Texas executes killer of gay man

October 13, 2004
Associated Press

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) -- A man convicted of abducting and killing a gay man 11 years ago was executed Tuesday, after apologizing to his victim's family and his own.

Donald Aldrich, who had admitted the kidnapping but denied taking part in the murder, asked forgiveness from Nicholas West's family, although no relatives were present.

Before he was killed by injection, he also apologized to his own family and friends, saying, "I'm sorry for the pain and hurt I have caused you."

West, a medical clerk from Tyler, was robbed at a park known as a gay meeting place, then taken to a remote area where he was stripped, ordered to his knees and shot at least nine times.

Aldrich, 39, was the second man executed for West's death. Henry Earl Dunn, 28, was put to death in February 2003. Each man blamed the other, but authorities contended both took part in killing West.

Aldrich was considered the leader of a gang that preyed on gay men in the Tyler area. A third member of the gang, who was a juvenile at the time, was convicted of aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery and received a life prison term.

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Aldrich's appeals for an injunction to block the combination of lethal drugs used in Texas prisons.

Aldrich was the 16th convicted killer executed this year in Texas and third in eight days.