2005 last meals...
(compiled from various news accounts)
december, 2005
MISSISSIPPI LAST MEAL
JOHN B. NIXON SR.
December 14, 2005
...Nixon pulled out a .22 caliber pistol and said, “I brought y’all something.”...
Last Meal: Nixon ate two eggs, two sausage patties and two slices of white bread for breakfast. He did not eat his cereal at breakfast and turned down his lunch because he wanted to save room for dinner. Nixon requested a well-done T-bone steak, buttered asparagus spears, a baked potato with sour cream, peach pie, vanilla ice cream and sweet tea.
The skinny: Nixon was executed for the killing of a woman for $1,000 and shooting her husband in 1985. The dead woman's ex-husband, hired Nixon to kill the man.
Thomas Tucker survived the shooting and witnessed Nixon’s execution.
More skinny: Nixon entered the home with two accomplices, his son John Nixon Jr, and Gilbert Jimenez. Nixon pulled out a .22 caliber pistol and said, “I brought y’all something.”
Thomas Tucker, who had married his wife six months earlier, immediately guessed that the men had been hired by his wife’s former husband. Thomas offered Nixon money to spare their lives, but Nixon replied, “that’s not what I’m after. The deal’s already been made.” Nixon and one of his associates then shot at Thomas Tucker, who managed to escape despite being hit twice. Nixon then took the gun back from Jimenez, held the gun one inch behind the woman’s ear and fired a shot into her head while Jiminez held her down. Nixon and his associates fled. Thomas survived the ordeal and identified Nixon. The man who hired the killers for $1000, Elster Joseph Ponthieux, was also convicted of capital murder and received a life sentence. Nixon's sons Henry Leon Nixon and John B. Nixon Jr. were convicted on lesser charges for their involvement in the murder plot. Jiminez testified against the others and received a 20 year sentence. It took the jury only half an hour to find Nixon guilty, and only one and a half hours to determine the sentence should be death.
At age 77, Nixon is the oldest person executed in the United States since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.
Leading up to: Earlier this morning Nixon said he was sorry for himself and the Tucker family.
The quote Nixon gave his attorneys to pass on to media in the morning — “That I was where I would be/then should I be where I am not/ here I am where I must be/where I would be I cannot” — was taken from a Mother Goose poem titled “Katy Cruel.”
His mood changed from cheerful and chatty to somber and withdrawn as the time of his execution grew near, state corrections officials said at 4 p.m. ‘He’s not playing anymore,” Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps said. “Time is caving in on Mr. Nixon, and it appears to me that he is realizing that." But as Nixon puffed on a last cigarette before the execution, he joked that smoking kills.
Last words and such: Just before the fatal chemicals were injected, Nixon - wearing red pants, a white T-shirt and white sneakers - said in a lengthy but coherent statement: "Friends, I pray for everybody." Nixon's execution on a rainy night at the sprawling state penitentiary in the rural Mississippi Delta came after a final steak-and-potato meal and visits with family.
"I'm sorry for what I've done. I'm sorry to the world. I'm sorry for myself and I'm sorry to the family. I did not kill Virginia Tucker. I know within my heart, and it hurts to acknowledge, that it was a son of mine and a Spanish friend and another man from Jackson."
Factoids: Mississippi executed its first inmate in three years.
Nixon was the....
60th murderer executed in U.S. in 2005
1004th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
1st murderer executed in Mississippi in 2005
7th murderer executed in Mississippi since 1976
MISSISSIPPI PROCEDURES
In 1998, the Mississippi Legislature amended Section 99-19-51, Mississippi Code of 1972, as follows: 99-19-51. ***The manner of inflicting the punishment of death shall be by continuous intravenous administration of a lethal quantity of an ultra short-acting barbiturate or other similar drug in combination with a chemical paralytic agent until death is pronounced by the county coroner where the execution takes place or by a licensed physician according to accepted standards of medical practice.
Contents of Syringes for Lethal Injection
Anesthetic - Sodium Pentothal 2.0 Gm.
Normal Saline 10-15 cc.
Pavulon 50 mgm per 50 cc.
Potassium chloride 50 milequiv. per 50 cc.
48 Hours Prior to Execution The condemned inmate shall be transferred to a holding cell adjacent to the execution room.
24 Hours Prior to Execution Institution is placed in emergency/lockdown status.
1030 Hours Day of Execution Designated media center at institution opens.
1500 Hours Day of Execution Inmate’s attorney of record and chaplain allowed to visit.
1600 Hours Day of Execution Inmate is served last meal and allowed to shower.
1630 Hours Day of Execution MDOC clergy allowed to visit upon request of inmate.
1730 Hours Day of Execution Witnesses are transported to Unit 17.
1800 Hours Day of Execution Inmate is escorted from holding cell to execution room.
Witnesses are escorted into observation room.
1900 Hours Day of Execution A post execution briefing is conducted with media witnesses.
2230 Hours Day of Execution Designated media center at institution is closed.
CALIFORNIA LAST MEAL
STANLEY "TOOKIE" WILLIAMS
December 13, 2005
...turning a monster into a martyr...
Last Meal: Williams had nothing but oatmeal and milk all day, refusing the privilege of a special last meal.
The skinny: Williams was executed by lethal injection for four 1979 Los Angeles-area murders that he denied committing.
More skinny: On Wednesday, February 28, 1979, around 4 a.m., defendant Stanley Williams and a companion were in one car traveling with the co-defendant and another companion. They were running low on gas and decided to rob a store. They stopped at a 7-Eleven market at 10437 Whittier Boulevard in Whittier and all four entered the market. The attendant was sweeping the parking lot and was herded into the store by the defendant and one of the companions. While one of the companions emptied the cash register drawer and took $120, Williams took the victim into the back room, told him to get on his knees and then shot him twice in the back with a shotgun.
On Sunday, March 11, 1979, at about 5:30 a.m., Williams, accompanied by another man, broke down the door and entered a hotel in Los Angeles and shot to death a 76-year old man, his 63-year old wife and their 43-year old daughter. He took about $50 in cash and left.
Williams and Raymond Washington co-founded the Crips, a street gang, in 1971.
The trial and the jail-time...the early years: Williams, convicted and sentenced to death in 1981, maintained that he was railroaded by witnesses who lied in exchange for leniency in their own criminal cases, by a faulty ballistics test, and by a prosecutor who removed three African Americans from the jury and told jurors that seeing Williams in court was like observing a Bengal tiger in a zoo.
After the jury read their guilty verdict Williams, according to transcripts, looked to jurors and mouthed: "I'm going to get each and every one of you motherf------."
He remained a violent man during his early years in prison, assaulting inmates and guards and spending six years in solitary confinement, from 1988 to 1994. But as he later described it, during that period he began reading widely and reflecting on his life, and resolved to prevent gang violence.
New Tookie: Williams taped a message from prison in April 1993 that was broadcast to Los Angeles gang members at a "peace summit.'' With the help of Barbara Becnel, a writer he met in prison who became his champion, he started work on eight books for children that were published in 1996 as a series called, "Tookie Speaks Out Against Gang Violence.'' He followed with "Life in Prison'' in 1998 and a memoir, "Blue Rage, Black Redemption,'' in 2004 and was working on two more books before his execution. He spoke regularly from prison to youths and educators, and posted a model "peace protocol'' for gangs, which supporters say was widely used, on his Web site in 2000. "Redemption,'' a television movie starting Jamie Foxx in a sympathetic portrayal of Williams, aired in 2004.
Legal Machinations: State and federal courts rejected each of his appeals, although federal judges described the evidence as less than airtight, and a three-judge federal panel said he might be a worthy candidate for clemency.
Last Minute Machinations: Despite persistent pleas for mercy from around the globe, the governor earlier in the day had said Williams was unworthy of clemency because he had not admitted his brutal shotgun murders of four people during two robberies 26 years ago. After the U.S. Supreme Court denied a request for a last-minute stay Monday evening, the co-founder of the infamous Crips street gang — who insisted he was innocent of the murders — became the 12th man executed by the state of California since voters reinstated capital punishment in 1978.
In a strongly worded rejection of Williams’ request for clemency, Schwarzenegger said he saw no need to rehash or second-guess the many court decisions already rendered in the case, and he questioned the death row inmate’s claims of atonement. Williams, the governor said in a statement, never admitted guilt, plotted to kill law enforcement officers after his capture, and made little mention in his writings of the scourge of gang killings, which the statement called "a tragedy of our modern culture."
Leading up to: Behind the prison’s thick walls, Williams passed his dwindling hours quietly, visiting with friends and talking on the telephone while under constant watch by guards. An acquaintance described him sitting at a table, handcuffed, next to untouched turkey sandwiches, bidding goodbye to friends in an ordinary, everyday manner. A prison spokesman said Williams was calm and upbeat, though he ate nothing but oatmeal and milk all day, refusing the privilege of a special last meal. Williams also declined a spiritual advisor.
At 6 p.m., Williams was strip-searched, given a set of clean clothes and placed in a holding cell steps from the death chamber under nonstop observation by a sergeant and two officers. Officials said he spent the evening watching TV and reading some of the roughly 50 letters that arrived Monday from as far as Italy and Israel — including some from schoolchildren. Many of them said they were praying for him. Nearby, the injection team began its final preparations in the prison’s converted gas chamber, ensuring that the required needles, tubes and chemicals were in place.
Williams, who earlier said he didn’t want to invite anyone to observe "the sick and perverted spectacle," had five witnesses. Officials designated a total of 39 witnesses, including 17 media representatives.
He also did not request a sedative before the execution, though one was available.
As journalists waited, "Monday Night Football" played on a small TV. Others flipped through the press package prepared by the San Quentin Press. It opened with three pages of pictures of the young victim, followed by pictures of his dead body, lying in a pool of blood next to empty Pepsi cans. On another page that addressed Williams' Nobel Prize nomination, the booklet explained that over 140 nominations are submitted each year and that former nominees have included Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini.
