Texas is set to execute by lethal injection Richard Masterson, who was convicted in 2001 of strangling a female impersonator and then stealing the victim's car.

Masterson was convicted of strangling a female impersonator in Houston in 2001 and then stealing the victim's car.

At his trial, he took to the stand and said he was a danger to society, daring jurors to sentence him to death, which they did.

His lawyers have launched appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court to get a stay of execution, saying his due process rights were violated and that prosecutors presented false and misleading evidence in the case.

The execution is scheduled for 6 PM local time at the state's death chamber in Huntsville. It would be the state's first execution this year.

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