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2007 last meals...
(compiled from various news accounts)
july, 2007
SOUTH DAKOTA LAST MEAL
ELIJAH PAGE
July 11, 2007
...It was South Dakota's first execution in 60 years...
Last Meal: Page had a final meal request of steak with A-1 sauce, jalapeno poppers with cream sauce, onion rings, and a salad with cherry tomatoes, ham chunks, shredded cheese, bacon bits, and blue cheese and ranch dressing. He wanted lemon iced tea and coffee to drink and ice cream for dessert.
The skinny: Page, 25, was executed for the torturing and killing a 19-year-old man following a robbery.
It was South Dakota's first execution in 60 years.
More skinny: Page and two other young men were convicted of killing a 19-year old "friend," near the town of Spearfish in the rural west of South Dakota.
The victim was kidnapped at gunpoint, then tortured for almost 3 hours before his death. He was forced to drink acid, repeatedly kicked and beaten, stabbed in the head and torso, and forced to remove his clothing in an icy creek.
His body was not found until a month later.
Upon his arrest in Texas, Page admitted his involvement in the murder. Page later pled guilty, received a death sentence, and waived appeals.
Accomplice Briley Piper, age 19, also pled guilty and was sentenced to death. Accomplice Darrell Hoadley, age 20, is serving a sentence of life without parole.
Last words and such: Asked if he had any last words, Page replied, "No." Asked if he understood the question Page responded, "Yes, no last words."
Factoids: Page was the...
30th murderer executed in U.S. in 2007
1087th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
1st murderer executed in South Dakota in 2007
1st murderer executed in South Dakota since 1976
It was the first execution in South Dakota since 1947 when another convicted murderer died in the electric chair. Before Wednesday, there had been only 15 executions in the state, the first occurring in 1877 when Jack McCall was hanged for shooting Wild Bill Hickok in the back of the head as he played poker at a saloon in Deadwood when the state was still a territory. Hickok was said to have been holding eights and aces -- poker's "dead man's hand."
Executions are rare in South Dakota because of its sparse population. At about 780,000, it ranks 46th among the 50 states.
Besides Page, there were only three other men on South Dakota's death row, including one of his co-defendants.
Several demonstrators -- both for and against the death penalty -- were set up in a grassy area at the penitentiary.
In the hour before the execution, as the sun went down and the sky got pink behind the razor wire of the penitentiary, the demonstrators and media members grew quiet for a few moments in anticipation.
Near 9:30 p.m., a young woman played “Amazing Grace” on the bagpipes. Groups huddled in prayer, a rosary chorus of “Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death” piercing the din as the sun set hazy on the horizon. A car whizzed past and its passenger interjected, “I’ll pay for the electric bill!”
By 10 p.m., there were 100 people opposing the death penalty and 10 supporting it.
Of the 38 states that have death penalty statutes since capital punishment was reinstated in 1976, only four now have not executed anybody, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. Those states are Kansas, New Hampshire, New Jersey and New York.
june, 2007
GEORGIA LAST MEAL
JOHN WASHINGTON HIGHTOWER
June 26, 2007
Last Meal: Hightower, 63, had a final meal request of four fried pork chops, collard greens with boiled okra and "boiling meat", fried corn, fried fatback, fried green tomatoes, cornbread, lemonade, one pint of strawberry ice cream and three glazed donuts.
The skinny: Hightower was executed for killing his wife and two stepdaughters.
More skinny: Hightower shot to death his wife and her two daughters (19 and 22) in their home.
Hightower admitted he had been having marital problems, drinking and snorting cocaine hours before he entered the home. He placed a gun under a pillow in the room he shared with his wife and waited for everyone to go to sleep. At about 3 a.m., he retrieved the gun and shot each of the three victims in the head.
A 3-year-old girl in the house, his wife's niece, was found unharmed.
He was arrested about 90 minutes after the shootings while driving his wife's car.
Last words and such: When given the opportunity to speak his final words, Hightower thanked his family and friends. "I want to say that I'm sorry for the grief I brought to the [victim's family." He also thanked his family and friends for their support over the years. "Last but not least, I thank my mother who stood by me for so long."
He declined an opportunity for a minister to pray for him.
Factoids: Hightower was the...
29th murderer executed in U.S. in 2007
1086th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
1st murderer executed in Georgia in 2007
40th murderer executed in Georgia since 1976
Dozens of protesters stood outside the prison grounds Tuesday evening.
The execution was Georgia's first in nearly two years.
TEXAS LAST MEAL
PATRICK BRYAN KNIGHT
June 26, 2007
...No joke...
Last Meal: Knight had a final meal request of fried pork chops and chicken, garlic toast and ice cream.
The skinny: Knight was executed for abducting and killing an Amarillo-area couple almost 16 years ago.
More skinny: When the doomed couple returned from work to their Amarillo home, they were met by Knight and accomplice Robert Bradfield, who locked them in the basement. The next day, the criminals drove around in the the couple's vehicles attempting to obtain money.
That night, they bound, gagged, and blindfolded the couple, forced them into their own van, and drove them to a location in the country. Knight made them get out of the van and kneel, and then he shot he shot each of them in the back of the head. He dragged their bodies into a ditch on the side of the road and returned to his trailer house, next door to the victims, and went to sleep.
During an investigation into the couple's disappearance, law enforcement officers questioned Knight, who confessed and led the officers to the location of the victims’ bodies.
Accomplice Bradfield is serving a pair of life sentences.
Knight said he was young and immature, drunk and high on drugs and didn't remember much about the slayings. The victims had complained to him about loud music and loud cars. "I regret so much because they were such good people," said Knight, who grew up in Slidell, La., and was known in prison as the "Insane Cajun."
The joke contest: Knight's told prison officials Tuesday when he arrived at the death house he received as many as 1,300 jokes by mail and from a friend who had set up an Internet site for him that was dubbed "Dead Man Laughing." The effort was intended to boost the morale on Texas' death row, he said.
"I don't think his point was to trivialize it," said his attorney, Paul Mansur, who met with Knight last week. "They've had 17 executions and we're in the 25th week of the year. They see these people go and these are people they know and communicate with. They have a camaraderie together. So it's really just for them."
Up until the final hours before his execution, Knight told prison officials he still planned to deliver a joke, but would not tell them what he planned to say. He said he narrowed the list down and ran a few finalists past his death row buddies to pick which one they liked the best and would deliver during his final statement.
He said his humor effort was intended to boost the spirits of his fellow condemned inmates. “A little bit of levity is needed,” Knight said of the mood on death row. “And it seems to be working. I just want to go out laughing. I’m not trying to disrespect anyone. I know I’m not innocent.”
Although Knight insisted the Dead Man Laughing campaign should not be interpreted as a lack of remorse, some people disagreed. They said his actions are as indefensible as his crime. "It's not a funny occasion," said victim's rights advocate Andy Kahan. "I don't think he'd find it funny if the state decided to pump in 'Another One Bites the Dust' or 'Hit the Road, Jack.' I don't think he'd find that funny either."
Last words and such: "I said I was going to tell a joke. Death has set me free. That's the biggest joke. I deserve this." His voice wavering and appearing to hold back tears, he thanked God for his friends and made a plea on behalf of fellow inmates he said were innocent. "And the other joke is that I am not Patrick Bryan Knight and y'all can't stop this execution now. Go ahead. I'm finished."
Texas prison officials disputed Knight's identity claim, insisting they used fingerprints to ensure the inmate was Knight. "This evening's execution brought an end to an almost 16-year nightmare for a family," Randall County Sheriff Joel W. Richardson, said. "Patrick Knight started that nightmare. "[The victims] will not be brought back because of anything that happened here tonight, but Patrick Knight certainly won't be able to do this to anybody else again... And despite all the hype about his joke, it turns out he's not much of a comedian. He's simply an executed cold-blooded killer."
Factoids: Knight was the...
28th murderer executed in U.S. in 2007
1085th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
18th murderer executed in Texas in 2007
397th murderer executed in Texas since 1976
OKLAHOMA LAST MEAL
JIMMY DALE BLAND
June 26, 2007
...Bland was terminally ill and had less than a year to live when he was executed....
Last Meal: Bland had a final meal request of hot and spicy chicken breast, two slices of sausage pizza with extra cheese, a slice of German chocolate cake, a pint of French vanilla ice cream and a Dr. Pepper.
The skinny: Bland, a two-time killer, was executed for shooting his 62-year-old employer in the back of the head.
Bland was terminally ill and had less than a year to live when he was executed.
More skinny: The victim, the former mayor of Manitou, was a compassionate, friendly man who was always willing to help. He hired Bland, who had been out of prison for less than a year, to help him do construction work. He let Bland borrow his Cadillac to visit his girlfriend in Oklahoma City.
When Bland returned to the man's home in Manitou, the two men began arguing, and Bland shot the victim in the back of the head with a .22-caliber rifle. He then took the body to a creek and left it there under some logs. After Bland was arrested for driving under the influence in the man's car two days later, he confessed.
Bland had killed before. In 1975, he was convicted of manslaughter for killing a soldier and kidnapping the soldier's family. He served 20 years of a 60-year sentence.
He had been out of prison less than a year when he was accused of the killing.
The debate: Bland had a fatal case of lung cancer that had spread to his brain, and had undergone radiation treatment and chemotherapy according to his lawyer, David Autry. Bland would have died in six months, Autry said. "It's pointless to execute this guy. He was going to be dead in a few short months anyway."
Though there are no reliable statistics on how many terminally ill inmates are currently on death row in the nation's prisons, Bland appears to be one of the few inmates this close to dying of natural causes to be executed.
His case has outraged death penalty opponents, who argue that the justice system should show mercy to death row inmates who are already dying--an issue that is likely to appear before courts and clemency boards more frequently as the death-row population ages.
The victim's family, victims advocates and the state of Oklahoma have little sympathy for Bland and say his illness should not excuse his crimes. "If Jimmy Bland wanted to die of natural causes he shouldn't have shot [the victim] in the back of the head," said Assistant Oklahoma Attorney General Seth Branham. "He's in the same position as any other inmate from the state's perspective," Branham said. "Capital punishment prevents death by natural causes."
Several other older inmates had tried to avoid their executions based on their old age or infirmities--with little success in the courts. While the Supreme Court -- in some instances -- has been willing to rein in the death penalty as applied to juveniles or the mentally retarded, it has not been sympathetic to claims that executing the elderly or the ill violates the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
Last words and such: “I’m sorry for what happened. I love you all. I love you all,” Bland said looking toward his family members. He then turned to prison officials in the death chamber and said: “I’m ready.”
Much of what Bland said to his family was inaudible because of a defect in the death chamber’s public address system. “
Factoids: Bland was the...
27th murderer executed in U.S. in 2007
1084th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
2nd murderer executed in Oklahoma in 2007
85th murderer executed in Oklahoma since 1976
SOUTH CAROLINA LAST MEAL
CALVIN SHULER
June 22, 2007
...Shuler dumped the armored car on a back road without any money to show for his actions -- all of it was either ripped to shreds by gunfire or soaked in blood....
