Court TV Host: We're speaking with Mary Virginia Petty, relative of death row inmate Richard Hinojosa scheduled to be executed today, Thursday, in Texas for stabbing a woman to death -- a crime he says he didn't commit. Richard Hinojosa was convicted of stabbing his neighbor, then dumping her naked body off a dirt road. With his appeals exhausted, he continues to deny his guilt. Mary Virginia Petty is the ex-wife of Hinojosa's cousin, and she's attending the execution with her son, a minister, who is Hinojosa's spiritual advisor.

Court TV Host: Welcome, Mary Virginia Petty, thanks for being our guest on what I know must be a terrible day for you.

Mary Virginia Petty: I just met with Richard at 8 o'clock this morning, and he's in a good place. He's at peace with himself, and he's ready to go and meet the Lord Jesus Christ. He doesn't have any anger in his heart. He got to spend special time with three of his children and with his ex-wife. And they got to meet with the man he is today, not the man he was fifteen years back.

Question from kiara: How many years did Hinojosa's attorneys seek appeals?

Mary Virginia Petty: He's been there eleven years and attorneys sought appeals for 11 years. The latest appeal to the U.S. Supreme just came back last night - and it was denied. It was the last appeal.

Question from tara: Are there any hopes of a last minute stay of execution?

Mary Virginia Petty: No.

Question from tara: If I read correctly, shoe prints at the scene were a size 7, Richard wears a 10, was this ever explained?

Mary Virginia Petty: Yes, it was. But nothing came out of it. They were so convinced that it was his shoe.

Question from ally: What is the age of your son who is attending the execution with you?

Mary Virginia Petty: My son is 42 years old. He is Richard's cousin, and he came to visit Richard in prison, and Richard asked him when it came time if he would be his spiritual advisor. He felt like he's a man he could trust, he felt like he was a man that had a pure heart, and he was a man that he wanted to spend his last hour with.

Question from tara: I read Richard wants his youngest son to see the execution. Will he be attending?

Mary Virginia Petty: He did want his youngest son David to witness the execution but David is 16 years old, and the system doesn't permit 16 year olds to view executions. But his 23 year old son William will be witnessing, along with my son, myself, his ex-wife and another minister, Irene Wilcox.

Question from bren: How can he be at "peace" with being executed if he didn't do it?

Mary Virginia Petty: For Richard, the reason he is at peace is first of all he's reflected on his life and has asked forgiveness of all his sins and has accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. He justifies the execution by saying that years ago he was put in prison for a self-defense manslaughter, and he was given six years and only served two. He said he did not kill Terry, but he felt like the time that he served for taking another man's life, that two years was too short a time, so he feels like this justifies his execution.

Question from pesadilla: Does he have any hard feelings towards the justice system?

Mary Virginia Petty: I think he feels he was the person without means, that his counsel was not as good as it could have been if he had had the finances to really fight it, or someone that he could pay to fight it for him. The lawyer that he got to do his latest appeals, whose name is Michael Gross, did the best he could, but the problem is that once he goes to do an appeal, unless he gets total new evidence, he can only appeal on what was given in the case, and he was unable to bring in new evidence.I think more of that lies in the trial and what the first lawyer did or didn't do for him.

Question from ally: When will you visit with Richard the last time?

Mary Virginia Petty: I'm due to go to the Walls unit at Huntsville soon. They will take us to a hospitality house. My son, as his spiritual advisor, will meet with him from 3 to 4 o'clock, and he will meet with us in the hospitality house, where I think, from what I understand at 4:45, Richard will make phone calls, from his holding place. And we'll talk to him, but we won't see him - until we're transferred over to the witness viewing area, when he will come in on a gurney. He'll make his last statement at that time.

Question from CARMEN: What do you think his final words will be?

Mary Virginia Petty: He'll thank me for the eleven years that I've visited him. He will tell the victims' family that he's sorry for their loss. And I think he'll thank my son for being there.

Question from LJ: How are you holding up through all of this?

Mary Virginia Petty: It's been difficult I've watched Richard be imprisoned as an angry man. I've seen him grow into a special human being, finding out who he is, finding out his heritage, which was important to him, and see him transformed by his relationship with the Lord, into a peaceful man ready to go home.

Question from Gena: What will happen to his artwork?

Mary Virginia Petty: All of his artwork has been given to me. I will probably send some to some Native American chiefs, maybe give some to his children, if they want it - they have their own artwork of his.

Question from tara: If Richard has learned to read in prison, how effective was his comprehension in court and in helping in his defense?

Mary Virginia Petty: He's dyslexic, so he could tell people the situation. His problem is reading and writing, so I don't think that was a problem.

Question from unsure: Does he think that he was singled out during the investigation?

Mary Virginia Petty: Probably so. He was having an affair with Terry. They live next door, and he was an ex-convict, so there could have been some singling out.

Question from taurus: There must have been a lot of evidence to find him guilty. Why do you think he was found guilty?

Mary Virginia Petty: DNA evidence. He was having an affair with her, so it was going to be there. It was natural that there was his DNA on her, but that doesn't mean that he killed her.

Question from ally: How have you been received and treated by Huntsville, TX officials?

Mary Virginia Petty: They are very gracious, they do the best they can to accommodate you. They know this is a sad time, so they are pretty nice.

Question from pesadilla: Do you think that after all this is over with, that the truth will come out?

Mary Virginia Petty: I would hope that for his children and his children's children, that his name would be cleared.

Question from bren: What kind of life do you think Richard would have had if he wasn't convicted of this murder?

Mary Virginia Petty: If he would have continued on the path that he had, without any help or direction to a good life, he may have just become a person that did day-to-day stuff and never really had any ambitions in life But with help, he could have had a different life, not only for himself but for his children. And that's something that he sees right now, and grieves him the most, that he cannot be a father to his children, and he's learned in prison what that means.

Court TV Host: Any closing thoughts?

Mary Virginia Petty: I guess that one of my concerns is that men are put on death row for a reason. I believe in our system, I don't believe that a man should be executed if there's any doubt about his guilt or innocence. The state of Texas did not treat men on death row right. I'm not saying they should have access to anything and everything, but when you're in a cell that's whatever those measurements are, 24/7, maybe get out for two hours periodically. That's pretty inhumane. I think something should be done even if they don't let them out of their cell, that they should give them something to keep them from going out of their mind, from going nuts. People like Richard have come to a spiritual place with their relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ -- their days are spent in a more peaceful environment. Guys that aren't at peace with themselves are angry, and I think they lose touch with their mind and staying locked up. I'd just like to see the system change a little bit.

Court TV Host: Thank you again for speaking with us at such a difficult time.