Last words and such: During the execution, the inmate’s friend Barbara Becnel and other supporters mouthed "God bless you" and "We love you" and blew kisses to Williams. Williams also seemed to mouth statements to Becnel. The entire procedure took longer than usual. The execution team took about 12 minutes to find a vein in Williams’ muscular left arm. While the personnel were probing, Williams repeatedly lifted his head off the gurney, winced visibly, and at one point appeared to say: "Still can’t find it?"
After Williams was pronounced dead, Becnel and two other supporters of Williams turned toward the media in the witness room and yelled in unison, "The state of California just killed an innocent man!"
Factoids: Williams was the...
59th murderer executed in U.S. in 2005
1003rd murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
2nd murderer executed in California in 2005
12th murderer executed in California since 1976
As night descended Monday, about 2,000 demonstrators who gathered on a tree-lined street leading to the gates of San Quentin State Prison endured frosty temperatures to protest the execution while a few motorists shouted from their car windows, "Kill him." Joan Baez sang "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" as speakers urged participants to keep fighting. Small clumps of people in scarves and gloves held candles and sang hymns, while others wandered off alone, gazing into the bay. Some sang "We Shall Overcome," although a girl sitting on top of a trailer said, "I don't believe that. I'm not singin'.
A few death penalty supporters also turned out at San Quentin. Scuffles and shoving matches broke out on occasion, but no serious incidents were reported.
A portrait photographer, attended by a pair of assistants, had set up a street side studio where he was shooting demonstrators who posed in the lotus position against a white backdrop. "This is beautiful, absolutely beautiful," he said. Next to him, a small group of men were clustered around a banner that said "QUEERS AGAINST EXECUTION." A man selling hot chocolate was being pursued by a man with a "SAVE TOOKIE" sign, shouting "You fascist bastard."
Outside the gates of San Quentin as midnight approached, speakers urged calm. There was a moment of tension when a Williams’ friend, Fred Jackson, told the crowd, "It’s all over." Angry shouts broke out. A woman sobbed on someone’s shoulder.
A Native American man on the other side of the street held a large upside-down American flag with a white swastika painted in the blue field of stars. He was shouting at the "white maggots" who had defiled his land, who had oppressed and enslaved his people. He yelled at the blond news anchors below him, "You're all immigrants. This is my land you've been poisoning for the last 500 years." He lighted the flag on fire as a black woman told him he shouldn't do that, that he should have more pride in this nation. He responded that it was time for a "true indigenous people's revolution." Then the white picket fence he was holding onto broke and he fell down the small embankment. Then the people he'd been arguing with lifted him up and asked him if he was OK. "Yeah," he said. "I'm OK.".
Williams’ son, Stanley Williams Jr., who is in High Desert State Prison serving a 16-year sentence for second-degree murder, will be notified in person of his father’s death by a chaplain and mental health specialist, prison officials said. The younger Williams is in isolation for disciplinary problems, and would not normally have access to any news source.
No capital case in the state had stirred such national and international attention since Caryl Chessman -- like Williams, an author of books from Death Row -- was executed in the gas chamber in 1960 for rape and kidnapping.
In a major surprise: The execution of convicted murderer Stanley (Tookie) Williams in California outraged many in Europe.
In Graz, Schwarzenegger's hometown, local Greens said they would file a petition to remove the governor's name from the southern city's Arnold Schwarzenegger Stadium. A Christian political group went even further, suggesting it be renamed the "Stanley Tookie Williams Stadium."
Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni, called it "a sad day" and said the city would keep Williams in its memory the next time it celebrated a victory against the death penalty somewhere in the world. Rome's Colosseum, once the arena for deadly gladiator combat and executions, has become a symbol of Italy's anti-death penalty stance. Since 1999, the monument has been bathed in golden light every time a death sentence is commuted somewhere in the world or a country abolishes capital punishment. "I hope there will be such an occasion soon," Veltroni said in a statement. "When it happens, we will do it with a special thought for Tookie."
MARYLAND LAST MEAL
WESLEY EUGENE BAKER
December 4, 2005
Last Meal: Baker had a final meal of breaded fish, pasta marinara, green beans, orange fruit punch, bread and milk.
The skinny: Baker was executed for the shooting of a woman to death at a Baltimore County mall while two of her grandchildren looked on.
More skinny: The victim was 49 years old, married with three children and six grandchildren. She worked as a teacher's aide at a local elementary school. She went to the Westview Mall near Baltimore with her two grandchildren. As they were entering their car in the parking lot to leave, the woman was approached by Baker, who put a gun to her head and fired once, killing her.
Baker stole her purse which police said contained $10 in cash, then jumped into a blue truck which fled the scene. A witness followed the Blazer out of the lot and recorded the license plate number, then returned to the mall, informing police. Police spotted the vehicle and gave chase. The Blazer stopped abruptly and a passenger, later identified by the witness as Baker, fled on foot. The driver, Gregory Lawrence, was arrested. Baker was arrested a short time later, found to have blood on his shoe, sock, and leg.
Subsequent testing revealed that the blood was Tyson's. Officers also found Tyson's purse and wallet in the path of Baker's flight. The firearm used in the shooting was recovered from the Blazer, and fingerprints from Baker's right hand were found on the driver's side of Tyson's vehicle. Lawrence was also convicted of murder and sentenced to life without parole.
Leading up to: All day long, Baker had visited with friends and family. He had spoken to others by telephone. According to his lawyers, he talked about movies and memories. They said he again expressed remorse for the shooting that left a 49-year-old grandmother dying on a mall parking lot in front of her grandchildren. He joked that he still needed to lose 40 pounds.
Last words and such: At 9:07 p.m., the lights went out. A prison official cleared his throat. A shadow appeared at the window behind the curtains. At 9:08 p.m., they opened. There were no last words. No one asked Baker whether he wished to say something. The Rev. Charles Canterna -- a priest known as "Father Chuck" who ministers to parishioners at St. Vincent DePaul Roman Catholic Church and to inmates at the Supermax prison, including those on death row -- stood beside Baker. He touched the condemned man's forehead and his chest, nodding his head in prayer. He stepped back near the back wall.
Factoids: Baker was the...
58th murderer executed in U.S. in 2005
1002nd murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
1st murderer executed in Maryland in 2005
5th murderer executed in Maryland since 1976
About 50 death penalty opponents protested the execution outside under light snow. Minutes before 9 p.m. they began to sing "Amazing Grace," and at the appointed execution time of 9 p.m., they broke into "This Little Light of Mine all around death row, I'm going to let it shine." (Ed. Note: We asked for a better song and we got it. Though we can't see how you can get all those words in the first line).
At one point, inmates inside the facility started a chant of their own -- "Don't kill him! Don't kill him!" -- that was audible on the street below. The silhouettes of their fists pumping in the air could be seen through a window in the building's upper reaches.
Baker's execution was carried out despite the efforts of death penalty foes, who said the state has yet to fully review a 2003 study of capital punishment in Maryland that concluded race and geography play roles in how death sentences are meted out in the state. The case of Baker, a black man convicted of killing a white victim in Baltimore County, fit many of the purported disparities revealed by the study.
SOUTH CAROLINA LAST MEAL
SHAWN PAUL HUMPHRIES
December 2, 2005
...Humphries would have preferred to have been the 1,000th person executed...
Last Meal: Humphries requested a McDonald's hamburger, french fries, broccoli and cheese, oat cereal, and a Dr. Pepper.
The skinny: Humphries was put to death for the1994 murder of a store clerk.
More skinny: Humphries and accomplice Eddie Blackwell drank beer together for most of the day, then entered a Max-Saver convenience store with the intention of robbing the store. The owner of the store, asked Humphries whether he wanted anything. Humphries flashed a gun he had stolen the night before and replied he wanted money. There was some evidence to suggest the man then reached under the counter to get a gun. When he reached under the counter, Humphries fired a shot in the man's direction and fled from the store. The bullet fired by Humphries struck the owner in the head, killing him. Blackwell slumped to the ground in the store and was arrested. Humphies was apprehended later that day and immediately confessed. The crime was captured on videotape.
Blackwell was also convicted of murder, and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Leading up to: Humphries' lawyer said that he would have preferred to have been the 1,000th person executed nationwide since the death penalty was reinstated, so that his death would be a milestone. "In his view, No. 1,000 is sort of a landmark," the lawyer said.
Humphries requested permission to watch "The Wizard of Oz" and was given a TV and VCR, his lawyer brought him the videotape Friday morning. Officials said he played the tape, though he spent much of the time talking to family and friends on the phone and eating a last meal including a McDonald's hamburger and a Dr. Pepper.
Last words and such: Before the curtains opened at 6:03 p.m., the victim's widow looked toward other family members and whispered "I can't do it," and walked out of the viewing area without witnessing her husband's killer be put to death.
Then Humphries' attorney read a one-and-a-half-page handwritten statement from the death chamber before the execution in which Humphries apologized for the killing and used Bible verses to criticize the death penalty. "I hope that my execution brings the Smith family some peace," he wrote. "But now I want to say something to everyone who supports this or any execution. We are all sinners, so what gives you the right as a sinner to take away a gift that God gave?"
At the end of the statement, Humphries looked toward the victim's sisters and mouthed "I'm sorry." One sister nodded in response. It appeared that a tear rolled down Humphries' cheek after the exchange.
Factoids: Humphries was the...
57th murderer executed in U.S. in 2005
1001st murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
3rd murderer executed in South Carolina in 2005
35th murderer executed in South Carolina since 1976
NORTH CAROLINA LAST MEAL
KENNETH LEE BOYD
December 2, 2005
...1,000...
Last Meal: Boyd requested a medium-well New York strip steak, a baked potato with sour cream, a roll with butter, a salad with ranch dressing and a Pepsi. Officials said he was pleased with his last meal.
