USA: Moises Mendoza in Texas and James Osgood in Alabama both executed by lethal injection

In the United States, one death sentence was carried out on Wednesday and one on Thursday. Moises Mendoza was executed in Texas and James Osgood in Alabama. Both executions were carried out by lethal injection.

Moises Mendoza

On Wednesday evening, 41-year-old Moises Mendoza was executed by lethal injection, an overdose of pentobarbital, in Huntsville, Texas. He was sentenced to death for the rape and murder of a 20-year-old young mother in 2004.

In his last words, Mendoza repeatedly asked for forgiveness from his victim’s relatives, who attended the execution as witnesses. Among them were the victim’s parents and two brothers. He addressed each of them individually and also addressed his victim’s then six-month-old daughter, who was not present.

Finally, he addressed his own relatives, his wife and sister, and two friends in Spanish: “I love you, I am with you, I am well and I am at peace. You know I’m fine; everything is love.”

His supporters had stated: “Moises takes full responsibility for his actions and has shown tremendous remorse. Now, 21 years later, he is no longer the same person who committed the crime. He has not had any disciplinary problems in prison since 2008 – 17 years ago. Moises was baptized in prison and is part of a religious program on death row. He has a large network of family and friends who love and support him.”

James Osgood

On Thursday evening, 55-year-old James Osgood was executed by lethal injection in the US state of Alabama. He was sentenced to death for raping and brutally murdering his 44-year-old cousin together with his girlfriend in October 2010. Osgood waived further appeal proceedings and demanded that his death sentence be carried out.

“Tracy, I apologize,” Osgood said in reference to his victim shortly before his execution, according to media reports. Media witnesses also reported that Osgood was crying as he lost consciousness. His lawyer said that the people who loved Osgood would remember him as a man who was more than his worst crime.

Osgood had a childhood and adolescence filled with torment and abuse. His birth mother was a drug-addicted prostitute and was murdered when he was a baby. Osgood was extremely malnourished as an infant, was sexually abused as a child and was institutionalized in a psychiatric hospital as a teenager.

During this time, he was passed from one foster family to the next. He tried to take his own life at least once and was diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder. A clearly visible deformation of the back of his head is evidence of a violent blow inflicted on him with a baseball bat.

The judge at his original trial knew how to prevent the jury from recognizing Osgood’s massive neglect and abuse as mitigating circumstances and deciding on life imprisonment instead of the death sentence.

In fact, a higher court later declared the penalty phase invalid. However, the case subsequently ended up before the same judge with the same public defender; Osgood was persuaded to waive his right to a jury trial and was again sentenced to death by the judge.

Sources:
https://www.startribune.com/texas-man-set-to-be-executed-for-the-2004-strangling-and-stabbing-death-of-a-young-mother/601337113
https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/04/24/james-osgood-alabama-tracy-lynn-wilemon-execution/83259482007/
https://eji.org/news/james-osgood-alabama-execution/