Matthew Johnson executed in Texas for burning an elderly woman alive

A Texas man was executed this Tuesday night, 13 years after brutally killing an elderly woman by setting her on fire at a gas station.

Matthew Johnson, 49, was convicted of murdering Nancy Harris, 76, a gas station attendant whom he doused with lighter fluid and set on fire during a 2012 robbery in Garland, Texas.

The man was pronounced dead at 6:53 p.m. local time after giving a final statement where he apologized to Ms. Harris' family and thanked God. Johnson also said he never meant to hurt her.

In addition, the convicted man apologized to his wife and children and admitted his mistake. He was 36 years old at the time of the deadly attack that occurred exactly 13 years ago on May 20, 2012.

He set her on fire before leaving the store

Court documents, obtained by The Associated Press in 2015, show Johnson entered the convenience store where Harris was working with a bottle of lighter fluid and a cigarette lighter.

The county Department of Criminal Justice said the assailant went behind the counter and stole cigarettes, lighters and cash from the register before dumping the lighter fluid on Harris and setting her on fire before leaving the store.

He was arrested nearly an hour after the attack, the police report revealed.

Authorities confirmed that Harris, who had worked at the gas station for more than 10 years, died five days after the attack, but was able to describe Johnson to police before her death.

At his 2013 trial, the man admitted the charges and his responsibility. He further testified that he had been under the influence of drugs and alcohol during the robbery. Johnson attempted to appeal his death sentence, but his attempts failed.

USA: 18 sentenced to death so far this year

Matthew Johnson was the fourth person executed in the state of Texas this year and brings the total number of executions in the US to 18 so far in 2025: 14 by lethal injection, two by firing squad and two by nitrogen gas.

Johnson's sentence came hours after the state of Indiana carried out its second execution since 2009. Benjamin Ritchie, 45, also received lethal injection at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City for the 2000 murder of Officer Bill Toney, officials said.

The other execution scheduled for this week will take place in the southern state of Tennessee. Oscar Smith, 75, will be executed by lethal injection on Thursday for the 1989 shooting and stabbing murders of his estranged wife, Judy Smith, and their two sons, Chad and Jason Burnett.

The death penalty has been abolished in 23 of the 50 U.S. states, while three others (California, Oregon and Pennsylvania) have moratoriums in place.