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Victim Tries To Stop Assailant's Execution

Rais Bhuiyan, shot in the face by a man targeting people who looked of Middle Eastern decent after the 9-11 attacks, is asking the State of Texas to stop the execution of the man who shot him and killed two other men.
Photo by Erika Aguilar for KUT News.
Rais Bhuiyan, shot in the face by a man targeting people who looked of Middle Eastern decent after the 9-11 attacks, is asking the State of Texas to stop the execution of the man who shot him and killed two other men.

A man who was shot in the face in a hate crime stemming from the September 11 attacks will find out tomorrow whether his assailant will be executed. Rais Bhuiyan is suing the State of Texas and asking a court to stop the execution of Mark Stroman.

After the 9-11 attacks, Stroman went on a shooting spree in Dallas, targeting people who looked Middle Eastern. He shot and killed a Pakistani store clerk, then shot Bhuiyan with a shotgun five days later, also at a convenience store.  Bhuiyan survived the shooting but is now blind in his right eye. Stroman later killed a man from India.

A federal court will hear arguments on Bhuiyan's behalf tomorrow morning for an injunctionthat would halt Stroman's scheduled execution. Bhuiyan says the Texas justice system did not inform him of his right to mediation and was told he could not contact Stroman.  

“It is my right as a victim under Texas law,” Bhuiyan told reporters last week when the lawsuit was filed. “I should have been given the chance to meet with Mark for mediation. But since it is not done, I feel extremely terrible that my rights are being violated. ”  

Stroman is scheduled to be executed at the State Prison in Huntsville tomorrow evening.

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