In this riveting episode of In Time Crime, we journey back to July 21, 2011, to delve into the harrowing and unexpected story of Mark Anthony Stroman, a man convicted of killing two people in Texas, driven by a twisted vendetta against those he mistakenly believed were responsible for the 9-11 attacks.
As Stroman awaits his execution, an extraordinary twist emerges—one of his victims, Rais Bhuiyan, who survived being shot in the face, embarks on a remarkable mission to save Stroman from the death penalty. Through an emotional and transformative journey, Bhuiyan's act of compassion and forgiveness challenges the boundaries of justice and humanity.
Join us as we explore the depths of Stroman's troubled past, his affiliation with a white supremacist group, and the tragic events that led to his killing spree. Discover how Bhuiyan's unwavering efforts to fight for the life of the man who tried to kill him bring about a profound change in Stroman, leading to an unexpected bond between them.
This episode is a testament to the power of forgiveness and redemption, offering a gripping narrative that will leave you questioning the complexities of human nature and the true meaning of justice. Don't miss this compelling story of transformation and hope.
Thank you for listening to In Time Crime. Please rate, review, and subscribe to our podcast, and stay tuned for more intriguing cases. If you have personal crime stories you'd like us to share, submit them to robin@intimecrime.org. Join our Patreon for exclusive content and readings. Your support means the world to us!
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Music by- Jeremy Blake
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
He would be convicted of killing two people based on the fact that he thought
they were ARAB and were responsible for the 9-11 attacks.
He will be set for execution in the state of Texas.
One of his victims will be fighting for his right to live.
Join us on this episode of In Time Crime as we go back in time to July the 21st
(00:27):
of 2011 for the case of Mark Anthony Stroman.
Music.
(01:01):
Yoko. Thank you once again for joining us on this wonderful,
supposedly Sunday, but it's a Monday. It is a Monday afternoon.
Thank you so much for joining me. Like I said, I really appreciate you guys for listening.
I can see you from all over the world. I see you out there.
Every time I see a new country pop up in my analysis, I am so happy that I am
(01:25):
reaching you guys out there.
And please spread the word, tell a friend to tell a friend to tell another friend about this podcast.
And whenever you do find the time, once you're listening, please rate five stars
and leave a written review.
If you so can, I would really, really appreciate it. It would be so extremely greatly appreciated.
(01:48):
So whenever you have the time, please just hit that five stars,
you guys, and write a little review.
It doesn't have to be long, you know, just write something, that just writes
up. And also, don't forget to subscribe.
Subscribe on all platforms, whichever platform you listen on.
Just go ahead and subscribe. I would greatly appreciate that.
(02:09):
That would help me out a lot as well.
Thank you guys so much. Okay, so like I said on the intro, today's episode is
basically about Mark Anthony Stroman, who was the convict, but we want to focus on one of his victims
that decided to actually fight for his right to live.
(02:30):
He went above and beyond to try to save the life of somebody that tried to kill him.
So it's a very interesting case. It's very interesting.
So that's why I'm so happy I chose to do this case today, because I've never heard of it.
And when I read it, I was like, oh, my God.
Oh, my God. This is this is crazy.
(02:52):
And it also Also made the victim, you know, made the made the suspect was not suspect.
He's he's actual convict. It made him come to the conclusion that,
oh, my God, like, I really am.
A dirtbag. Like I was looking at a whole group of people to be one type of person.
(03:13):
And therefore, he, in the beginning, had no remorse for his activities.
But in the end, before he was executed, he did turn his life around.
So let's get into that. Okay.
Let's get into that. So So Mark was born on October the 13th of 1969 in the
(03:36):
state of Texas, in the city of Dallas.
Of course, most kids, as always, when they turn out like this, what's the main thing?
Go back and look at most criminals and those crime cases and you will see,
based on their childhood, most likely they were abused as children.
(03:57):
All the time, it never fails.
It never fails.
Most of them had rough childhood.
They had a really rough childhood. And that is definitely, definitely also the
case here for Mr. Anthony, okay? For Mr. Mark.
So, of course, like I said, he was abused as a child by his stepfather.
(04:22):
So it wasn't his actual parent. It was his stepfather who led him to be this
person because he was abusing him.
OK, so he got married very, very young at the age of 15 and he had children not too long after that.
(04:43):
50 at 15. Let's think about it. What are we doing at 15?
Definitely not thinking about being married. So Mark had a lot on his plate. OK.
And to also have children at this very young age, it's a lot.
Now mark also
joined the alien aryan brotherhood in of texas which is a white supremacist
(05:11):
group and if you do recall if you do recall um back on episode eight where we
talked about james James Boyd's murder,
and how King had a tattoo that said, Arion Pride.
So this is the same group that King was a part of, the one that was responsible
(05:33):
for the dragging of James Boyd.
Mark was also a part of this group. So you see it's all coming together here in Texas, okay?
