Deputy Sheriff Tim Hudson, then 61, was murdered in the line of duty 19 years ago. Long-overdue justice for this crime was finally carried out today. The AP report is here.

Charles Smith escaped from a Kansas prison, stole a truck, and headed for Texas. Deputy Hudson pulled over Smith and his cousin to investigate a report they had gotten gasoline and driven off without paying. Smith's first two death sentences were reversed by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, but the third one stuck.

Earlier, Deputy Hudson's daughter, Gwynn Hudson Simmons, wrote on the Officer Down Memorial Page,

I will be at the execution without a doubt and considering the murderer Charles Edward Smith has bragged about killing a cop since the day it happened, I will have no problem with justice being finally served for my Dad. It will not be a happy occasion for either family but this does uphold the message that we DO NOT tolerate cop killers in Texas. Now all we have to do is change laws the require us to feed and house and educate these criminals for 18 years before justice is served.