Texas to execute man convicted in triple murder as a Georgia execution is put on hold

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Published: 2026-09-16T12:54:14.123Z • Permanent link

Eric Ray, a 52-year-old man, is set to be executed on Wednesday in Texas for the shooting deaths of three people in 2019. Ray was convicted of capital murder for killing his estranged wife, her new husband, and the husband's 14-year-old son at their home in the city of New Braunfels, Texas. According to court records, Ray shot and killed his wife, 46-year-old Ashley Johnson, her new husband, 36-year-old David Brown, and the teenager, 14-year-old Jacob Brown, in a premeditated attack that was motivated by a desire for revenge against his family. The execution will be carried out at the Huntsville Unit, a maximum-security prison in Texas that is home to the state's death row.

Ray's case drew national attention due to the brutality of the crime and the fact that he was able to avoid punishment for several years after the killings. In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court denied his appeal, upholding his conviction and paving the way for his eventual execution. The state of Texas has seen a surge in executions in recent years, with five scheduled for 2026. The executions have been carried out using a combination of lethal injection and electrocution.

The Georgia Department of Corrections has also seen an uptick in executions in recent years, but none have taken place in 2026. The department has been working to improve its execution process, including the development of a new lethal injection protocol. However, the process has been slowed down by court challenges and disputes over the use of certain execution methods.

The upcoming execution of Eric Ray has significant implications for the Data Sources domain, particularly in the areas of crime and punishment. Companies that provide data and analytics services to law enforcement agencies and corrections departments will likely see increased demand for their services as states and local governments seek to improve their execution processes. For example, companies like Wolters Kluwer and LexisNexis provide data and analytics services to law enforcement agencies, and may see an increase in demand for their services as states seek to improve their crime data and analysis capabilities.

Research communities and academics will also be watching the execution closely, as it highlights the ongoing debate over the use of capital punishment in the United States. Some researchers have argued that capital punishment deters crime, while others have argued that it does not have a significant deterrent effect. The execution of Eric Ray provides a unique opportunity for researchers to study the impact of capital punishment on crime rates and community safety.

The execution of Eric Ray is part of a larger pattern of increasing violence and mass incarceration in the United States. According to data from the National Institute of Justice, the number of murders in the United States has increased by 20% since 2015, and the number of people incarcerated in the United States has reached a record high of over 2.3 million. The use of capital punishment has also increased in recent years, with 26 executions taking place in 2022, the most since 1999.