Now, he was also not new
to the prison system them because he was he has
been to jail several times before for
possession of a gun
(05:55):
for burglary credit card fraud robbery and theft so this man is not new to the
system he's been in prison been in jail before he's he's this is the walk in
the park for him he already knows what jail is all about.
So Mark, okay.
(06:18):
Like I'm trying to say, Mark is just, this is a troubled, troubled young man.
He had been to prison twice. He's been paroled twice.
He is covered in tattoos from Nazi to KKK.
He is just a troubled youth. He was even sent to jail for robbery at the age of 12.
(06:45):
Let's go back and think of what we were doing at 12 years old.
And that is so young to be in this amount of trouble.
Like Mark is, sometimes you just got to really say, it really came from the beginning.
And like I said, his stepfather was abusing him.
It starts somewhere, you guys. Every time there's an issue, there's a root of the problem.
(07:09):
It always starts from somewhere. It doesn't just pop up out of nowhere. work.
So for this young man to be 15, married, I'm assuming 16, 17 with kids,
he's been in and out of the prison system.
I'm not saying let's feel sorry for this guy, because that's not what we're
going to do, because we're not ever feeling sorry for criminals,
(07:30):
but damn, okay, just damn.
So we begin with the killing spree that Mark decided to go on with our first victim, Mr.
Hassan, who was a 46-year-old Muslim Pakistani immigrant.
He also owned this grocery store called Mom's Groceries.
(07:52):
Basically, Stan went up in there, I mean, Mark went up into that grocery store,
and simply decided to just kill him.
He saw him, thought he was a rab.
And murdered him. Fatally shot him on sight.
Hassan was grilling burgers, and that was it for him.
That was Mark's first victim. And of course, like I said, he just thought these
(08:17):
people were Arabs based on the 9-11 attacks, okay?
This happened on September 15th of 2001.
Okay, so our next victim happened just a few days later on September the 30th,
uh, September the 21st, when Mark decided to go to a gas station in Dallas.
(08:37):
And there he saw 28-year-old Raze.
Okay, Raze is a former Bangladeshi Air Force pilot and was just working there as a cashier at the time.
And Mark walked in there, saw him at the register, and Raze thought it was a
(08:58):
robbery because he pointed the gun at him.
So Rays decided, you know, started giving, you know, gathering up money to give
to him, you know, thinking this is what he wants. He just wants money.
Just take whatever you want. You know, just don't shoot. Take whatever you want.
Of course, that's always the case.
Money may make them go away. More so likely, that's always the case.
So that was what Rays was doing. He was gathering up the money to give to Mark and Mark asked him,
(09:24):
him where are you from and before
Raze could say anything I anything
Mark shot him in the face okay so
Raze passed the ground and is
I guess Mark figured
(09:45):
he is dead because I shot him dead in
the face so he left the store
and you know
like I said he probably figured he was dead at that point so
but fortunately Raze did survive this is why we're going to reel on back to
Raze because Raze did survive this encounter he did however end up being partially
(10:13):
blind in his right eye from the shooting,
but luckily he's still alive.
Now, another few days later, on October the 4th,
Mark once again went into another gas station where he encountered this time 49-year-old,
(10:35):
I want to say Vasudev, please forgive my pronunciation, Patel.
So Mr. Patel is an Indian immigrant who works at this gas station.
In mesquite texas patella just came to texas in 1983 and was a naturalized u.s citizen.
(11:05):
So mark had went to the gas station in an attempt to rob the place this was
an attempted armed robbery and of course upon seeing that patel was you know
who we thought to be a rep responsible for 9-11.
He went ahead and, you know, aimed at Patel with a .44 caliber handgun,
(11:31):
was demanding money from him.
Patel tried to reach for a gun, but Mark shot him before he could get to it.
This was all caught on security camera. Thank the Lord.
And it is seen in the camera that Mark stepped over Patel and attempted to try
(11:53):
to open the register but couldn't get it open so he just decided to run away without anything.
Okay so,
October the 5th, because Patel, I should say, is Mark's last victim.
He only murdered two people.
(12:13):
He was captured on October the 5th. Now, I've said it before.
Mark was looking at a group of people to be one type of person.
Everybody's all the same. And that is what got him into this predicament, of course.
So that is why when he was caught he tried to explain oh i'm trying to avenge 9-11 you know,
(12:41):
this is all for 9-11 like so this is not gonna
make it any better for you we're not gonna be like oh okay cool you were
trying to okay all right it's cool you can go you were trying to do the right
thing sir please please shut
up and then he says that his sister died in
the 9-11 attacks but come to
find out he doesn't even have a sister so you
(13:01):
know he's just making up shit at this point just making
up stuff but at the end
of the day he said he did it for 9-11 he brought it to avenge the death of everybody
that died in 9-11 because of these muslim terrorists okay so So he was just
going for anybody that looked like they were of the Muslim descent. Because guess what?