Last Meal: Shuler, 40, had a final meal request of t-bone steak, well done with A-1 Steak sauce, baked potato, french fries, grape drink and chocolate cake.
The skinny: Shuler was executed by lethal injection for the killing of an armored car guard 10 years ago.
More skinny: Shuler had been an employee of Anderson Armored Car Service and had briefly worked with his victims. Shuler quietly and patiently waited under a house for the armored car to make its routine stop at a bank in Harleyville. When it did, he made his way from under the house, pointed a gun at the driver and shouted for the driver to get out of the truck.
Shuler exchanged gunfire with two of the guards before driving off in the van with the victim, who was locked in the back of the van.
The victim apparently did his best to defend himself from inside the truck with only a five-shot revolver versus the SKS assault rifle Shuler was toting. Investigators on the scene said the man fired every shot in his gun prior to his death.
Following the robbery and gun battle, Shuler dumped the armored car on a back road without any money to show for his actions -- all of it was either ripped to shreds by gunfire or soaked in blood. The victim's body was found in the armored car.
Shuler was wounded in the neck before he got into another vehicle and fled.
Shuler confessed to the robbery and murder when questioned by police officers and FBI agents. Following his confession, Shuler's home was searched and physical evidence was found in abundance, including items containing traces of Shuler's DNA, which matched DNA found in blood inside the armored car.
Last words and such: Just after 6 p.m., prison officials pulled back a burgundy curtain, revealing the glass-encased death chamber to the 10 witnesses. Shuler, clad in a bright green jumpsuit, had already been strapped to a gurney,
Shuler made no final statement. On the gurney, he kept his eyes locked on a man Corrections Department officials said was his spiritual adviser. "Amen, amen, my brother," the adviser said to Shuler, then hummed softly as the execution was carried out.
Factoids: Shuler was the...
26th murderer executed in U.S. in 2007
1083rd murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
1st murderer executed in South Carolina in 2007
37th murderer executed in South Carolina since 1976
TEXAS LAST MEAL
GILBERTO REYES
June 21, 2007
Last Meal: Reyes had a final meal request of BBQ turkey legs and BBQ brisket, a bowl of cheddar cheese and avocados.
The skinny: Reyes was executed for killing a ex-girlfriend he stalked before raping, strangling and using a claw hammer to beat her to death.
More skinny: The victim was reported missing after she failed to come home the night before from her waitress job at a restaurant in Muleshoe, Texas.
Authorities investigating the disappearance wanted to question Reyes but couldn't find him, adding to suspicion he was involved. Reyes already was known to local police. A month earlier, he chased the woman around town, took a shot at her with a rifle, wound up getting arrested and was free on bond.
Two days after she was last seen, the woman's battered body was found stuffed under clothing in the hatchback area of her stolen car some 450 miles to the south in Presidio, along the Rio Grande across from Mexico. Her pants and underwear were pulled down to her knees. She had multiple head wounds and a laceration on her hand. Officials recovered a knife and a claw hammer from the car. Authorities found bloodstains in and on the car. An autopsy determined that she had been struck in the head six times by a claw hammer.
Blood evidence found outside the restaurant where she worked led police to believe she was attacked there. Before dawn the next morning, border police questioned Reyes as he was walking across border but had no reason to detain him. Acting on a tip, police arrested him three months later in New Mexico. At his trial, witnesses told of Reyes and the woman having a stormy relationship. A police officer testified the victim had complained about Reyes stalking her two weeks before she disappeared. DNA evidence from Reyes was found on the victim's clothing.
Last words and such: With a big grin on his face, Reyes, 33, had a brief final statement, "I love y'all and I'm going to miss y'all," he said, smiling, but never looking at the parents and other relatives of his victim watching through a window.
Factoids: Reyes was the...
25th murderer executed in U.S. in 2007
1082nd murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
17th murderer executed in Texas in 2007
396th murderer executed in Texas since 1976
TEXAS LAST MEAL
LIONELL RODRIGUEZ
June 20. 2007
...free after serving less than five months of a seven-year prison term...
Last Meal: Rodriguez had no final request.
The skinny: Rodriguez was executed for the fatal shooting of a woman during a carjacking just three weeks after he had been paroled from prison.
More skinny: Rodriguez was 19 and free after serving less than five months of a seven-year prison term for burglary and cocaine possession when he and a cousin decided to prowl Houston to act out fantasies they'd seen in the movies.
With a shotgun and automatic rifle he had stolen from his stepfather the day before, Rodriguez joined his cousin, James Gonzales, in driving around town looking for a place to rob.
At a stop light at an intersection in Houston, Rodriguez noticed a young woman sitting alone at the wheel of a car next to them. Rodriguez aimed the rifle at the woman and fired one time, striking her in the temple. Rodriguez jumped out of the vehicle and ran over, dumped the woman’s body on the street and drove off in her car, with Gonzalez following. The young woman was a 22-year old who had been working a double shift that night, covering for her sister who was pregnant.
Gonzales, still driving his own car, soon after tried to flee from an officer who was pulling him over for a broken taillight. Fearing he was being stopped for the shooting, he told officers Rodriguez was the gunman. Police then tracked down Rodriguez near his home. The interior of the car and Rodriguez’s pants were soaked in the victim's blood, and her bone, blood and brain matter was clotted throughout his hair.
Gonzales received a 40-year prison term.
Death Twice: A jury convicted Rodriguez of capital murder in May 1991 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reversed his conviction in December 1993 because the jury cards - which determine the order in which potential jurors are considered for the panel - were shuffled twice. Rodriguez was tried again and in September 1994 was again found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to death.
He confessed to the killing.
Last words and such: "You have every right to hate me. You have every right to want to see this. To you and my family, you all don't deserve to see this," Rodriguez told the relatives of the victim, as he looked directly at them as they watched through a window nearby. He said he did not write them a letter to apologize because he wanted to do it "face-to-face." "It is the right thing to do. None of this should have happened. I've got a good family just like you're a good family," he continued.
Rodriguez said he hoped that the woman's family could put aside any bitterness because of what he did. "I'm responsible. I'm responsible," he repeated. "I'm sorry to you all. This should have never happened." He thanked his relatives who watched through another window, adding, "We'll see each other again." He muttered a brief prayer, mouthed them a kiss and closed his eyes as the lethal drugs began to take effect.
Factoids: Rodriguez was the...
24th murderer executed in U.S. in 2007
1081st murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
16th murderer executed in Texas in 2007
395th murderer executed in Texas since 1976
INDIANA LAST MEAL
MICHAEL LAMBERT
June 15, 2007
...they held blue glowsticks given to them by the widow of the officer to represent the “thin blue line” he was on the night he was killed...
Last Meal: Lambert had no final request.
The skinny: Lambert, 36, was executed for shooting a police officer.
More skinny: Muncie police officers were dispatched to a traffic accident and observed an abandoned utility truck. The truck was towed and Lambert was found nearby crawling under a vehicle.
Lambert had spent most of the night getting drunk and after telling officers he was trying to sleep, was arrested for public intoxication. He was patted down and placed into the back of a police car driven by an officer for transport to jail. A few minutes later, the police vehicle was observed sliding off the road into a ditch. Lambert was still handcuffed in the backseat and the officer had been shot 5 times in the back of the head and neck. A .25 handgun was found laying on the floorboard. It was later learned that Lambert had stolen the .25 pistol from his employer.
The officer died 11 days later.
A demonstration/re-enactment video was introduced into evidence showing the manner in which a gun could be retrieved and fired while handcuffed. A statement by the defendant was admitted despite his .18 BAC.
A change in policy...When Michael Lambert was set to be executed two years ago, he agreed to let the brother of the police officer he fatally shot watch him die. That execution was stayed.
Since then, a change in Indiana law means he has no say over can watch his execution. It’s a change Lambert doesn’t like. “I don’t think anyone should be given that choice,” he said during an interview last week. “It’s not natural just to come in and watch someone die — not just die, but watch someone be killed. It’s not natural.”
The victim's brother, deputy chief of the Muncie Police Department, thought it was unfair he needed to ask Lambert for permission two years ago. “My brother is the victim here and it shouldn’t be up to him (Lambert).”
Lambert is the second person to be executed under the new law that gives up to eight spots to immediate family members of murder victims.
Last words and such: Lambert was cooperative with prison employees and did not offer any final statement.
Lambert had been given a kitten while on death row, which he left to his son. The kitten was three months old.
Factoids: Lambert was the...
23rd murderer executed in U.S. in 2007
1080th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
2nd murderer executed in Indiana in 2007
19th murderer executed in Indiana since 1976
Some 25 anti-death penalty protesters carried signs and banged drums outside the prison’s main gate in the hours before the execution. The Rev. Tricia Teater, a Buddhist priest from Chicago, said she spent Thursday afternoon with Lambert, praying, mediating and chanting. “It is a very sad thing for this society to keep spinning the cycle of violence and creating more victims and more pain,” she told the protesters.
What had largely been a demonstration against capital punishment changed around 10 p.m. Sirens north of the prison interrupted the calm, signaling the arrival of those wishing to show their support for the victim. A caravan of about 30 sport-utility vehicles and marked and unmarked police cars, some with lights flashing, ushered in at least 70 people.
Most were either off-duty officers belonging to Indiana's Fraternal Order of Police or surviving family members of other officers killed in the line of duty. About a dozen were Muncie police officers in uniform.
As they awaited word of the execution, they held blue glowsticks given to them by the widow of the officer to represent the “thin blue line” he was on the night he was killed. As the execution neared, the crowd formed a line along the prison's wrought iron fence, holding the glow sticks in outstretched arms toward the prison.
TEXAS LAST MEAL
MICHAEL GRIFFITH
June 6, 2006
...Griffith was the first ex-officer to be executed since the state resumed carrying out executions in 1982...
Last Meal: For his last meal, Griffith, 56, requested breakfast food including fried eggs.
Note: We know that "breakfast food" is a little vague, but that is the menu the prison released to us.
The skinny: Griffith, a former deputy sheriff, was executed for the murder of a woman during the robbery of a wedding chapel and flower shop.
More skinny: Griffith was a regular customer of the Always and Forever Flower Shop in Houston, operated by the 44-year old victim and her mother. Griffith entered and after placing an order, pulled a pistol and robbed the woman of $400 and credit cards. He then forced her into the back room, made her perform sex acts, then stabbed her repeatedly with a butcher knife.
Griffith used one of the stolen credit cards only minutes after the murder. He used other over the next three weeks to entertain his girlfriends.
Griffith was arrested a month after the murder in a hotel room. Upon his arrest, he was in possession of the credit cards and the murder weapon.DNA testing showed that the knife had on it the blood of both Griffith and the victim.
