Autry, a native of Amarillo, had been convicted of shooting 43-year-old Port Arthur convenience store clerk, Shirley Drouet, between the eyes with a .38 caliber pistol on April 20, 1980.[1] He then shot two witnesses in the head, one of whom, Joe Broussard, a Roman Catholicpriest, died instantly, while the other, Anthanasios Svarnas, a Greek seaman, survived but was left with permanent brain damage.[1] The crime had been committed with John Alton Sandifer, Autry's roommate. Although no money was missing from the cash register, a carton of beer valued at $2.70 was missing.[3]
On October 4, 1983, he had been strapped in the gurney in the execution chamber, with the needles in his arms, when a stay of execution came through.[4][5] He would later be executed on March 14, 1984, in the second execution in Texas since the reintroduction of the death penalty in the state after Gregg v. Georgia.[5]
Autry was known as "Cowboy" on death row. As to lethal injection he said "it ain't manly" and said he would prefer to be hanged or beheaded. He also said he preferred execution to life in prison. He petitioned the Texas Board of Corrections to have his execution televised, arguing that the execution is not "real" to the people unless they see it. The request was refused.[7]
^Nichols, Bruce (March 14, 1984). "Killer dies smiling". United Press International. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
^"Texas Executes Convicted Killer Who Won Late Reprieve In 1983". The New York Times. March 14, 1984. Archived from the original on May 15, 2022. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
^"When someone is executed by lethal injection, do they swab off the arm first?" 2008-05-26 at the Wayback MachineThe Straight Dope.
^ abTaylor, Paul (March 14, 1984). "Texas Murderer Is Executed by Injection". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
james, autry, american, politician, mississippi, james, autry, james, david, autry, september, 1954, march, 1984, convicted, murderer, state, texas, executed, lethal, injection, bornjames, david, autry, 1954, september, 1954amarillo, texas, diedmarch, 1984, 19. For the American politician in Mississippi see James L Autry James David Autry September 27 1954 March 14 1984 1 was a convicted murderer in the U S state of Texas executed by lethal injection 2 James AutryBornJames David Autry 1954 09 27 September 27 1954Amarillo Texas U S DiedMarch 14 1984 1984 03 14 aged 29 Huntsville Unit Huntsville Texas U S Cause of deathExecution by lethal injectionOccupationLaborerCriminal statusExecutedConviction s Capital murderCriminal penaltyDeathAutry a native of Amarillo had been convicted of shooting 43 year old Port Arthur convenience store clerk Shirley Drouet between the eyes with a 38 caliber pistol on April 20 1980 1 He then shot two witnesses in the head one of whom Joe Broussard a Roman Catholic priest died instantly while the other Anthanasios Svarnas a Greek seaman survived but was left with permanent brain damage 1 The crime had been committed with John Alton Sandifer Autry s roommate Although no money was missing from the cash register a carton of beer valued at 2 70 was missing 3 On October 4 1983 he had been strapped in the gurney in the execution chamber with the needles in his arms when a stay of execution came through 4 5 He would later be executed on March 14 1984 in the second execution in Texas since the reintroduction of the death penalty in the state after Gregg v Georgia 5 He declined to make a final statement but did request a last meal of a hamburger French fries and a Dr Pepper 6 Autry was known as Cowboy on death row As to lethal injection he said it ain t manly and said he would prefer to be hanged or beheaded He also said he preferred execution to life in prison He petitioned the Texas Board of Corrections to have his execution televised arguing that the execution is not real to the people unless they see it The request was refused 7 He is buried at Captain Joe Byrd Cemetery See also editCapital punishment in Texas Capital punishment in the United States List of people executed in Texas 1982 1989References edit a b c James Autry Offender information Archived 2005 11 01 at the Wayback Machine Texas Department of Criminal Justice Nichols Bruce March 14 1984 Killer dies smiling United Press International Retrieved May 15 2022 Texas Executes Convicted Killer Who Won Late Reprieve In 1983 The New York Times March 14 1984 Archived from the original on May 15 2022 Retrieved May 15 2022 When someone is executed by lethal injection do they swab off the arm first Archived 2008 05 26 at the Wayback Machine The Straight Dope a b Taylor Paul March 14 1984 Texas Murderer Is Executed by Injection The Washington Post Retrieved August 29 2021 Final Meal Requests at the Wayback Machine archived December 2 2003 Texas Department of Criminal Justice September 12 2003 Archived from the original on December 2 2003 Retrieved on November 17 2007 Drimmer Frederrick 1990 Until You are Dead The book of executions in America New York Carol Publishing Group pp 81 82 ISBN 0 8065 1184 2 Preceded byCharles Brooks Jr 1982 Executions carried out in Texas Succeeded byRonald Clark O Bryan 1984Preceded by Johnny Taylor Jr Louisiana February 29 1984 Executions carried out in the United States Succeeded byJames W Hutchins North Carolina March 16 1984 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title James Autry amp oldid 1175612647, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