(13:27):
Altogether, one people. They're all the same in his mind. Okay.
So on November the 15th of 2001, Mark was charged with capital murder.
And then in the following year of April the 5th, on April the 5th,
(13:50):
a jury found him guilty and he was sentenced to death.
Now, before we continue with Mark, let's go back to Raze, okay?
Raze, like I said, you guys, was his victim back on September the 21st.
(14:12):
He was a second victim, but not one that died, okay?
Raze is, that's why I want to get into Raze's story, because this is an amazing, amazing man.
Okay we really need to hear about Raze and
don't forget what happened with Raze Raze got
(14:33):
shot in the face in the gas
station okay don't forget so let's talk about Raze so Raze when he was around
20 in his early 20s I apologize he had won the lottery that was back in his
country the prize was to come to the U.S.
(14:55):
And become a citizen so he came to New York in 1999 and of course as a young
man as a person that's in a country that you've always wanted to be you were you were.
Overjoyed and you're so grateful to be here you're like oh my god this is America
(15:17):
the land of the free and the whole, don't get me repeating that shit,
but this is America, you know, the place of where dreams are made here,
and then he's in New York, the concrete jungle where dreams are made of, so he is, he's here,
you know, he is here, this is where, this is where it's at, and he is here. Okay.
(15:43):
So he expressed that he just loves the country. He loves the people. He loves the culture.
He is just so happy, so happy and so grateful to be in America.
Okay. When he came here, like I said, initially, he had been an officer in the Bangladeshi Air Force.
(16:07):
Okay. And he was planning to study and build a career in the technology field in the U.S.
OK, but of course, this would take some time and he would need to save some money. OK.
(16:33):
So he had a friend, which is where we found where Mark found them at this gas
station where he was working at.
His friend owns this gas station and told him, you know, you're here,
you're new, you're fresh.
You're trying to figure it out. Come work at my gas station.
I don't know the conversation.
I'm assuming this is our friend. it okay so he was only here for about four
(16:57):
months when everything changed because don't forget,
what happened in 9-11 well yeah exactly okay so 9-11 was in New York.
Rays was in New York all right I'm just I'm trying to make sure y'all put it
(17:17):
together I don't know I don't know.
OK, so this is what happened. He came here. 9-11 happened.
Oh, my God. This is four months later, four months after race has been here. This happens. OK.
So, of course, like I said, back on the 21st of September 2001,
(17:40):
10 days, just 10 days after the 9-11 attacks,
was when Ray's was at the store doing some extra hours, trying to get a little
extra money so he can get things going.
Just a working man trying to do what he got to do to get it done.
(18:02):
Okay. So he was at the store in the afternoon. Business was kind of slow.
So it is said here that he was just chilling out, reading a newspaper, just chilling out.
Nothing's going on. It's a slow day. Let me just sit back, relax,
(18:22):
sit back and chill out. OK, so he was just chilling out.
Then walks in Mr. Mark and he points the double barrel shotgun dead in his face.
And like I said before, Ray thought it was a robbery.
So he starts to open the register, gather the money, get it together.
(18:48):
Here you go, sir. Please take it. Don't shoot. Take whatever you want. Ain't that how it goes?
That's how it goes, right? That's how it goes.
So he hands the money over to him, handed to him, handed. Here you go.
Without even taking the money, Mark looks Ray's in the face,
(19:09):
face thinking he's looking at him crazy like and what
was the question that we said the last question that Ray's heard before he got
shot in the face where are you from and my thing is every question isn't even
an answer right when you ask a question you want an answer right so before this
(19:30):
man could even say, boom,
he shot him in the face.
Ray said that he felt like he was being stung by a million bees in his face.
He said, I couldn't believe what was happening.
And of course, he could not manage to dial 911. He just kind of went on and
(19:53):
went over to the business next door.
And of course, when he went over there, they saw him leaving and looking like,
like he said this himself, looking like something out of a horror movie.
So from that day, you know, like I said, Reyes did lose his vision. It was a left eye.
(20:16):
His life had turned upside down after this day. And I could just,
you know, I could just imagine, I could just imagine.
It is said that he lost his job, his home, and of course, his sense of safety,
which is understandable.
He was afraid to go outside because, of course, being how he looked and why he was attacked,
(20:41):
he figured there may be other people like this out there at this time after
9-11 that would be trying to do the same thing that Mark did,
and but instead was you know making sure the deal was done so we was in fear for his life.
So he went on a pilgrimage to Mecca with his mother and after you know doing
(21:10):
all this he just it just changed his life.
And he kept asking, it says he kept talking to God, asking God, why me?
Why of all three victims that this man had, why was I the surviving one?
Why did you choose me to survive?
And it says that he came to the conclusion that it was to prevent senseless violence.
(21:38):
So, of all the people in this world to think about when it comes to senseless violence,
Ray's wheeled back and thought about the person that tried to commit violence on him.
