In last words, condemned man maintains innocence

Preston Hughes was executed for killing La Shandra Rena Charles, 15, and her cousin, Marcell Lee Taylor, 3. Preston Hughes was executed for killing La Shandra Rena Charles, 15, and her cousin, Marcell Lee Taylor, 3. Photo: Melissa Phillip, Staff Photo: Melissa Phillip, Staff Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close In last words, condemned man maintains innocence 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

HUNTSVILLE - While his mother wailed and screamed in the background, Preston Hughes was executed Thursday night for fatally stabbing a teenage girl and her toddler cousin on a dirt road in southwest Houston more than two decades ago.

Hughes was convicted of the 1988 murders of La Shandra Charles, 15, and her 3-year-old cousin, Marcell Taylor. None of the victims' friends or relatives attended the execution.

Hughes was put to death about 31/2 hours after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected appeals filed by his attorney to postpone the punishment. The execution also was slowed by an appeal filed by Hughes to the Texas Criminal Court of Appeals asking that the court reconsider its earlier denial to retest DNA in the case.

'I love you both'

Just before he received the lethal injection, Hughes turned toward his mother, Brenda Johnson, and sister, Celeste A. Perreo, who stood behind their mother.

"You know I'm innocent, and I love you both," Hughes, 46, said in his final statement. "Please continue to fight for my innocence even though I'm gone."

He then thanked several people for helping him and trying to save his life. He also thanked his friend, Jason Seifert, for his friendship. Seifert attended the execution.

"I love all of you," he said. "Bye. OK Warden."

Perreo placed her hand on her mother's shoulder, while the woman wept loudly. As the solution flowed through Hughes' arms, Johnson's cries grew louder.

"Oh Preston I love you so much," Johnson shouted. She also made proclamations of her son's innocence.

Hughes could be seen taking a few short breaths before his body lay still.

"Oh God, why?" Johnson cried. "I haven't touched my child in 23 years."

Just before a doctor pronounced Hughes dead at 7:52 p.m., a chaplain removed the inmate's glasses. He died 15 minutes after receiving the injection.

Thursday's execution also followed a failed attempt this week by Hughes' attorney to persuade the Texas Board of Paroles and Pardons to commute the inmate's death sentence to life in prison.

In his petition to the board, Hughes' attorney, Pat McCann, argued that police lied when they told jurors Charles identified her attacker as "Preston" in her dying breath.

McCann supplemented his argument with a sworn statement from a deputy Tarrant County medical examiner, who said Charles would have lost consciousness within 60 seconds of the attack. The policeman who claimed to have heard the statement arrived 13 minutes after Charles died, McCann said.

McCann also argued that police checked items confiscated from his client's apartment into their evidence room about three hours before Hughes agreed to the search.

Hughes' attorney also tried to save his client from execution last month by challenging the state's use of a single drug in its lethal injection in a civil court. However, that ended when Hughes would not authorize McCann to represent him.

15th execution this year

Hughes was on probation for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl when the cousins were murdered. The September 1988 killings occurred on a dirt trail behind a restaurant in the 2400 block of South Kirkwood. Hughes, a New York-born warehouse worker, was convicted of stabbing the teen and her cousin.

The state has put 492 inmates to death since 1982, when Texas resumed executions. Hughes' execution marks the 15th and last for this year. He is the only death row inmate from Harris County executed in 2012.