NATION : Murderer Executed in Texas

HUNTSVILLE, Tex. — A convicted male prostitute with a criminal record that began at age 12 was executed by injection early today for killing a man he claimed had made homosexual advances. Mikel Derrick, 33, was pronounced dead at 12:17 a.m., six minutes after the injection.

He was executed for the Oct. 10, 1980, killing of 32-year-old Edward Sonnier, stabbed 19 times in the victim’s Houston apartment. A medical examiner testified that any one of 16 wounds could have killed Sonnier.

“I just ask everybody I ever hurt or done anything wrong to, to just forgive me for whatever wrongs I done to them,” Derrick said in his final statement.

While serving four 10-year terms on an unrelated robbery conviction, Derrick wrote a letter to the Harris County District Attorney’s office saying he had committed the murder, stolen Sonnier’s car and stripped it for parts.