EXECUTION #42

Reginald Winthrop Blanton
Executed October 27, 2009 06:21 p.m. CDT by Lethal Injection in Texas
42nd murderer executed in U.S. in 2009
1178th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
19th murderer executed in Texas in 2009
442nd murderer executed in Texas since 1976
Summary:
Blanton and his twin brother, Robert, and Robert's girlfriend LaToya Mayberry, went to the apartment of Carlos Garza, 20, an acquaintance of theirs. While Mayberry waited in the car, the twins kicked in the door of Garza's apartment and went inside. Two shots were fired, one of them hitting Garza in the forehead. After taking some jewelry and cash, and looking for drugs to steal, the twins returned to the car, and drove away. Mayberry later told police about the murder. She said she saw Reginald return to the car with jewelry in his hand, including two necklaces. She said Robert told her Garza confronted them while they were inside the apartment, and Reginald shot him. Garza's jewelry was recovered from a local pawn shop. Reginald Blanton was recorded on videotape about 20 minutes after the shooting, selling two of Garza's gold necklaces and a religious medal for $79. At the time of arrest, he was wearing a ring and bracelet that had also belonged to Garza.
Final/Special Meal: None...what? No fried Chicken?
Final Words:
Blanton declared his execution an injustice and proclaimed he was wrongly convicted for the crime. “Carlos was my friend. I didn’t murder him. What is happening right now is an injustice. This doesn’t solve anything. This will not bring back Carlos.” Blanton also complained that the drugs being used to execute him were not even permitted to be used to put down dogs. “I say I am worse than a dog. They want to kill me for this; I am not the man that did this.” Blanton addressed friends in attendance, including fiance Sandra Stafford, telling them he loved them and urging them to continue their fight for his innocence. “Stay strong, continue to fight. I will see y’all again.”
The Execution
Proclaiming innocence to the very end, condemned murderer Reginald Blanton was executed Tuesday for the 2000 robbery-slaying of a 22-year-old Hispanic man in San Antonio. Blanton, 28, was pronounced dead by lethal injection at 6:21 p.m., just eight minutes after the dosage began at 6:13 p.m.

EXECUTION #41

Mark Howard McCain
Executed October 20, 2009 07:24 p.m. by Lethal Injection in Georgia
41st murderer executed in U.S. in 2009
1177th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
3rd murderer executed in Georgia in 2009
46th murderer executed in Georgia since 1976
Summary:
At approximately 1:00 a.m. McClain left the house of his girlfriend, Tina Butler, and drove to a nearby Domino’s Pizza. When a delivery man returned to the store McClain asked to purchase a pizza. When the delivery man gained entry to the store, McClain forced his way in and pulled a gun. The deliveryman ran through the store and as he was leaving saw McClain demanding money from the store manager, Kevin Brown. He then identified the license of the vehicle driven away by McClain, which was traced to McClain's father. When the deliveryman returned to the store moments later, he saw Brown dead in a pool of blood shot in the chest. He died before paramedics arrived. McClain returned to Butler's house within an hour after leaving and gave her $100, without explaining where he had obtained the money. Following his arrest, McClain called Butler from the jail that evening and told her to dispose of the clothes, boots, and gun that he had left at her house. McClain also demanded that Butler provide him with an alibi for the night of the shooting and threatened to implicate Butler if she refused. The police later questioned Butler, who eventually told the police about McClain’s telephone call to her and gave police McClain’s jacket and boots. McClain’s gun was recovered a month later when Butler’s nephew was involved in a shooting. Butler testified against McClain at trial. McClain testified that he shot Brown accidentally when he heard a noise as he was leaving the store and believed Brown was pursuing him.
Final Meal:
Declined.
Final Words:
When prison Warden Steve Upton asked him whether he would like a prayer to be said, McClain said "No, I'm fine."
The Execution
But as he lay strapped to a table inside the maximum security state penitentiary, he broke his silence, however briefly, when prison Warden Steve Upton asked him whether he would like a prayer to be said.
Seconds later a deadly series of drugs entered his body through two IVs in his arms. As his death drew near McClain's ruddy complexion turned pale. His body lunged forward slightly as the potassium chloride raced through his veins, but otherwise his passing was quiet.
Mr. McClain, 42, was pronounced dead 15 minutes later.

EXECUTION #40

Max Landon Payne
Executed October 8, 2009 06:25 p.m. by Lethal Injection in Alabama
40th murderer executed in U.S. in 2009
1176th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
6th murderer executed in Alabama in 2009
44th murderer executed in Alabama since 1976
Summary:
Payne was at his sister Wilma’s house with his girlfriend, Sandra Walker, and Wilma. Payne left the house with a double-barreled shotgun. Later that evening two customers saw Payne at West Point Grocery, which was owned by Braxton Brown. Payne had robbed the store, kidnapped Brown, and taken him at gunpoint to his sister’s house. Wilma was still there with Sandra. Sandra testified Brown appeared very nervous and scared, and Payne had a gun and ordered Brown to give Wilma money. Wilma asked Payne to leave Brown with her or take him back to his store and said “maybe he would forget about this.” Payne rejected the suggestion, stating, “No, I am going to do this.” Payne forced Brown into the car and drove to a nearby bride where he shot him twice in the face with a shotgun and dumped him into the Crooked Creek. Around midnight, Payne purchased a bus ticket to Florida. Following a call from Alabama authorities, a Miami police detective met Payne’s bus when it arrived in Miami. Items found on Payne included Brown’s handgun; a jeweler’s invoice made out to West Point Grocery; a vehicle registration in Brown’s name; three cartons of Marlboro cigarettes; three bank deposit bags containing numerous checks written to West Point Grocery, credit card receipts, rings, and food stamps; bank receipts in Brown’s name; and a total of $1,085.84. Brown’s son identified many items as coming from West Point Grocery. Forensic testing matched human tissue recovered from Payne’s arm sling to Brown’s blood type.
Final/Special Meal:
A turkey sandwich with tomatoes and mayonnaise, potato salad and cake.
Final Words:
"I just want to tell my family I love them."
The Execution
Donald Blocker of Kairos Prison Ministry knelt beside Payne's two sisters and two friends in the execution viewing room before the curtains were opened. He told them Payne wouldn't suffer and was ready for what was to come. No witnesses were present on behalf of the victim.
The small, white room was dark except for a soft red light glowing in the corner. Four of Max Landon Payne's closest family and friends sat in a row in front of a window shielded by a white curtain. At 6:01 p.m., a corrections officer pulled back the curtain to reveal Payne, strapped to a table.
The heavyset, balding Payne made his last statement after warden Grantt Culliver read the execution order issued by the Alabama Supreme Court. Once the lethal injection began, Payne gestured to family members and spoke quietly with prison chaplain Chris Summers, who was standing a few feet away. At one point Summers grabbed Payne's hand and patted him on the knee. Payne closed his eyes, pinched his lips and seemed to take a deep breath. Then he was still.
Payne, 38, died at 6:25 p.m.

EXECUTION #39

Christopher Bernard Coleman
Executed September 22, 2009 06:22 p.m. CDT by Lethal Injection in Texas
39th murderer executed in U.S. in 2009
1175th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
18th murderer executed in Texas in 2009
441st murderer executed in Texas since 1976

Summary:
Coleman and Derrick Graham were paid $12,000 to take part in the scheme hatched by Genero Garcia so Garcia would not have to pay an $80,000 drug debt. They arranged a meeting with the drug suppliers and stopped on a dead end street in a residential neighborhood. Coleman and the two other men got out of their car and approached the second vehicle, where one of Coleman's companions spoke to the driver. Then, standing close to the passenger side of the car, Coleman opened fire on the occupants of the second vehicle.Jose Luis Garcia-Castro; his girlfriend, Elsie Prado; Prado's brother, Heimar Prado Hurtado; and Prado's three-year-old son, Danny Giraldo were all shot. Only Elsie Prado survived the attck and later testified against Coleman at trial. Upon arrest, Coleman admitted being at the scene, but denied he was the shooter. Accomplices Garcia and Graham received life prison terms for their role in the plot.
Final/Special Meal: None
Final Words:
“Yes. Ain’t no way fo fo, I love all y’all.” It was unclear what “fo fo” meant, although in urban slang it can refer to a .44-caliber pistol or distinctive car rims made in 1984 and apparently popular in Houston.
The Execution
The fatal combination of drugs caused him to sigh, struggle for breath and snort before falling silent. He was pronounced dead at 6:22.