Griffith also was convicted of two violent robberies involving women — one at a savings and loan office and another at a bridal shop — the same month as the slaying. Both women survived their attacks and testified against him.
Griffith was a 10-year veteran officer of the Harris County Sheriff's Department before his termination in 1993 due to domestic abuse. According to Prison officials, Griffith was the first ex-officer to be executed since the state resumed carrying out executions in 1982.
Leading up to: Griffith never admitted to the crime, but in the days leading up to the execution he asked his lawyers to stop appealing his sentence.
Last words and such: Griffith made no final statement from the death chamber gurney, replying to the warden with a "No, sir" when asked if he had anything to say. But as the lethal drugs began flowing, he whispered, "Please take my spirit to the Lord."
Factoids: Griffith was the...
22nd murderer executed in U.S. in 2007
1079th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
15th murderer executed in Texas in 2007
394th murderer executed in Texas since 1976
may, 2007
OHIO LAST MEAL
CHRISTOPHER J. NEWTON
May 24, 2007
...The actually time of death was 11 hours after the savage beating began, or 660 minutes, at least 41 times as long as Newton's sixteen minutes...
Last Meal: Newton had a final meal request of steak, asparagus, brussels sprouts, feta cheese, a soft drink, cake and watermelon.
The skinny: Newton was executed for the murder of his prison cellmate.
More skinny: Newton was imprisoned for burglary. After telling officials he had been threatened, was placed in a cell with a new cellmate.
The two men got into an argument over a game of chess when Newton (who weighted 100 pounds more than the victim) attacked the man and began hitting him in the face. He then tied a piece of rope around his neck and stuck a gag down his throat. When Newton realized that the man was still alive, he cut a piece of cloth and strangled him with it.
Newton wrote out a detailed confession to the murder, and claimed to have drunk his blood following the murder.
Newton, who had a history of mental-health problems, said he was mad because the man kept giving up before the chess game was over.
Newton pled guilty to the charges, and waived appeals.
Last words and such: After Newton, 37, was finally wheeled into the death chamber at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, his last words were: "I sure could use a beef stew and a chicken bone," which was apparently a message to friends on Death Row.
Newton's public-defender attorney, later read a statement from his client in which Newton apologized to Brewer's family and said, "If I could take it back, I would."
The execution of Newton took nearly two hours, longer than any since Ohio reinstated the death penalty in 1999. Here is a timeline of the procedure, which begins with a shunt being placed in each of the inmate's arms, compiled from the prison log and a reporter's observations from the witness viewing area.
10:03 a.m.: Execution team visible on witness-area TV screen beginning work on Newton.
10:10 a.m.: After unsuccessfully trying insertion points on both arms, technicians begin exploring the upper and lower portions of Newton's arms, inner and outer elbows, wrists, and hands, as well as his right leg, tapping and massaging in their attempts to find spots to insert the shunts. He was stuck with needles at least 10 times.
10:27 a.m.: IV is inserted in left arm. Medical staff continues working on right arm.
10:56 a.m.: In the viewing chamber, where witnesses are discouraged from talking, prisons spokeswoman Andrea Dean holds up a note to reporters: "We have told the team to take their time. His size is creating a problem. (Newton was 6 feet, 265 lbs)" (Note: Ohio had a problem with lethal injection in 2006 after a condemned man's vein collapsed and he woke up telling his executioners the drugs were not working. After finding another vein, that execution was completed.)
10:58 a.m.: Medical team exits chamber for two minutes.
11:03 a.m.: Preparations reach the one-hour mark.
11:05 a.m.: Newton is given a two-minute bathroom break.
11:28 a.m.: IV inserted in right arm.
11:33 a.m.: Newton walks from the medical chamber into the death chamber. He is visible to witnesses through a glass partition.
11:36 a.m.: Strapped to the gurney with lines now attached, Newton delivers his final statement into a microphone. He talks and laughs with two attending officials, inaudible to witnesses, for another three minutes.
11:37 a.m.: Signal given for chemicals to begin flowing.
11:39 a.m.: Newton's eyes close.
11:40 a.m.: Newton's belly begins to heave, his chin and face shudder and twitch, and his body twice mildly convulses on the table within his restraints.
11:45 a.m.: Movements stop.
11:51 a.m.: Curtain between witnesses and death chamber is pulled for coroner examination.
11:53 a.m.: Newton declared dead.
Factoids: Newton was the..
.
21st murderer executed in U.S. in 2007
1078th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
2nd murderer executed in Ohio in 2007
26th murderer executed in Ohio since 1976
A little perspective... (From the Wall Street Journal's Opinion Journal "Best of the Web" daily column
Hurry Up and Die
"Ohio Inmate Took Twice as Long to Die," according to an Associated Press headline. Twice as long as his victim? No, that's not what they mean:
The 16 minutes it took Christopher Newton to die once chemicals began flowing into his veins was the longest stretch that any of the state's inmates executed since 1999 has endured, an Associated Press review shows.
During that span Thursday--more than twice as long as usual, and 5 minutes longer than the state's previous longest on record--Newton's stomach heaved, his chin quivered and twitched, and his 6-foot, 265-pound body twice mildly convulsed within the restraints. . . .
"It seems too long," Ohio State University surgeon Jonathan Groner said. "The whole thing seems agonizing."
This is all the story has to say about his victim:
Newton had insisted on the death penalty as punishment for choking and beating the victim, 27, his cellmate at the Mansfield Correctional Center, over a chess game in 2001.
OK, but how long did the victim take to die? We finally found a rough estimate in a January 2006 AP dispatch:
The man died a few hours after the attack at Ohio State University Medical Center. Newton told authorities he made a rope and later cut a strip from his prison jumpsuit to strangle the victim when the rope broke. He also stomped on the man's head, throat and chest.
Presumably "a few hours" means at least three, so that the victim took at least 164 minutes longer than Newton to die, or at least 11 times as long.
DME NOTE: The actually time of death was 11 hours after the savage beating began, or 660 minutes, at least 41 times as long as Newton's sixteen minutes.
You'd think the criminal-coddling crowd would have some sympathy for the victim in this case, since he was a fellow felon, but he was only in for attempted burglary, which we suppose means his life wasn't as valuable as a murderer's.
More on those "few" hours: MANCI nurse Diane Burson testified that when she responded to cell 115, the man was not breathing and had no pulse. Burson and responding paramedics worked diligently, and eventually the victim's heart began to beat. Ditmars testified that while medical personnel were trying to save the man's life, Newton was laughing and yelling, “ ‘Let him die. I killed him.’ ” According to Douglas, Newton said, “ ‘[F]uck that bitch [the victim]. You might as well not even work on him. He is already dead.’ ” Nurse Butcher recalls Newton periodically shouting to the paramedics, “ ‘Stop, let the fucker die.’ ” State Highway Patrol Trooper Doug Hamman described Newton as singing, “‘[T]here is nothing like the taste of fresh blood in the morning.’”
After paramedics established a heartbeat, the man was taken to MedCentral Hospital, then flown to the Ohio State University Medical Center, where he was declared brain dead around 2:30 p.m. After an autopsy, Dr. Dorothy Dean, a forensic pathologist, concluded that he had died from a ligature strangulation. The victim also suffered other injuries to his head and body consistent with his having been kicked or stomped on.
After the assault, Newton told Lieutenant Hilbert Mealey, a MANCI CO, that he had allowed the man to lie for an hour in the cell because Newton knew that paramedics would try to save his life. Newton told Mealey that he had more fun in prison than on the outside. MANCI Lieutenant Joe Albert recalled that Newton had seemed very happy and had repeatedly asked, “ ‘Did I kill him? Is he dead?’ ” Newton also said, “[I]f he is not dead, I hope he is going to be a vegetable.”
Sixteen minutes, huh?
ARIZONA LAST MEAL
ROBERT CHARLES COMER
May 23, 2007
...they stole a number of his belongings, as well as his dog....
Last Meal: Comer had a final meal request of fried okra, four buns with lots of butter, lots of salt and two slices of banana bread.
The skinny: Comer was executed for the killing of a Florida man at a campsite at Apache Lake.
He was also serving 339 years for rape and kidnapping.
His execution came after he waived his rights to further appeal.
More skinny: Comer and his girlfriend, Juneva Willis, were at a campground near Apache Lake. They invited the victim, who was at the campsite next to theirs, to have dinner and drinks with them. Around 9:00 p.m., Comer shot the man in the head, and later stabbed him in the neck.
Comer then removed an Emergency Medical Technician badge from the man’s pocket and hid the body by covering it with wood. After the murder, Comer and Willis drove to dead man’s campsite, where they stole a number of his belongings, as well as his dog.
Comer and Willis then proceeded to the campsite of a couple, where they posed as “Arizona Drug Enforcement” officers, and ordered them out of their tent at gunpoint. Comer flashed the EMT badge and then tied the two up with wire and duct tape, then put them in their truck and stole several items from their tent.
Comer then drove the truck while Willis followed behind in his. After a short time, Willis stopped following Comer. When the woman asked to relieve herself, Comer permitted her to do so but accompanied her into the woods and sexually assaulted her. He then sexually assaulted her again in front of the truck.
Comer threatened to kill the man but the woman convinced him not to do so. Comer instead left the man in the woods and drove off with woman. When the truck ran out of gas, Comer and the woman walked back to Willis, and the three of them then drove together, along with Willis’s two children. During this journey, Comer shot and killed Pritchard’s dog, and sexually abused the woman twice more.
The woman finally managed to escape while Comer was fixing his truck. She was later picked up by a passing motorist and taken to the sheriff’s home. . The man had managed to walk back to the Burnt Corral campground and had reported the incident to the Department of Public Safety.
The police quickly apprehended Comer and Willis.
Willis subsequently pled guilty to one count of kidnapping in exchange for agreeing to testify against Comer. The other charges against her were dropped.
The sentencing: Comer had to be subdued with a hose, beaten and dragged to his sentencing in 1988. When he was brought into the courtroom strapped to a wheelchair, he was bloodied, barely conscious and naked except for a towel on his lap. His extensive tattoos, including a swastika, were exposed and his shaggy hair and beard were wild.
Last words and such: This day is a welcome one for Comer, who has fought to be executed since 2000. Comer spent much of that time just proving he is competent to make that decision, saying he owes it to his victims, society and himself.
After being sentenced to death, Comer spent the next 13 years making knives and shanks, fighting with prisoners and guards and setting fires in his own cell. He was cited 43 times between 1988 and 2001 for such infractions. But since 2001, he hadn't been disciplined once. Guards, psychologists, lawyers and Comer himself say he matured, mellowed and become more thoughtful during his prison time, particularly after his best friend in prison, Robert Vickers, was executed in 1999.
Comer never flinched as he was injected with a lethal cocktail of drugs that put him to death. He took a picture of his daughter into the death chamber with him and seemed defiant as he smiled and maintained eye contact with his witnesses as drugs coursed through his body.
