Texas executes man who set elderly store clerk on fire during 2012 robbery

A Texas inmate convicted of setting a 76-year-old grandmother on fire during a robbery in Garland has been executed, state officials confirmed.

Matthew Lee Johnson, 49, was pronounced dead at 6:53 p.m. on Tuesday at the Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville. The execution was carried out by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice using a lethal dose of the sedative pentobarbital.

Johnson was sentenced to death in 2013 for the murder of Nancy Harris, a retired elementary school teacher and grandmother who was working at a Garland convenience store when she was attacked.

Prosecutors said Johnson entered the store in May 2012, forced Harris to open the cash register, and stole a few items—including her rings, a lighter, two packs of cigarettes, and a bag of candy. He then doused her with bleach and set her on fire using a lighter he had brought with him.

Harris suffered severe burns over most of her body and died five days later in the hospital.

“Matthew Johnson has been executed and received the just punishment for the senseless, horrifying murder of Nancy Harris,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement. “While nothing can restore the innocent life that was taken, he will never be able to hurt anyone again.”

In his final moments, Johnson turned toward Harris’ family members, who were watching through a nearby window, and offered an apology, according to NBC News. “As I look at each one of you, I can see her on that day,” he said. “I please ask for your forgiveness. I never meant to hurt her.”

He added, “I pray that she’s the first person I see when I open my eyes and I spend eternity with.” Johnson also expressed remorse to his wife and daughters, saying he had made “wrong choices” and now accepted the consequences.

Three of Harris’ sons, along with two daughters-in-law and a granddaughter, were present for the execution but declined to speak to reporters afterward, NBC News reported.

Attorney General Paxton said his office worked to uphold Johnson’s death sentence throughout the appeals process. “Vicious criminals must be held responsible for their actions,” he said. “And I will never stop working to ensure that justice is done.”