He thought back to Mark, who was, of course, on death row, right?
(22:04):
So Ray said that instead of looking at Mark like a murderer,
a scum of the earth, a demon in disguise, he just decided to see him as another human being.
He just so happened to be a killer, but he was a living, breathing human being just like him.
(22:26):
Because at the end of the day, we can think we are this and that and the third.
We can assume to be this and that and the third on earth.
People may look at you like you are so awesome. You're so amazing.
You know, all these celebrities and such, which at the end of the day,
you can bleed just like I can bleed.
(22:49):
You can die the same way I could die.
We are all human. We may look different on the outside, but on the inside,
we all have the same setup.
OK, we are all supposedly set up to die one day.
Listen, let's get it together now. We are all the same.
(23:13):
OK, so this is what Ray saw.
Ray saw Mark as another human being, not a murderer.
Well, he knew he was a murderer, but he looked more towards the fact that he was a human being.
And then he decided to fight for his right to live.
(23:38):
He tried his hardest best to save Mark's life.
He even tried to sue the governor, Rick Perry, to stop his execution.
So through all of this, Ray's doing all this hard work trying to save Mark's life.
(23:58):
Of course, it's going to come back to him.
So Mark heard that Ray's was out here fighting for his life.
And he wrote him a letter of apology for all the pain that he has caused him.
He said that he regretted everything
(24:21):
and all of this stemmed from
the abuse that he suffered from his stepfather so of course with all of what
Ray's tried to do to save Mark's life he was still executed on July the 20th of 2011.
(24:45):
Before he died though he called Ray's and Ray said to him I told him Mark I
never hated you and I forgave you and Mark said said,
I never expected this from you. I love you, bro.
(25:07):
And Ray said, as soon as he told me that, I was just brought to tears like a flood in my eyes.
Martin died at 9 p.m. And his final words sword.
One second of hate will cause a lifetime of pain.
(25:30):
You guys, this was a touching one. I'm loving the turnaround.
I'm extremely loving the turnaround on this one. It really touched my heart.
Mark left behind four children.
One of them is a 32-year-old Whopper.
(25:55):
Son, Robert Stroman, and his son was also in prison at the time for serving
eight years for robbery, you know, like father, like son.
He said that his father told him, son, you have got to stay out of these places.
(26:16):
You have got to change.
So regardless of what his father said to Robert,
he still decided to go on the path of destruction and terrible,
you know, just continue to be a bad person.
And before he could go into jail for the second time, he got into a terrible car accident.
(26:46):
So he said that he remembers sitting in the hospital in severe pain.
And who shows up? Who do y'all think shows up?
Raze. So you see, Raze did not just try to fight for his father.
He kept on.
(27:08):
Looking into this family. And here he is in the hospital with his son.
And his son said he was the last person on earth he expected to see.
Was wondering why would this man take time out of his day to come up here and
see me, somebody he owes nothing to, and show an act of compassion like he did.
(27:35):
It blew my mind, really.
Raze is such an amazing, amazing person. We should all strive to be like Raze.
Really, we should. And I would continue to talk about Robert,
but let's go back to Mark, okay?
(27:57):
So like I said, in July the 20th of 2011, Mark was put to death by lethal injection
in the Huntsville Unit State Prison in Huntsville, Texas.
His body was cremated and they spread it over the Grand Canyon.
Okay so that wraps
(28:19):
up mark so in 2016 a
documentary film called an eye for an eye
was released and it
shows the revenge killer to
being forgiven i'm sorry it shows it talks about mark's path from being a revenge
(28:39):
killer to being forgiven by his victims so if you guys get a chance to watch
that documentary or that film.
Yes, that documentary film called An Eye for an Eye.
Please take the time and see it. I personally have not seen it.
(28:59):
I promise you I'm going to see it within this week.
Okay. And then I can come back if you guys want me to come back and tell you guys about it. I can't.
Once again, I really appreciate you guys so much for listening.
I thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to listen to some in-time crime.
(29:22):
You know, I really appreciate it.
And I have decided this was the announcement I wanted to make on Thursday that
I want to do a reading because some people are just like your voice.
I don't personally like my own voice. voice, but they're like,
(29:43):
oh my God, Robin, your voice.
So if you guys feel like my voice is just, oh my God, it's so amazing.
I will gladly like to read any of your own crime cases, like anything that personally
has happened and you would like other people to hear about it.
And you're like, oh my God, please read my crime cases.
(30:05):
Please submit your crime cases to me.
To the email robin at intimecrime.org.
Please, please, please, like I said, the email address will be in the description for this audio.
All platforms, all platforms, all social media platforms are available through
(30:28):
the link tree in the description for this audio.
Please submit your stories. I would so love to read them for you.
I will not read them, however, on the podcast.
