Texas executes former deputy sheriff for '94 murder

HUNTSVILLE, Texas, June 7 (Reuters) Texas executed a former deputy sheriff for the murder of a Houston woman during the robbery of a wedding chapel and flower shop she owned with her mother.

Michael Griffith, 56, was the 15th person executed yesterday this year and the 394th by Texas since the state restored the death penalty in 1982, six years after the US Supreme Court lifted a national capital punishment ban.

Both totals lead the nation.

Griffith, who was fired in 1993 by the Harris County Sheriff for domestic abuse, was condemned for the murder of Deborah McCormick, 44, on October 10, 1994.

McCormick, a mother of two, was found stabbed to death in the Always and Forever Florist Shop and Wedding Chapel by her mother, Mary Ringer. Ringer had been away from the store for 30 minutes.

Police arrested Griffith about a month after the murder and found credit cards taken during the robbery and a knife. DNA tests showed McCormick's blood was on the knife blade.

Griffith never admitted to the crime, but in the days leading up to the execution he asked his lawyers to stop appealing his sentence.

While strapped to a gurney in the Texas death chamber, Griffith was asked if he had a final statement.

''No, sir,'' he said.

For his last meal, Griffith requested breakfast food including fried eggs.

Texas has 14 more executions scheduled through October.

REUTERS JK BST0713