John Amador was executed by the State of Texas for the murder of Reza Ayari
According to court documents John Amador and his accomplice were picked up by taxi driver Reza Ayari. Ayari was instructed to drive to a remote location where he would be fatally shot and robbed
John Amador would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
John Amador would be executed by lethal injection on August 29 2007
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When Was John Amador Executed
John Amador was executed on August 29 2007
John Amador Case
A San Antonio convict who as a teenager shot and killed a taxicab driver for $100 was executed Wednesday, calling himself a more peaceful man who had tempered the rage he had harbored for years over his troubled childhood. Yet, the tattooed John Joe Amador denied to the end his involvement in cabdriver Reza Ayari’s death — prompting angry remarks later from one of Ayari’s sons.
As he lay on the gurney, Amador looked toward his wife and whispered, “God forgive them for they know not what they do. … Give them peace, God, for people seeking revenge towards me.” Linda Amador, a high school friend who married Amador while he was on death row, pressed her face against the glass pane separating them. “I love you, Chiquita,” Amador, 32, said as his wife sobbed quietly. “Peace. Freedom. I’m ready.”
He was pronounced dead at 6:37 p.m. — about an hour after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his appeal. His lawyers had argued that his life might have been spared had his trial attorneys told the jury about his abusive and difficult childhood.
His death marked the 23rd execution this year and the second of three on consecutive nights this week. Another San Antonio man, Kenneth Foster, is set to die today for his role as a getaway driver in a fatal attempted robbery.
Amador’s mild-mannered composure was a far cry from the 20-year-old who, during the punishment phase of his murder trial, threatened to kill the judge and prosecutors. At the time, Amador also was on parole from California for helping kill his stepfather, who allegedly had sexually and physically abused him.
But in a recent interview, he said his marriage to Linda Amador and his introduction to the novel, “The Alchemist,” ignited the sea of change that during his last few years in prison inspired him to paint, write several spirituals and a play about his life. Linda Amador, who married Amador in 2004 and never missed a weekly visit, said he was a “blessing” to her life.
With her at the execution was Father Arthur Mallinson, a Catholic priest from a Dallas-area parish, who corresponded with Amador for nearly a decade. Notably absent were any of Amador’s family members, including his mother, whom he has described as unstable, and his father, who’s imprisoned. Mallinson said Amador’s vitriolic anger shifted when he reconnected with Linda, and that he “watched his demeanor change.”
But Ayari’s 19-year-old son, who directed an expletive toward the dead man as he walked out of the chamber, said he was disappointed and angered by Amador’s serene manner. “He looked too happy,” said Amir Ayari, who was 6 when his father was killed. “I think they should have burned him or done something else.”
For Ayari’s widow, JoAnn Ayari, the moment marked the end of a difficult wait in which time she said she was able to forgive Amador. She said she pitied him for never accepting his crime and felt sorrow for his family. “I’ve been missing my husband for 13 years,” the dark-haired woman said. “Now their loss will begin.”