I will read them on my Patreon. So if you go over to my Patreon,
you can join for free or you can choose to take a tear if you're just feeling
(30:53):
grateful, you know, that'd be great.
But either way, you can join for free and submit your stories and I will read them there.
So you can go there if you have submitted a story, a case, something you just
want me to read in this voice for you.
(31:14):
And I will read it for you on my Patreon.
Okay. So thank you once again for coming back and taking your time.
I love you guys so much. I really appreciate you guys. Everyone that choose
to listen to this audio and listen to my podcast, I really appreciate you guys. I am truly grateful.
(31:38):
Thank you so much once again for listening to In Time Crime on this wonderful,
supposed to be Sunday, but Monday afternoon.
And you guys have a wonderful day. I'll see you next time.
Music.
He would be convicted of killing two people based on the fact that he thought
they were ARAB and were responsible for the 9-11 attacks.
He will be set for execution in the state of Texas.
One of his victims will be fighting for his right to live.
Join us on this episode of In Time Crime as we go back in time to July the 21st
(00:27):
of 2011 for the case of Mark Anthony Stroman.
Music.
(01:01):
Yoko. Thank you once again for joining us on this wonderful,
supposedly Sunday, but it's a Monday. It is a Monday afternoon.
Thank you so much for joining me. Like I said, I really appreciate you guys for listening.
I can see you from all over the world. I see you out there.
Every time I see a new country pop up in my analysis, I am so happy that I am
(01:25):
reaching you guys out there.
And please spread the word, tell a friend to tell a friend to tell another friend about this podcast.
And whenever you do find the time, once you're listening, please rate five stars
and leave a written review.
If you so can, I would really, really appreciate it. It would be so extremely greatly appreciated.
(01:48):
So whenever you have the time, please just hit that five stars,
you guys, and write a little review.
It doesn't have to be long, you know, just write something, that just writes
up. And also, don't forget to subscribe.
Subscribe on all platforms, whichever platform you listen on.
Just go ahead and subscribe. I would greatly appreciate that.
(02:09):
That would help me out a lot as well.
Thank you guys so much. Okay, so like I said on the intro, today's episode is
basically about Mark Anthony Stroman, who was the convict, but we want to focus on one of his victims
that decided to actually fight for his right to live.
(02:30):
He went above and beyond to try to save the life of somebody that tried to kill him.
So it's a very interesting case. It's very interesting.
So that's why I'm so happy I chose to do this case today, because I've never heard of it.
And when I read it, I was like, oh, my God.
Oh, my God. This is this is crazy.
(02:52):
And it also Also made the victim, you know, made the made the suspect was not suspect.
He's he's actual convict. It made him come to the conclusion that,
oh, my God, like, I really am.
A dirtbag. Like I was looking at a whole group of people to be one type of person.
(03:13):
And therefore, he, in the beginning, had no remorse for his activities.
But in the end, before he was executed, he did turn his life around.
So let's get into that. Okay.
Let's get into that. So So Mark was born on October the 13th of 1969 in the
(03:36):
state of Texas, in the city of Dallas.
Of course, most kids, as always, when they turn out like this, what's the main thing?
Go back and look at most criminals and those crime cases and you will see,
based on their childhood, most likely they were abused as children.
(03:57):
All the time, it never fails.
It never fails.
Most of them had rough childhood.
They had a really rough childhood. And that is definitely, definitely also the
case here for Mr. Anthony, okay? For Mr. Mark.
So, of course, like I said, he was abused as a child by his stepfather.
(04:22):
So it wasn't his actual parent. It was his stepfather who led him to be this
person because he was abusing him.
OK, so he got married very, very young at the age of 15 and he had children not too long after that.
(04:43):
50 at 15. Let's think about it. What are we doing at 15?
Definitely not thinking about being married. So Mark had a lot on his plate. OK.
And to also have children at this very young age, it's a lot.
Now mark also
joined the alien aryan brotherhood in of texas which is a white supremacist
(05:11):
group and if you do recall if you do recall um back on episode eight where we
talked about james James Boyd's murder,
and how King had a tattoo that said, Arion Pride.
So this is the same group that King was a part of, the one that was responsible
(05:33):
for the dragging of James Boyd.
Mark was also a part of this group. So you see it's all coming together here in Texas, okay?
Now, he was also not new
to the prison system them because he was he has
been to jail several times before for
possession of a gun
(05:55):
for burglary credit card fraud robbery and theft so this man is not new to the
system he's been in prison been in jail before he's he's this is the walk in
the park for him he already knows what jail is all about.
So Mark, okay.
(06:18):
Like I'm trying to say, Mark is just, this is a troubled, troubled young man.
He had been to prison twice. He's been paroled twice.
He is covered in tattoos from Nazi to KKK.
He is just a troubled youth. He was even sent to jail for robbery at the age of 12.
(06:45):
Let's go back and think of what we were doing at 12 years old.
And that is so young to be in this amount of trouble.
