Texas shooting victim pleads for attacker's life

Mark Stroman claims the murders were patriotic which may lead to his own upcoming death Wednesday, July 20, on Texas Death Row, according to the office of Attorney General Greg Abbott, a native of Wichita Falls.

The controversial story of Mark Stroman has led to much discussion in Wichita Falls, Texas, a stone's throw from the Oklahoma border.

The final outcome of this high profile death case could easily affect death penalty cases in Wichita Falls.

Stroman's ultimate earthly destiny may lie in the hands of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. Stroman's attorneys filed a petition for clemency with that Board last week, hoping to avoid lethal injection next week.

While Stroman and his suppporters await word from the Board and Texas Governor Rick Perry, one of his shooting victims has spoken up for him publicly asking his life be spared.

This long and winding road for Stroman began when Osama Bin Laden unleashed his attack on September 11 against the Twin Towers in New York City and the Pentagon.

Stroman's sister went to work in New York that fateful day never dreaming it would be her last morning on earth.

Infuriated by the death of his sister, Stroman embarked on a shooting spree which resulted in the deaths of a Pakistani man, an Indian immigrant and a Bangladeshi man.

Stroman termed his shooting of three people of Middle Eastern descent as a "patriotic" acts in response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Death row inmate Mark Stroman was convicted of killing an Islamic man in the months after the September 11th attacks. Police say he also killed a second man and shot another, leaving him partially blind. All of the victims were from either India or Pakistan.

The now partially-blind survivor, Rais Bhuiyan, is trying to get Stroman's sentence reduced from death to life in prison.

"I believe if Mark is given a chance to live, he will become a spokesperson in raising awareness for hate crimes," Bhuiyan said. "September 11th did a horrible thing not just to America but to the world, this is a time we can take a new narrative of forgiveness, compassion, tolerance and healing."

Bhuiyan is suing Governor Rick Perry and other state officials in an effort to stop the execution. He says Perry has violated his rights as a crime victim by ignoring requests to meet with Stroman for mediation.