His last words were "Go Raiders!" and with that, his smile slowly faded until he passed out.
Factoids: Comer was the...
20th murderer executed in U.S. in 2007
1077th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
1st murderer executed in Arizona in 2007
23rd murderer executed in Arizona since 1976
Protesters moved on to prison grounds earlier in the morning to voice their objections over the planned execution. However, the Arizona Department of Corrections officials made sure they could not be seen from the main road.
A group of 17 people from Pax Christi USA drove from Phoenix, formed a circle and prayed the Hail Mary. "You don't teach not killing by killing," Ruth Zemek said. Wearing a hat that said "let us not become the evil we despise, abolish the death penalty," Margaret Snider said: "I don't think it accomplishes anything. The crime has been committed. It doesn't make anything well." "Taking a person's life does not bring a person back," protester Dan Wolford said. "His taking a life doesn't justify taking his. He doesn't forfeit his right to live because he took someone else's life."
However, at least one man from East Valley drove to Florence to support Comer's execution. "This man can never do it again after 10. He can never kill again. They will be safe from this man," said George Williams, the lone pro-death penalty protester. He held a sign saying "Coomer will never murder or kill again"
Comer was the first inmate to be put to death in the state since Donald Miller was executed on Nov. 8, 2000, for helping murder an 18-year-old woman.
TEXAS LAST MEAL
CHARLES EDWARD SMITH
May 16, 2007
...sixteen, count 'em, sixteen Pepsi's...
Last meal: Smith had a final meal request of nine tacos, nine enchiladas, french fries, a salad with ranch dressing, beef fajitas, a bowl of picante sauce, a bowl of shredded cheese, six jalapeno peppers, a strawberry cake with strawberry frosting and 16 Pepsi's.
The skinny: Smith, 41, a Kansas prison escapee was executed for killing a sheriff's deputy who was trying to pull him over for stealing $22.50 worth of gasoline from a service station.
More skinny: The victim was a deputy sheriff, nine months shy of his retirement when he was sent out on a call that two men had stolen gas from a service station.
Around midnight, the officer attempted to pull over a van that matched the description of the vehicle. Unbeknownst to him, the stolen van carried two escapees from Kansas, Charles Edward Smith and his cousin Carroll Bernard Smith. The pair had escaped from a work-release center a week earlier, and had stolen the van along with a .357 magnum revolver in Houston and were headed for New Mexico.
As officer tried to pass the van on the left, Charles Smith fired three shots into the car. One of the shots struck the man in the side, killing him. Evidence showed the officer did nothing to provoke the shooting; his firearm was still snapped in place and he was simply attempting to determine who was in the van.
The shooting prompted an extensive manhunt across West Texas that ended with a police chase and shootout. The two escapees abandoned the van and stole a truck tractor. When they approached a roadblock, they made a U-turn and a chase ensued. The two men were captured.
Upon arrest, Smith gave a complete confession, including a statement that it has been his lifelong dream to kill a cop and that he felt like his life was complete now.
Jailers testified at his trial they remembered Smith for singing the 1970s Eric Clapton rock song "I Shot the Sheriff" and amending the words to say, "But in my case it was the deputy."
Three different juries convicted Smith of the murder and three times he was sentenced to death as a result of two reversals on appeal.
Smith's cousin agreed to a life prison term and remains behind bars.
At the time of the escape, Smith had approximately one month left to serve before he would have been eligible for parole.
A story about the victim: Mexia Police Detective Javier Ybarra attended the execution. The slain officer impacted his life as a teenager according to the victim's daugther. “When he was a teenager, my dad caught him breaking into a store in Fort Stockton. Instead of taking him in and putting him in juvenile detention, he gave him the talking to of his life and made him ride in the county car for two weeks. He told me if it hadn’t been for my dad, he might be in prison. This guy had a rough childhood, too, but he didn’t go out and kill cops, he became one.”
Last words and such: Smith did not make a final statement. The execution had been delayed slightly because of difficulty finding veins for the needles carrying the drugs.
Factoids: Smith was the...
19th murderer executed in U.S. in 2007
1076th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
14th murderer executed in Texas in 2007
393rd murderer executed in Texas since 1976
TENNESSEE LAST MEAL
PHILIP RAY WORKMAN
May 9, 2007
...Nashville's Union Rescue Mission received 170 pizzas....
Last Meal: Workman had no final meal request...for himself. He asked that a vegetarian pizza be purchased and donated to a homeless person for his last meal, but prison officials refused.
“He instructed that it be given to a homeless person but we’re not able to do that," a prison spokeswoman said. Instead, Workman decided to skip dinner on the eve of his execution. "He could have had food from the cafeteria that the other inmates were having tonight."
News accounts of his request touched a nerve with the public.
Nashville's Union Rescue Mission received 170 pizzas. Media reports said listeners to a radio station in Minnesota also ordered pizzas sent to another organization for troubled youngsters.
Dorinda Carter, spokesperson for the Tennessee Department of Correction, said, "Taxes are to be spent on specific things for the care of the inmates." But she acknowledged there was no regulation against carrying out Workman's request.
An official at the mission said "the pizzas were enjoyed greatly by our clientele."
The skinny: Workman, 53, was executed for the murder of a Memphis police officer in 1981.
More skinny: A Memphis police lieutenant responded to a holdup alarm at a Wendy's restaurant. He approached Workman as he was leaving the restaurant after the robbery. Workman broke away from the officer, who ordered him to stop. The victim and Officer Aubrey Stoddard then grabbed Workman, who broke free again, shot the man once in the chest and Stoddard in the arm. Workman was found hiding in bushes nearby with the .45 caliber murder weapon.
Workman admitted during his trial that he fired the shot that killed the lieutenant. Workman was shot himself, said he had been using cocaine that day and that he did not intend to kill the man. The robbery netted about $1,170.
Appeals: Since receiving the death penalty, Workman has argued, with some scientific support, that the man could have been shot by another policeman during the shootout.
Most in law enforcement and most courts have responded, "So what!"
Leading up to: Workman spent his final hours talking on the telephone, reading the Bible and visiting with a spiritual adviser.
Last words and such: Workman has previously been on "death watch" three times and has come within hours of execution before being granted stays.
Workman's arms, legs and midsection were strapped to the gurney. He wore white prison pants and a cream prison top.
“I've prayed to the Lord Jesus Christ not to lay charge of my death to any man." About two minutes later, with his eyes closed as he gulped, somewhat nervously, Workman uttered a final statement: “I commend my spirit into your hands Lord Jesus Christ.”
Factoids: Workman was the...
18th murderer executed in U.S. in 2007
1075th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
1st murderer executed in Tennesee in 2007
3rd murderer executed in Tennesee since 1976
Workman asked the U.S. District Court in Nashville to release his body to his brother immediately after his death and not allow an autopsy to be performed. Judge Campbell later issued a temporary injunction ordering the state not to autopsy Workman’s body at least until a hearing can be held. It will be up to his family to give him a burial.
Outside the prison, about 60 anti-death penalty protestors gathered for a vigil. As the time for a reprieve grew short, some of the protestors said they had lost hope that his life would be spared. The group was singing and holding hands in a circle while standing in a fenced-off grass field.
Workman had been on death row for 25 years.
INDIANA LAST MEAL
DAVID LEON WOODS
May 5, 2007
...Woods' pet cat – a recent allowance for death-row inmates – was willed to a family member and had been taken from the prison Thursday afternoon....
Last Meal: Woods shared a last meal of birthday cake and pizza with his family Wednesday.
Prison officials had him on a liquid diet Thursday.
The skinny: Woods, 42, was executed for the murder of a 77-year-old man during a 1984 burglary.
More skinny: Woods, Greg Sloan, and Pat Sweet went to the home of the victim to steal a television.
Woods was armed with a knife. Sweet stayed in the yard, while Woods and Sloan rang the doorbell. When the man answered, Woods immediately jumped in and stabbed him with the knife. When he fell back and asked for help, Woods then stabbed him again repeatedly (21 times)and took $130 from the man's wallet. Woods and Sloan then carried out the television, hid it, and later sold it for $20. They washed their clothes and threw the knife in the creek.
When police arrived the next morning in response to a call of a man needing help, Woods was on the porch of the man’s apartment complex crying and saying that he had gone there to use the telephone and found the body. While questioning Woods, his mother came to the scene and told police that she thought her son was involved in the murder. She consented to a search of her residence, which revealed a knife sheath and a stained towel.
Woods was taken to the station and while preparations were being made for a polygraph, Woods broke down and gave a complete confession.
Sloan testified at trial after entering a guilty plea to aiding in murder.
Last words and such: "I want Juan's family to know I truly am sorry, and I do have remorse. I want everybody to know that I do have peace, and it’s through Jesus Christ that I have this peace."
The victim’s family was the first to view an execution since Indiana changed its law last year giving relatives of murder victims the right to watch executions.
Sen. Tom Wyss, R-Fort Wayne, said he proposed the change after meeting with the prison warden and discovering victims’ families had to get permission from the person being put to death if they wanted to watch the execution. “The person being executed already has caused these people harm. Obviously, they’ve lost a loved one in some way, and they have to ask his permission if they feel they want to watch?” Wyss said. “It just seemed like the state was giving them another slam.”
A prison spokesman aid he could recall only one execution where a victim’s family member watched. That was two years ago when Kevin A. Conner allowed relatives of three men he killed in Indianapolis to witness his death.
The man's granddaughter, who was 20 when he was killed, is not eligible to watch the execution. Only spouses, parents, siblings, children and grandparents can view an execution, and all must be at least 18 years old.
A maximum of eight people are allowed.
Factoids: Woods was the...
17th murderer executed in U.S. in 2007
1074th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
1st murderer executed in Indiana in 2007
18th murderer executed in Indiana since 1976
Woods' pet cat – a recent allowance for death-row inmates – was willed to a family member and had been taken from the prison Thursday afternoon.
Woods was the first Indiana inmate put to death since January 2006.
Three of Woods' family members were among about 25 people who protested against the death penalty Thursday night outside the prison.
ALABAMA LAST MEAL
AARON LEE JONES
May 3, 2007
..."If we had a guillotine or gallows we would have a lot less crying"...
Last Meal: Jones, 55, had a final meal request of black-eyed peas, pepper steak and an orange-flavored drink. Earlier in the day he had a cheeseburger and a Pepsi from a prison vending machine.
The skinny: Jones was executed for the 1978 double murder of a couple on their farm.
More skinny: Jones and accomplish Arthur Lee Giles were convicted for the Nov. 10, 1978, attack in which the couple were shot and stabbed to death in the pre-dawn hours.
Three children, ages 10, 13 and 21, were critically wounded, but survived. The children's 85-year-old grandmother also survived.
Giles had worked for the man picking vegetables and hauling watermelons to a farmers market. Jones and Giles had been drinking beer and rum the night of the murders, and entered the man's home intending to rob him.
