Texas man executed for 2004 murder offers apology to victim's children before death
Houston: A 41-year-old man who was convicted of murdering a young mother over two decades ago was executed in Texas on Wednesday and spent his final moments apologizing to her children for the pain he had caused.
Moises Sandoval Mendoza was executed by lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville for murdering 20-year-old Rachelle O'Neil Tolleson in 2004. Court documents state that he raped Tolleson, killed her, and then burned her body and left it in a ditch. Her body was found days later.
Tolleson, mother of a five-month-old infant, had known Mendoza since high school. He pleaded guilty to the crime and petitioned to have his death sentence commuted to life imprisonment, but all legal options were ultimately exhausted. The U.S. Supreme Court denied his last appeal earlier on Wednesday.
In a statement released just before his execution, Mendoza spoke to the victim's family, stating, “To Avery… I robbed you of a mother. I’m sorry for that.” He conceded that no apology would make up for the damage he had inflicted, and he apologized to Tolleson's family.
His execution is the 13th in the United States this year. Although the means used to kill Mendoza was lethal injection, some of the most recent executions involved nitrogen gas and firing squads, tactics that have been strongly criticized by international human rights organizations. The death penalty is a point of national contention, with 23 U.S. states abolishing it and others holding moratoriums.
After the execution, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton reaffirmed his belief in capital punishment, saying, "I will always do everything in my power to defend the law and hold criminals accountable."
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Govt employees mandated to complete competency-linked courses: Centre in Rajya Sabha
New Delhi (PTI): All central government employees have been mandated to complete competency-linked courses relevant to their role or level on a dedicated online platform annually, which will reflect in their annual performance appraisal reports, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Thursday.
The government has adopted a competency-based capacity building approach, focusing on role-based learning, continuous skill development, and alignment of training with role requirements, Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh said in a written reply.
"The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has mandated all central government employees and officers of the all-India services to complete competency-linked courses mapped to their role/level and comprehensive assessments prescribed by their ministries/ departments/organisations (MDOs) or cadre controlling authorities (CCAs) on iGOT (integrated government online training) portal annually, which is to be also reflected in their annual performance appraisal reports (APARs)," he said.
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The minister was responding to a query about the government's plans to incorporate competency-based scores for promotion and appraisal processes of its employees.
A framework of roles, activities and competencies (FRAC) aims to align all positions in government with clearly defined roles, activities, and required competencies (behavioural, functional, and domain), Singh added.
In a separate reply, the minister said that details of the engagement of consultants are maintained by respective ministries and departments.
The General Financial Rules (GFR), 2017, administered by the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, provides for the fundamental principles applicable to all ministries or departments concerning the engagement of consultants and external professionals or consultancy firms for specific jobs, he said.
"As informed by the Department of Expenditure, data regarding engagement of consultants is maintained by respective ministries and departments," Singh said.
The minister was asked the year-wise number of consultants engaged by all the central ministries and departments during the last five years.
