Carlos Cuesta-Rodriguez is just one day away from execution — but his final request has left many people stunned.
70-year-old Carlos Cuesta-Rodriguez is due to be executed by lethal injection in Oklahoma on August 13. He was found guilty of killing his common-law wife, Olimpia Fisher, in 2003.
But during his final clemency hearing, Cuesta-Rodriguez made an unusual request. He told the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board that he did not want mercy.
Speaking through a translator, he apologized to Fisher’s daughters for what he had done. He said he knew his words could never take away their pain, but said he was truly sorry.
“My time has come,” he told the board, per Oklahoma Vice.
Further, Cuesta-Rodriguez described himself as a “broken man” and said he was suffering.
Death row inmate makes eerie final request days before his execution
His lawyers argued that he had suffered from trauma, PTSD, and depression, and said these issues were not properly presented during his original trial.
But prosecutors argued against clemency, pointing to his history of stalking and abusing Fisher before her death. Fisher’s daughter, Katya Wallis, was only 18 and pregnant when she witnessed the first shot that killed her mother.
At the hearing, Wallis questioned whether Cuesta-Rodriguez’s apology was genuine. She called it “a facade” and said she knew him well.
The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board later voted 3-1 against clemency, meaning they would not recommend that his sentence be changed.
Unless there is a last-minute legal decision, Cuesta-Rodriguez is scheduled to be executed on August 13.
READ MORE
- Death row inmate made last meal ‘mistake’ before suffering ‘excruciating’ execution
- How Ohio death row inmate finally died after surviving 18 lethal injection attempts
