Texas Executes Man for 1990 Fatal Shooting, Rape

HUNTSVILLE (AP) – A Texas convict with a lengthy criminal history has been executed for fatally shooting a man and raping the slain man’s fiancee. Fifty-year-old Rickey Lynn Lewis of Tyler received a lethal injection Tuesday evening for the murder of 45-year-old George Newman more than 22 years ago. Newman’s slaying and the rape of Newman’s fiancee took place at their home in a rural area of Smith County. Lewis had been in and out of prison five times in less than seven years when he was arrested three days after Newman was killed in September 1990. No last-day appeals were filed to try to delay the punishment. It’s the second execution in Texas this year. At least 11 others are scheduled for the coming months.