On Thursday, Texas and Oklahoma each carried out an execution, with John Allen Rubio put to death for the 2003 murders of his three children and James Pavatt executed for a 2001 murder. The executions were the 36th and 37th this year, putting the United States on pace to surpass 40 executions for a second consecutive year, according to the Associated Press.
John Allen Rubio, 46, was pronounced dead at 6.47 pm after a lethal injection at the state prison in Huntsville, Texas. He had been convicted of fatally stabbing and beheading three-year-old Julissa Quesada, 14-month-old John E Rubio and two-month-old Mary Jane Rubio in the squalid, windowless apartment they shared in Brownsville in 2003. The crime so shocked the city that the apartment building was later demolished and the land turned into a park and community garden. According to court records, Rubio was not the biological father of the two older children but raised them as his own. He had claimed the children were possessed and that he was the “chosen one” intended to save the world.
Before his death, Rubio thanked friends and family for their “love and understanding” and said he was “not the same person I once was.” He thanked prison staff for teaching him how to find God and expressed love for Angela Camacho, his common-law wife who is serving life in prison for her role in the slayings. “I want to say I’m sorry to my wife’s family,” he said. “I can’t change the past but I can tell you my life is going to be over. But that’s not going to make you happy.” “I’m going to be with my kids in a little bit,” he added. “I’m ready to go to heaven to be with my lord and savior.” As the lethal dose of the sedative pentobarbital began taking effect, Rubio took three breaths and began what sounded like snoring. All movement ceased, and a physician pronounced him dead 21 minutes after the injection began.
Rubio’s first capital murder conviction was overturned on appeal because Camacho’s statements were improperly admitted. At his second trial, he again pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity but was convicted and sentenced to death. Defense experts diagnosed him with paranoid schizophrenia, a finding prosecution experts rejected. The defense experts also testified that his childhood, marked by violence, drug use and prostitution, damaged him developmentally.
James Pavatt, 73, received a lethal injection at an Oklahoma prison for the fatal shooting of his girlfriend’s estranged husband, Rob Andrew, a 39-year-old advertising executive, in 2001. The victim was killed as he arrived to pick up his two young children before Thanksgiving. Pavatt had been having an affair with Brenda Andrew, the victim’s wife, who was convicted at a separate trial and is the only woman on Oklahoma’s death row. Pavatt and Brenda Andrew fled to Mexico after the shooting and were arrested three months later while re-entering the US. When asked for last words, Pavatt shook his head, and a chaplain read from the Bible.
The death penalty has drawn renewed attention since the failed execution of Christa Pike in Tennessee in September, and on 5 November California Governor Gavin Newsom announced he would commute hundreds of death sentences before leaving office in January, a move experts say would be the largest mass clemency in American history.
Also on Thursday, former Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of being an accessory in a 1997 murder. Glossip, who had come close to execution three times, was released on bond in May after nearly 30 years in prison and awaits sentencing in December.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The executions underscore the continued use of capital punishment in the United States, which is on track for a second consecutive year of more than 40 executions.
- John Allen Rubio’s case highlights questions about mental illness and the death penalty, as defense experts diagnosed him with paranoid schizophrenia.
- California Governor Gavin Newsom’s planned mass commutation of death sentences, the largest in US history, could reshape the death penalty landscape and has drawn renewed attention to the practice.
Background
The death penalty has been a fixture of the American justice system for centuries, though its use has declined in the modern era. Executions are carried out by individual states, with methods varying from lethal injection to electrocution. The practice has drawn domestic and international criticism, particularly regarding issues of wrongful conviction and racial bias. In recent years, some states, such as Florida, have increased their use of executions, contributing to a national uptick.
What to Watch
- Whether the US execution total surpasses 40 in 2026, with Florida continuing to drive the pace.
- The December sentencing of Richard Glossip, who pleaded guilty to a lesser charge after nearly 30 years on death row.
- The implementation of Governor Gavin Newsom’s mass commutation of hundreds of death sentences before his term ends in January.
Checked
10 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 9 supported.
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- SupportedTexas executed John Allen Rubio, who had been convicted of fatally stabbing and beheading his three children.World news | The Guardian: “A Texas man convicted of fatally stabbing and beheading his three young children in a squalid, windowless apartment in 2003 was recently executed.”
- SupportedOklahoma executed James Pavatt for a 2001 murder.World news | The Guardian: “Also on Thursday, 73-year-old James Pavatt received a lethal injection at an Oklahoma prison for the fatal shooting of his girlfriend’s estranged husband in 2001.”
- SupportedThe two executions were the 36th and 37th in the US this year, putting the country on track to exceed 40 for a second consecutive year.World news | The Guardian: “Thursday’s executions were the 36th and 37th this year, with the US on track to surpass 40 executions for a second consecutive year”
- Not in the sourcesThe Associated Press reported that the executions put the US on track to exceed 40 executions for a second consecutive year.World news | The Guardian: “Thursday’s executions were the 36th and 37th this year, with the US on track to surpass 40 executions for a second consecutive year”
- SupportedRubio, 46, was pronounced dead at 6.47 pm after lethal injection at the state prison in Huntsville, Texas.World news | The Guardian: “John Allen Rubio, 46, was pronounced dead at 6.47 pm on Thursday after a lethal injection at the state prison in Huntsville, Texas.”
- SupportedRubio said, “I want to say I’m sorry to my wife’s family,” and, “I can’t change the past but I can tell you my life is going to be over. But that’s not going to make you happy.”World news | The Guardian: ““I want to say I’m sorry to my wife’s family,” he said. “I can’t change the past but I can tell you my life is going to be over. But that’s not going to make you happy.””
- SupportedRubio said, “I’m going to be with my kids in a little bit” and “I’m ready to go to heaven to be with my lord and savior.”World news | The Guardian: ““I’m going to be with my kids in a little bit,” he added. “I’m ready to go to heaven to be with my lord and savior.””
- SupportedNewsom announced on 5 November that he would commute hundreds of death sentences before leaving office in January; experts said it would be the largest mass clemency in American history.World news | The Guardian: “And on 5 November, California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, announced he would commute hundreds of death sentences before leaving office in January – what experts say would be the largest mass clemency in American history.”
- SupportedPavatt shook his head when asked for last words, and a chaplain read from the Bible.World news | The Guardian: “On Thursday, when he was asked if he had any last words before his execution, Pavatt shook his head no. As a chaplain read from the Bible, Pavatt appeared to mouth some words that couldn’t be heard.”
- SupportedGlossip pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of being an accessory in a 1997 murder and awaits sentencing in December.World news | The Guardian: “Also on Thursday, former Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of being an accessory in a 1997 murder and awaits sentencing in December.”