Texas Executes Male Prostitute for Murder

HUNTSVILLE, Tex. — A convicted male prostitute with a criminal record that began at age 12 was executed by injection early Wednesday for killing a man who he claimed had made sexual advances. Mikel Derrick, 33, was executed for the Oct. 10, 1980, killing of Edward Sonnier, 32, who was stabbed 19 times in the victim’s Houston apartment.

Derrick had confessed to the murder in a letter written when he was serving time on an unrelated robbery conviction. The letter said that he had stolen Sonnier’s car and stripped it for parts.