The oldest of the children, who was 21 at the time, testified that he was awakened just after 3 a.m. when Giles turned on the light in the bedroom the man shared with his 10-year-old brother. The father confronted Giles and told him to leave.
Minutes later the oldest son found Giles at the house's back door, and Giles shot him twice. Jones and Giles then made their way through the house, shooting and stabbing its occupants. After a wounded son got to his feet and made his way to his parents' bedroom, he found his brother and sister, stabbed, shot and bloody, but alive at the foot of their parents' bed.
In a confession, Jones admitted that he and Giles, after drinking rum and beer, went to the home to rob the family, although they never found any money.
Jones and Giles were tried separately, both receiving a death sentence. Giles, remains on Death Row at Holman Correctional Facility.
Justice delayed is justice...etc...: While the jury took just an hour and 45 minutes to declare him guilty, Jones had been on Death Row for 27 years.
The day of: In the hours before his execution he was visited by his two sisters and his brother. The brother and a representative of Kairos Prison Ministries witnessed the execution.
Jones left all of his belongings, including a Magnavox television, Timex watch, Sony radio and headphones, tobacco, a Bible and a check for $130.85, to another brother.
Last words and such: Jones had no final words and fixed his eyes on the ceiling of the execution chamber. The prison chaplain kneeled to pray, and placed his hand on the inmate's left hand.
In the witness room separated by a glass window, the four adult children of the slain victims watched silently. "I feel like they ought to have got the electric chair," said Larry Nelson, one of the children. "If we had a guillotine or gallows we would have a lot less crying. I hope and pray things will get better."
Factoids: Jones was the...
16th murderer executed in U.S. in 2007
1073rd murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
1st murderer executed in Alabama in 2007
36th murderer executed in Alabama since 1976
Jones had been the third-longest-serving inmate on Alabama's Death Row.
Only 2 out of the 199 inmates on death row have been there longer, according to Department of Corrections records.
april, 2007
TEXAS LAST MEAL
RYAN HEATH DICKSON
April 26, 2007
...The robbery netted $52 in cash and an undetermined amount of beer...
Last Meal: Dickson, 30, had a final meal request of fried chicken, fried eggs, french fries with white gravy, apple pie with ice cream, a pork chop, five biscuits, chili with jalapenos and cheese, lemonade and five containers of milks.
The skinny: Dickson, street gang member, was executed for the murders of an Amarillo couple during a botched beer theft at their grocery store.
More skinny: Dickson, then 18, and his juvenile half-brother Dane Dickson, entered a small grocery store/bicycle repair shop and were attempting to steal beer when they were confronted by the 61-year old store owner. Dickson produced a sawed-off .22-caliber rifle from underneath his coat and shot the man once in the chest.
His wife was then shot in the face even though she had placed all the money from the store register on the counter and was on her knees.
The robbery netted $52 in cash and an undetermined amount of beer.
Dickson went for food and socialized hours after the shooting.
Dickson later admitted to police he was responsible for the shooting deaths of both victims. Dickson’s confession was corroborated by both physical evidence and by the statements at trial of Dane Dickson, who received a 15 year sentence for the robbery.
Prosecutors said Dickson told authorities he hoped the killing would earn him a teardrop tattoo to impress his colleagues in a gang known as the Varrio 16 Locos.
Priors: Dickson had frequent run-ins with the law as a juvenile, including burglary and assault arrests, was on probation at age 9 for stealing bikes and served time with the Texas Youth Commission. He was just two weeks past his 18th birthday when he was arrested in the double homicide.
Last words and such: Dickson was cooperative with Texas prison officials and quietly went to his death. He spoke rapidly when asked if he had anything to say, “I’d like to say I love my mother, brother, sister, grandmother, cousins and nieces and my brothers and sisters I have never met. I do apologize to the Surace family. I am responsible for them losing their mother, their father and their grandmother. I never meant for them to be taken. I am sorry for what I did and take responsibility for what I did.”
No witnesses from his family or the victims' family attended the execution. His execution was witnessed by the prison chaplain, three journalists and several prison officials. Dickson wanted no witnesses of his own to watch him die. "It's part of the circus and I refuse to be part of the circus," he said in a recent interview. "I ain't got no choice about being there, but I ain't gonna bring any of my people into it."
Factoids: Dickson was the...
15th murderer executed in U.S. in 2007
1072nd murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
13th murderer executed in Texas in 2007
392nd murderer executed in Texas since 1976
OHIO LAST MEAL
JAMES FILIAGGI
April 24, 2007
..."This will teach you to fuck with me," then he shot her twice. ...
Last Meal: A final special meal of steak, potato and cheese pirogies, a baked potato, dinner rolls, fresh vegetables, strawberry cheesecake and milk. Pirogies are stuffed dumplings.
According to the prison log at 11:20 a.m.: "Revision to special meal request: If pierogies are approved, Inmate Filiaggi would like chopped onions on top of them."
The request was granted, but after the meal was delivered, Filiaggi asked for extra sour cream. That request also was granted. He also asked for a toothpick but was told there weren't any. Later Monday he asked for a soda, changed his mind and asked for a cup of iced water. Later, he asked for a cup of coffee.
The skinny: Filiaggi was executed for the killing his ex-wife in January 1994.
More skinny: Filiaggi and the victim were married in December 1991. There were two daughters born during the marriage.
She filed for divorce nine months later. The divorce was granted in February 1993.
A few months later, the woman became engaged. Shortly thereafter, she and her finace became repeated victims of telephone harassment and vandalism. Filiaggi was charged with felony assault upon the woman's fiance when their two daughters were exchanged for visitation. He was later charged with intimidation and vandalism to their home.
Two days later, Filiaggi purchased a 9mm Luger pistol, and took a $1,000 cash advance on his Visa card. He left six to seven hundred dollars with his girlfriend, Tracey.
At 10:45 p.m., the Lorain Police Department dispatcher received a call from the woman stating that Filiaggi was at her back door and was breaking into her house. Filiaggi broke down the door and entered the house. Still carrying the telephone, the woman fled out the front door and into a neighbors house. Filiaggi broke down his door as well, found the woman in a closet, told her "This will teach you to fuck with me," then shot her twice.
Wounded, the victim ran to a bedroom, where she was shot twice more, killing her. Filiaggi fled to the woman's stepfather's house and attempted to shoot him as well.
Filiaggi pleaded innocent by reason of insanity, claiming a poor diet was what caused him to react violently; the so-called "Twinkie defense."
Not so fast, my friend: Filiaggi had stopped appealing his death sentence but then changed his mind and went to court five days ago was executed.
His appeal was rejected by several lower courts but his execution was then put on hold pending a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court issued a one-sentence denial on Monday without comment, about 20 minutes after the execution was supposed to have taken place. He died about an hour later.
Leading up to: Described as "calm and compliant," the condemned man did not sleep Monday night. He spent his final hours meeting with family and friends at his cell-side or talking with them on the phone. Filiaggi received the highest number of death house visitors — 24 — since Ohio resumed putting inmates to death in 1999. He had twice as many visitors as the inmate with the next highest tally.
The prison log also revealed a little known fact about post-execution procedures in Ohio: Filiaggi was the seventh inmate whose body was anointed in oil and prayed over in a short religious ceremony by the prison system's chaplain. The anointing was not disclosed previously because the chaplin considered the act a private matter. It was on Filiaggi's log because the execution team member recording the execution decided to note everything.
Last words and such: "I know I flipped some worlds upside down. For me, it's fine, but the state needs to learn this ain't the answer. This is no deterrent to crime. Some are falsely convicted, railroaded. The state needs to wake up. Maybe they will follow the Europeans. God is the only one who knows."
Factoids: Filiaggi was the...
14th murderer executed in U.S. in 2007
1071st murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
1st murderer executed in Ohio in 2007
25th murderer executed in Ohio since 1976
Filiaggi was the first person executed in Ohio during Gov. Ted Strickland's term. The 24 previous executions, going back to 1999 when Ohio started enforcing the death penalty again, occurred when Bob Taft was governor.
Ohio is the nation's second-busiest death penalty state, since 1999.
TEXAS LAST MEAL
JAMES LEE CLARK
April 11, 2007
...Clark's life ended with a chuckle and a gurgle, as he tried to make up his mind whether he wanted to make a last statement...
Last Meal: Clark had no final meal request.
The skinny: Clark was executed for the rape-slaying of a Denton high school honors student just days after Clark was paroled from prison almost 14 years ago.
More skinny: Clark and accomplice James Richard Brown found a teenager boy and girl at Clear Creek north of Denton. Both Clark and Brown were released from prison less than two weeks earlier.
They had a rifle and a shotgun they had stolen from vehicles, and they were looking for someone to rob that night. DNA evidence showed Clark raped the woman several times before shooting her in the back of the head with a shotgun and pushing her body into the creek.
He put the shotgun under the boy’s chin and fired, then tossed his body into the creek.
The next afternoon a group of teens found the girl's body floating in the creek, tangled in the branches of a fallen tree.
Denton police were involved first. Clark and Brown arrived at a Denton convenience store in the early morning hours looking for medical help. Brown’s leg had almost been severed above the knee by a shotgun blast, and he was in danger of bleeding to death. The Denton detective didn’t believe the shaggy, dirty fellows’ story that they had been fishing when Brown was accosted by a robber and shot in the leg and alerted other officers that the men likely had committed some crime themselves.
When Clark led the police to the area where this shooting allegedly took place, there was no sign that the men had been there fishing or that someone had been shot.
Later that day, both teens’ mothers reported them missing in Denton, and officers were working to find them when the bodies were discovered.
Both Clark and Brown eventually admitted being at Clear Creek, blaming the other for the murders.
The stock of the murder weapon and ammunition was found in Clark's home. When police went to arrest Clark, he had barricaded the hallway with a table. An officer shoved the table out of the way and reached for a knife. The officer trained his MP-5 trained on him and Clark dropped the knife.
The officers read Clark his rights and handcuffed him. They put paper bags on his hands to preserve any evidence such as possible gunshot residue. “I remember he had on tiger-striped bikini underwear. We took him to jail like that,” and officer remembers. “All the neighbors were standing around in the yard watching when we took him away. He was public enemy No. 1.”
Accomplice Brown was also tried for capital murder. He looked young and defenseless as he sat at the defense table in a wheelchair. All of his taped statements professed his sorrow at the murders and his attempts to stop them. Jurors found him guilty of robbery and sentenced him to 20 years. He has been eligible for parole twice but the parole board has denied it.
Arriving at Huntsville: After receiving the death penalty, Clark left for Huntsville at 2 a.m. the next day. When he reached the prison, the guards shackled Clark and led him into the building. “Two buses from Houston had just arrived and there must have been 150 guys in different stages of getting booked in,” the transporting officer said. “A lot of them were buck naked. The guards said, ‘Death row inmate. Everybody face the wall.’ And every man in there turned his back on Clark and he walked down that long hall with a guard on each side of him. I’ll always remember he got part of the way down the hall and he turned around, twisted around all bent over and raised his shackled hands and waved at me. I thought, he’ll never leave this place alive.”