The skinny: Boyd was executed for gunning down his estranged wife and father-in-law 17 years ago
More skinny: Boyd and his wife had an extremely stormy marriage for 13 years before she left and moved herself and her children in with her father. Boyd repeatedly stalked her, once handing one of their sons a bullet and a note to give his mother that said the bullet was intended for her.
On March 4, 1988 Boyd drove around with his boys, telling them that he was going to go and kill everyone at his father-in-law's home. When they arrived, he entered the home and shot and killed both his wife and her father with a .357 Magnum pistol. One of the woman's sons was pinned under his mother's body as Boyd continued to fired at her. The child scrambled out from beneath his mom's body and wriggled under a nearby bed to escape the hail of bullets.
When Boyd tried to reload the pistol, another son tried to grab it. Boyd went to the car, reloaded his gun, came back into the house and called 911, telling the emergency operator, "I've shot my wife and her father - come on and get me." Then more gunshots can be heard on the 911 recording. Law enforcement officers arrived and as they approached, Boyd came out of the nearby woods with his hands up and surrendered to the officers. Later, after being advised of his rights, Boyd gave a lengthy confession
The whole 1.000th thing: Boyd, 57, did not deny the killings. But he said he thought he should be sentenced to life in prison, and he didn't like the milestone his death would mark. "I'd hate to be remembered as that," Boyd told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "I don't like the idea of being picked as a number."
The Supreme Court in 1976 ruled that capital punishment could resume after a 10-year moratorium. The first execution took place the following year, when Gary Gilmore went before a firing squad in Utah. Gilmore donated his eyes for transplant, inspiring a British punk rock song.
Almost 1,500 people died at the hands of the inmates executed during the past 28 years, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
Boyd's attorney Thomas Maher, said the "execution of Kenneth Boyd has not made this a better or safer world. If this 1,000th execution is a milestone, it's a milestone we should all be ashamed of. In Boyd's pleas for clemency, his attorneys said he served in Vietnam where he operated a bulldozer and was shot at by snipers daily, which contributed to his crimes.
Last words and such: In the execution chamber, Boyd smiled at daughter-in-law Kathy Smith -- wife of a son from Boyd's first marriage -- and a minister from his home county. He asked Smith to take care of his son and two grandchildren and she mouthed through the thick glass panes separating execution and witness rooms that her husband was waiting outside. In his final words, Boyd said: "God bless everybody in here."
Factoids: Boyd was the...
56th murderer executed in U.S. in 2005
1000th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
5th murderer executed in North Carolina in 2005
39th murderer executed in North Carolina since 1976
One press account...Boyd's death rallied death penalty opponents, and about 150 protesters gathered outside the prison.
or
Another press account:
As the 2 a.m. death hour approached, hundreds of death penalty opponents protested outside the prison.
One held a large white cross. Another held a large yellow peace sign. At the end of the sidewalk stood a hangman's gallows. At 11:27 p.m., about 20 protesters tried to get to the prison to stop the execution. The group dashed past the line of officers standing guard at the top of the prison's driveway. A few got as far as 15 feet down the driveway. As police stopped them, other protesters clapped, cheered and sang "We Shall Overcome." (Ed. Note: Please, please find a new song) Police soon handcuffed the arrestees and loaded them into a bus and a police van.
or...
About 100 death-penalty opponents gathered on a sidewalk outside the prison where they held candles and read the names of the other 999 convicts who have been put to death.
Thirty-eight of the 50 U.S. states and the federal government permit capital punishment.
Singapore, which has the world's highest execution rate relative to population, also carried out a death penalty on Friday. The hanging of Australian drugs trafficker Nguyen Tuong Van went ahead despite repeated Australian government pleas for clemency.
An October 2005 Gallup poll found that 64 percent of all Americans support capital punishment in murder cases.
november, 2005
OHIO LAST MEAL
JOHN R. HICKS
November 29, 2005
...999...
Last Meal: Hicks had a last meal request of two steaks, a baked potato, salad, bread, apple pie, a soft drink and potato chips.
The skinny: Hicks, 49, was executed for killing his mother-in-law and 5-year-old stepdaughter after a cocaine binge 20 years ago.
More skinny: The Los Angeles Dodgers were playing the Cincinnati Reds the night John Hicks told his wife he was going to a ballgame while she worked the night shift at a downtown bank. Instead, Hicks spent the last of his money getting high on cocaine and, before the night was over, strangled his wife's mother and suffocated his wife's 5-year-old daughter.
Hicks was a cocaine and alcohol addict. He took the VCR from his own home, pawned it, and purchased cocaine. When he realized his wife would become angry when she found out what he had done, he decided to rob his mother in law. He telephoned her to say he was coming around. When he arrived around 11pm he put his stepdaughter to bed. He then approached the victim from behind and strangled her with his own hands. To make sure she was really dead he used a length of clothesline. He searched her bedroom and stole $300 and some credit cards.
After buying more cocaine, he realized his stepdaughter would place him at the scene of the crime and could be a potential witness. He returned and smothered her with a pillow. When this failed to kill his stepdaughter, he tried to use his own hands, and then duct taped her mouth and nose. He attempted to dismember the mother-in-law in the bathtub, but gave up after nearly cutting one of her legs off.
Two days later he was arrested in Knoxville, Tennessee, confessing to the crimes.
Leading up to: On his last night alive, Hicks spoke to his mother, brother and a friend by phone. A death row minister, Rev. Gary Sims, counseled him. In his final days and hours, Hicks remained calm and compliant, reading the Bible, listening to the radio and talking with Sims.
Last words and such: Hicks walked 17 steps into the death chamber where he was strapped to a bed that was bolted to the floor. He asked for his glasses, which the warden placed on his face. He looked to the left into the witness chamber searching for recognizable faces.
He then spoke his last words: "I know it's been 20 years of pain and hurt, but during those 20 years I suffered, too. I cared and I loved, too, for Maxine and Brandy. It began with a syringe in my arm and this day is ending with a needle in my arm. It's come full circle." He thanked his attorneys and singled out four death row inmates to "hang in there and stay strong. Take care, 'cause I'm coming home.Lord, hallelujah.Yes, thank you."
Factoids: Hicks was the...
55th murderer executed in U.S. in 2005
999th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
4th murderer executed in Ohio in 2005
19th murderer executed in Ohio since 1976
Hicks asked for clemency but Gov. Bob Taft said he had offered no reason to justify it.
Seven Ohio inmates were executed last year, second-highest in the nation after Texas.
ARKANSAS LAST MEAL
ERIC RANDALL NANCE
November 28, 2005
Last Meal: Nance had a final meal request of two bacon cheeseburgers, French fries, two pints of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream and two cans of Coca-Cola.
The skinny: Nance was executed for murdering an 18-year old Malvern cheerleader by stabbing her in the throat with a box cutter after coming upon her standing by her broken-down car.
More skinny: The girl's vehicle was discovered abandoned. A week later, her body was found on rural property approximately 7.5 miles from her vehicle. Although the autopsy failed to reveal the cause or manner of death, medical evidence showed likely trauma to the head, and defects to her clothing were consistent with a cutting wound.
At trial, Nance's brother and sister testified that, after initially denying any involvement in the crime, Nance later stated that he had accidentally killed the victim. Nance told them that the victim's automobile had broken down on the road, that he picked her up, that his work knife slid out of his pocket, that as he moved to put the knife in the glove compartment, the victim turned started kicking him, that he put his hand up to keep her from kicking and hitting him, and that the knife fatally lodged in her throat.
A little more than a year later, the girl’s mother committed suicide.
The trial: In the sentencing phase, the State presented as evidence six prior felony convictions stemming from Nance's rape and beating of two Oklahoma girls in 1982. Nance was released from his twenty-year sentence for those convictions five months before he killed the girl.
Last words and such: Nance was executed after a delay of more than an hour while a U.S. Supreme Court justice reviewed his appeals.
Nance, 45, remained silent when asked if he wished to make a final statement. Witnesses said his eyes remained closed.
Factoids: Nance was the...
54th murderer executed in U.S. in 2005
998th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
1st murderer executed in Arkansas in 2005
27th murderer executed in Arkansas since 1976
About 30 protesters gathered briefly outside the Governor's Mansion on Monday night and sang "Amazing Grace." They also lit candles to remember previous inmates executed in Arkansas.
NORTH CAROLINA LAST MEAL
ELIAS HANN SYRIANI
November 18, 1005
Last Meal: Syriani had no final meal request.
The skinny: Syriani, a 67-year-old immigrant who stabbed his wife to death with a screwdriver after she threatened divorce was executed by injection.
More skinny: Syriani and his wife were separated. Syriani was living in a motel, and his wife with their children in their home. One night shortly before midnight, Syriani drove to their home. As his wife drove her car onto a nearby street, Syriani blocked her way with his van. He got out of his van, gestured, and chased after her car as she put it in reverse. As his wife sat in her car, he began stabbing her with a screwdriver through the open door or window, while their ten-year-old son sat in the seat beside her.
The boy was unable to stop his father, got out and ran home to get his older sister. At least two neighbors watched from their homes as dSyriani stabbed his wife and then walked away. The wife died twenty-eight days later. She suffered numerous stab wounds in the attack, the fatal wound a three-inch deep puncture wound to the right temple. Syriani stopped at a nearby fire station for first aid, claiming he was battered by his wife. He was covered in blood, but had only some light scratches on his arm and shoulder. Police were called and he was arrested. The murder weapon, a screwdriver, was never found.
Leading up to: Syriani visited and hugged his children beforehand after 15 years locked away from their touch. The children - including the son who witnessed the attack and testified against Syriani - argued that letting him live would allow them to restore their connection to their mother.
Russ Sizemore, a lawyer representing the children, said it was "incomprehensible" that Easley denied clemency after hearing from Rose, Janet and John Syriani and Sarah Barbari, who had been raised by their aunt and uncle in Chicago after their mother died.
