Miguel Flores was executed by the State of Texas for the murder of Angela Tyson
According to court documents Miguel Flores would kidnap Angela Tyson who would be driven to a remote location where she would be sexually assaulted and stabbed to death
Miguel Flores was executed by lethal injection on November 9 2000
Miguel Flores Photos
Miguel Flores FAQ
When Was Miguel Flores Executed
Miguel Flores was executed on November 9 2000
Miguel Flores Case
A convicted killer whose supporters included the Mexican government and a host of other international leaders was executed Thursday night. Miguel Flores, 31, thanked his family and attorneys for their faith as he was strapped to a gurney waiting for the lethal injection. After turning his head to look at the parents of his victim, 20-year-old Angela Tyson of Borger, he apologized to them and told them he had said a prayer this day for them to find peace. Gerald Tyson, father of the victim, shook his head. After Flores was pronounced dead, Tyson and his wife, Minnie, said they would not forgive Flores. “He took away too much,” Gerald Tyson of Borger said, adding that his family wanted the world to know that Angela Tyson was a precious life. Other friends of Tyson also were present for Flores’ execution.
Flores was convicted and sentenced to the death penalty by a Collin County jury in September 1990 for the 1989 abduction, rape and fatal stabbing of Angela Tyson in Borger. Angela Tyson was an Eastern New Mexico University student and beauty pageant finalist who was working in a Borger video store for the summer. Flores nodded to a warden to begin the lethal flow. “God is waiting for me,” he said. “God is waiting now.” Flores’ only family witness was an aunt. His mother, grandfather and other relatives waited nearby, “immobilized with grief,” said his attorney, Elizabeth Cohen. Flores’ last meal was Mexican food. He requested three beef enchiladas, three cheese enchiladas, Spanish rice, a bowl of jalapenos, french fries, a cheeseburger, condiments, three Dr Peppers, a banana split and four quesadillas.
Cohen and Flores’ other supporters had been hopeful for a call from Gov. George W. Bush to hold off the execution for 30 days. The U.S. Supreme Court voted Thursday against staying Flores’ execution for 30 days. The court also had granted three votes for a full review, which had been requested by Flores’ attorneys. Justice John Paul Stevens, one of the four who voted for a stay, didn’t indicate whether he wanted to hear the case, said Mark Warren, a spokesman for Flores’ defense team. “Why stay the execution if you don’t want to hear the case?” Warren said. In a death penalty case, four court votes for a hearing grants an automatic stay of execution. Flores’ attorneys had renewed their request to the governor for a 30-day reprieve, which the Texas board of pardons and paroles recommended against late Wednesday. The governor could grant only a 30-day reprieve without a board recommendation for clemency. But that time would have allowed his defense team to ask for more information on the Supreme Court’s decision, they said. Just a day before, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles voted unanimously not to recommend the governor grant a 90-day reprieve or give Flores clemency. Flores’ attorneys said they found the court ruling so “baffling” that they renewed their request for a reprieve to have time to go back to the court and ask for an explanation. “The only person in the world who can make a decision about this is Gov. Bush, and this is exactly (like) what’s going on in Florida,” Warren said Thursday afternoon. “Surely, Gov. Bush can understand the need for a ‘recount.”‘
Defense attorney Richard Ellis, who witnessed the execution, said the governor’s lack of action in this case sends a “very dangerous signal” to the rest of the world regarding the U.S. approach to violations of the Vienna Convention. Flores’ attorneys have argued that, at least in part because Borger authorities didn’t notify the Mexican consulate of his arrest in 1989, his trial was unfair. Protesters lined a block along with Huntsville Unit, chanting “justice” and “George Bush is a serial killer.” Representatives of the Mexican and Argentine consulates were present. Marco Dosal, a spokesman for the Mexican consulate, said those leaders would continue to protest the executions of Mexican nationals in Texas. With the execution of Flores, 16 other nationals are on death row.
Flores’ execution was the 35th this year, with six more scheduled.
