It took 13 years, but Justice was served in Texas

It took a while, but there's finally closure in the case of the cowardly cop-killer, Kenneth Mosley.

HUNTSVILLE, Texas – In the end, Sheila Moore decided to witness the execution of her husband's killer – just in case, she said, he wanted to ask for forgiveness.

He didn't, and at 6:16 p.m. Thursday, Kenneth Mosley was pronounced dead, the first person executed in the state this year and the 448th since 1982, when Texas began using lethal injections.

Mosley was convicted of fatally shooting Garland police Officer Michael "David" Moore during a failed bank robbery on Feb. 15, 1997.

"While earthly justice was served, it does not change what happened almost 13 years ago," his widow said in a statement read by her brother about 15 minutes after Mosley died.

"There will always be an empty place in our hearts for our husband, father and friend. We pray for healing for everyone involved."

Moore had been hesitant about the death penalty since Mosley was convicted and given the punishment.

Yet, when the time came, she stood silently behind Garland Capt. Bill Cortez and watched as the state executed the 51-year-old Mesquite man.

When Mosley was asked if he wanted to make a statement to the people gathered to witness his death, he shook his head and mouthed the word, "No."

He never looked at the dozen or so people standing behind a transparent screen, a few feet from his face.

Wearing black-framed glasses and with his arms and chest strapped to a gurney, Mosley remained silent and kept his eyes mostly closed as he seemed to wait for the drugs to take effect. It took less than 15 minutes.

Moore's three children also made the trip but did not witness the execution.

The youngest, Zachary, was 9 months old when his father died at the age of 32. Moore wanted her son, now 13, to be part of the police vigil outside the prison walls so he would have a memory related to his father.

"At least he'll have that," she said before the family traveled to Huntsville.

The last time Mosley confronted the Moore family was at his trial in November 1997. He had lashed out at them in an expletive-filled rant during the punishment phase of his trial.

From the witness stand, he also chastised the jury for finding him guilty of capital murder.

Mosley, who shot Moore five times, said that the shooting was accidental and that he was simply trying to hand over his gun to the officer. "I never knew that gun had went off," he testified.

"The Moore family, all they wanted is somebody they think slaughtered their loved one to die. All they wanted was a conviction."

Mosley's legal team spent nearly 13 years going through the appeals process. His execution was postponed twice last year.

Shortly before 6 p.m. Thursday, his appeals were declared exhausted, allowing the execution to proceed.

Mosley's last meal, served at 4 p.m., was an assortment of fried foods, including three pieces of chicken, two pork chops, a cheeseburger, 10 pieces of bacon, French fries, okra, green tomatoes and apple cobbler.

He was placed on "death watch" Tuesday, a 72-hour period during which he was monitored every 15 minutes by prison guards.

Prison officials offered a snapshot of Mosley's activities during that period, which included sleeping, reading, pacing his cell and showering.

He saw his last visitor, who was not identified, on Tuesday for a five-hour visit that included lunch.

Cortez said he was surprised that the execution occurred so quietly and with no expression of pain from Mosley.

"It seemed just too easy, too easy of a punishment," the Garland officer said.

Matt Leigeber said his sister, Sheila Moore, and her children have gone through "an emotional roller coaster" waiting for the execution.

They were too emotional to talk Thursday, he said.

"It's been a rough 13 years for everybody involved," Leigeber said.

"We lost a husband, a father and a friend, but also a policeman and a Marine."

When the lowest of the low in our society murders one of our finest, there really can be only one response from society. It's good to see that the courts in Texas understand this concept. It's also good to see the law-enforcement community standing together with the family of Officer Moore throughout this long and traumatizing saga. That says a lot about the law enforcement culture and the concept of the police "family". Kudos also to the Dallas News for not giving us a sob story about this cretin like these losers from Scotland who set up a pro-Mosley website and a fund to make Mosley's prison stay more comfortable. I've enjoyed e-mailing them and rubbing their noses in the fact that their little pet caged monster has finally been put down. Feel free to join me. :-)