More on the victims: The girl was a popular junior at Ryan High School. She was a straight-A student and excelled at piano. She volunteered with the Denton Humane Society and had been elected president of the campus chapter of Amnesty International for her coming senior year.
The boy was an athlete who played both football and baseball for Ryan as a sophomore. He was interested in art, and the two met in an art class the semester before they died.
The autopsy report showed the girl’s tear ducts were swollen from hours of crying before her death.
Delays and appeals: Capital punishment opponents said Clark, who dropped out after the ninth grade, should be spared from execution because he may be mentally retarded and ineligible for the death penalty under a Supreme Court ruling. But state and federal courts, including the Supreme Court earlier this year, rejected appeals that argued Clark was mentally retarded and instead backed prosecutors' contentions Clark deliberately performed poorly on IQ tests. Three years ago, Clark came within four days of execution before he won a reprieve from a federal appeals court so questions about the mental retardation claims could be resolved.
The courts define mental retardation as having an IQ below 70. Clark's IQ was 74 when he was sent to the Texas Youth Commission after a juvenile conviction in 1983. Two other tests showed Clark's IQ at 65 and 68.
Clark reached the equivalent of the 12th grade at the Gainesville State School, completed a GED and took a community college welding class.
Clark's cell on Death Row contained copies of newspaper articles, crossword puzzles and two novels: A Tale of Two Cities and Lord Jim. But none of the crosswords had been completed, and his attorneys said outside the courtroom that he never read the books.
Last words and such: Clark's life ended with a chuckle and a gurgle, as he tried to make up his mind whether he wanted to make a last statement.
Clark, already strapped down to a gurney when the witnesses arrived, blinked and smiled when the prison warden asked if he had a last statement to make. “Uh, I don’t know,” he said with a nervous chuckle. “Um, I don’t know what to say. I don’t know …”
Clark then turned and appeared to see the witnesses behind the glass. “I didn’t know anybody was there,” he said with another laugh. “Howdy.” With that, he made a noise like a gurgle and was still. It had taken seven minutes for the three drugs administered in a lethal injection to take effect.
Factoids: Clark was the...
13th murderer executed in U.S. in 2007
1070th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
12th murderer executed in Texas in 2007
391st murderer executed in Texas since 1976
The Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty said James Lee Clark's execution was the 152nd in Texas since Rick Perry became governor in December 2000, tying the record set by his predecessor, U.S. President George W. Bush.
march, 2007
TEXAS LAST MEAL
ROY LEE PIPPIN
March 29, 2007
...Prison officials credited a chaplain for calming Pippin, who set a fire in his cell hours before he was scheduled to die...
Last Meal: Pippin had no final meal request.
The skinny: Pippin was executed for the shooting deaths of two Florida men in Houston 13 years ago.
Prison officials credited a chaplain for calming Pippin, who set a fire in his cell hours before he was scheduled to die.
More skinny: Roy Lee Pippin owned and operated an air conditioning business in Houston, which he used to launder Colombian drug money.
Pippin realized that approximately $1.8-$2 million in drug proceeds were missing and suspected two men, cousins from Florida. Pippin immediately notified his “supervisor” referred to as “Alfredo” who instructed him to rent a van and some motel rooms.
Following these orders, Pippin rented a white panel van and reserved two rooms at a motel on April 27, 1994. At Pippin’s request, one of his employees abducted two cousins and took the two men to the motel where they were held captive. During the days that followed the men were taken to Pippin’s house or southwest Houston warehouse several times and repeatedly questioned about the missing money. On the morning of Wednesday, May 4, 1994, Pippin shot both cousins at the warehouse.
Though fatally wounded, one man escaped the warehouse after Pippin left. Police found him next door, and he told police that Roy Pippin shot him. The man died from his wounds at the hospital later that day.
At his trial, Pippin admitted to participating in the aggravated kidnappings of the two but denied killing any of them or even being present when they were killed. Pippin, who claimed to have moved as much as $600 million in drug proceeds, blamed the slayings on others in the drug ring.
Hunger strike: For years, he railed about conditions on death row and earlier this week ended a six-week hunger strike to protest the living conditions and the lethal injection method he faced. He broke the fast with a piece of carrot cake and a sandwich purchased by a friend from a vending machine in the prison’s visiting area.
The most recent hunger strike was not Pippin’s first. Letters from Pippin posted to the Canadian Coalition Against the Death Penalty’s website said that Pippin went on a hunger strike note that Pippin has held at least two hunger strikes in the last 6 years.
Last words and such: Pippin had warned in the weeks before his punishment that he would not go quietly. Just before he was taken from death row near Livingston to the Huntsville, about 45 miles to the west, where executions are carried out, he piled up trash in front of his cell door and set it on fire, using a piece of wire he stuck in an electric outlet to ignite it. Officers responded with a water hose to extinguish the blaze. The fire generated smoke but no damage or injuries. Pippin was taken to a medical clinic at the unit, where he was treated for smoke inhalation.
When he arrived at the Huntsville Unit, Pippin repeated his intention to not cooperate, but his conversations with a chaplain, whom prison officials did not identify, cooled his anger. He then walked himself to the Texas death chamber. "Throughout the afternoon, you could see his demeanor changing," Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokeswoman Michelle Lyons.
"I charge the people of the jury, trial judge, the prosecutor that cheated to get this conviction. I charge each and every one of you with the murder of an innocent man. You will answer to your maker when you find out you have executed an innocent man. May God have mercy on your souls."" Pippin again admitted his role laundering drugs and money and said, "I ask forgiveness for all of the poison I helped bring into the U.S., the country I love. If my murder makes it easier for everyone else, let the forgiveness be part of the healing." He also expressed his love to his family, including his son and daughter, before he concluded with: "That's it. Warden, go ahead and murder me." As the lethal drugs began to flow at 6:34 p.m., Pippin uttered: "Jesus, take me home."
Factoids: Pippin was the...
12th murderer executed in U.S. in 2007
1069th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
11th murderer executed in Texas in 2007
390th murderer executed in Texas since 1976
TEXAS LAST MEAL
VINCENT GUTIERREZ
March 28, 2007
...where’s my stunt double when you need one”...
Last Meal: Gutierrez, 28, had a final meal request of five cheese enchiladas, two jalapeño peppers, two carne guisada tacos (tacos filled with beef tips in spicy brown gravy), an onion, a tomato, a bunch of grapes, one pint of butter pecan ice cream, strawberry milk and one banana milk shake.
The skinny: Gutierrez was executed for the killing of an Air Force officer during a carjacking 10 years ago.
More skinny: Randy Arroyo purchased a car similar to a Mazda RX-7, and met with Vincent Gutierrez and others at the residence of Christopher Suaste to discuss his desire to steal a Mazda RX-7 for parts. The following morning, Suaste, Arroyo, and Gutierrez drove to a nearby apartment complex where a red Mazda RX-7 owned by an Air Force captain.
As the captain was getting into his car for work, Gutierrez and Arroyo forced their way in at gunpoint and drove away from the complex. The man tried to escape and at Arroyo's urging Gutierrez shot their captive. When the mortally wounded man began choking and coughing up blood, Gutierrez said he didn't want to ride around with a dead man, so he heaved the man from the moving car. His body was dumped on the shoulder of Interstate 410 during a morning rush hour and the car was abandoned. The first person to pull over to assist the captain was a military flight surgeon, but little could be done to save the victim, who had been shot from behind, the bullet ripping through his heart. Less than two hours later, the captain, 39, died at a hospital.
Later, Gutierrez laughingly explained the murder to friends. He was seen later the day of the shooting wearing a T-shirt and shorts with Air Force logos. The clothing had come from the back of the victim's car. Gutierrez — known to his friends as "Flaco," Spanish for "Skinny" — had been free just two weeks after spending two months in a prison boot camp for a burglary conviction.
The aftermath: The crime was reported on that evening's news. Arroyo and Suaste went to the police and voluntarily confessed involvement in the murder. They led police to the .357 caliber handgun Gutierrez had used to kill with, as well as the .25 caliber handgun Arroyo had carried during the robbery and kidnapping.
Arroyo was also sentenced to death, but his death sentence was commuted to life after the U.S. Supreme Court two years ago ruled people could not be executed for crimes committed when they were under the age of 18. Gutierrez was 18.
Suaste is serving a 35-year prison sentence for aggravated robbery.
From death row: In an interview from death row given in November 2006, Gutierrez said that he was afraid of going to prison if the victim escaped and could identify him. "So I went ahead and shot him twice," Gutierrez said. He said he felt no remorse over the death. "In order for me to be remorseful, I have to feel for somebody, and I didn't know him, so I don't feel for him."
In the interview, Gutierrez also warned that if he got out of prison, "I'd create havoc in Texas."
Last words and such: “I would like to tell everybody that I’m sorry about the situation that happened. My bad — everybody is here because of what happened." It was unclear from his statement whether he was apologizing for the fatal shooting. He thanked his family for their support and gave one final sendoff to his brother, Phillip: “My brother, where’s my stunt double when you need one,” he said with a laugh. He then said a brief prayer as the lethal drugs began to flow.
Phillip Gutierrez could be heard championing his brother after Vincent took his final breath. “That’s a good man, right there. A damn good man,” Phillip Gutierrez said. “He paid his debt like a man.” Sister Doris Moore, spiritual advisor to the Gutierrez family, likened Vincent Gutierrez’s execution to the act of a terrorist. “This is so inhuman,” she said. “We’re just like terrorists.”
Factoids: Gutierrez was the...
11th murderer executed in U.S. in 2007
1068th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
10th murderer executed in Texas in 2007
389th murderer executed in Texas since 1976
TEXAS LAST MEAL
CHARLES NEALY
March 20, 2007
..."tell the guys on death row I'm not wearing a diaper." ...
Last Meal: Nealy had no final meal request.
The skinny: Nealy, 42, was executed for a fatal shooting during a convenience store holdup in Dallas nearly 10 years ago.
More skinny: On the evening of August 20, 1997, as Charles Nealy, a man with a history of robberies, drove by the Expressway Mart in south Dallas, he told his nephew, Memphis Nealy, that he was going to “come back and get” the people at that store, because “the bitches” wouldn’t sell him “no Blackie mounds” (referring to Black and Milds, a brand of cigar).
Later that night, Charles Nealy drove to the Expressway Mart, with Reginald Mitchell and nephew Claude Nealy as passengers. Mitchell went in the store and paid for gasoline, then went out and pumped it. When he finished, Charles Nealy, armed with a shotgun, and with his nephew, Claude, toting a handgun, entered the store and demanded money.