Like Mark is, sometimes you just got to really say, it really came from the beginning.
And like I said, his stepfather was abusing him.
It starts somewhere, you guys. Every time there's an issue, there's a root of the problem.
(07:09):
It always starts from somewhere. It doesn't just pop up out of nowhere. work.
So for this young man to be 15, married, I'm assuming 16, 17 with kids,
he's been in and out of the prison system.
I'm not saying let's feel sorry for this guy, because that's not what we're
going to do, because we're not ever feeling sorry for criminals,
(07:30):
but damn, okay, just damn.
So we begin with the killing spree that Mark decided to go on with our first victim, Mr.
Hassan, who was a 46-year-old Muslim Pakistani immigrant.
He also owned this grocery store called Mom's Groceries.
(07:52):
Basically, Stan went up in there, I mean, Mark went up into that grocery store,
and simply decided to just kill him.
He saw him, thought he was a rab.
And murdered him. Fatally shot him on sight.
Hassan was grilling burgers, and that was it for him.
That was Mark's first victim. And of course, like I said, he just thought these
(08:17):
people were Arabs based on the 9-11 attacks, okay?
This happened on September 15th of 2001.
Okay, so our next victim happened just a few days later on September the 30th,
uh, September the 21st, when Mark decided to go to a gas station in Dallas.
(08:37):
And there he saw 28-year-old Raze.
Okay, Raze is a former Bangladeshi Air Force pilot and was just working there as a cashier at the time.
And Mark walked in there, saw him at the register, and Raze thought it was a
(08:58):
robbery because he pointed the gun at him.
So Rays decided, you know, started giving, you know, gathering up money to give
to him, you know, thinking this is what he wants. He just wants money.
Just take whatever you want. You know, just don't shoot. Take whatever you want.
Of course, that's always the case.
Money may make them go away. More so likely, that's always the case.
So that was what Rays was doing. He was gathering up the money to give to Mark and Mark asked him,
(09:24):
him where are you from and before
Raze could say anything I anything
Mark shot him in the face okay so
Raze passed the ground and is
I guess Mark figured
(09:45):
he is dead because I shot him dead in
the face so he left the store
and you know
like I said he probably figured he was dead at that point so
but fortunately Raze did survive this is why we're going to reel on back to
Raze because Raze did survive this encounter he did however end up being partially
(10:13):
blind in his right eye from the shooting,
but luckily he's still alive.
Now, another few days later, on October the 4th,
Mark once again went into another gas station where he encountered this time 49-year-old,
(10:35):
I want to say Vasudev, please forgive my pronunciation, Patel.
So Mr. Patel is an Indian immigrant who works at this gas station.
In mesquite texas patella just came to texas in 1983 and was a naturalized u.s citizen.
(11:05):
So mark had went to the gas station in an attempt to rob the place this was
an attempted armed robbery and of course upon seeing that patel was you know
who we thought to be a rep responsible for 9-11.
He went ahead and, you know, aimed at Patel with a .44 caliber handgun,
(11:31):
was demanding money from him.
Patel tried to reach for a gun, but Mark shot him before he could get to it.
This was all caught on security camera. Thank the Lord.
And it is seen in the camera that Mark stepped over Patel and attempted to try
(11:53):
to open the register but couldn't get it open so he just decided to run away without anything.
Okay so,
October the 5th, because Patel, I should say, is Mark's last victim.
He only murdered two people.
(12:13):
He was captured on October the 5th. Now, I've said it before.
Mark was looking at a group of people to be one type of person.
Everybody's all the same. And that is what got him into this predicament, of course.
So that is why when he was caught he tried to explain oh i'm trying to avenge 9-11 you know,
(12:41):
this is all for 9-11 like so this is not gonna
make it any better for you we're not gonna be like oh okay cool you were
trying to okay all right it's cool you can go you were trying to do the right
thing sir please please shut
up and then he says that his sister died in
the 9-11 attacks but come to
find out he doesn't even have a sister so you
(13:01):
know he's just making up shit at this point just making
up stuff but at the end
of the day he said he did it for 9-11 he brought it to avenge the death of everybody
that died in 9-11 because of these muslim terrorists okay so So he was just
going for anybody that looked like they were of the Muslim descent. Because guess what?
(13:27):
Altogether, one people. They're all the same in his mind. Okay.
So on November the 15th of 2001, Mark was charged with capital murder.
And then in the following year of April the 5th, on April the 5th,
(13:50):
a jury found him guilty and he was sentenced to death.
Now, before we continue with Mark, let's go back to Raze, okay?
Raze, like I said, you guys, was his victim back on September the 21st.
(14:12):
He was a second victim, but not one that died, okay?
Raze is, that's why I want to get into Raze's story, because this is an amazing, amazing man.
