Inmate executed in 5-year-old's rape, murder

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) -- A man convicted of raping and strangling a 5-year-old girl after kidnapping her from her bedroom in 1988 was executed Thursday night.
"Thank you for being there for me, and all these people here will find the one who did this damn crime," Jackie B. Wilson said to his wife, sister and friends as they watched from a nearby window. "I am going home to be with God."
Before uttering his final statement, Wilson turned his head and looked toward the family of Lottie Margaret Rhodes. But he did not acknowledge them again.
After the lethal injection, he repeatedly said "I love you" to his family. He was pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m.
Wilson, of Irving, broke into Maggie's nearby Arlington apartment in the early morning of Nov. 30, 1988. A few hours after she was kidnapped, the girl's battered body was found about five miles from her home.
Authorities said Wilson ran over her body with a car after killing her.
Wilson acknowledged knowing Maggie, but denied he kidnapped or killed her.
Authorities collected a vast amount of forensic evidence against Wilson, including fingerprints inside and outside the bedroom window, prosecutor Toby Shook said.
Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.