Man convicted of killing police officer during failed bank robbery is executed in Texas

Texas executes convicted cop killer

HUNTSVILLE, Texas — A man convicted of gunning down a Texas police officer during an attempted bank robbery was put to death Thursday evening in the first execution of the year in the nation’s busiest death penalty state.

Kenneth Mosley, 51, was condemned for the February 1997 slaying of David Moore in Dallas.

Authorities stalled his execution by lethal injection twice last year on technical issues and court appeals. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles earlier this week denied his request for clemency.

Asked if he had any final statement, Mosley shook his head once. As the drugs took effect he snored a few times, then gasped slightly. He was pronounced dead after nine minutes.

Moore’s widow was among those in the chamber to watch Mosley die. He did not acknowledge her presence.

Mosley killed 32-year-old Moore when the police officer responded to a 911 call about a bank robbery. The 10-year police veteran and father of three approached Mosley in the bank and tried to talk to him. Mosley opened fire with a 9 mm pistol and shot the officer four times. Officers arrested Mosley in the parking lot. He was found to be carrying a holdup note.

Texas executed 24 convicted killers last year, accounting for nearly half of the 52 executions carried out in the U.S.

Next week, the state is set to execute Gary Johnson, 59, for the shooting deaths of two men, Peter Sparagana, 23, and James Hazelton, 28, who interrupted his burglary of a ranch near Huntsville in 1986.