Texas executed Mark Soliz for the 2010 home robbery and shooting death of a North Texas woman. The execution was the sixth in Texas this year. Nine more are scheduled through December, reports the Texas Tribune. Soliz, 37, was convicted for the murder of Nancy Weatherly, 61, and the robbery of her home. Prosecutors said the murder was part of an eight-day crime spree during which Soliz and another man robbed random people at gunpoint, and Soliz killed another man. Soliz and his lawyers argued that his life should be spared because he had fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, which they claimed is the “functional equivalent” of an intellectual disability, a condition the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled disqualifies individuals from execution. Both state and federal courts rejected the claim.
Soliz was apologetic in his final words, addressing Weatherly’s family members. “I wanted to apologize for the grief and the pain that I caused y’all,” Soliz said. “I’ve been considering changing my life. It took me 27 years to do so.” Soliz initially denied killing Weatherly, telling police he was outside by the car when he heard a gunshot and then saw Ramos exit the house. Later during the interrogation, he said he would confess “just to get this over with.” according to a 2014 ruling from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. A friend of Soliz’s later said he bragged to her about killing an “old lady.” The co-defendant received life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder.