Texas executes inmate convicted of triple murder in rural town

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene in the case, clearing the way for the execution to proceed. Norman's codefendant is scheduled to face execution next week for the same crime, according to the Texas Tribune. The pace keeps Texas at the center of the national debate over capital punishment.

For people across Texas, including here in Lubbock, cases like this one shape how the state handles its death penalty system and how quickly appeals move through federal courts. The Supreme Court's refusal to step in shows how narrow the path to a last-minute stay has become for death row inmates. Two men convicted in the same crime rarely face execution so close together.