Last words and such: (Prepared Statement: "I want to thank God first for everything that happened in my life. I want to thank my children. I want to thank my family, especially my sister, Odeet. I want to thank all the beautiful friends who share with me my sufferings for 15 years and four months and they so encouraged me, specifically Mr. and Mrs. Meg Eggleston who become a sister to me. She helped me a lot to accept everything. I thank everyone from the staff, nurses, chaplains. I thank everyone.")
"I love you," he said to the Egglestons. "I love everybody." Over the next 10 minutes he smiled, grimaced, cried. Mostly he talked to the Egglestons. He mouthed each word carefully. We could pick up only fragments. "I want them to be happy." "Fifteen years." "I hope ... I hope ... I really loved her."
Factoids: Syriani ws the....
53rd murderer executed in U.S. in 2005
997th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
4th murderer executed in North Carolina in 2005
38th murderer executed in North Carolina since 1976
Gov. Mike Easley denied clemency Thursday.
Nationally, clemency was granted 186 times - including 167 commutations by the Illinois governor in 2003 - between 2001 and 2005, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
TEXAS LAST MEAL
SHANNON CHARLES THOMAS
NOVEMBER 16, 2005
...Relatives bringing Christmas gifts to the home were greeted with the horror of discovering the three bodies...
Last Meal: Thomas has no final meal request.
The skinny: Thomas was executed for a Christmas Eve killing spree that left a man and two of his children dead.
More skinny: On Christmas Eve in Baytown, Police discovered the body of a man in the living room of his home, his arms and torso were bound with duct tape, and he was covered in blood. He had been shot three times, twice in the head, and slashed with a steak knife that remained embedded in his neck. His two children, an 11 year old and a 10 year old, were found upstairs in the girl's room. Both were dead, lying facedown on the floor, side-by-side. Each had a single, fatal gunshot wound to the back of the head.
Thomas and Keith Bernard Clay had been past drug customers of the man, but on that Christmas Eve, they would later tell police, the pair came to the home looking to take the small time dope peddler for everything he had. The children were executed to eliminate witnesses.
Relatives bringing Christmas gifts to the home were greeted with the horror of discovering the three bodies.
Less than two weeks later, Thomas and Clay would be involved in another murder in Baytown. This time their target was a clerk at the Airwood Grocery Store on Park Street. Clay entered the convenience store and fired 10 shots at the man, hitting him six times. If that was not enough, the clerk was also beaten with the pistol. Thomas was the getaway driver.
Clay was executed on March 20, 2003 for the Varughese murder.
Wheels of justice turn slowly: It was almost two years before any arrests were made in the slayings. Thomas and Clay apparently told friends about the murders. When one of those friends was arrested on a drug charge, he gave police information implicating the two.
Uh, okay: On a Web site where death row inmates seek pen pals, he described himself as "a very honest person and those are the type of people with whom I choose to associate myself with."
Money quote: "When you're at a murder scene looking at dead kids and there's Christmas presents around and you look at the TV and 'It's A Wonderful Life' is playing, it took me five years before I could watch that movie again," a Baytown detective said Tuesday.
Last words and such: "I want you to be strong and get through this time. Do not fall back. Keep going forward. Don't let this hinder you. Let everybody know I love them." Thomas mentioned several people by their first names, telling his sister to tell them he loved them and to stay strong. "This is kind of hard to put words together. I am nervous and it is hard to put my thoughts together. Sometimes you don't know what to say. I hope these words give you comfort. ... Let everybody know I love them and love is unconditional as mama always told us. I may be gone in flesh but I am always with you in spirit."
Factoids: Thomas was the....
52nd murderer executed in U.S. in 2005
996th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
19th murderer executed in Texas in 2005
355th murderer executed in Texas since 1976
TEXAS LAST MEAL
ROBERT DALE ROWELL
November 15, 2005
...Rowell earned his GED and associate's degree in prison...
Last Meal: Rowell has no final meal request.
The skinny: Rowell, 50. a habitual drug user, was executed for the slayings of two people at a Houston crack house 12 years ago.
More skinny: Rowell went to the Houston home of one of the victims before dawn complaining about paying too much for some crack cocaine and looking for dope and money. The second victim and her husband were also living in the home, variously described as a "crack house" at trial. Holding a gun, Rowell told the couple he would shoot them if they tried to leave. After Rowell went into the owner’s room, and the two heard a thumping sound followed by owner screaming for Rowell to stop hitting him.
After about three minutes, the owner and Rowell went to the couple’s bedroom. The owner was staggering, covered in blood. Rowell ordered the trio to get into the bathtub; he then shot all three. The woman died from a gunshot wound, and the man was bleeding from wounds to the the back of his head inflicted with a claw hammer. The husband was seriously wounded but survived to testify against Rowell. Rowell then proceeded to take a shower and clean himself up.
Police arrested Rowell where he worked, finding a .22 caliber revolver with six spent cartridge casings in the chamber, the gun case, and one of the victim’s bank bag in his work area.
Priors...lotsa priors: In 1974, Rowell was convicted and sentenced for robbery and paroled. In 1980, he was convicted and sentenced for a string of armed robberies, exchanging gunfire with an off-duty policeman in one case, and received a 30 year sentence. While in prison he was convicted of manslaughter for stabbing to death another inmate and sentenced to 8 years. He was freed under mandatory parole in 1991, two years before the capital murders.
No Love: Unlike many of his fellow inmates on death row, Robert Dale Rowell never got much television airtime or received much newspaper ink. The 50-year-old walked into Texas' death chamber tonight a virtual unknown, the 18th inmate to be put to death this year.
No public campaign was been waged on his behalf. The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty issued a routine alert on Rowell's execution that does little more than lay out the facts of his case. A last-minute reprieve was unlikely. His lawyers did not claim he was mentally retarded or that his trial attorney fell asleep in court. His appeals were exhausted last month when the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to review his case or his claim that the trial judge should have given the jury better instructions.
Last words and such: “I would like to apologize to the victims' family and all the grief I have caused them,” Robert Dale Rowell said in a brief final statement as the mother, sister and brother of one of his victims watched through a window. “I would like to say I love the girls next to them,” he said, referring to six women he selected to watch him die. Several of them sobbed. Then he said, “Praise the Lord. Let's go warden. That's it.” Rowell, 50, snorted twice as the drugs began taking effect. He was pronounced dead nine minutes later.
Factoids: Rowell was the...
51st murderer executed in U.S. in 2005
995th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
18th murderer executed in Texas in 2005
354th murderer executed in Texas since 1976
One other execution is scheduled in Texas for December. If carried out, the 20 lethal injections would be three less than a year ago. A record 40 were carried out in 2000.
Rowell earned his GED and associate's degree in prison.
NORTH CAROLINA LAST MEAL
STEVEN VAN MCHONE
November 11, 2005
Last Meal: McHone has a final meal request for a medium-rare Porterhouse steak, steak fries, chocolate cheesecake and a 20-ounce Mountain Dew.
The skinny: McHone was executed for the shooting deaths of his mother and stepfather.
More skinny: After a family fishing trip, the two victims and other relatives returned to the couple's home. Their son, McHone, who was 19 at the time, was there and started arguing with his mother about money. McHone had been living at home while on probation for some larceny convictions. The mother told the others a handgun was missing, and three gunshots were heard a short time later coming from the back yard. McHone had shot the woman in the back of the head and left her face down and injured in the back yard. McHone then found a shotgun and shot his stepfather inside the house. The shootings ended when Wesley Adams Jr., took away the gun and held McHone down until police arrived.
Witnesses testified that McHone drank 1 1/2 bottles of Jack Daniels whiskey and a pitcher of beer and might have taken drugs before the killings.
Leading up to: Starting at 10 a.m. Thursday, McHone, 35, began having the first contact visits with his family and friends since he arrived on death row 14 years ago.
McHone lost his last chance to halt the execution when Gov. Mike Easley denied clemency late Thursday. That decision was announced after the U.S. Supreme Court turned down McHone's appeal without comment. The court rejected the appeal from McHone's lawyers to stop the execution so that his mother's dying statement that he didn't intend to shoot her could be considered.
Final words and such: He issued no last statement, but appeared to say "I'm so sorry," to half brother Wesley Adams Jr., who supported the execution and drove from Ohio to witness it.
"We have sympathy and pray for comfort for those who will grieve Steve's passing," Adams said in a statement. "We do, however, feel that justice was upheld and that this fate was sealed many years ago."
Other family members had sought clemency.
Factoids: McHone was the....
50th murderer executed in U.S. in 2005
994th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
3rd murderer executed in North Carolina in 2005
37th murderer executed in North Carolina since 1976
TEXAS LAST MEAL
CHARLES DANIEL THACKER
November 9, 2005
Last Meal: Thacker had a final meal request of two double cheeseburgers, French fries with ketchup, onion rings, fajitas, two Mountain Dews, two Coca-Colas, two Dr. Peppers, guacamole dip with tortilla chips, four slices of pepperoni pizza, one chocolate chip, two slices of double chocolate cake and two pints of ice cream.
The skinny: Thacker, 37, a convicted serial rapist was executed for the strangling and attempted rape of an elementary school teacher 12 years ago.
More skinny: The victim was returning from a trip to the grocery store when she stopped to retrieve her mail at her apartment complex. Thacker accosted her, then dragged her into a nearby women's bathroom. Witnesses at Thacker's trial testified that they noticed Thacker lurking around the mailboxes about an hour before Crawford was attacked. A building resident noticed Crawford's keys hanging from her mailbox, which led to a search of the grounds. Eventually a maintenance worker checked the bathroom. Thacker burst out, sprayed the maintenance worker with pepper spray and ran into a heavily wooded area. A short time later, Houston police with tracking dogs found Thacker hiding behind a house in the woods. The woman was placed on life support and she died two days later.
The trial: During the trial, several female witnesses, 13 to 64, testified about their encounters with Thacker, many of them saying they were raped and nearly strangled. During the penalty phase of the trial, Thacker's mother told the jury that her son had been molested as a child by a man she had dated and begged that his life be spared. The jury returned a sentence of death in only about two hours.
