SAN QUENTIN, Calif. (AP) -- A onetime Buddhist monk who touched many with his humble remorse and vivid art produced on death row was executed by injection Tuesday for killing two people during a 1981 robbery.
Jaturun Siripongs, 43, made no last statement.He was convicted of killing manager Packovan Wattanaporn and clerk Quach Nguyen at a market where he occasionally worked. He was caught trying to use Mrs. Wattanaporn's credit card, and most of her stolen jewelry was traced to him.
Siripongs admitted taking part in the robbery but claimed an accomplice he never named committed the murders.
Siripongs did accept responsibility for his role in the crime, his lawyers said, offering daily penance "for his deeds, for the shame he has brought his family and ancestors, and for the suffering he has brought to others."
Guards described him as unfailingly polite and cooperative, and former prison Warden Daniel Vasquez, a strong supporter of the death penalty, recommended clemency on the grounds that rewarding Siripongs' behavior would set a good example for other inmates.
Pope John Paul II, whose U.S. visit prompted the governor of Missouri to spare a prisoner last month, joined the pleas for clemency hours before the execution.