Texas White supremacist Mark Anthony Stroman, who got into a shooting rampage aimed at people of Middle Eastern origin a week after the 9/11 attack on the US, has been executed.

The following are some details about the life, beliefs and crime of Stroman:

THE CRIME

According to the prosecution, Stroman fatally shot an Indian man, Vasudev Patel, at a gas station on September 21, 2001. He was also accused of killing a Pakistani man and seriously injuring a Bangladeshi man in separate shootings inspired by Al-Qaeda's September 11 attacks on the twin towers of the World Trade Center and other targets in the US.

Patel was at a gas station at the Mesquite, Texas, which he operated, when Stroman came and demanded money, before fatally shooting him.

According to the Department of Criminal Justice, Stroman murdered a 49 year old Middle Eastern male convenience store employee during an attempted robbery. It says the following about his criminal record: Two year sentence for one count of burglary of a building and one count of theft of property; released on parole in absentia; returned from parole in absentia with an 8 year sentence from Dallas County for two counts of credit card abuse and one count of robbery; released on parole on 08/26/1991.

It also says Stroman's prior occupation was as 'baker, laborer'.

MOTIVE

Stroman was labeled the 'Arab slayer' after he confessed that he wanted to take revenge on people of the Middle East for the 9/11 attack.

Doing time as a death row inmate, he wrote in his personal website he lost his sister in the Al-Qaeda attack on the World Trade Center. I remember sitting at home watching the nightmare on TV. And knowing she was on the top floors of the North Tower .., he wrote.

However, Stroman said he was not proud of what he has done, admitting that he made innocent men pay for his rage and bad judgment. He said he ruined the life of his victims’ families as well as his own.

I can not tell you that I am an innocent man. I am not asking you to feel sorry for me and I won’t hide the truth. I am a human being and made a terrible mistake out of love, grief and anger, and believe me I am paying for it every single minute of the day and it haunts me in my sleep as well, he wrote.

THE PUNISHMENT

The 41-year-old father of four died from lethal injection after judges finally threw out a please made by one of his surviving shooting victims, Bangladeshi man Rais Bhuiyan.

Bhuiyan, who was shot in the face by Stroman a week after the 9/11 attack, had pleaded that Stroman should not be put to death. Reuters reported that Bhuiyan has filed a lawsuit against Texas Governor Rick Perry, saying his rights as a victim were violated as he was not allowed to meet Stroman. However, according to those who champion death penalty, a victim has no say over the punishment.

I am from Dallas, Texas, father of four awesome kids. Three girls and one boy – kids are pure innocence – and I can’t stand for anyone to harm or abuse them – children are the future – innocent and pure!, Stroman writes, describing his family.
Stroman was pronounced dead at 8:53 p.m. local time by Michelle Lyons, a Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman, according to Reuters. He was administered a lethal injection of drugs.

LAST WORDS

The Lord Jesus Christ be with me ... I am at peace. Hate is going on in this world, and it has to stop. One second of hate will cause a lifetime of pain. I'm still a proud American. Texas loud, Texas proud. God bless America, God bless everyone.

LIFE IN THE DEATH ROW

This is what Stroman had to say about his life in the death row: My name is Mark Stroman and I am currently awaiting execution in this modernized Dungeon of Death that most call Texas Death Row. And yes, it’s a nightmare come to life. Words can’t express my true feelings of this hellish place – oppressed confinement, chained and shackled like animals, surrounded by the smell of death day in and day out is almost more than I can stand. Like I said before, it’s a nightmare.

Al-Qaeda Lawsuit Lawsuit