Priors: Before the capital conviction, Thacker served a little less than four years of two concurrent 12-year sentences he received in 1988 for robbery and sexual assault. Five months after his release, he beat and nearly stabbed to death a 62-year-old woman who had stayed late at a church.
From his website: Thacker declined to be interviewed in the weeks leading up to his execution, but on a Web site where death row inmates seek pen pals acknowledged he was in the area when Crawford was attacked "up to no good with two other guys looking for stuff to steal and sell." There was no evidence of others involved. On his Web site, Thacker suggested the woman accidentally died because of CPR efforts.
Last words and such: Thacker, strapped onto a gurney and in a slightly quivering voice, thanked his two witnesses, volunteer prison ministers. "Jack and Irene, I love you guys. Tell my family I love them. I am sorry for the things I have done. I know God will forgive me." Thacker asked that his daughter be cared for. "Keep track of Danielle for me. I will miss you guys. I love you. I guess that's all." He also said he was looking forward to seeing his deceased mother. Thacker also asked his witnesses to tell his attorney that "they couldn't find a vein on my arm."
Factoids: Thacker was the....
49th murderer executed in U.S. in 2005
993rd murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
17th murderer executed in Texas in 2005
353rd murderer executed in Texas since 1976
SOUTH CAROLINA LAST MEAL
HASTINGS ARTHUR WISE
November 4, 2005
...These guys are no longer scared to be put to death ....
Last Meal: Wise's final meal request was lobster tail, french fries, cole slaw, banana pudding and milk.
The skinny: Wise was put to death by lethal injection for killing four workers at an Aiken County plant in September 1997 out of revenge for being fired.
More skinny: After 4 years working at the Aiken Lawn Mower Ignition Plant, Wise was fired after a violent confrontation with a supervisor. He returned to the plant weeks later for revenge.
A ecurity guard watched Wise pull up in his car at the 3 p.m. shift change and, armed with a semiautomatic pistol, Wise fired a bullet into the man's chest, yanked out the phone lines in the guard shack and told the guard "I got things to do."
Entering through a side door, witnesses testified Wise went directly to the personnel office and shot a 56-year-old man twice in the back. The man had fired Wise two months earlier. Next up was the tool and dye area, where Wise had hoped to work. He began firing his pistol at everyone around, killing a 30-year-old and a 31-year-old and wounding two others. By then, panicked workers were scrambling to get out.
Wise kept going, finding a 27-year-old woman, who got a quality control job he wanted. He shot her in the back and leg, then put a bullet in her head. After that, Wise's path seemed random. He fired several more shots, but no one else was killed. Investigators found four empty magazines, capable of holding eight bullets each. Wise tried to commit suicide in the plant after the shootings by drinking insecticide, but it only made him sick.
At trial, he refused to let his lawyers call any witnesses to ask the jury to spare his life and has brushed off any attempts to appeal since he was sent to Death Row.
Psychiatrists testified Wise came back to the plant several weeks after he was fired because he was angry and felt he was a victim of racism. Wise was black and his four victims were white. Last words and such: Wise had no final words.
Factoids: Wise was the...
48th murderer executed in U.S. in 2005
992nd murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
2nd murderer executed in South Carolina in 2005
34th murderer executed in South Carolina since 1976
Wise was the sixth person put to death in South Carolina without using all their appeals since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. All have died by lethal injection instead of the electric chair, and Savitz said that’s not a coincidence. “Lethal injection has changed the dynamic of the whole thing,” Savitz said. “These guys are no longer scared to be put to death.”
Nationwide, 117 of the 989 inmates, or nearly 12 percent, put to death since the death penalty was reinstated had appeals left. The numbers fluctuate from year to year. In 2004, 10 of the 59 executions were done on volunteers. In 2003, it was just four deaths out of 65.
DELAWARE LAST MEAL
BRIAN D. "RED" STECKEL
November 4, 2005
...Steckel sent a copy of the victim's autopsy to her mother...
Last Meal: Steckel has a last meal of cheese steak, cole slaw and Pepsi.
The skinny: Brian Steckel was executed for a 1994 rape and murder.
More skinny: Steckel met the 29 year old victim approximately one week before her murder. Steckel gained access to her apartment by asking to use her telephone. Once inside, he pretended to use the phone, then demanded sexual favors. When she refused, Steckel beat her and threw her onto a couch.
During the struggle, she bit Steckel’s finger causing it to bleed. Steckel then strangled her with a pair of nylons then a sock, causing her to lose consciousness. Steckel then sexually assaulted her, first using a screw-driver he brought with him, and then by raping her anally. He then dragged her to the bedroom and set the bed on fire, then fled the scene.
Later the same day, the News Journal received an anonymous phone call from a male who identified himself as the “Driftwood Killer.” The man named his next victim by name. The News 4 Journal contacted the police, and the police brought the woman into protective custody.
The woman had previously reported to the police that she had been receiving harassing phone calls with a “very lurid, very sexual” content. The authorities had traced these calls to Steckel. Steckel was arrested in connection with an outstanding harassment warrant for the phone calls to the woman. During the interview, Steckel confessed in detail to his crimes against the victim, as well as other murders.
During his trial, Steckel sent a copy of the victim's autopsy to her mother, writing "Read it and weep. She's gone forever. Don't cry over burnt flesh."
Last words and such: He repeatedly apologized for his crimes, professed love for his family and supporters and said he accepted his punishment. ”I want to say I’m sorry for the cruel things I did. I’m not the same man I was when I came to jail. I changed. I’m a better man . . . I walked in here without a fight and I accept my punishment. It is time to go. I love you people.” He also told his cousin and a friend who were witnesses to his death to tell his 12-year-old daughter, “I said no excuses.”
Steckel’s execution seemed to take longer than usual, said witnesses who had seen previous executions in Delaware. Steckel spoke for nearly 12 minutes, whereas other executions have generally taken about three minutes. Twice, before he closed his eyes, he said “goodbye” and appeared to brace himself, only to look around and continue talking. At one point, he looked up at warden Thomas Carroll to say, “I didn’t think it would take this long.”
Prison officials said there was no malfunction or problem with the execution. Carroll just allowed Steckel more time.
Factoids: Steckle was the...
47th murderer executed in U.S. in 2005
991st murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
1st murderer executed in Delaware in 2005
14th murderer executed in Delaware since 1976
About 60 demonstrators staged rallies for and against the death penalty outside the prison. Among them was Johnny Hall, 43, one of two men who tried in vain to pull the victim from her burning apartment. Hall was carrying a sign that said, "I was there. I watched her die." "I feel that this man needs to die, and I'm out here to make sure that my opinion is out here," he said.
TEXAS LAST MEAL
MELVIN WAYNE WHITE
November 3, 2005
...Warning: This is a bad one....
Last Meal: For his last meal, White requested a four egg Spanish omelets with gravy and hash brown potatoes on the side, six pieces of buttered toast, a gallon of milk, sliced peppers, onion rings, french fries, a cheeseburger, a pork chop and gravy, fried chicken, six slices of bread, a pitcher of ice, two Cokes, peach cobbler and vanilla ice cream.
The skinny: White was executed for the abduction, sexual assault and murder of a 9-year-old girl.
More skinny: White abducted his 9-year-old neighbor from a neighborhood summer barbeque, bound her hands with electrical tape, drove her to a deserted area north of Ozona, took her behind a water tank, sexually assaulted her, then killed her by striking her six to seven times on the head with a tire tool. Witnesses observed White driving a truck with a young girl in the passenger seat shortly before midnight the evening of the barbecue. White was arrested and confessed to the murder, directing police to the body.
At trial, the jury learned that prior to the capital murder, White had assaulted his underaged daughter, forced her to perform oral sex, and raped her. White also offered his daughter $50 per week if she would provide him with sexual favors on demand. White had also fondled the genitals of a four-year-old female cousin and grabbed the breast of an unrelated teenaged girl visiting his home.
Leading up to: In a death row interview last week, White, 55, acknowledged the slaying, expressed regrets, said he didn't want to die but figured the state was doing him a favor by executing him. "I look at it as relief, just to get out of here," he said. "I've got to live with this for the rest of my life. It's not an easy deal to do."
Last words and such: White apologized to the mother of his young victim: “Tell Beth and them I am sorry, truly sorry for the pain that I caused your family. I truly mean that, too. She was a friend of mine and I betrayed her trust.” White then recited the 23rd Psalm and the Lords Prayer before saying, “All right, warden. Let's give them what they want.” As the drugs began taking effect, he remarked, "I can taste it."
Factoids: White was the....
46th murderer executed in U.S. in 2005
990th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
16th murderer executed in Texas in 2005
352nd murderer executed in Texas since 1976
In May 2003, the girl's father, shot himself to death, a suicide the slain girl's grandmother, blamed on the loss of his daughter. “He just couldn't handle it.”
This would have been the girl's senior year of high school.
Three more convicted killers are set to die over the next two weeks.
october, 2005
MISSOURI LAST MEAL
MARLIN GRAY
October 26, 2005
..."This is not a death, it is a lynching"....
Last Meal: Gray declined a last meal and a sedative.
The skinny: Gray was executed for his role in the April 1991 rapes and murders of two young women who Gray and his friends encountered by chance after a night spent drinking and smoking marijuana.
More skinny: Gray and three companions encountered two sisters and their cousin. The two groups chatted briefly, then parted. After a few minutes, Gray and his group returned and sexually assaulted the sisters. The sisters and their cousin were pushed off the bridge. The cousin survived the 70-foot fall and swam ashore and testified at the trial of the three men and one teenager who were also on the bridge that night. One girl's body was recovered in Caruthersville three weeks later. The other body was never found.
The others: Daniel Winfrey, who was 15 at the time of the murders, is serving a 30-year sentence after pleading guilty to nine charges, including two counts each of second-degree murder and forcible rape, and agreeing to testify against the other men. Reginald Clemens is on death row. The Missouri Supreme Court reduced Antonio Richardson's death sentence to life in prison because he was sentenced to death by a judge, not a jury.
