Fifteen of 250 men executed under Rick Perry faced death declaring innocence

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The Texas Tribune this week published an infographic providing comprehensive data about each of the 250 executions under Governor Rick Perry's watch, the most recent of which occurred on Halloween. One of the information elements included was each of the offenders' last statements, which this morning I examined in some detail. Many Texas capital offenders faced death silently; others said goodbye to family and friends. Some prayed or recited scripture. A significant number expressed repentance and/or begged forgiveness from victims' families. But a significant minority of those 250 men faced death declaring their innocence - 15, to be precise, or six percent, by Grits' count. Those were:

2001: Mack Hill
2002: Robert Coulson, Richard Kutzner (“If Mr. McDougal had allowed the DNA evidence, I would be exonerated”), William Chappell
2004: Cameron Todd Willingham
2005: Luis Ramirez
2006: Derrick Frazier
2007: Roy Pippin
2008: Gregory Wright, Elkie Taylor
2009: Willie Pondexter
2011: Cary Kerr, Steven Woods
2012: Keith Thurmond, Jonathon Green

That list excludes those who claimed innocence by self-defense, including only those who said flatly some version of "I'm innocent," "I didn't do it," "They got the wrong guy." Some suggested alternative suspects, begging to tell victims' families who really did it just before the needle went in.

Todd Willingham is on that list, claiming his innocence and cursing his ex-wife to the bitter end. Carlos DeLuna predated it. Those are the two names one most frequently hears associated with claims that an innocent person has been executed. And Grits wouldn't be surprised if many or most of those claiming innocence on their death-bed (I guess a gurney is a bed) turned out to be lying, for reasons as twisted as their acts, or at least more culpable than they claim, even if I can't understand the motive for dissembling at that late hour. But all of them? At that final, moment of truth?

Of course, Grits has argued that the public wouldn't reduce its support for the death penalty even if it were definitively proven that an innocent person had been executed, but that's a debate for another day. In the meantime, let me know your opinion in the comments: What are the chances Texas executed an innocent person on Rick Perry's watch?