Texas inmate faces execution for killing prisoner. The victim’s sister asks that his life be spared

By JUAN A. LOZANO
Associated Press

HOUSTON (AP) — A Texas inmate is facing execution for killing another prisoner more than 26 years ago. However, the victim’s sister and religious leaders are asking authorities to spare his life. William Speer is set to receive a lethal injection Thursday at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. He was condemned for strangling to death Gary Dickerson in July 1997 at a state prison in northeast Texas. Speer’s attorneys say his life should be spared because he has transformed himself and now helps lead a religious program ministering to death row inmates. Speer’s death would be the seventh Texas execution this year and the 21st in the U.S.