Last words and such: In an interview Thursday, Gray said: "This is murder to me. I will not participate or let my family participate."
His last words... "I go forward now on wings built by the love and support of my family and friends. I go with a peace of mind that comes from never having taken a human life. I forgive those who have hardened their hearts to the truth and I pray they ask forgiveness for they know not what they do. This is not a death, it is a lynching."
Factoids: Gray was the...
45th murderer executed in U.S. in 2005
989th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
5th murderer executed in Missouri in 2005
66th murderer executed in Missouri since 1976
Gray's advocates and opponents of the death penalty have argued that the 38-year-old was not on the bridge when the girls were pushed to their deaths. There were 67 opponents and 4 in favor of the death penalty outside the prison.
OHIO LAST MEAL
WILLIE J. "FLIP" WILLIAMS. JR.
October 25, 2005
...Labor Day Massacre...
Last Meal: Williams opted not to request the customary special dinner that condemned inmates are allowed to choose before execution. Williams had asked only for a cup of coffee.
The skinny: Williams, a cocaine dealer, was executed for killing four men in a bid to seize control of the drug trade in a Youngstown housing project.
In a city once called the nation's crime capital, Williams' wanted to be like the dons of the Youngstown underworld who had battled for control of rackets as part of a feud between the Cleveland and Pittsburgh mobs. According to police and prosecutors, he may have killed up to 10 other people but never was charged.
More skinny: Williams had returned to his hometown of Youngstown in 1991 after serving a prison stint in California for dealing cocaine and sought to reclaim control of drug sales in a public housing project.
In what became known as the "Labor Day Massacre," Williams recruited three juvenile accomplices: his sixteen-year-old girlfriend, Jessica M. Cherry; her brother, Dominic M. Cherry; and Dominic Cherry's seventeen-year-old "cousin", Broderick Boone to set up the three men who had taken over the drug trade.
Williams equipped the juveniles with walkie-talkies, guns, and diagrams of the home of one of his rivals. The juveniles entered the home and subdued one victim, then Williams entered. Two others were lured to the location. They were bound, along with a friend who came to visit, a recently discharged Air Force Sgt. Going from room to room, Williams shot each of the four victims in the head with one of the victim's gun.
The group left the house but Williams went back in “to make sure they were all dead”. Later, back at his apartment, Williams embraced his juvenile accomplices and rewarded them with drugs. He warned them not to tell anyone what they had done or he would kill them.
Shortly after his arrest as a suspect in the murders, Williams and a group of other inmates escaped from a county jail. A few months later, he broke into a juvenile jail where his three accomplices in the murders were being held, apparently intending to kill them because they had cooperated with police. Williams took a guard and a receptionist hostage but was unable to get in and eventually surrendered peacefully.
Last words and such: Before Williams died, he winked and blew a kiss to his adult daughter, Jameka, and thanked her and his brother and uncle for being witnesses. "I'm not going to waste no time talking about my lifestyle, my case, my punishment. Y'all stick together. Don't worry about me. I'm OK."
Factoids: Williams was the...
44th murderer executed in U.S. in 2005
988th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
3rd murderer executed in Ohio in 2005
18th murderer executed in Ohio since 1976
Two other inmates are slated for execution next month.
TEXAS LAST MEAL
LUIS RAMIREZ
October 20. 2005
..."I didn't even have a parking ticket on my record."....
Last Meal: Ramirez had no final meal request.
The skinny: Ramirez was executed for organizing and carrying out a murder-for-hire scheme that culminated with the shotgun slaying of a firefighter who was dating his ex-wife.
More skinny: The victim had been dating Ramirez's ex-wife. Ramirez remained obsessed with his ex-wife some two years after a divorce. Working with accomplice, Ramirez lured the man to a house under the pretense of repair job. The victim had a side job as an appliance repairman. He was handcuffed, taken to a chicken coop, shot twice with a shotgun and then buried on the rural property.
The body was found there more than a week later, after he had been reported missing when he failed to show up for work. An informant told police Ramirez had offered him $1,000 to participate in the killing but that money instead was paid to Edward Bell, who later was arrested in Tyler. Inside Bell's wallet were Ramirez's business card, a hand-drawn map to the home of Ramirez's ex-wife, a description of her vehicle and license plate number, all in Ramirez's handwriting. Also in Bell's vehicle was a pair of jeans covered with the victim's blood.
Bell's girlfriend took detectives to a spot where she said Bell tossed a pair of latex gloves. They found a glove and the keys to the victim's truck. Bell was convicted and received a life prison term. Ramirez got death. Ramirez has maintained his innocence.
Leading up to: "I didn't do this," Ramirez told a reporter in an interview the week before his execution. "I have no idea who did. I didn't even have a parking ticket on my record." Ramirez said that he was seventy miles away at the time of the murder, checking on some property.
Last words and such: "I did not kill your loved one. I wish I could tell you the reason why or give you some kind of solace. You lost someone you love very much, the same as my family and friends are going to lose in a few minutes. I am sure he died unjustly, just like I am. I did not murder him. I did not have anything to do with his death. It's OK. It's all right. I'm not afraid.''
Tom Green County District Attorney Steve Lupton and first assistant Bryan Clayton each said they have no doubt Ramirez deserved his end. ''What amazes me is that someone who's about to meet his maker lies until the very end,'' Clayton said. ''It underscores what a dangerous person he was.''
Factoids: Ramirez was the....
43rd murderer executed in U.S. in 2005
987th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
15th murderer executed in Texas in 2005
351st murderer executed in Texas since 1976
A handful of protesters stood at the end of the block on which the historic Huntsville ''Walls'' unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice is located - yellow police tape and a sheriff's deputy barring them from coming closer.
As with all executions performed in Texas, Ramirez was killed in the historic, imposing red-brick building, constructed in 1848.
Texas has seven executions scheduled before the end of 2005.
TEXAS LAST MEAL
RONALD RAY HOWARD
October 6, 2005
...."That was a totally valid serious defense"...
Last Meal: Howard had no final meal request.
The skinny: Ronald Ray Howard was executed for fatally shooting a state trooper, a slaying his trial attorneys argued was prompted by Howard's listening to anti-police rap music.
More skinny: A Texas Department of Public Safety trooper stopped a vehicle for having a broken headlight. The driver of the vehicle, Ronald Ray Howard, shot the man in the neck. The vehicle Howard was driving was stolen. At least eight people witnessed the shooting and provided a description of the gunman. Howard fled the scene of the shooting, but he was arrested within a couple of hours after a police chase during which he lost control of his vehicle and struck a horse. He had the murder weapon, a nine millimeter handgun loaded with hollow point bullets, in his possession. Howard fled in the stolen GMC Jimmy to Victoria, Texas where he was captured Howard confessed to killing the trooper and repeated his confession to a grand jury.
The rap music defense: Defense attorneys argued at his trial that Howard's constant exposure to gangsta rap music and its anti-police messages influenced him to pull the trigger. "He grew up in the ghetto and disliked police, and these were his heroes, these rappers . . . telling him if you're pulled over, just blast away," his trial attorney, Allen Tanner, recalled last week. "It affected him. That was a totally valid serious defense."
Howard told a grand jury that he was listening to "Soulja's Story" by Tupac Shakur before the shooting. In the song, a black teenager is pulled over by police and opens fire: They finally pull me over and I laugh, "Remember Rodney King?", And I blast on his punk ass, Now I got a murder case.
Leading up to: In an interview Wednesday on death row, Howard recalled the trooper pulling him over on U.S. 59 for a broken headlight. "How you doing?" the trooper asked Howard, who was armed with a 9 mm pistol. "But I was already in motion," Howard said. "I'd already shot as I hear him saying that."
Howard said the trooper earlier had pulled alongside of him, sped off, then was waiting over a hill on the side of the road as Howard drove past. The trooper then flicked on his lights and pulled him over, Howard said. "I felt like I was being taunted," Howard said, adding that his previous encounters with police, particularly in his hometown of Houston, had soured him on police officers.
span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Last words and such: Asked if he had a final statement, Howard looked at the victim's family and said he hoped that "this helps a little. I don't know how, but I hope it helps." Then he turned to friends and a brother who were among his witnesses, expressing love and thanking them for finding two of his children, who visited him on death row within the past week. "Love you all. Thank you so much," he said. As the drugs were administered, he lifted his head from the gurney and mouthed that he loved them, urged them to be strong and said "I'm going home."
Factoids: Howard was the...
42nd murderer executed in U.S. in 2005
986th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
14th murderer executed in Texas in 2005
350th murderer executed in Texas since 1976.
september, 2005
INDIANA LAST MEAL
ALAN LEHMAN MATHENEY
September 28, 2005
...prison officials do not want inmates to consume too much the day of the execution ...
Last Meal: For his special meal he had chicken wings, a fried chicken dinner, large wedges of potatoes, corn on the cob, biscuits and a chocolate shake. The special dinner is prepared at a local restaurant. It is not called the last meal since it is served a day or two ahead of time. That's because prison officials do not want inmates to consume too much the day of the execution, much like a doctor asks patients not to eat before surgery.
The skinny: Matheney, 54, one of the most notorious killers on Indiana's Death Row, was executed by lethal injection for beating murder his ex-wife with a rifle butt while on an eight-hour furlough from the Correctional Industrial Facility. Matheney burst into the victim's home, caught her as she tried to run away and struck her in the head with a rifle so hard the weapon broke.
More skinny: Matheny was convicted and sent to prison in 1987 for Battery and Confinement of his ex-wife,. While in prison, Matheny had repeatedly expressed a desire to kill her, and attempted to solicit others to do so. After serving almost 2 years, he was given an 8-hour furlogh from Pendleton, where he was an inmate. Although the pass authorized a trip to Indianapolis, Matheny headed straight for St. Joseph County. Once there, he changed clothes and took a shotgun from a friend's house, then drove to Mishawaka. He parked the car in a lot two doors down from his ex-wife's house, then broke in through the back door. Bianco ran from the home, pursued by Matheny through the neighborhood. When he caught her, he beat her with the shotgun that broke into pieces. He then got into his car and drove away. The woman died as a result of this blunt force trauma.