Okay we really need to hear about Raze and
don't forget what happened with Raze Raze got
(14:33):
shot in the face in the gas
station okay don't forget so let's talk about Raze so Raze when he was around
20 in his early 20s I apologize he had won the lottery that was back in his
country the prize was to come to the U.S.
(14:55):
And become a citizen so he came to New York in 1999 and of course as a young
man as a person that's in a country that you've always wanted to be you were you were.
Overjoyed and you're so grateful to be here you're like oh my god this is America
(15:17):
the land of the free and the whole, don't get me repeating that shit,
but this is America, you know, the place of where dreams are made here,
and then he's in New York, the concrete jungle where dreams are made of, so he is, he's here,
you know, he is here, this is where, this is where it's at, and he is here. Okay.
(15:43):
So he expressed that he just loves the country. He loves the people. He loves the culture.
He is just so happy, so happy and so grateful to be in America.
Okay. When he came here, like I said, initially, he had been an officer in the Bangladeshi Air Force.
(16:07):
Okay. And he was planning to study and build a career in the technology field in the U.S.
OK, but of course, this would take some time and he would need to save some money. OK.
(16:33):
So he had a friend, which is where we found where Mark found them at this gas
station where he was working at.
His friend owns this gas station and told him, you know, you're here,
you're new, you're fresh.
You're trying to figure it out. Come work at my gas station.
I don't know the conversation.
I'm assuming this is our friend. it okay so he was only here for about four
(16:57):
months when everything changed because don't forget,
what happened in 9-11 well yeah exactly okay so 9-11 was in New York.
Rays was in New York all right I'm just I'm trying to make sure y'all put it
(17:17):
together I don't know I don't know.
OK, so this is what happened. He came here. 9-11 happened.
Oh, my God. This is four months later, four months after race has been here. This happens. OK.
So, of course, like I said, back on the 21st of September 2001,
(17:40):
10 days, just 10 days after the 9-11 attacks,
was when Ray's was at the store doing some extra hours, trying to get a little
extra money so he can get things going.
Just a working man trying to do what he got to do to get it done.
(18:02):
Okay. So he was at the store in the afternoon. Business was kind of slow.
So it is said here that he was just chilling out, reading a newspaper, just chilling out.
Nothing's going on. It's a slow day. Let me just sit back, relax,
(18:22):
sit back and chill out. OK, so he was just chilling out.
Then walks in Mr. Mark and he points the double barrel shotgun dead in his face.
And like I said before, Ray thought it was a robbery.
So he starts to open the register, gather the money, get it together.
(18:48):
Here you go, sir. Please take it. Don't shoot. Take whatever you want. Ain't that how it goes?
That's how it goes, right? That's how it goes.
So he hands the money over to him, handed to him, handed. Here you go.
Without even taking the money, Mark looks Ray's in the face,
(19:09):
face thinking he's looking at him crazy like and what
was the question that we said the last question that Ray's heard before he got
shot in the face where are you from and my thing is every question isn't even
an answer right when you ask a question you want an answer right so before this
(19:30):
man could even say, boom,
he shot him in the face.
Ray said that he felt like he was being stung by a million bees in his face.
He said, I couldn't believe what was happening.
And of course, he could not manage to dial 911. He just kind of went on and
(19:53):
went over to the business next door.
And of course, when he went over there, they saw him leaving and looking like,
like he said this himself, looking like something out of a horror movie.
So from that day, you know, like I said, Reyes did lose his vision. It was a left eye.
(20:16):
His life had turned upside down after this day. And I could just,
you know, I could just imagine, I could just imagine.
It is said that he lost his job, his home, and of course, his sense of safety,
which is understandable.
He was afraid to go outside because, of course, being how he looked and why he was attacked,
(20:41):
he figured there may be other people like this out there at this time after
9-11 that would be trying to do the same thing that Mark did,
and but instead was you know making sure the deal was done so we was in fear for his life.
So he went on a pilgrimage to Mecca with his mother and after you know doing
(21:10):
all this he just it just changed his life.
And he kept asking, it says he kept talking to God, asking God, why me?
Why of all three victims that this man had, why was I the surviving one?
Why did you choose me to survive?
And it says that he came to the conclusion that it was to prevent senseless violence.
(21:38):
So, of all the people in this world to think about when it comes to senseless violence,
Ray's wheeled back and thought about the person that tried to commit violence on him.
He thought back to Mark, who was, of course, on death row, right?
(22:04):
So Ray said that instead of looking at Mark like a murderer,
a scum of the earth, a demon in disguise, he just decided to see him as another human being.
He just so happened to be a killer, but he was a living, breathing human being just like him.
(22:26):
Because at the end of the day, we can think we are this and that and the third.
We can assume to be this and that and the third on earth.
People may look at you like you are so awesome. You're so amazing.
You know, all these celebrities and such, which at the end of the day,
you can bleed just like I can bleed.
(22:49):
You can die the same way I could die.
We are all human. We may look different on the outside, but on the inside,
we all have the same setup.
