|
Joshua Maxwell, seen here in prison in an undated photo. Maxell is scheduled to be executed in Huntsville, Texas, on March 11, 2010.
|
|
Later today convicted killer Joshua Maxwell is expected to be executed in Huntsville. Maxwell says he doesn’t see any justice in his planned death, but he’s ready to face the executioner. Texas Public Radio’s David Martin Davies has the story.
March 11, 2010 · Sitting behind a pane of security glass and speaking through a phone handset Joshua Maxwell flashes a smile and seems agreeable. Except for his prison garb and many tattoos, he doesn’t look like someone who would be called a “Natural Born Killer,”
His head is shaved and his skin pale white from a decade of missing natural sunlight. Now he sits, just 24-hours before his scheduled execution waiting.
“I kind of compare it to looking down the barrel of a gun, man. You can’t look no where else. It’s right there in your face,” said Maxwell.
Time is running out for the 31-year-old. He’s been on Death Row since 2001. He has exhausted all of his appeals to try to prevent or delay his execution so today at 6 p.m., he’ll be taken to the death chamber in Huntsville. Life-ending chemicals will be injected into his arm that bares the tattoo of the word “Maxwell” in giant letters.
“The last few days, I’ve been dealing with my family. I’ve been finalizing things before I go,” he said.
Maxwell was sentenced to die for the murder of Rudy Lopez – a 45- year-old Bexar County Deputy. He also murdered Robby Bott in Indiana. Maxwell admits to both murders. The killings were part of Maxwell’s cross-country crime spree with his girlfriend Tess McFarland that ended in a police shootout in San Francisco. The 2000 murderous journey earned Maxwell the name “Natural Born Killer,” after the 1994 Oliver Stone film.
Maxwell rejects that title.
“I don’t think that’s fair at all. I’ve never tried to sensationalize it as such,” said Maxwell. “I was just an ignorant kid. I was raised in the streets; no respect for anything, nothing, life itself, you know? A lot has changed over the last ten years. I’ve grown. I’ve grown a lot. I’m not the person that I was ten years ago.”
Maxwell says he thinks about his victims, and he’s sorry, but he shouldn’t have to die for the crimes he committed. Yet he hopes others will be inspired by his story not to make the same mistakes he made.
“Everything you do leaves behind consequences, you know. Everything that I’ve done has affected somebody along the way and all the carnage that I left,” Maxwell said.
Maxwell will be allowed to visit with his family one last time before being taken to Huntsville for the execution. |