One neighbor confronted Matheney and saw him get into a car and drive away. Matheney surrendered to a policeman later that afternoon.
This case generated massive amounts of publicity and led to state legislation requiring the Indiana DOC to notify victims of release from prison.
The state also agreed to pay $900,000 to the woman's estate and the couple's children, who were home at the time of the attack.
Last words and such: "I love my family and my children. I'm sorry for the pain I've caused them. I thank my friends who stood by me . . . I'm sure my grandchildren will grow up happy and healthy in the care of their wonderful parents," Matheney said in a final statement read by his lawyer, Steven Schutte
Factoids: Matheney was the...
41st murderer executed in U.S. in 2005
985th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
5th murderer executed in Indiana in 2005
16th murderer executed in Indiana since 1976
Minutes before the execution took place, seven people stood outside the governor's residence with signs protesting the execution. "I call it the murder penalty," said Jennifer Cobb, 47. "I believe the state taking a life because that person took a life makes the state a hypocrite."
Last month, the governor spared the life of Arthur P. Baird II, who was diagnosed as severely mentally ill. In his order, Daniels noted Baird’s claim that he was mentally ill but emphasized that life without parole was not an option at the time of Baird’s sentencing and all jurors whose views were known had indicated they would have chosen that alternative if it was available. Daniels commuted the sentence to life without parole.
It was Indiana's fifth execution this year, the most since 1938 when the state put eight people to death.
OHIO LAST MEAL
HERMAN DALE ASHWORTH
September 27, 2005
...his white Adidas hightops hanging off the gurney's edge...
Last Meal: Ashworth all of his special meal about 4 p.m. Monday. He ate two cheeseburgers with lettuce and mayonnaise and french fries with ketchup, and drank one Dr. Pepper and one Mountain Dew. He refused breakfast offered to all inmates on Tuesday morning.
The skinny: Ashworth, who said he deserved to die was executed by lethal injection Tuesday for luring a man into an alley in 1996 and beating him to death for $40.
More skinny: Ashworth and the man, who had never met before, had a few drinks and were walking to a bar when Ashworth called him over to an alley and beat him with his fists and a 6-foot board and kicked him. The victim was beaten so badly a deputy coroner said his injuries were consistent with a high-speed traffic accident or plane crash.
After beating the man, Ashworth took about $40 from him and went back to a bar in Newark, about 30 miles east of Columbus. Ashworth told police that the victim, a divorced father of a then-12-year-old girl, came onto him and he freaked out.
Leading up to: Ashworth was not been able to have a final conversation with his parents.
An Ohio prisons spokeswoman says he stayed up through the night trying to call his adoptive parents in Louisiana, but phone lines are still down in that part of the country because of Hurricane Rita.
The parents were unable to travel to Ohio because the hurricane caused them to miss their flight.
Last words: "A life for a life, let it be done and justice will be served," Ashworth said in his final statement after taking a couple of labored breaths.
Ashworth breathed calmly as the execution started, then shook before his breaths became more rapid. Soon the 6-foot-4 Ashworth was motionless, his white Adidas hightops hanging off the gurney's edge.
Factoids: Ashworth was the....
40th murderer executed in U.S. in 2005
984th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
2nd murderer executed in Ohio in 2005
17th murderer executed in Ohio since 1976
The execution attracted about 120 protesters, mostly Roman Catholic high school and college students from the Cleveland area who paid $25 apiece to charter three buses. They set up sandwich boards outside the prison fence Tuesday morning with lists of those executed in Ohio and their pictures.
Meanwhile, inmates at the prison remained locked in their cells early Tuesday after an inmate was attacked and killed Monday.
A spokesperson said Monday's murder of the inmate was unrelated to the execution.
Rex Elam of Hamilton County, serving a sentence of 70 years to life for aggravated murder, robbery, rape, and kidnapping, was murdered by a fellow inmate armed with a shard of glass.
There are 196 men and one woman on Ohio's death row.
ALABAMA LAST MEAL
JOHN W. PEOPLES, JR.
September 22, 2005
...he wanted their 1968 red Corvette....
Last Meal: Peoples ate very little in the days before the execution and did not make the traditional request for a last meal,
The skinny: Peoples was executed Thursday for killing a family of three and driving off in their vintage sports car in 1983.
More skinny: The boy and his mother were beaten to death with a rifle, but the father's body was too decomposed by the time he was found for investigators to determine the cause of death. Prosecutors say Peoples killed the three because he wanted their 1968 red Corvette, and he was arrested after attempting to sell the car shortly after the killings. Peoples had argued that because he led investigators to the bodies, his attorney should have taken steps to get him a sentence less than the death penalty.
Peoples was arrested in the Corvette soon after the slayings.
Leading up to: In the final days leading up to his execution, Peoples argued that he had a right to die by electrocution, as his original death sentence stipulated, instead of lethal injection, a method Alabama adopted beginning July 1, 2002. The head of the state's death penalty appeals office, Assistant Attorney General Clay Crenshaw, said the execution should be allowed to go forward since Peoples could have requested death in the electric chair but didn't.
Peoples spent Thursday morning visiting with several relatives, including his mother, two daughters and son. He left $186.19 to his brother.
Last words and such: Peoples did not look at or offer an apology to relatives of the victims, instead thanking his own family for their support. "I hope I've handled everything since I've been here with dignity," he said in his final statement as he faced his brother.
Factoids: Peoples was the....
39th murderer executed in U.S. in 2005
983rd murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
4th murderer executed in Alabama in 2005
34th murderer executed in Alabama since 1976
TEXAS LAST MEAL
FRANCES NEWTON
September 14, 2005
...Three weeks prior to the murders, Newton purchased a $50,000 life insurance policy on herself, another on her husband and a third on her daughter....
Last Meal: No last meal request.
The skinny: Frances Newton was executed for the fatal shootings of her husband and two children 18 years ago, becoming the third woman, and first black woman, to be put to death in Texas since executions resumed in 1982.
More skinny: On April 7, 1987, police were dispatched to an apartment complex on a report of a possible shooting. The deputy found the bodies of a 23 year old man and two children, 23 month old and 7 year old. Each had been shot to death with a .25 caliber handgun. The man's wife, Frances, and her cousin were at the location when the deputy arrived. Earlier in the evening, Newton took a blue bag out of her car and put it in an abandoned house which belonged to her parents. A homicide detective later recovered the bag, which containing a .25 automatic pistol. A ballistics expert established that the pistol was the murder weapon. Gunpowder residue was found on Newton's skirt. Three weeks prior to the murders, Newton purchased a $50,000 life insurance policy on herself, another on her husband and a third on her daughter. Newton, the primary beneficiary on the latter two policies, made claims on the policies following the killings.
Newton believed the real killer is or may be related to a drug dealer she knew only as "Charlie," who she said was upset with her husband for not repaying a $500 debt.
Newton didn't deny putting a gun in her 7-year-old son's knapsack and stashing the bag at an abandoned house. But she and her lawyers argued the .25-caliber blue steel revolver she hid was not the one used to fatally shoot her family.
Last words and such: Strapped to the death chamber gurney and with her parents among the people watching, she declined to make a final statement, quietly saying "no" and shaking her head when the warden asked if she would like to speak. Newton, 40, briefly turned her head to make eye contact with her family as the drugs began flowing. She appeared to attempt to mouth something to her relatives, but the drugs took effect.
Factoids: Newton was the...
38th murderer executed in U.S. in 2005
982nd murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
13th murderer executed in Texas in 2005
349th murderer executed in Texas since 1976
Newton is the fifth woman known to have been executed in Texas. A black slave named Lucy is thought to have been the first in 1858. Two female murderers, both white, have been put to death since Texas resumed executions in 1982 after a brief national ban on capital punishment imposed by the U.S. Supreme Court.
About 50 demonstrators chanted outside but the crowd paled in comparison to the group of hundreds that assembled in 1998 to protest the execution of Karla Faye Tucker, who was the first woman executed in Texas since the Civil War.
Local black leaders warned Tuesday of divine and political repercussions if condemned killer Frances Newton was executed tonight in Huntsville.
august, 2005
MISSOURI LAST MEAL
TIMOTHY JOHNSTON
August 31, 2005
...Johnston called his wife a "whore" and indicated he had grown tired of her infidelities..,
Last Meal: Fried chicken, catfish, fries, cole slaw, apple pie and Dr. Pepper.
The skinny: Timothy Johnston, 44, was executed for the beating murder of his 27-year-old wife in front of her 11-year-old son in 1989.
More skinny: Police and paramedics responded to a 911 call from the home of Timothy Johnston. Johnston directed them to "hurry up, inside. She is in here. She needs help." The sidewalk and porch were bloody.
Inside, his wife was lying on the floor with her otherwise nude upper body draped with a shirt, her face and torso swollen and bloody. Paramedics declared her dead at the scene.
When informed that his wife was dead, Johnston flew into a rage and ordered the officers and paramedics to leave and screamed that he knew a motorcycle gang that wanted "to get back at him" had killed his wife. The police officers, now at a murder scene, did not leave.
Johnston initially denied involvement then said members of a rival motorcycle gang had dumped his wife's badly-beaten body on the driveway. The detective told Johnston eyewitness accounts differed substantially from his story. Johnston called his wife a "whore" and indicated he had grown tired of her infidelities. He confessed that he argued with her, shot the house and television with a pistol, kicked in the windshield of the car that she tried to drive away, and when she tried to run, chased her and resumed hitting and kicking her. A neighbor and Johnston's stepson confirmed parts of the confession.
Last words and such: "I hope Nancy's mom forgives me. I hope everyone I've ever hurt forgives me. I'm ready to go to heaven. I hope you can forgive yourselves."