The store owner was in the office taking a nap, while his brother and a 17-year old employee were behind the counter. Nealy entered the office and shot the owner in the chest with the shotgun. Nealy's nephew, Claude, then shot the owner's brother in the head. Both men died.
Nealy came out with a briefcase full of money and said, "I got the man in the office." The men then took cash from the register and grabbed a six-pack of beer and a bottle of wine, then left the store. These events were recorded on the store’s video camera and shown to the jury
Claude received a life sentence for the murder the owner's brother.
The getaway driver, Reginald Mitchell testified that as the three drove away, Charles Nealy said “in a little old happy tone” that “this is the way the Nealy’s do it.” Mitchell also testified Charles Nealy threatened to kill him if he told anyone about the robbery and shootings.
Mitchell received a two year sentence for his participation in the robbery.
Not a model prisoner: Nealy accumulated 70 disciplinary reports while in prison. While he was in jail awaiting trial for capital murder, Nealy and two other inmates assaulted another inmate, breaking his jaw.
At trial, after the assaulted inmate had testified, Nealy threatened him and shouted obscenities at him. Nealy was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death.
From Death Row: "There's all kinds of weird stuff going on in this case," Charles Nealy said last week from death row, denying any involvement in the shootings. He said he was in Ardmore, Okla., at the time of the slayings, picking up a relative's truck.
He acknowledged the prospect of execution was scary. "Since I've been here, my dad died, my stepdad died, my mother died, one of my friends commited suicide," he said. "And I'm up here where people are dying, it seems, like every week. "Sometimes the Prozac just isn't enough."
Last words and such: Nealy made his last statement - a calm, 4½-minute monologue. In it, Nealy asked witnesses to "tell the guys on death row I'm not wearing a diaper." He then criticized the Dallas County assistant prosecutor who handled his case. "You messed up. Now to cover it up, the state is killing me. I'm not sad and bitter. I feel sad for everyone else. You have to stay here; I'm going to someplace better." Nealy wished his friends and relatives well and expressed love. "I'm not crying, so y'all don't cry. Don't be sad for me. I'm going to be with God and Allah and Momma." "Don't bury me in that prison graveyard, I want to be buried next to momma. By the way, the reason it took so long was because [they] couldn't find a vein. I used to tear up the doctor's office. I hate needles." Nealy continued talking as the lethal injection was administered. As he was losing consciousness, Nealy said he could "feel it."
Factoids: Nealy was the...
10th murderer executed in U.S. in 2007
1067th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
9th murderer executed in Texas in 2007
388th murderer executed in Texas since 1976
TEXAS LAST MEAL
JOSEPH NICHOLS
March 7, 2007
...mmmm...
Last Meal: Nichols had no final meal request.
The skinny: Nichols, 45, who spent 25 years on Texas death row, was executed by lethal injection for a 1980 murder of a 70-year old deli worker. Prison officials had to carry him to the death chamber.
More skinny: Nichols and Willie Ray Williams drove to Joseph’s Deli in Houston. Both men were armed and pointed handguns at a deli employee who was behind the counter. When the man saw the guns he began to bend over or squat down, both Nichols and Williams opened fire.
Nichols and Williams ran to the door and Nichols went out. Williams turned and fired once more at man then went behind the counter and grabbed the deli’s cash box, then ran out of the deli. Nichols and Williams then joined accomplices Charlotte Parker and Evelyn Harvey in a waiting car and drove away. Nichols told Parker and Harvey “he had shot the man” and “he thought he shot him in the chest,” and that Williams said he had run back into the deli and shot the man again.
The man died from a single gunshot wound.
Nichols was on felony probation for theft at the time of the murder and evidence was also presented that he had engaged in a string of robberies just before the murder.
Accomplice Willie Ray Williams was also sentenced to death in a separate trial and was executed in 1995.
The single bullet: Nichols' execution came despite appeals and protests from death penalty opponents that focused on the fact one bullet wound killed the man, and that Williams was prosecuted and convicted of being the shooter. Nichols, who said he'd fled the store when the fatal shot was fired, also was labeled as the shooter by Harris County district attorneys who prosecuted the case.
Prosecutors defended Nichols' conviction, saying Texas' law of parties makes non-triggermen just as culpable in crimes like this murder.
"I never denied being there," Nichols said recently from death row, "I'm not telling you I'm not guilty of anything." But he insisted that when Williams fired the fatal shot, "I had already left." In the robbery, Williams "got some change," he said. "I got nothing."
Nichols missed by 30 days a change in Texas law that would have given him an automatic life term when jurors were unable to reach unanimity on a death sentence. Instead, he was tried a second time.
Last words and such: Nichols described by Texas Department of Criminal Justice officials as uncooperative throughout the day, had to be carried to the death chamber and strapped to the gurney by the five-man tie-down team, but did not put up a fight, then used his final statement for a profanity-filled diatribe against a supervisory corrections officer.
When the warden asked Nichols if he wanted to make a last statement, he answered, "Yes, yes I do." He then mentioned the officer on death row by name and uttered a string of obscenities about her. Then he said, "That's all I got to say." He winked toward a window where his parents and three brothers watched.
The similarities between Nichols and his longtime friend, Willie Ray Williams, ended in their final moments. Williams in 1995 spoke of "love and peace of Islam" as he was executed.
Factoids: Nichols was the...
9th murderer executed in U.S. in 2007
1066th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
8th murderer executed in Texas in 2007
387th murderer executed in Texas since 1976
The lethal injection was the second carried out in Texas in as many days.
TEXAS LAST MEAL
ROBERT PEREZ
March 6, 2007
...The Beaver...
Last Meal: Perez had a final meal request of five pieces of fried chicken, one double meat hamburger with cheese and onion, onion rings, three cheese and onion enchiladas, one onion, french fries, hot sauce, pico de gallo, jalapeno peppers and two cokes.
The skinny: Robert "Beaver" Perez, 48, a notorious leader of the prison-based Mexican Mafia gang, was executed by lethal injection for the murder of two fellow gang members. He was linked to more than 15 San Antonio murders. Perez, a father of eight and laborer by trade with only a ninth-grade education, ascended to power within the organization using his charisma and ruthlessness.
More skinny: In the mid-1990’s, the Mexican Mafia, or “La Eme,” in San Antonio was in a state of flux. Perez went gunning for Luis “Blue” Adames, who was seeking to replace Herbert Huerta as President. Huerta had been sentenced to life in federal prison. so he named Diane “Laura” Guzman as general of the San Antonio division. Adames challenged the appointment, naming himself as the new president. The organization split in two, with each faction determined to assassinate the alleged traitors in the other group.
Perez spotted Adames vehicle and along with accomplices Joe Sandoval and Javier Garcia went to arm themselves and then returned to the area, looking for Adames. Instead, they found Adames’ supporters. A barrage of gunshots followed resulting in two deaths, and the wounding of other.
Just months after the two men were murdered, Adames was murdered. Perez not only ordered the hit, he had planned it.
Additionally, Perez ordered the murders of several other people. Emilio Barrera Alejandro died as a result of thirteen gunshot wounds, eleven to the head and two to the chest. Earnest Ybarra died as a result of twelve gunshot wounds. Adam Tenorio was killed because he disobeyed an order not to discuss the West French Place murders. He died as a result of eleven stab wounds. Robert De Los Santos was killed for the same reason as Tenorio. He died as a result of blunt force trauma and strangulation. Daniel Moreno was killed as an example to other members, having failed to perform some task he had volunteered to do. He died as a result of two gunshot wounds, one to the face and one to the chest. Elijilio De La Garza (“Chico”) died as a result of eleven gunshot wounds, including five to the head. De La Garza was the one who said that Perez had ordered the killings at West French Place. Presumably, he was killed for this reason.
The West French Place murders mentioned above were, at the time, the most violent and bloody in San Antonio’s history. While at least two former members of the Mexican Mafia disputed that Perez ordered the murders, both acknowledged that Perez had ordered the hijacking. It was thought that large amounts of both cocaine and cash would be found in the targeted apartment. Those who participated went armed with shotguns. All five people found in the apartment were bound with duct tape. Then, for reasons still unclear, all five were shot and killed. Only five pounds of marijuana and $300 in cash were confiscated.
Priors and Currents: Perez had a previous conviction for attempted manslaughter for stabbing a man numerous times in the heart and stomach during a domestic disturbance in October 1986. He was sentenced to ten years in prison. He was paroled in August 1990. While on parole, Perez received convictions for aggravated assault and evading arrest. He was returned to prison for a short while in 1992, but was paroled again after four months. At the time, parole for repeat offenders was common in Texas due to strict prison population caps imposed by a U.S. District Judge. He was on parole at the time of the murders.
Before being tried for the two murders, Perez was a co-defendant in a federal trial for the murders of 5 people at West French Place apartments. He was convicted of racketeering and conspiracy and was sentenced to life in federal prison - a sentence he never served, since he received the death penalty in his state trial.
Last words and such: Perez greeted his wife, two sons and a brother with a big smile as they entered the death chamber. "Yes sir, Ernest, Christopher, Ochente, Mary and Jennifer tell all the kids I love them and never forget. Tell Bobby, Mr. Bear will be dancing for them. Tell Bear not to feel bad. My love always, I love you all. Stay strong Mary, take care of them. I love you too. I am ready Warden. I got my boots on, like a cowboy."
In the moments before Perez was executed for the slayings of two men, his wife offered him up one last prayer for peace. "God Bless you," murmured Mary Perez, as two of her husband's sons, wept and embraced her, and his brother Ernest stood by. His wife continued, "You're still my hero. You'll always be my hero."
Just before slipping into unconsciousness after the lethal dose began, Perez said he could "taste it." Seven minutes later, at 6:17 p.m., he was pronounced dead.
No friends or relatives of the victims chose to attend.
Factoids: Perez was the...
8th murderer executed in U.S. in 2007
1065th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
7th murderer executed in Texas in 2007
386th murderer executed in Texas since 1976
On an Internet site inmates use to seek penpals, Perez said he couldn't promise letter writers much more than friendship and a "vow to be honest, respectful, understanding and a very good listener. I give you my loyalty in all aspects."
february, 2007
TEXAS LAST MEAL
DONALD MILLER
February 27, 2007
Last Meal: Miller, 44, had a final meal request of one piece of fried chicken, one BLT sandwich, two enchiladas, ketchup, cinnamon roll and iced tea.
The skinny: Miller was executed for the robbery and shooting deaths of two men twenty-five years ago.
More skinny: On February 3, 1982, a fisherman found two bodies on the side of a road near Lake Houston. Both men had been shot to death. The hands of both victims were tied in front of their bodies, with one body stretched out face down, the other in a fetal position. Bloody footprints were visible near the bodies and the forestock of a shotgun was found in the heavily wooded area. The victims appeared to have been killed at the scene. The two victims, who were in the furniture business, traveled to different parts of the country to resell furniture. At the time of the murders, one victim was driving an 18-wheel tractor-trailer loaded with furniture, and he was carrying between $5,000 and $6,000 in cash.
