A longtime inmate on Texas death row is appealing his latest execution date, scheduled for next Wednesday. Larry Ray Swearingen was convicted in 2000 for the kidnapping, rape and murder of 19-year-old college student Melissa Trotter in north Harris County. She disappeared in December 1998, and her body was found in Sam Houston National Forest early the following month. Next week marks the sixth time Swearingen has been scheduled for execution. His previous dates have been stayed by appeals or technicalities.
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