Convicted killer Mark Stroman was pronounced dead late Wednesday after the unsuccessful pleas to spare the inmate's life from a victim who survived Stroman's 2001 shooting rampage against Muslims, days after the 9/11 attacks.
Stroman killed two men in Texas and seriously injured Rais Bhuiyan when he shot Bhuiyan in the face in 2001. Almost ten years later, Bhuiyan tried to halt his attacker's execution by suing Texas governor Rick Perry and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Bhuiyan's request for a stay of execution was denied by a US federal judge hours before Stroman died by lethal injection at 8:53 pm local time in Huntsville, Texas.
"I am at peace," said Stroman in his final statement. "Hate is going on in this world and it has to stop. Hate causes a lifetime of pain. Even though I lay here I am still at peace."
'RAGE' TOOK OVER STROMAN
Just before 9/11, Stroman worked as a stonecutter and was a fan of the southern rock group Lynyrd Skynyrd, said his attorney Lydia Brandt during a final court appeal.
But after Stroman's sister allegedly died in the attacks, he became "emotionally overwhelmed," fed by a pain that was quickly replaced by "rage."
"He became obsessed with 'fighting back' against the Muslims who attacked America," said Brandt.
But according to Brandt, Stroman "would not know the difference between a Sikh and a Muslim, or between Arabic and Urdu."
Four days after the attacks, Stroman killed his first victim in Dallas: Waqar Hasan was a Pakistani Muslim, and Stroman shot him without asking any questions. Hasan died instantly.
On September 21, Bhuiyan found himself face to face with Stroman at a gas station where Bhuiyan was working in the Dallas area. Seriously wounded, Bhuiyan miraculously survived a gunshot wound to his face, but lost the use of one eye.
The third and final victim of Stroman's rampage was Vasudev Patel, a Hindu.
It is for Patel's death that Stroman was sentenced to capital punishment in April 2002. During his sentencing, according to images shown on CBS, Stroman did not hesitate to brandish an American flag and claim his affiliation with the Aryan Brotherhood, a group of white supremacists.
'HATE HAS TO STOP'
Nearly 10 years later and days before his scheduled execution, The New York Times interviewed a transformed Stroman.
"The hate has to stop, we are all in this world together," he told the paper in its Tuesday edition. "We need more forgiveness and understanding and less hate."
Stroman said he was touched by Bhuiyan, the immigrant he had tried to kill and who was leading the efforts to save Stroman's life.
"Mr. Rais Bhuiyan, what an inspiring soul," Stroman told the Times.
Bhuiyan, a practicing Muslim, campaigned to stop the execution and commute Stroman's sentence to life in prison.
In the Times, Bhuiyan attributed his views to his upbringing. "My parents raised me with good morals and strong faith. They taught me to put yourself in others' shoes.
"Even if they hurt you, don't take revenge," he said. "Forgive them. Move on. It will bring something good to you and them."
