Texas, has executed a man convicted of setting his ex-girlfriend on fire.  It was the first execution of the year in that state which year after year, leads the country in carrying out executions.  Carl Blue, forty-eight, was convicted in 1994 of dousing his ex-girlfriend Carmen Richards-Sanders, with gasoline and another man who was with her at the time.  The man survived the attack and testified against Blue, who said the attack was a prank gone wrong.  In his final statements, he greeted the victim’s daughter, Terrella Richards, as she entered the chamber area, where family members can watch the execution, by telling her he loved her.  He said, “I never meant to hurt your mama,” Blue said while strapped to a gurney in the state’s death chamber. “If I could change that, I would.  I forgive you. I hope you can forgive me.”  His parents were also there watching and to them he said, “I did something wrong, and now I’m paying the ultimate justice,” he said. “It may be crooked justice, but I forgive those people.”  It’s interesting that he refers to his punishment as “crooked justice” because the lethal injection he was given, was far more humane than the death sentence that Richards-Sanders received.  She was burned alive.  The witness with her told police that when Richards-Sanders opened the door, he rushed it and told her “I told you I was going to get you.” He then doused Richards-Sanders and ignited her.  It’s so simple to feel sorry for an evil man once he’s incarcerated and his hair turns gray, waiting on death row.  But make no mistake, Blue received justice.  There was no question he committed the crime and the correct person got what he deserved.  In fact, he did much better than his victim, outliving her by nineteen years.  The execution went forward after the US Supreme Court refused his final appeal.