This week in 2000

“I’m sorry, and I really mean that, it’s not just words. My life is all I can give. I stole two lives and I know it was precious to y’all. That’s the story of my whole, that’s what alcohol will do for you. Oh Jesus, Lord God, take me home. Precious Lord. Take me home Lord. Take me home. Yes, sir. Take me home oh Lord.”

— James Moreland, convicted of murder, lethal injection, Texas.
Executed January 27, 2000

In October 1982, Moreland hitched a ride with Clinton Abbott and John Cravey, and the pair took him to Cravey’s trailer home. The three men had been drinking heavily, and Moreland said when Cravey made sexual advances to him, he panicked and stabbed both men to death. Moreland never denied the crimes; as soon as police questioned him he confessed.