The crime: Donald Miller and companions Danny Woods and Eddie Segura lured the two furniture salesmen from North Carolina to Segura's house for a delivery. When the two men, one 29, the other 19 they were confronted by Miller, armed with a handgun, and Woods, who pulled out a shotgun. The two men were robbed, gagged and bound with electrical tape, then taken to the lake.
Miller, a paroled car and truck thief, was arrested about two weeks after the slayings.
Accomplice Segura pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery charges, was sentenced to two 25-year prison terms and was the key prosecution witness against Miller. He was released from prison last October. Accomplice Danny Ray Woods received two life sentences after a guilty plea in 1982. He's next eligible for parole in April 2008.
Last words and such: Strapped to the gurney and with needles in each arm, Miller was asked by the warden if he had a final statement. His reply was a single shake of his head. Six minutes later, Miller was pronounced dead.
Miller had no friends or relatives witness his execution and had no visitors in the three days preceding the punishment. Also, no relatives of the victims in the case were present to see him die.
Miller was "very quiet, very subdued and very polite," said Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokeswoman Michelle Lyons.
Factoids: Miller was the...
7th murderer executed in U.S. in 2007
1064th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
6th murderer executed in Texas in 2007
385th murderer executed in Texas since 1976
Miller, who was 19 when he was arrested, arrived on death row in 1982, making him among the longest serving of almost 400 Texas prisoners awaiting lethal injection.
TEXAS LAST MEAL
NEWTON ANDERSON
February 22, 2007
...earning him the nickname "Hacksaw Red" from his fellow condemned inmates....
Last meal: Anderson, 30, had a final meal request of boiled eggs, pork chops, fried chicken, tacos, fried okra, potato salad, french fries, bacon, baked potatoes, sour cream, sliced onions, jalapeno peppers, pickles, cabbage, tomatoes, and a Sprite.
The skinny: Anderson was executed for torturing and killing a retired couple during the break-in of their home.
More skinny: Firemen responded to a burning home of an elderly couple in Tyler. After the firemen brought the blaze under control, a man’s body was discovered in the kitchen. He had been shot in the head at close range with a shotgun, and was lying face down with his hands and feet bound with electrical tape.
The 65-year old woman was found in the living room. She was face down, bound and gagged with electrical tape, naked from the waist down, and had been raped and strangled. She had suffered shotgun wounds to the head.
Later that day, Anderson was identified unloading the couple's Cadillac at his trailer with several personal items belonging to the couple. Witnesses testified that Anderson, who typically had no money, was seen the night of the murders wearing expensive clothing, buying rounds of drinks, and paying generously for a car ride. When asked whether he had broken into someone’s house, Anderson replied, “Yeah. I did something like that.”
At trial, a DNA expert testified for the prosecution that the DNA from the semen discovered in the woman’s body matched Newton Anderson’s DNA.
Anderson had been paroled from prison for burglary three months before the burglary/murder.
Hacksaw Red: On death row, the red-haired prisoner was caught trying to cut his way out of his steel cell, earning him the nickname "Hacksaw Red" from his fellow condemned inmates.
From death row: Anderson, in an interview last week, acknowledged the killings but said he was at a loss for why they happened. He did not testify at his trial. The couple had been out running errands and returned home to find him inside. "I am guilty," he told the AP. "I don't deny that. ... They had good evidence. Witnesses saw me. What can I say?"
Last words and such: "For all those that want this to happen, I hope you get what you want, and it makes you feel better, and gives you some kind of relief. I don't know what else to say. For those that I have hurt, I hope, after a while, it gets better." Anderson then expressed love to his relatives and said, "I am sorry. That's it. Goodbye."
In a handwritten statement distributed after his death, Anderson again apologized to the family of his victims. "I only want to say that for the last eight years I have had to leave with my guilt and shame. I know I was wrong and now I give my life," he wrote. He concluded, "I give my life. I hope it is enough for everyone. If things could be undone, I would do it, I would do it!!:"
Factoids: Anderson was the...
6th murderer executed in U.S. in 2007
1063rd murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
5th murderer executed in Texas in 2007
384th murderer executed in Texas since 1976
TEXAS LAST MEAL
JAMES LEWIS JACKSON
February 7, 2007
..."Warden, murder me."...
Last Meal: Jackson had a final meal request of four pieces of fried chicken (dark meat), fried okra, french fries, salad with bluecheese, four hardboiled eggs with cheese, one pint butter pecan ice cream, two honey buns, two cokes.
The skinny: The 6-foot-7, James "Big Jack" Jackson, 47, was executed for killing his wife and two stepdaughters almost 10 years ago.
More skinny: In 1995, Jackson married and became a stepfather to two teen-age daughters.
By 1997, however, Jackson’s drug addiction, sporadic employment, and controlling nature had produced problems in his marriage.
On April 9, 1997, one of stepdaughter’s co-workers became concerned when she failed to pick her up for work. The co-worker contacted the girl's aunt, who along with her mother, went to the Jacksons' apartment and entered the residence, finding the two stepdaughters' bodies in one bedroom and the wife's body in another bedroom. They had been choked to death.
Jackson had left a note admitting the murders and later confessed to police. In the confession, Jackson said that he was upset that the girl’s mother planned to divorce him and asked each of his stepdaughters how they felt about the impending split. When one of the girls said she didn’t care one way or the other, Jackson choked her to death with his arm. He asked the same question of the other girl when she returned home to the apartment, and also choked her to death even though she told him she loved him and wanted him to stay in her life. Jackson placed both girls in their beds and then strangled their mother when she returned home and spurned his advances and attempts at reconciliation.
Jackson had earlier served 5 years of a 10 year sentence for injury to elderly person, and was paroled in March 1994. Jackson used a shotgun to wound the elderly father of a former girlfriend in Dallas.
Not a confession he says: Later Jackson recanted his confession and claimed he was innocent. His trial lawyer argued the confession was obtained when his client was under duress.
From death row, Jackson said he was on the other side of Houston the day of the killings, was out all night "gambling and got high." When he returned home the next morning, police investigating the deaths took him into custody.
He also said his wife had no plans to end their relationship. Jackson said that the note he left behind was a prayer, written weeks earlier, asking God to protect his family.
Last words and such: Jackson was all smiles as his friends entered the viewing room, chatting and looking rather upbeat considering what was about to take place. Jackson thanked his family and expressed love for them. "This is not the end but the beginning of a new chapter for you and I together forever. See you all later. See you all on the other side." Jackson then told the warden standing over him, "Warden, murder me." He then referred to Harris County, where he was convicted, as Sodom and Gomorrah, the biblical cities destroyed by God for their sins. "I'm ready to roll. Time to get this party started."
As the lethal chemicals entered his body, Jackson laughed at a gesture made by one of his guests, then made a gurgling sound before dying. After sputtering his last breath, two of Jackson’s friends called him a “soldier.” He was officially pronounced dead by prison officials at 6:18 p.m. "Praise God," an unidentified female guest said after he stilled.
None of the victim's family were present.
Factoids: Jackson was the...
5th murderer executed in U.S. in 2007
1062nd murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
4th murderer executed in Texas in 2007
383rd murderer executed in Texas since 1976
january, 2007
TEXAS LAST MEAL
CHRISTOPHER SWIFT
January 30, 2007
...He said that voices in his head and his son encouraged him to strangle the women....
Last Meal: Swift had a final meal request of a steak, medium-well with A-1 sauce, salad with ranch dressing, cheddar cheese and bacon bits, baked potato with sour cream, two slices of apple pie, three large rolls, two cokes and one cup of coffee.
The skinny: Swift was executed for the slayings of his eight-months pregnant wife and his mother-in-law.
More skinny: Police received a call from the Days Inn that a five-year-old boy was abandoned at the motel. Upon arrival, the child explained that his father left him at the motel the night before after killing the boy’s mother and grandmother. Police went to Swift's home and found the body of his pregnant wife on the floor of the trailer. The body of the grandmother was found in the kitchen of her Lake Dallas home.
A trace of Swift’s ATM card use led authorities to Swift’s hideout at a motel in Dallas. During the five-hour interrogation that followed his arrest, Swift stated that he choked both women, then drove his son, Zachary, to a motel room. His marriage had gotten off to a rocky start. Four days after their wedding, he started a four-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to assaulting a Texas state trooper in 1996 and a Denton County woman in 1997.
The killings were set off when Swift quit a new job at a concrete company because they asked him to take a drug test and when he came home, his decision sparked an argument with his wife that led to the slayings.
Swift waived all appeals.
Bad dad: Evidence showed Swift's 5-year-old son watched as the former laborer and parolee stabbed and strangled his pregnant wife.
Authorities determined after abandoning his son at the hotel, he got himself a room elsewhere and some beer. He was arrested there and confessed to killing both women and abandoning his son. He said that voices in his head and his son encouraged him to strangle the women. The day after his arrest, Swift told a Dallas television station in a jailhouse interview that he committed the murders because (his son) "was giving me the order to do it."
Swift's Lawyer speaks: "Receiving the death penalty is what he's wanted from Day 1, from the first day I met him," said Derek Adame, who was one of Swift's trial lawyers. "He and I had several discussions about it. It was frustrating for me. That's what makes it hard to deal with. It's the ultimate punishment."
Last words and such: Swift spurned any appeals that could stop or delay his execution.
Asked if he had a final statement, Swift responded: "no."
Seven minutes later at 6:20 p.m., he was pronounced dead as five friends watched. They offered their tears and prayers as they watched. “Look at his face. His face is completely at peace. He is going to see Jesus,” one friend said.
No relatives of survivors attended the execution.
Factoids: Swift was the...
4th murderer executed in U.S. in 2007
1061st murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
3rd murderer executed in Texas in 2007
382nd murderer executed in Texas since 1976
Swift spent about 21 months on death row. The average condemned Texas inmate is in prison about 10 years before execution. The shortest time on death row was Joe Gonzales, who in 1996 received lethal injection 252 days after he arrived.
TEXAS LAST MEAL
JOHNATHAN BRYANT MOORE
January 17, 2007
...Mac & Cheese...
Last Meal: Moore had a final meal request of Kraft Cheese & Macaroni and Beef Flavored Rice-A-Roni.
The skinny: Moore, 32, a self-described fascist who adopted the dark punk and goth lifestyle was executed by lethal injection for the slaying of a San Antonio police officer 12 years ago.
More skinny: A San Antonio police officer was driving home from work when he spotted a burglary in progress at a residence. The officer, who was still in his uniform, pulled into the driveway of the residence, blocking a car occupied by Johnathan Moore, Pete Dowdle and Paul Cameron, who were finishing their second trip to burglarize the home.
Gun drawn, the officer approached the vehicle and repeatedly ordered the three men to get out of the car to no avail. After taking the car keys from Dowdle, | |
