HUNTSVILLE — Texas executed LeJames Norman, 40, on Wednesday, Sept. 16, for the 2005 murders of three people during an attempted home robbery in Edna, in neighboring Jackson County.
Norman was executed by lethal injection at the Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville and pronounced dead at 6:44 p.m. His execution was the fifth carried out in Texas this year.
The case dates back to Aug. 24, 2005, when Norman and his accomplice, Ker’Sean Ramey, entered a home in Edna intending to steal cocaine.
According to court records, the men believed drugs were being kept inside the residence. They did not find any cocaine, and the attempted robbery ended with three people fatally shot.
The victims were identified as:
- Samuel Roberts, 24
- Tiffani Peacock, 18
- Celso Lopez, 38
Following the killings, Norman fled to Mexico. Authorities arrested him approximately five months later as he attempted to reenter the United States.
Norman pleaded guilty to capital murder in 2008, leaving a jury to determine his punishment. The jury sentenced him to death.
In the years that followed, Norman challenged his conviction and sentence through multiple appeals. His attorneys argued that prosecutors presented inconsistent accounts of the defendants’ involvement in the killings.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court denied his final request to halt the execution.
Norman declined to make a final statement before the lethal injection was administered.
Second execution scheduled in the same case
Ramey, who was also convicted and sentenced to death for the three killings, is scheduled to be executed Wednesday, Sept. 23, exactly one week after Norman.
Both death sentences originated from Jackson County, where the killings occurred more than two decades ago.
The Texas Tribune : Background on the 2005 murders, Norman’s conviction and his appeals.
Texas Department of Criminal Justice : Official execution schedule, including the Sept. 23 execution date for Ker’Sean Ramey.
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