last year, Newsweek reported ^[1]. At least eight people have been executed nationwide since Tennessee's failed lethal injection of Christa Pike on September 30, after which Gov. Bill Lee paused executions and ordered an outside review ^[1].

The executions came a week after California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced plans to commute all 548 death sentences in his state, a move district attorneys and victims' families are fighting ^[3]. California has not executed anyone since 2006, according to a New York Times report published by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser ^[3].

What It Means

The contrast could not be sharper. In Texas and Oklahoma, juries' verdicts were carried out after years of appeals, competency hearings and court review. In California, a governor is trying to erase hundreds of verdicts at once. Americans of good will disagree about the death penalty, but the rule of law requires that the people's decisions, made through their juries and their votes, be respected until they are changed the proper way.

What Comes Next

Florida's record pace continues, Tennessee's review of its execution process is ongoing, and California's fight over Newsom's commutations heads to the state Supreme Court ^[1][3].