OK, we are all supposedly set up to die one day.
Listen, let's get it together now. We are all the same.
(23:13):
OK, so this is what Ray saw.
Ray saw Mark as another human being, not a murderer.
Well, he knew he was a murderer, but he looked more towards the fact that he was a human being.
And then he decided to fight for his right to live.
(23:38):
He tried his hardest best to save Mark's life.
He even tried to sue the governor, Rick Perry, to stop his execution.
So through all of this, Ray's doing all this hard work trying to save Mark's life.
(23:58):
Of course, it's going to come back to him.
So Mark heard that Ray's was out here fighting for his life.
And he wrote him a letter of apology for all the pain that he has caused him.
He said that he regretted everything
(24:21):
and all of this stemmed from
the abuse that he suffered from his stepfather so of course with all of what
Ray's tried to do to save Mark's life he was still executed on July the 20th of 2011.
(24:45):
Before he died though he called Ray's and Ray said to him I told him Mark I
never hated you and I forgave you and Mark said said,
I never expected this from you. I love you, bro.
(25:07):
And Ray said, as soon as he told me that, I was just brought to tears like a flood in my eyes.
Martin died at 9 p.m. And his final words sword.
One second of hate will cause a lifetime of pain.
(25:30):
You guys, this was a touching one. I'm loving the turnaround.
I'm extremely loving the turnaround on this one. It really touched my heart.
Mark left behind four children.
One of them is a 32-year-old Whopper.
(25:55):
Son, Robert Stroman, and his son was also in prison at the time for serving
eight years for robbery, you know, like father, like son.
He said that his father told him, son, you have got to stay out of these places.
(26:16):
You have got to change.
So regardless of what his father said to Robert,
he still decided to go on the path of destruction and terrible,
you know, just continue to be a bad person.
And before he could go into jail for the second time, he got into a terrible car accident.
(26:46):
So he said that he remembers sitting in the hospital in severe pain.
And who shows up? Who do y'all think shows up?
Raze. So you see, Raze did not just try to fight for his father.
He kept on.
(27:08):
Looking into this family. And here he is in the hospital with his son.
And his son said he was the last person on earth he expected to see.
Was wondering why would this man take time out of his day to come up here and
see me, somebody he owes nothing to, and show an act of compassion like he did.
(27:35):
It blew my mind, really.
Raze is such an amazing, amazing person. We should all strive to be like Raze.
Really, we should. And I would continue to talk about Robert,
but let's go back to Mark, okay?
(27:57):
So like I said, in July the 20th of 2011, Mark was put to death by lethal injection
in the Huntsville Unit State Prison in Huntsville, Texas.
His body was cremated and they spread it over the Grand Canyon.
Okay so that wraps
(28:19):
up mark so in 2016 a
documentary film called an eye for an eye
was released and it
shows the revenge killer to
being forgiven i'm sorry it shows it talks about mark's path from being a revenge
(28:39):
killer to being forgiven by his victims so if you guys get a chance to watch
that documentary or that film.
Yes, that documentary film called An Eye for an Eye.
Please take the time and see it. I personally have not seen it.
(28:59):
I promise you I'm going to see it within this week.
Okay. And then I can come back if you guys want me to come back and tell you guys about it. I can't.
Once again, I really appreciate you guys so much for listening.
I thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to listen to some in-time crime.
(29:22):
You know, I really appreciate it.
And I have decided this was the announcement I wanted to make on Thursday that
I want to do a reading because some people are just like your voice.
I don't personally like my own voice. voice, but they're like,
(29:43):
oh my God, Robin, your voice.
So if you guys feel like my voice is just, oh my God, it's so amazing.
I will gladly like to read any of your own crime cases, like anything that personally
has happened and you would like other people to hear about it.
And you're like, oh my God, please read my crime cases.
(30:05):
Please submit your crime cases to me.
To the email robin at intimecrime.org.
Please, please, please, like I said, the email address will be in the description for this audio.
All platforms, all platforms, all social media platforms are available through
(30:28):
the link tree in the description for this audio.
Please submit your stories. I would so love to read them for you.
I will not read them, however, on the podcast.
I will read them on my Patreon. So if you go over to my Patreon,
you can join for free or you can choose to take a tear if you're just feeling
(30:53):
grateful, you know, that'd be great.
But either way, you can join for free and submit your stories and I will read them there.
So you can go there if you have submitted a story, a case, something you just
want me to read in this voice for you.
(31:14):
And I will read it for you on my Patreon.
Okay. So thank you once again for coming back and taking your time.
I love you guys so much. I really appreciate you guys. Everyone that choose
to listen to this audio and listen to my podcast, I really appreciate you guys. I am truly grateful.
(31:38):
Thank you so much once again for listening to In Time Crime on this wonderful,
supposed to be Sunday, but Monday afternoon.
And you guys have a wonderful day. I'll see you next time.
Music.
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