Moments before the first drug was administered, Johnston rolled his head back and forth and appeared to grimace. But he stopped moving once the drug appeared to take effect.
Factoids: Johnston was the...
37th murderer executed in U.S. in 2005
981st murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
4th murderer executed in Missouri in 2005
65th murderer executed in Missouri since 1976
All but one of the others were carried out at the Potosi Correctional Center, where condemned men are confined among general inmate population.
The Mid-Missouri Fellowship of Reconciliation held a vigil at the Boone County Courthouse and a prayer service at St. Thomas More Newman Center to protest the execution. At least seven vigils were held across Missouri, including one across the street from the Missouri Supreme Court in Jefferson City, said Jeff Stack, Fellowship of Reconciliation coordinator. According to its Web site, the fellowship is “a pacifist group committed to active nonviolence as a means of personal, social, and political change.” Stack said he and other supporters came to let the public know that not all Missourians support the death penalty.
There are now 54 inmates awaiting execution on Missouri’s death row.
Missouri is one of 27 states that carry out executions by administering a series of three drugs intravenously in rapid succession. (All told, 37 states have the death penalty.) The procedure begins with a heavy sedative to render the condemned unconscious, followed by a drug to end breathing and another to stop the heart. The sedative, sodium pentothal, renders the condemned motionless within seconds. Death usually is pronounced within four minutes.
TEXAS LAST MEAL
ROBERT ALAN SHIELDS JR.
August 23, 2005
...bacon....
Last Meal: For his final meal, Shields requested fajitas with flour tortillas, shredded cheddar and mozzarella cheeses, diced tomatoes, diced onions, sour cream, pico de gallo, bacon, breakfast sausage, onion rings, French fries, barbecue sauce and picante sauce.
The skinny: Shields was put to death by lethal injection for the 1994 murder and robbery of his neighbor in a Houston suburb.
More skinny: Shields broke into the home of the victim and ransacked the house. When she returned home shortly, Shields repeatedly stabbed her and beat her with a hammer, then took the victim’s credit cards, checkbook and car keys, as well as the murder weapon and several other household items, and left in the victim’s car.
The victim body was found by her husband when he came home from work. Shields' parents lived next door. Hours later, Shields used one of the credit cards at a store to purchase clothing.
Shields, whose parents lived next door, was arrested three days later after police later spotting him driving the victim’s car.
Shields had cuts on his fingers and chin, and his underwear was heavily saturated with blood. Blood on the victim’s stolen checkbook were both consistent with Shields’ DNA. Shields’ fingerprints and shoeprints were found in the residence. Shields' mother testified at his trial that she and his father had changed the locks on their home at least twice to keep him from stealing from them.
Leading up to: In a letter posted on an anti-death penalty Web site, Shields described his prospects as "not looking good" and referred to his execution as a "state-sanctioned murder." Shields had previous arrests for burglary and auto theft, including an auto theft arrest in Florida where he and some friends were accused of driving a stolen car and shoplifting from there to Texas.
September’s issue of the monthly magazine Christian Network Journal features the only interview to which Shields would consent before his death. The magazine’s editor said Shields said he did not kill Stiner, although he admitted to being in the house when she died. The story also reportedly contains an account of Shields’ Christian conversion.
Last words and such: When asked by the warden if he had a final statement, Shields responded twice, saying, "No." His parents and his victim's parents were among those who watched the execution.
Shields' father, Robert Shields Sr., pointed toward prison officials and said, "Murder," following his son's final breath. "Murdered by the state." he said shortly before he son was pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m.
Factoids: Shields was the...
36th murderer executed in U.S. in 2005
980th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
12th murderer executed in Texas in 2005
348th murderer executed in Texas since 1976
OKLAHOMA LAST MEAL
KENNETH TURRENTINE
August 11. 2005
...declared that he had shot his "ol lady"...
Last Meal: 10 slices of cheesecake, 10 pieces of fried chicken and fried catfish.
The skinny: Turrentine was put to death for killing his ex-girlfriend in a jealous rage that prosecutors said claimed three other lives, including the women's children.
More skinny: Turrentine was having problems with his live-in girlfriend and moved out of the house. He later suspected she was having affairs with other men and came to believe that his sister knew about the affairs and that the two women were cheating him out of money in order to support their drug habits. Turrentine got a .22 caliber handgun from his ex-wife and confronted his sister about the supposed affairs. The sister apparently laughed in Turrentine's face and Turrentine shot her in the head. Turrentine then drove to the girlfriend's house, and during an argument he shot her and her two children in the head. After this carnage, Turrentine talked to a 911 operator and declared that he had shot his "ol lady," his kids, and his sister. He waited for police to arrive and again admitted to the shootings.
Turrentine originally was convicted and sentenced to death as well for the killings of the 13-year-old son and 22-year-old daughter. But a federal appeals court last year threw out the convictions in the case because of a judge's error during the trial.
Leading up to: A week ago, Turrentine told the Pardon and Parole Board about the alcohol and the antidepressants he'd taken at the time. But in the end, he couldn't answer the board members' questions about motive. "I've been struggling with that for years," he said, just before the board declined to spare him.
Last words and such: Before being given a lethal injection, Turrentine, 52, proclaimed his innocence, despite an earlier confession. "I've always maintained I've been innocent of crimes charged. This is a violation of my 14th Amendment rights. It's not over. With that being said, Mom, Dad, I love you all. Be strong. The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ensures due process of the law and equal treatment of all citizens and was adopted to protect former slaves after the Civil War.
When it was over, his mother cried, "Let me get out of here," but paused just before she left the death chamber. She placed her hand on the window that separated her from the room where her son's body lay and tearfully patted it.
Factoids: Turrentine was the....
35th murderer executed in U.S. in 2005
979th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
4th murderer executed in Oklahoma in 2005
79th murderer executed in Oklahoma since 1976
TEXAS LAST MEAL
GARY LYNN STERLING
August 10, 2005
Last Meal: Sterling requested a chicken fried steak, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, French fries, pecan pie, sweet tea and a vanilla milkshake.
The skinny: Sterling, former farm worker from Central Texas was executed for using a car bumper jack to fatally beat and rob a man during a violent spree 17 years ago that also left three other people dead.
More skinny: Sterling, 38, was condemned for the beating death of a 72 year old man, killed in 1988 at his home. Prosecutors also had evidence tying him to the slaying of a 52 year old woman, a friend of the victim's whose purse and glasses were found at Sterling's home, although he was not tried for the woman's death.
Sterling led police to their bodies after he was arrested for the slayings of two seventy year old brothers. He pleaded guilty to their slayings and received two life prison terms. Authorities said Sterling knew the four victims, who all were fatally beaten.
Evidence showed Sterling, who was 20 at the time, took a car, a TV, shotgun and a lantern. Police said he sold the car for cash he needed to buy crack cocaine. "He was looking for enough to just buy some rocks," Hill County Sheriff Brent Button said.
In the big house: While in jail in Hillsboro, Sterling gained notoriety for trashing his cell, tearing up steel jail fixtures officials had been told were indestructible. Sterling also was remembered for a physical training regimen where he would do push-ups for hours.
Last words and such: "I wish I could do something to replace your father, your loved one," Gary Sterling said as two daughters and three sons of his victim stood a few feet away watching through a window. "But I can't. I know this was a heinous crime. I just wish I could get him back. I would like the chaplain to say a prayer, not only for me but for the victim's family. For them being misled, I am sorry. That is all I have to say. I'll put in a good word for everybody."
Factoids: Sterling was the....
34th murderer executed in U.S. in 2005
978th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
11th murderer executed in Texas in 2005
347th murderer executed in Texas since 1976
ALABAMA LAST MEAL
GEORGE SIBLEY
August 4, 2005
...together again...
Last Meal: Sibley declined the traditional last meal and had not eaten since Tuesday.
The skinny: Sibley, 62, an anti-government extremist was executed for capital murder in the 1993 shooting death of an Opelika police officer.
Sibley's common-law wife, Lynda Lyon Block, 54, was executed in 2002 for her role in the death.
More skinny: The police officer was gunned down by both in a Wal-Mart parking lot when he approached their car after a passer-by said a child in the car had asked for help. Block's 9-year-old son was in the vehicle as she and Sibley emptied their guns into the officer and his patrol car. The pair claimed they shot the officer in self-defense after he touched his holster.
Legal machinations: Sibley and Block refused for years to file appeals. Before Block was put to death, she claimed through an attorney that Alabama never became a state again after the Civil War and she therefore did not recognize the state's court system. Both Block and Sibley had been active in fringe political groups and renounced their U.S. citizenship, claiming the courts were biased and without jurisdiction. They tried to cut their ties to the government by getting rid of their driver's license, car registrations and birth certificates.
In his petition Wednesday to the Supreme Court, Sibley wrote that his appeal had never been fully reviewed by the court in Washington, D.C., and it was "crucial in a case such as this." But state's attorneys filed a response brief saying Sibley was not entitled to a delay. "For no good reason, Sibley has waited until the eve of his execution to file this motion," the filing said.
Last words and such: Anti-government extremist George Sibley Jr. nodded to his relatives, stared at his victim's family and gave a final statement of defiance..."Everyone who is doing this to me is guilty of a murder. My sister and my niece, I want to express my love and gratitude ... and gratitude to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ."
Sibley died at 6:26 p.m. The execution was carried out after the U.S. Supreme Court denied Sibley's request for a delay and Gov. Bob Riley turned down Sibley's request for a six-month postponement. "There is no new evidence that would justify such a delay," the governor said.
Sibley left all of his possessions to his sister and niece. The items left to his sister included a wedding ring, watch, pictures, a Book of Mormon, a Bible and $33.94.
Factoids: The officer's widow told reporters Wednesday she personally did not want the execution. Thursday, she said it was extremely difficult to watch but she felt justice was done.
Sibley was the...
33rd murderer executed in U.S. in 2005
977th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
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