EXECUTION #38

Stephen Lindsey Moody
Executed September 16, 2009 06:28 p.m. CDT by Lethal Injection in Texas
38th murderer executed in U.S. in 2009
1174th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
17th murderer executed in Texas in 2009
440th murderer executed in Texas since 1976

Summary:
Calvin Doby recruited Moody to rob a drug supplier. They forced their way inside the home of 28 year old Joseph Hall and demanded money and drugs. While Hall pleaded for his life, Moody shot him at close range with a sawed-off shotgun. Moody and Doby then fled with $1,200 in cash and divided the money at a friend's house. Hall’s girlfriend, who saw him talking with two men, crawled through a bathroom window to run next door and call 911, heard a shot and returned to find Hall dead on the living room floor. The murder case went unsolved for nearly a year until a relative of Doby give police a tip. Hall's girlfriend, Rene McKeage, who witnessed the murder, then identified Moody from a photo lineup. By that time, Moody was already in prison, serving a 40-year sentence for robbing a Houston bank in December 1991. Accomplice Doby was also convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Final/Special Meal:
None.
Final Words:
"Yes sir, to Joseph's mom and son. I was unable to respond to you in the courtroom. I can only ask that you have the peace that I do. To my brother, you are a good brother. You're the best. And I love you. Can't beat ya. The beautiful lady standing next to you. Kathy you are next to my heart. Amber I love you. Warden, pull the trigger. I love you brother never forget it. Ronnie, Linda, Amber, Kathy. Chaplain Hart you're the best. Love you Thomas."
The Execution
The lethal injection was started. He was pronounced dead at 6:28 p.m.

EXECUTION #37

John Richard Marek
Executed August 19, 2009 06:33 p.m. EST by Lethal Injection in Florida
37th murderer executed in U.S. in 2009
1173rd murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
2nd murderer executed in Florida in 2009
68th murderer executed in Florida since 1976

Summary:
The bruised, nude, strangled, and burned body of Adela Simmons was discovered at 7:00 a.m. on June 17, 1983 in the Lifeguard area of Dania Beach. Three and a half hours earlier, Marek and accomplice Raymond Wigley were observed in a stolen vehicle approximately 100 yards from the lifeguard stand. Simmons and Jean Trach had been vacationing in Clearwater the day before and were on their way home to Miami when their car broke down at 11:00 p.m. Marek and Wigley drove up in a pickup truck and offered to take one of the women to a tollbooth, where she would be allowed to call for help. Jean Trach warned Adela not to take the ride, but she took it anyway. In statements to police and testimony in court, Marek claimed to have been asleep off and on when Simmons was murdered by Wigley. Wigley stated that once in their truck, Simmons was forced to perform oral sex on the men and was repeatedly sexually assaulted. He also stated that at the beach, both men had dragged her into the observation area of a lifeguard stand, her shorts were taken off and that the men burned her pubic hairs and one of her fingers. Wigley stated that she was strangled to death with a bandana between the hours of 3:00 and 3:30 a.m.
Final / Special Meal:
A BLT sandwich, berries with whipped cream, french fries, onion rings, Dr Pepper.
Final Words:
"Jesus, remember the sinners."
The Execution
John Richard Marek lay on a table, his arms strapped down with brown leather belts, a white sheet covering his body. He hadn't taken a sedative, but he looked sedate. He had spent the day preparing for this moment — the last of his life.
He mouthed the Lord's prayer to himself as chemicals started coursing through his veins. His mouth went slack. His face went pale. He was dead in 13 minutes.

EXECUTION #36

Jason Getsy
Executed August 18, 2009 10:29 a.m. by Lethal Injection in Ohio
36th murderer executed in U.S. in 2009
1172nd murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
4th murderer executed in Ohio in 2009
32nd murderer executed in Ohio since 1976
Summary:
Getsy was paid 5,000 dollars by John Santine to kill Charles Serafino, with whom Santine had a business dispute. Getsy went to Serafino's house to carry out the contract and shot his target seven times before opening fire on his mother, Ann Serafino, who was killed in the attack. Charles Serafino survived the murder attempt and local media reported that he attended Getsy's execution Tuesday. Accomplices Ben Hudach (20 years to life), Richard McNulty (30 years to life) were convicted of murder and sentenced. Accomplice John Santine was tried later and was sentenced to 20 years to life after the jury rejected a request for the death penalty.
Final/Special Meal:
A ribeye steak, cooked medium rare with A-1 sauce on the side, hot barbecued chicken wings and onion rings with ketchup, fried mushrooms with marinara sauce, a chef salad with ranch dressing, pecan pie with vanilla ice cream and two types of soda pop.
Final Words:
“Charles and Nancy Serafino and all your loved ones, for all the pain that I caused, you get my earnest prayer that God grant you peace and healing,” Getsy said, looking at murder victim Ann Serafino’s grown children, who witnessed the execution. “I’m sorry. I know it’s little words but it’s true. “God is so good that he gave his only son for my sins. Even lying here today I can say how blessed I am,” Getsy said.
TheExecution
Getsy spent Monday night writing letters - he asked for 15 stamped envelopes - making phone calls and reading the Bible. He ate part of his last meal, including rib-eye steak, barbecued buffalo wings and onion rings. He saw visitors on Tuesday morning, including his grandmother and an aunt and uncle, and seemed upbeat and positive, said prisons spokeswoman Julie Walburn.
On the death gerney Getsy tilted his head to the left and appeared to smile at his aunt and uncle and spiritual adviser before his eyes closed at about 10:19 a.m. His chest rose and fell three times and then he was still. Warden Phillip Kerns shook Getsy and called his name to see if he was unconscious, as part of prison policy when putting inmates to death. At 10:21 a.m., without explanation, a member of the execution team re-entered the death chamber and checked the shunts on both arms.
Getsy was pronounced dead at 10:29 am.

EXECUTION #35

Marvallous Keene
Executed July 21, 2009 10:36 a.m. by Lethal Injection in Ohio
35th murderer executed in U.S. in 2009
1171st murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
3rd murderer executed in Ohio in 2009
31st murderer executed in Ohio since 1976
Summary:
Keene was the head of a self-proclaimed Downtown Posse of juveniles and young adults in Dayton. Working with three young co-conspirators, Keene murdered Joseph Wilkerson, 34, an acquaintance; Danita Gullette, 18, a stranger using a public telephone on the street; and Sarah Abraham, 38, a clerk at a convenience store. When he feared they would snitch on him, Keene was involved in the silencing of two acquaintances who knew too much: Wendy Cottrill, 16, and Marvin Washington, 18. Washington was shot by co-conspirator DeMarcus Smith. Keene’s girlfriend, Laura Taylor, killed a sixth victim, Richmond Maddox, 19. The crimes spanned Dec. 24-26, 1992 and were known as the "Christmas Killings." Taylor and Smith were juveniles at the time of the killings and thus ineligible for the death penalty. Another defendant, Heather Matthews, was indicted on two capital murder charges, but was granted a plea agreement in exchange for her testimony against Keene and Taylor. Smith, Taylor and Matthews all are serving prison sentences in excess of 100 years.
Final/Special Meal:
A Porterhouse steak with A-1 sauce, a pound of jumbo fried shrimp with cocktail sauce, french fries and onion rings with ketchup, dinner rolls and butter, two plums, a mango, a pound of seedless white grapes, German chocolate cake, two bottles of Pepsi and two bottles of A&W cream soda.
Final Words:
"I have no words."
The Execution
He is to die by lethal injection at 10 a.m. at the maximum-security Southern Ohio Correctional Facility.
Keene, 36, arrived at Lucasville at 9:43 a.m. from death row at the Ohio State Penitentiary in Youngstown. Staff members gave him a medical evaluation and checked his veins to be sure they could accept the intravenous lines containing a lethal cocktail of three drugs. “He’s generally been calm,” said Julie Walburn, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. “He’s pretty quiet right now.”
He spent most of the morning watching television and writing what appeared to be letters, she said.
Marvallous Keene's death was swift, silent, subdued. Just four minutes after being strapped down to the lethal-injection table -- and two minutes after the chemicals began flowing into his veins -- the Dayton "Christmas Killer" turned his head slightly to the left, then closed his eyes for the last time. The official time of Keene's death at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility near Lucasville was 10:36 a.m. But he seemed gone much earlier: He didn't move, and his chest showed no sign that he was breathing.

EXECUTION #34

John Fautenberry
Executed July 14, 2009 10:37 a.m. by Lethal Injection in Ohio
34th murderer executed in U.S. in 2009
1170th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
2nd murderer executed in Ohio in 2009
30th murderer executed in Ohio since 1976
Summary:
Fautenberry, a former Oregon truck driver, was hitchhiking near Cincinnati when he was picked up by truck driver Joseph Daron Jr., 46, of Milford, on February 17, 1991. After driving to a nearby restaurant, as Fautenberry was getting out, he reached back in and shot Daron with a .22 caliber pistol. Fautenberry then drove the truck to a wooded area near the Ohio River, dumped the body, then used the truck and credit cards to return to Oregon. Fautenberry pleaded no contest on July 23, 1992, to two counts each of aggravated murder and grand theft and one count of aggravated robbery. Fautenberry confessed to killing a total of five people in four states — Alaska, Oregon, Ohio and New Jersey — during a five-month period in late 1990 and early 1991. After his arrest in Alaska, Fautenberry confessed to the Cincinnati murder.
Final/Special Meal:
Two eggs sunny-side up, fried potatoes, two pieces of fried bologna, four pieces of wheat bread, two pieces of wheat toast with butter, four slices of tomato, a side of lettuce and mayonnaise, two Three Musketeers candy bars and two packages of Reese's peanut butter cups.
Final Words:
None.
The Execution
He fell asleep around 11:30 p.m. and slept until he was awakened by prison execution staff at 6 a.m. "Wake up Asshole...it's time to die" His only visitors were his attorney and a Catholic priest with whom he spent several hours. Outside the cramped, dimly lit Death House on Tuesday, an undertaker sat in a black hearse, parked inside the barbed wire fence at Southern Ohio Correctional Facility. Less than an hour later, the 46-year-old body of serial killer John Fautenberry was wheeled out – executed by the state of Ohio.
It took about 31 minutes from the time prison staff began hooking Fautenberry to intravenous tubes to when he was pronounced dead at 10:37 a.m. Three IV drugs knocked him out, stopped his breathing and his heart. The injection of lethal fluids took about 13 minutes.
Fautenberry wore navy blue pants with orange stripes. His head was shaved and he wore black eyeglasses, black boots and a white T-shirt. Twenty eyewitnesses, including family of victims, defense attorneys, a prosecutor, pastor, news reporters and prison workers, witnesses the execution. Seven prison officers who volunteered for the duty, and the warden, oversaw his execution. Fautenberry died silently without looking up. Andrea Carson, a prison spokeswoman, said Fautenberry asked for and got some sedatives Monday night and Tuesday. He appeared very calm before the injection.

EXECUTION #33

Michael P. Delozier
Executed July 9, 2009 06:10 p.m. CDT by Lethal Injection in Oklahoma
33rd murderer executed in U.S. in 2009
1169th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
3rd murderer executed in Oklahoma in 2009
91st murderer executed in Oklahoma since 1976
Summary:
DeLozier, age 19, was camping with friends along the Glover River and came upon the campsite of Orville Lewis Bullard, 60, and Paul Steven Morgan, 54. They left and returned that night, ambushed the pair, shot them with a shotgun and a .22 rifle, and stole their pickup, a generator and other camping equipment. DeLozier set fire to the camp, sparking a blaze that burned both bodies beyond recognition. Accomplice Nathaniel Madison pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder, received a 10-year sentence and testified against DeLozier. He was released from prison in 2000. Accomplice Glenney Madison was convicted of first-degree murder and is serving a life prison sentence.
Final/Special Meal:
A T-bone steak, french fries and a large salad. (Last meals are limited to $15 and must be available in the McAlester area)
Final Words:
Before the execution, DeLozier’s attorney released a statement in which DeLozier admitted killing the two men and apologized to the victims’ families. "I cannot wait to finish paying this debt I owe so I can apologize to the souls of Mr. Morgan and Mr. Bullard, and ask them to forgive me for my taking their lives,” DeLozier wrote. "To the families of my victims all I can say is I’m sorry for the pain I’ve caused you. I hope my death will bring you some peace.”
The Execution
DeLozier, wearing glasses and a full beard, nodded and smiled before he closed his eyes and laid his head back on the gurney. His breath hitched once as the lethal cocktail began to flow. Moments later, the color drained from his face. He Was pronounced dead a few minutes later.

EXECUTION #32

Jack Harrison Trawick
Executed June 11, 2009 06:17 p.m. by Lethal Injection in Alabama
32nd murderer executed in U.S. in 2009
1168th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
5th murderer executed in Alabama in 2009
43rd murderer executed in Alabama since 1976

Summary:
Jack Harrison Trawick abducted Stephanie Gach from the parking lot of her apartment complex in Birmingham on October 9, 1992, after following her home from a local shopping mall. Trawick took Stephanie to an isolated area, where he beat her with a hammer, strangled her, stabbed her through the heart, and tossed her body off an embankment. Her body was found on October 10, 1992. On October 26, 1996, while investigating reports of several attempted abductions of women, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department interviewed Trawick as a suspect in relation to those reports. During a second interview, the police asked Trawick whether he had had any involvement with the murder of Stephanie Gach. In a third interview, conducted on October 29, 1996, Trawick indicated that he knew something about the murder and, in a fourth interview conducted on the same day, Trawick confessed to the crime; he was then arrested for it. The grand jury indicted Trawick for the capital offense of murder committed during a first-degree kidnapping. After arraignment, he pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. After a trial, the jury found Trawick guilty of capital murder and by a vote of 10-2 recommended a sentence of death; the trial court sentenced him to death in accordance with this recommendation. In 1995 a jury also found him guilty of killing 27-year-old Aileen Pruitt and sentenced him to life in prison.
Final/Special Meal:
Fried chicken, French fries, onion soup and a roll.
Final Words:
"I wish to apologize to the people who I have hurt and I ask for their forgiveness. I don't deserve it, but I do ask for it."
The Execution
Prison officials said Trawick was in a good mood throughout the day, receiving visitors and he was executed at 6:17 p.m.

EXECUTION #31

Daniel E. Wilson
Executed June 3, 2009 10:33 a.m. by Lethal Injection in Ohio
31st murderer executed in U.S. in 2009
1167th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
1st murderer executed in Ohio in 2009
29th murderer executed in Ohio since 1976
Summary:
Wilson killed Carol Lutz after she drove him home from a bar in Elyria. Somehow — Wilson said he didn't know how — Lutz ended up in the trunk of her black Oldsmobile Cutlass after they left the bar and went to Wilson's house. Wilson let Lutz out briefly after she begged to use the restroom, but forced her back into the trunk even though she promised to forget the ordeal if he ran away. Wilson then set the punctured gas tank on fire and walked off while Lutz burned to death. Wilson claimed he was too intoxicated to remember all the details, but told police he remembered that much.
Final/Special Meal:
A well-done porter house steak with steak sauce, a baked potato with sour cream and bacon bits, salad with lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, radishes, green peppers, carrots and French dressing, corn on the cob with butter, grapes, macaroni and cheese, dinner rolls and Cool Ranch Doritos with a jar of salsa, strawberry ice cream and strawberry cheesecake--both with real strawberries, a 2-liter of Dr. Pepper with ice and one tea bag.
Final Words:
"I want to say to the Lutz family that I'm very sorry for what I did to Carol. I want to say to my family that I'm sorry for how things turned out. I love you. I believe in Jesus. He's my Lord and Savior. I'm going home. . ."
The Execution
Shortly after 10 a.m., a closed-circuit monitor flickered on, displaying a bird's-eye view of prison medical technicians preparing Wilson for execution. Wilson remained motionless on the gurney for nearly 15 minutes, even as techs struggled to place a shunt in his right arm, saturating a paper towel with blood that oozed from the inmate's punctured vein. Wilson entered the death chamber at 10:16 a.m. and calmly climbed onto the gurney. As officers strapped down his shunted arms, Wilson raised his head to see his two cousins, an attorney and the Rev. Neil Kookoothe, his spiritual adviser, gathered on the other side of the glass.
Kookoothe raised a hand to comfort Wilson. Wilson's eyes fluttered closed, as a dose of the sedative sodium pentothal took hold. His chest and stomach heaved several times and his breathing became erratic, then gradually more shallow with each inhalation.
Prison Warden Phillip Kerns called Wilson's name and pinched his arm -- part of the prison's new procedure to test for unconsciousness before administering the final two drugs that stop breathing and heartbeat. The lethal chemicals that followed -- pancuronium bromide to seize the lungs and potassium chloride to stop the heartbeat -- overtook Wilson quietly. He died at 10:33 a.m.

EXECUTION #30

Terry Lee Hankins
Executed June 2, 2009 06:19 p.m. CDT by Lethal Injection in Texas
30th murderer executed in U.S. in 2009
1166th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
16th murderer executed in Texas in 2009
439th murderer executed in Texas since 1976

Summary:
On Sunday, 26 August 2001, Hankins shot his 34-year-old wife, Tammy, in the head with a .45-caliber pistol while she was sleeping in their trailer home in Mansfield, near Fort Worth. The next day, Hankins killed his stepchildren, Kevin, 12, and Ashley, 10, in the same manner. They immediately suspected Hankins, because police had repeatedly been summoned to the home in recent months for domestic disturbances, fighting, and breaking and entering. There was also evidence that Hankins engaged in sexual activity with and around the dead bodies. His semen was found on the sheet on Ashley's bed. After his arrest on August 30 Hankins shocked police by telling them where to find the decomposing bodies of his father Earnie Hankins, 55, and his sister, Pearl "Sissy" Stevenstar, 20, whom he killed 10 months earlier. Hankins was convicted on overwhelming evidence. Ashley had defensive wounds "all over her body" according to prosecutors, and hair later proven to belong to Hankins was found in her hand. In a note found near Ashley's body, Hankins wrote: "I guess to sum it all up, I'm guilty of murder, incest, hatred, fraud, theft, jealousy and envy." Hankins also wrote in a diary Aug. 17 that he was contemplating the murders.
Final/Special Meal:
Fried chicken, pork chops, cheeseburgers, breaded fried okra, French fries and brownies.
Final Words:
"Yes, I am sorry for what I've done and for all of the pain and suffering that my actions have caused. Jesus is Lord. All glory to God."
The Execution
At 6:19 p.m., just 11 minutes following the lethal injection, Hankins was pronounced dead.

EXECUTION #29

Dennis James Skillicorn
Executed May 20, 2009 12:34 a.m. by Lethal Injection in Missouri
29th murderer executed in U.S. in 2009
1165th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
1st murderer executed in Missouri in 2009
67th murderer executed in Missouri since 1976
Summary:
Dennis Skillicorn, Allen Nicklasson, and Tim DeGraffenreid headed east from Kansas City to obtain illegal drugs. During their return trip their car broke down. They eventually burglarized a nearby home of Merlin Smith, stealing guns and money. They paid for a tow, but the garage was unable to repair the car. The drove back anyway and the car stalled again. Richard Drummond stopped and offered to drive the group to use a phone. They responded by kidnapping him at gunpoint, and later leading him into the woods off I-70 where Nicklasson shot him twice with a .22 caliber pistol. Drummond’s remains were found eight days later. Skillicorn and Nicklasson fled to Arizona, where their car got stuck in sand. Another good Samaritan, Joseph Babcock, 47, tried to help. Nicklasson murdered him and his wife, Charlene, 38. Nicklasson and Skillicorn were convicted of first-degree murder. Nicklasson is also on death row. DeGraffenreid, who was 17 when the crime took place, served time for second-degree murder.
Skillicorn was parolled in 1992 after serving 13 years for a previous murder conviction.

Final Meal:
Skillicorn dined alone in his cell, devouring a double-bacon cheeseburger and potato chips that was delivered from the Crossroads Restaurant & Lounge near the Bonne Terre prison. The 49-year-old murderer did not have anything for dessert.
Final Words:
"The sorrow, despair and regrets of my life would most certainly have consumed me if not for the grace and mercy of a loving and living God who saved me," Skillicorn wrote in a lengthy final statement read to reporters by Department of Corrections' spokesman Jacqueline LaPine. "As a husband, I've been overjoyed to know the love of a woman, unlike any I've ever known. She shall forever be by soul mate and I hers." His wife, Paula Barr, is a staff writer for the newspaper the Daily Journal in Park Hills, Mo.
Skillicorn apologized to the family of the victim, Richard Drummond, saying that "for the last 15 years I've lived with the remorse of my actions.
The Execution
Before midnight, he is to be strapped to a table and hooked to an intravenous tube, through which 5 grams of thiopental, a heavy barbiturate, will be injected. Under new procedures, the executioners will wait three minutes to make sure he is unconscious, then inject a second drug to paralyze him and a third to stop his heart.
He received the first injection at 12:23 a.m. at the prison in Bonne Terre and died 11 minutes later.

EXECUTION #28

Michael Lynn Riley
Executed May 19, 2009 06:18 p.m. CDT by Lethal Injection in Texas
28th murderer executed in U.S. in 2009
1164th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
15th murderer executed in Texas in 2009
438th murderer executed in Texas since 1976

Summary:
Riley was a frequent customer of a Shop-A-Minit convenience store in his hometown of Quitman. He entered the store and asked for ice cream. The 23 year old clerk, Wynona Harris, told him to help himself to the ice cream while she counted some money. When Harris turned her back to Riley, he came up behind her and stabbed her to death with a butcher knife, stabbing and slashing her 31 times. He fled the store with a cloth bag containing $1,110 in cash. A customer came in later and found Harris's body behind the counter. A milk delivery driver told police he noticed a man in distinctive coveralls hanging around outside the store. Detectives also followed bloody footprints to the murder weapon and a money bag. Riley turned himself in to authorities later that day after hearing police were looking for him. After detectives recovered his coveralls and the stolen money inside them, he confessed.
Final/Special Meal:
Two fried chicken quarters, two fried pork chops, a bowl of peaches, an order of french fries and a salad.
Final Words:
"I know I hurt you very bad. I want you to know I'm sorry. I hope one day you can move on and, if not, I understand." Riley also apologized to his mother, who was not present, for being "not the big son that you wanted me to be." Then he reminded friends who were watching that for years he has said he was ready to die. "To the fellows on the row: stay strong. Fleetwood is out of here," he said, referring to his death row nickname.
The Execution
Eight minutes after the lethal drugs began to flow, he was pronounced dead at 6:18 p.m.

EXECUTION #27

Donald Lee Gibson
Executed May 14, 2009 06:19 p.m. CDT by Lethal Injection in Oklahoma
27th murderer executed in U.S. in 2009
1163rd murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
2nd murderer executed in Oklahoma in 2009
90th murderer executed in Oklahoma since 1976
Summary:
The body of 8 year old Shane Coffman was found in an abandoned freezer outside the mobile home of his mother, Bertha Jean Coffman, and her boyfriend, Donald L. Gilson. An autopsy showed two fractures to the boy's skull, a tooth missing from his right jaw, and fractures to his collarbone, shoulder blades, ribs, legs and spine. Four other children, aged 12, 11 10, and 7, lived with Coffman and Gilson in the trailer and showed various signs of abuse. Two of the children were emaciated and had trouble walking. The children told police that six months earlier Gilson beat the boy with a board and then placed him in a bathtub as punishment for going to the bathroom on the living room rug. They heard Shane screaming while in the bathroom with Gilson and Bertha Coffman, who later told the children that Shane had run away. The couple gave various accounts of the killing to police. They first he had ran away, then they said they found him dead and thought some other guy killed him. Eventually they said the death was an accident. Coffman entered an Alford Plea and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Final/Special Meal:
A cheeseburger, chili-cheese french fries and a chocolate shake from Chili's restaurant.
Final Words:
"I'm an innocent man, but I get to go to heaven, and I'll see Shane tonight. It's God's will that this take place."
The Execution
Donald Lee Gilson, 48, lifted his head and smiled at his family before the lethal combination of drugs began to flow through his veins at 6:14 p.m. He was pronounced dead five minutes later.

EXECUTION #26

Willie McNair
Executed May 14, 2009 06:17 p.m. by Lethal Injection in Alabama
26th murderer executed in U.S. in 2009
1162nd murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
4th murderer executed in Alabama in 2009
42nd murderer executed in Alabama since 1976

Summary:
McNair and another man went to the home of Ella Foy Riley, an elderly widow who lived alone and occasionally hired McNair to do yard work. When Ella came to the door, McNair asked her if he could borrow twenty dollars. Riley told him she had no money to lend him. McNair then asked if he could have a glass of water. Ella invited him in, and when she turned around McNair grabbed her by the neck and stabbed her in the throat. When the blade of the knife broke off in Ella’s neck, McNair’s companion retrieved another knife from the kitchen and McNair stabbed Ella in the neck again, then strangled her for several minutes as she bled to death. When an officer came to his house the next morning, McNair admitted killing Ella and later directed officers to the place where he had dumped the purse. McNair was originally convicted and sentenced to death. On direct appeal, the sentence was vacated and a new hearing ordered. The second jury recommended a sentence of life without parole by a vote of 8-4. The court rejected this recommendation and again sentenced McNair to death. McNair's accomplice, Olin Grimsley, received a life sentence for first-degree robbery for his role in the attack.
Final/Special Meal:
None.
Final Words:
None.
The Execution
McNair, 44, did not look at victim Ella Foy Riley's children. He also declined to pray with the prison chaplain, made no final public statement and spent his last moments staring at the ceiling as the injection began at 6 p.m. He was pronounced dead at 6:17 p.m. by Alabama Corrections officials.

EXECUTION #25

Thomas Treshawn Ivey
Executed May 8, 2009 6:15 p.m. by Lethal Injection in South Carolina
25th murderer executed in U.S. in 2009
1161st murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
2nd murderer executed in South Carolina in 2009
42nd murderer executed in South Carolina since 1976
Summary:
Ivey and Vincent Neuman escaped from jail in Alabama, where Ivey was being held on a murder charge. They stole a truck and drove to South Carolina, ending up in Neuman's hometown of Columbia. There they kidnapped businessman Robert Montgomery, who was working downtown. Ivey and Neuman drove Montgomery to rural Orangeburg County. Neuman later testified that while there, Ivey shot Montgomery in the head and chest, leaving his body to be discovered by hunters. Two days later the pair visited a mall in Orangeburg, where a clerk accused them of trying to pass a stolen check. Officer Tommy Harrison responded to the call but let Ivey go when he realized Neuman was trying to use the check. Ivey told police a handgun in his pocket fired accidentally as he walked away, and the bullet ricocheted off the floor, hitting Harrison in the leg. Ivey said he then panicked, shooting the officer five more times. Neuman testified against Ivey and is serving a life sentence for murder in South Carolina.
Final Meal:
Pizza and donuts.
Final Words:
None.
The Execution
Ivey kept his eyes trained on the ceiling as the drugs were administered, blinking several times but never looking to his left, where several witnesses looked on. A few moments later he closed his eyes, exhaled several times and did not move again. He was pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m.
Earlier in the day, prison officials said Ivey used the blade from a disposable razor to cut himself on the neck. The wounds were not considered serious, and officials kept him strapped in a chair until he was brought to the death chamber. Ivey wore a white bandage on his neck, and he was clad in a white paper gown during the execution. Inmates usually wear a dark green prison uniform during executions. Several straps across his chest and over his shoulders and arms kept Ivey immobile.

EXECUTION #24

Derrick Lamont Johnson
Executed April 30, 2009 06:23 p.m. CDT by Lethal Injection in Texas
24th murderer executed in U.S. in 2009
1160th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
14th murderer executed in Texas in 2009
437th murderer executed in Texas since 1976
Summary:
18 year old Johnson and his 15 year old accomplice, Marcus Maxwell, robbed and abducted LaTausha Curry who was trying to make a call at a pay phone. Curry was driven away in her car, raped, beaten with a two-by-four and suffocated with her own blouse. The murder was part of a two-week crime spree involving Johnson and Maxwell that left numerous women robbed or raped from Dallas to Waco, some 100 miles away. Johnson was arrested two years earlier for robbery, pleaded guilty and received 10 years probation that included a stint in a boot camp. He was released from the camp after 65 days for good behavior. In a confession to police, Johnson said he and Maxwell raped and killed Curry, who worked as a security guard and had a 4-year-old child. He told officers where to find her body. His fingerprints were in her car and DNA tied him to her rape. Accomplice Maxwell agreed to a plea deal on two counts of robbery and two counts of sexual assault and is serving four concurrent 40-year prison terms.
Final/Special Meal:
None.
Final Words:
In a matter-of-fact voice, Johnson told his mother, "Don't cry. It's my situation. I got it. Hold tight. It's going to shine on the golden child." After telling her he loved her, Johnson said, "That concludes the statement."
The Execution
Nine minutes after the lethal drugs began to flow, he was pronounced dead at 6:23 p.m.

EXECUTION #23

William Mark Mize
Executed April 29, 2009 07:28 p.m. by Lethal Injection in Georgia
23rd murderer executed in U.S. in 2009
1159th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
2nd murderer executed in Georgia in 2009
45th murderer executed in Georgia since 1976
Summary:
Mize was the leader of a small white supremicist group. Eddie Tucker had applied for admission into the group and went driving with several members one evening. Mize suggested they burn down a "crack house," and directed Tucker and another man to start a fire with lighter fluid. The attempt was unsuccessful. Mize then drove to a wooded area, where he Hattrup, and Tucker walked in front of the group into the woods. Three shots rang out and only Mize and Hattrup emerged. Mize later admitted to friends that he and Hattrup had shot Tucker with a shotgun. Hattrup and another member pleaded guilty and now are serving life sentences in prison.
Final Meal:
Steak, fried chicken breast, baked potato, salad, garlic bread, a pint of butter pecan ice cream, half a pecan pie and soda.
Final Words:
Mize, in his final statement to a room of about 25 witnesses, accused the Oconee County Sheriff's Office of setting him up. He said Hattrup tried to take responsibility "but the courts have never heard him. I saw my friend killed by another friend. I'm here because of a travesty of justice. It's on their hands, not mine. I'm ready."
The Execution
The 52-year-old inmate was pronounced dead at 7:28 p.m. by authorities.

EXECUTION #22

Jimmy Lee Dill
Executed April 16, 2009 06:16 p.m. by Lethal Injection in Alabama
22nd murderer executed in U.S. in 2009
1158th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
3rd murderer executed in Alabama in 2009
41st murderer executed in Alabama since 1976
Summary:
Leon Shaw was assigned to a federal work-release facility in Birmingham on a drug conviction. During a drug transaction in a car, Shaw was shot in the back of the head by Dill with a .22-caliber handgun and lingered unconscious until his death nine months later.
Final/Special Meal:
Fried chicken, fried okra, a biscuit and a root beer.
Final Words:
"I just hope God's will be done and everybody finds the peace they need. I'm good."
The Execution
When the curtain opened to the execution room, Dill looked through large, brown-rimmed eyeglasses and waved at his two nieces in the witness room. He then turned his head to acknowledge the victim's wife and son in a separate room. Dill prayed with a chaplain who knelt beside him in his final minutes. Dill left a check for $1.26 to sister-in-law Carolyn Dill. He was pronounced dead at 6:16pm.

EXECUTION #21

Michael F. Rosales
Executed April 15, 2009 06:17 p.m. CDT by Lethal Injection in Texas
21st murderer executed in U.S. in 2009
1157th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
13th murderer executed in Texas in 2009
436th murderer executed in Texas since 1976

Summary:
Rosales was in the process of committing burglary of an apartment near where he was staying when he was confronted by the owner, 68 year old Mary Felder. Rosales grabbed a kitchen knife from the victim's kitchen, stabbed her 137 times, and struck her with a hard object resulting in her death. After confessing, Rosales led police to a dumpster where he disposed of the murder weapons. There, police found a white plastic trash bag containing a bloody pair of needle-nose pliers, a bloody steak knife with a 4 ½ inch blade, and a bloody two-pronged kitchen fork.
Final/Special Meal:
Beef enchiladas, fried chicken, a double bacon cheeseburger and a vanilla cake.
Final Words:
"I love you," he told witnesses, who included three of his brothers standing a few feet away and watching through a window. "May the Lord be with you. Peace. I'm done."
The Execution
The lethal injection was then started. Eight minutes later, he was pronounced dead at 6:17 p.m.

EXECUTION #20

Luis Cervantes Salazar
Executed March 11, 2009 06:20 p.m. CDT by Lethal Injection in Texas
20th murderer executed in U.S. in 2009
1156th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
12th murderer executed in Texas in 2009
435th murderer executed in Texas since 1976

Summary:
Salazar entered Martha Sanchez’s home through a window, grabbed a knife from the kitchen and entered Sanchez’s bedroom, where he began stabbing the woman in the chest. Sanchez’s son, 10-year-old Erick, woke up to his mother's scream and went into his mother's bedroom, where he saw Salazar stabbing her. When Erick attempted to grab the knife, Salazar stabbed the boy in the chest. Sanchez ran to get help from a neighbor. Salazar later called 9-1-1 to turn himself into police, and confessed to the crime. The medical examiner testified that Sanchez suffered physical injuries that indicated an attempted sexual assault. In testimony at his trial, Salazar did not deny stabbing Sanchez and her son, but that he felt good during acts of violence and that he had dreamed of killing people.
Final/Special Meal:
A cheeseburger, a meat pizza, four slices of ham or bologna, chicken, three pieces of fried fish with lemons, french fries with no skin, a cup of extra olives and pickles and orange or grape juice.
Final Words:
Salazar expressed love to friends and relatives, asked for forgiveness and laughed several times from the death chamber gurney. "My heart is going ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump," Salazar said, adding a "Hah, hah!" He never acknowledged the crime, however, or addressed the mother, son, two sisters and brother of his victim who watched through a window. After reciting the Lord's Prayer and in the midst of a confession asking for forgiveness for the "sins that I can remember," the lethal drugs took effect. Nine minutes later he was pronounced dead.
The Execution
With his last statement completed, the lethal injection was started. He was pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m.

EXECUTION #19

Robert L. Newland
Executed March 10, 2008 07:35 p.m. by Lethal Injection in Georgia
19th murderer executed in U.S. in 2009
1155th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
1st murderer executed in Georgia in 2009
44th murderer executed in Georgia since 1976
Summary:
Newland lived with his girlfriend, across the street from the victim, 27 year old Carol Beatty. After a night of drinking, Newland appeared at Beatty's home and asked her to come outside. Beatty came out and petitioner attempted to kiss her. She refused, and told him to go home. When he again attempted to kiss her, she scratched and slapped him. Newland then drew a knife and slashed her neck and stabbed her repeatedly. In the hospital, shortly before her death, Beatty identified Newland as her attacker. Upon arrest, Newland gave a complete confession.
Final Meal:
Newland declined a special last-meal request. Instead, he was served the regular meal tray, which consisted of chicken and rice, carrots, collard greens, rolls, bread putting and iced tea.
Final Words:
Newland expressed remorse for killing his "good friend." "I'm sorry this happened. I wish I could go back to that day. I have no grudges against anybody. I still don't remember what happened, but what happened happened." A few minutes after his final statement, he continued talking again after the death chamber's microphone had been turned off. But his words were only heard by the warden, security officers and medical staffers behind the soundproof glass window.
The Execution
He was the first person executed in Georgia this year. The injection was administered at 7:20 p.m. and he was pronounced dead at 7:35.

EXECUTION #18

James Edward Martinez
Executed March 10, 2009 06:17 p.m. CDT by Lethal Injection in Texas
18th murderer executed in U.S. in 2009
1154th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
11th murderer executed in Texas in 2009
434th murderer executed in Texas since 1976

Summary:
Martinez and Sandra Walton had dated briefly and during the relationship he loaned her $1,000. When they broke up, he demanded repayment quickly. Walton gave him a promissory note, but told friends Martinez continued to harass and threaten her. Walton filed numerous police reports against Martinez but was unable to get a protective order. Walton was shot at least nine times as she returned home from a late-night fast-food run. Michael Humphreys, from Arlington, was hit eight times. At the shooting scene, authorities found 27 shell casings from a high-powered Austrian-made military-type rifle. On the night of the murders, Martinez called Casey Ashford, a long-time friend, several times. Martinez drove to the farm where Ashford was staying to deliver a black canvas bag for Ashford to keep. Ashford looked in the bag and saw the rifle later determined to be the murder weapon, among other items. He buried the bag, but later disclosed its location to police. Inside a storage bin Martinez rented, detectives found more than 3,000 rounds of ammunition, bomb-making components, pistols, illegal knives, illegally modified firearms and books on killing techniques and body disposal.
Final/Special Meal:
Three chili cheese hot dogs with extra cheese on the side, fried okra with ketchup on the side, french fries with ketchup on the side and vanilla coke or regular coke.
Final Words:
Martinez told his mother and sister, who were watching through a nearby window, that he loved them and thanked them for everything they had done for him. “I hope y’all can move on after this. I’ll be fine. I’m fine.” Martinez told them all again that he loved them and added, “Take care, OK?” He then told the warden he had nothing else to say.
The Execution
As the drugs began taking effect, his mother was overcome with emotion, sobbing and scratching at the glass that separated them. “James don’t leave me, you can’t die. Don’t leave me,” she cried. Officers brought a wheelchair into the room and removed her and her daughter before Martinez was pronounced dead at 6:17 p.m. CDT, nine minutes after the lethal drugs began.

EXECUTION #17 (HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!)

Kenneth Wayne Morris
Executed March 3, 2009 06:16 p.m. CDT by Lethal Injection in Texas
17th murderer executed in U.S. in 2009
1153rd murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
10th murderer executed in Texas in 2009
433rd murderer executed in Texas since 1976
Summary:
Morris and two accomplices broke into the home of James Moody Adams who got up from bed to confront the intruders. After handing over $1,800, Morris shot Adams for no apparent reason, then fled. Adams wife hid in the closet during the ordeal and was unharmed. A fingerprint was recovered from the scene and matched to Christopher Montez, who was arrested and confessed, implicating Morris. When Morris was arrested he also confessed. Eight days after the murder, he committed a car jacking, for which he received a 30-year sentence. From death row, Morris said that he and his friends broke into the wrong house. Accomplice Orlena Ayers was convicted of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon and sentenced to life in prison. Accomplice Montez, who is Ayers' cousin, received an 85-year sentence.
Final/Special Meal:
Fried chicken, fried okra, white cake with lemon icing and lemonade. (Executed on his birthday)
Final Words:
"I'm sorry for all the pain I might have caused you and your family. I carry nothing but love in my heart. I pray one day y'all can forgive me." Morris then looked toward two female friends and expressed his love to them, saying "I'm ready to go home." Then he grinned and mouthed a kiss to the women, saying: "I'll always be with you." As the drugs began taking effect, Morris turned again toward the victim's relatives and said, "I really am sorry."
The Execution
Morris was executed on his Birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

EXECUTION #16

Willie Earl Pondexter

Executed March 3, 2009 06:18 p.m. CDT by Lethal Injection in Texas
16th murderer executed in U.S. in 2009
1152nd murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
9th murderer executed in Texas in 2009
432nd murderer executed in Texas since 1976

Summary:
Pondexter and accomplices Ricky Bell, Deon Williams, and James Henderson met together and discussed robbing Martha Lennox, a wealthy 84-year-old woman in Clarksville. They parked a few blocks away. On their first attempt to enter the house, they saw a patrolling police car. The men ran back to their car, but later returned to Lennox's house. After Pondexter kicked in the front door, all four of them went inside and went upstairs to Lennox's bedroom. The victim was there, sitting on her bed. Williams then took $7 from the victim's coin purse. Lennox was then shot twice in the head with a 9 mm pistol. The intruders then fled in the victim's car. Pondexter and his companions drove Lennox's car to Dallas, using the money they stole to buy gas. The day after the murder, they were arrested after attempting to rob a man on the street. At Pondexter's trial, Deon Williams testified that Henderson shot Lennox in the head first, then handed the gun to Pondexter. Pondexter then shot Lennox in the head and said, "that's how you smoke a bitch." James Lee Henderson was also convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death. He remains on death row.
Final/Special Meal:
Two fried chicken legs, two fried chicken thighs, macaroni and cheese, biscuits, peach cobbler and lemonade.
Final Words:
"Well, first I want to say. They may execute me but they can't punish me because they can't execute an innocent man. I am not mad. Jack Herrington, I am not mad. You were given a job to do but that's neither here nor there. I am not mad. I am disappointed by the courts. I feel like I was upset and let down by them. But that's O.K. I just played the hand that life dealt me. Look at my life and learn from it. I am very remorseful about what I did. I apologize. To my kids, Daddy loves you. Irene Wilcox, Thank you. It's been a long journey. Thank you for being there. Tell Jack hello. I know I am wrong but I am asking ya'll to forgive me."
The Execution
He looked toward the district attorney who prosecuted him and a distant cousin of his victim and said, “I know I’m wrong asking you to forgive me.” Before he could say anything else, the lethal drugs took effect. At 6:18 p.m., nine minutes after the lethal drugs began, he was pronounced dead.

EXECUTION #15

Luke A. Williams, lll
Executed February 20, 2009 6:13 p.m. by Lethal Injection in South Carolina
15th murderer executed in U.S. in 2009
1151st murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
1st murderer executed in South Carolina in 2009
41st murderer executed in South Carolina since 1976
Summary:
The bodies of Williams' wife Linda, and their 12-year-old son, Shaun, were found in the family van just across the state line into South Carolina. The van had been driven into a tree in what appeared to be a botched attempt to stage an accident. The bodies had been doused in gasoline and set ablaze. Autopsies revealed that Linda had been beated to death and Shaun had been strangled to death. Months later, it was discovered that Williams had secretly insured his wife and child just weeks before their deaths. The combined payout from several policies was $525,000 and Mr. Williams was the sole beneficiary. Williams was unemployed had a history of living off insurance settlements for injuries and accidents. He was out of money and had filed for bankruptcy protection. A few days before her death, Linda had contacted United Way’s Help Line a few days before her death and was referred to a shelter for battered women. The shelter’s phone number, scrawled on a torn slip of paper, was still in her purse when her body was removed from the burned out van.
Final Meal:
Fried chicken, steak, baked potato with sour cream and butter, a tossed salad, cranberry sauce, peach cobbler, fried turkey and ketchup.
Final Words:
None.
The Execution
Williams lay motionless on the steel table in the death chamber. He was strapped to the table with his left arm stretched out to the side for the needles that carried the drugs into his body. The tubes carrying the drugs flinched slightly as the liquid began flowing at 6 p.m. Within seconds Williams eye lids lightly fluttered and lips parted slightly as he appeared to snore. By 6:02 p.m. his breathing appeared to stop. At 6:04 p.m. a prison official walked to the table for a closer look then walked back to the corner. A few minutes later the official checked again and summoned a doctor who check his pupils and heartbeat. The doctor nodded at the prison officials who then pronounced him dead at 6:13 p.m.

EXECUTION #14

Edward Nathaniel Bell
Executed February 19, 2009 9:11 p.m. by Lethal Injection in Virginia
14th murderer executed in U.S. in 2009
1150th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
1st murderer executed in Virginia in 2009
103rd murderer executed in Virginia since 1976
Summary:
Winchester Police Officer Ricky Lee Timbrook was assisting probation officers in making home visits to individuals on probation or parole. They approached two men, Daniel Charles Spitler and Bell. Bell ran and was pursued by Timbrook. As Sergeant Timbrook started to climb a fence, he was shot once in the head with a .38 caliber handgun. The area was secured and Bell was discovered uninvited in the basement of a neighbor's home. A .38 caliber handgun was found under her porch the next day. Although Bell claimed not to have a weapon, another man testified that Bell tried to sell him a handgun on the night of the shooting. Timbrook had arrested Bell twice before. Bell had told others that he would like to see Timbrook dead.
Final/Special Meal:
Bell did not request a last meal and was served the same food as the rest of the inmates.
Final Words:
"To the Timbrook family, you definitely have the wrong person. The truth will come out one day. This here, killing me, there’s no justice about it.”
The Execution
Bell needed assistance coming into the execution chamber, Warder Traylor said. "He obviously could not come in under his own power."
He was strapped to a gurney, administered a sequence of three drugs and pronounced dead at the Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt at 9:11 p.m

EXECUTION #13

Johnny Ray Johnson
Executed February 12, 2009 06:19 p.m. CDT by Lethal Injection in Texas
13th murderer executed in U.S. in 2009
1149th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
8th murderer executed in Texas in 2009
431st murderer executed in Texas since 1976
Summary:
Johnson confessed that he offered to give Leah Smith some of his crack cocaine in exchange for sex. After Smith smoked the crack, she refused to have sex with Johnson. He became angry and grabbed her, ripped her clothes off, and threw her to the ground. When she fought back with a wooden board, Johnson repeatedly struck her head against the cement curb until she stopped fighting, and then raped her. During the punishment phase of his trial, the State introduced evidence, including Johnson’s oral and written confessions, revealing that Johnson raped and/or murdered numerous other women on several occasions in much the same manner.

Final/Special Meal:
Two chicken-fried steaks, 20 fried shrimp, four fried chicken breasts, four fried eggs without yolks, two biscuits with butter and honey, two large pieces of peanut brittle and 2 gallons of black coffee with cream and sugar on the side.
Final Words:
In a rambling final statement, Johnson denounced the Texas death penalty, calling Livingston’s Allan Polunsky Unit, home of the state’s death row, “a dungeon.” “Death row is full of isolated hearts and suppressed minds,” said Johnson as a small group of friends and relatives he asked to witness his death stifled sobs. “The Polunsky dungeon should be compared with the Death Row Community as existing not living. Why do I say this, the Death Row is full of isolated hearts and suppressed minds. We are filled with love looking for affection and a way to understand. I am a Death Row resident of the Polunsky dungeon. Why does my heart ache. We want pleasure love and satisfaction. It. The walls of darkness crushed in on me. Life without meaning is life without purpose. But the solace within the Polunsky dungeon, the unforgivesness within society, the church Pastors and Christians. It is terrifying. Does anyone care or who I am. Can you feel me people. The Polunsky dungeon is what I call the pit of hopelessness. The terrfying thing is the US is the only place, country that is the only civilized country that is free that says it will stop murder and enable justice. I ask each of you to lift up your voices to demand an end to the Death Penalty. If we live, we live to the Lord. If we die we die to the Lord. Christ rose again, in Jesus name. Bye Aunt Helen, Luise, Joanna and to all the rest of yall.
The Execution
You may proceed Warden." (began singing) The song ended as he lapsed into unconsciousness as the lethal drugs took effect. Johnson was declared dead at 6:19 p.m., eight minutes after the drugs began to flow.

EXECUTION #12

Danny Joe Bradley
Executed February 12, 2009 06:15 p.m. by Lethal Injection in Alabama
12th murderer executed in U.S. in 2009
1148th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
2nd murderer executed in Alabama in 2009
40th murderer executed in Alabama since 1976
Summary:
12 -year-old Rhonda Hardin and her younger brother, Bubba, were left in the care of their stepfather, Danny Joe Bradley. The mother of the children, Judy Bradley, had been hospitalized for more than one week. At approximately 8:00 p.m., Rhonda was watching television with Bubba and Bradley. Rhonda was lying on the couch and asked Bubba to wake her if she fell asleep so that she could move to the bedroom. When Bubba decided to go to bed, Bradley told him not to wake Rhonda but to leave her on the couch. Bradley also told Bubba to go to sleep in the room normally occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Bradley instead of his own bedroom. Bradley claimed that he had fallen asleep and that when he awoke, Rhonda was gone. Her body was found the next day in woods near Bradley's apartment. She had been raped, sodomized and strangled to death. When he discovered her "missing" Bradley went to his in-laws, then to the next door neighbor, before going to the hospital. He claimed to police that he had not left the house before discovering her missing, but was witnessed by a police officer near where the body was eventually discovered. Her brother later testified that Bradley had frequently rendered the children unconscious by squeezing their necks. Fiber evidence from Bradley's home and trunk was also consistent with clothing and bedding fibers from the victim.
Final/Special Meal:
Bradley had no final meal request. He had two fried egg sandwiches for breakfast and a snack during the day.
Final Words:
None.
The Execution
Bradley, 49, was given a lethal injection at 6:15 p.m. at Holman prison after spending 25 years on Alabama’s death row.

EXECUTION #11

Wayne Tomkins
Executed February 11, 2009 06:32 p.m. EST by Lethal Injection in Florida
11th murderer executed in U.S. in 2009
1147th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
1st murderer executed in Florida in 2009
67th murderer executed in Florida since 1976

Summary:
In 1983, Tompkins lived with Barbara Wallace and her 15 year old daughter, Lisa Lea DeCarr. Tompkins was assisting Wallace's mother in packing to move and went home several times during the day to obtain newspapers to use in the packing. The defendant returned later in the day, after going home, and reported that Lisa Lea had run away, and he doubted she would ever return. In 1984, her decomposed body was found buried underneath the residence. She had been strangled. Two years later, Tompkins was behind bars on unrelated rape charges and told a jailhouse informant he strangled the girl with her bathrobe sash when she fought off his sexual advances. A friend of the victim came forward and stated that she went to he residence on the day of her disappearance and observed Tompkins on top of the victim, who was struggling and screaming for help.
Final / Special Meal:
He ate a last meal of fried chicken and banana split ice cream, using only the single spoon the state allows.
Final Words:
When asked whether he had a final statement, Tompkins said, "I am good."
The Execution
A brown curtain opened at 6:23 p.m., about 15 minutes later than planned. Witnesses saw Tompkins splayed out on a gurney with a white sheet pulled up to his chin. His tattooed left arm hung out, strapped to the gurney. He was hooked to IVs that would deliver three drugs. The first one would render him unconscious. The next one brings paralysis and stops all breathing. The final drug causes cardiac arrest. He lay perfectly still, except to adjust his chin a couple times. He looked up into a microphone that would broadcast his final statement. He could not see the witnesses and made no effort to look their way. They shifted in their seats and clasped their hands. Men in black-and-gray suits nervously tapped their shiny shoes on the white linoleum floor. An old wall-unit air conditioner strained overhead.
At 6:26 p.m., Tompkins' breathing calmed. The mouth movements stopped. His eyes closed.Three minutes later, Warden Cannon checked to make sure Tompkins was unconscious before ordering the release of the final two drugs. Cannon shook Tompkins and tapped his eyelids twice. Nothing. A couple minutes later, a man with a stethoscope emerged to check Tompkins' pulse. He checked again. He said something to Cannon, and left through the same curtain entrance. Cannon pronounced the execution complete at 6:32 p.m.

EXECUTION #10

Dale Scheanette
Executed February 10, 2009 06:21 p.m. CDT by Lethal Injection in Texas
10th murderer executed in U.S. in 2009
1146th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
7th murderer executed in Texas in 2009
430th murderer executed in Texas since 1976

Summary:
On 17 September 1996, the body of Christine Vu, 26, was found lying face down in a half-filled bathtub in her Arlington apartment. Her hands, ankles, and neck were wrapped with duct tape. An autopsy showed that she had been raped, strangled, and drowned. A fingerprint was found in her apartment, and a DNA sample was collected during the autopsy, but this evidence did not lead to any suspects. On 24 December 1996, 20-year-old Wendie Prescott, who lived in the same apartment complex, was found lying face down in her bathtub. Her neck, wrists, and ankles were wrapped in duct tape and were all connected together with a band of duct tape down her back. An autopsy showed that she had been sexually assaulted and bound in this fashion prior to her death, which was caused by manual strangulation. Investigators recovered a high-quality fingerprint from a television stand in Prescott's apartment, and sperm samples were recovered, but no matches were returned from law enforcement data bases. The killings, which the media dubbed the work of the "Bathtub Killer", remained unsolved for years. In 2000, Arlington police resubmitted the fingerprint and sperm samples to the FBI, who found a conclusive match with Scheanette. After his arrest, Scheanette was also connected to the sexual assaults of four other women in their apartments the Dallas-Fort Worth area from September 1998 to October 1999. A jury convicted Scheanette of the capital murder of Wendie Prescott in January 2003 and sentenced him to death. Scheanette was charged with Vu's murder, but was not tried.
Final/Special Meal:
Two spicy fried leg quarters, french fries and ketchup and two spicy fried pork chops.
Final Words:
"My only statement is that no cases ever tried have been error-free. Those are my words. No cases are error-free." He did not acknowledge the six witnesses who attended on behalf of his victims.
The Execution
The lethal injection was then started. He was pronounced dead at 6:21 p.m.

EXECUTION #9

David Martinez
Executed February 4, 2009 06:18 p.m. CDT by Lethal Injection in Texas
9th murderer executed in U.S. in 2009
1145th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
6th murderer executed in Texas in 2009
429th murderer executed in Texas since 1976

Summary:
Martinez lived with his firlfriend, Carolina Prado and her two children, 14 year old Erik and 10 year old Belinda. On July 10, 1994, Martinez beat Carolina to death with a baseball bat in her bed, and used the same bat on Erik in the living room. Belinda was left tied up but unharmed and had seen her brother beaten to death by Martinez. She escaped and returned with her Grandmother who discovered the bodies. Upon arrest, Martinez confessed to the murders, bragging that he had killed them like cockroaches. No apparent motive for the murders was revealed.
Final/Special Meal:
Declined.
Final Words:
"Nothing I can say can ever change the past. I hope one day you can find peace. I am sorry for all of the pain I have caused you for all those years. There is nothing else I can say that can help you." Martinez also expressed love to his family and apologized for making them grieve. "I am sorry to put you through this as well. I can't change the past. I hope you find peace and know that I love you. I am sorry. I am sorry and I can't change it. Keep on going and it will be OK. I'm sorry. I truly am."
The Execution
David Martinez was pronounced dead at 6:18 p.m., about eight minutes after he was administered a lethal mix of drugs. Before succumbing to the lethal injection, Martinez shook his head vigorously back and forth.

EXECUTION #8

Steve Henley
Executed February4, 2009 1:31 a.m. CST by Electric Chair in Tennessee
8th murderer executed in U.S. in 2009
1144th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
1st murderer executed in Tennesee in 2009
5th murderer executed in Tennesee since 1976
Summary:
Fred and Edna Stafford, an elderly couple, lived in Jackson County, just a short distance from the farm owned by Steve Henley’s family. On the day of the murders, Henley had visited his grandmother. Accomplice Terry Flatt was with him. According to Flatt, Henley commented that the Staffords had owed his grandparents some money, and he was going to stop and see about collecting some money off them.” Henley retrieved a .22 rifle with him, and filled a plastic jug with gasoline. He confronted the Staffords in the yard, and said “I want your money, if you don’t give it to me this man in the truck here, he’s going to kill me.” He then directed them to go to the house. Despite Mr. stafford offering to give Henley money, as they reached the porch Flatt saw Henley begin to shoot. He first shot Fred then turned and shot Edna a time or two. While she was laying on the floor moaning and groaning he threw the rifle to Flatt, took out his pistol and shot her again with the pistol. Both men pured gasoline, lit it, and fled. The bodies of the Staffords were found in the ashes. Flatt was given a reduced sentence for his testimony against Henley and served five years of a 25-year prison sentence.
Final / Special Meal:
A seafood plate of shrimp, fish, oysters, onion rings and hush puppies.
Final Words:
“As I have said ever since this happened, I didn’t kill them,” Henley said during his final words of his victims, Fred and Edna Stafford. “I hope they can rest easier after this procedure is done.”
The Execution
Henley was revealed to family members and media witnesses to the execution at 1:17 a.m., already strapped to the death gurney. When he heard the shouts and cries of his family, Henley lifted his head and smiled to them. Henley was pronounced dead at 1:33 a.m. today in the Riverbend Maximum Security Institute’s death chamber. Henley was put to death using Tennessee’ controversial three-drug protocol for lethal injection.

EXECUTION #7

Ricardo Ortiz
Executed January 29, 2009 06:18 p.m. CDT by Lethal Injection in Texas
7th murderer executed in U.S. in 2009
1143rd murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
5th murderer executed in Texas in 2009
428th murderer executed in Texas since 1976

Summary:
On August 17, 1997, Gerardo Garcia died in the El Paso County Jail of a heroin overdose. The concentration of morphine in Garcia's blood was three times higher than the average. A pathologist testified that the absence of track marks meant that Garcia was not a heroin addict. At trial, two witnesses testified that the heroin overdose was involuntary, forced upon Garcia by Ortiz because Ortiz believed that Garcia had revealed Ortiz's role in some bank robberies. This section of the jail was known as the "Texas Syndicate tank" because it was set aside specifically to contain those associated with the Texas Syndicate. Ortiz was the "tank boss," meaning he exercised de facto authority over the other inmates in the tank.
Final/Special Meal:
None.
Final Words:
Ortiz expressed love for his family and thanked them for their support. "Stay strong," he said, although he had no friends or relatives in the death chamber. "I'm at peace. I love you and my kids. See you."
The Execution
Texas prison officials injected lethal drugs to execute Ortiz for the retaliation slaying.
Nine minutes later, at 6:18 p.m. CST, he was pronounced dead.

EXECUTION #6

Virgil Martinez
Executed January 28, 2009 06:50 p.m. CDT by Lethal Injection in Texas
6th murderer executed in U.S. in 2009
1142nd murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
4th murderer executed in Texas in 2009
427th murderer executed in Texas since 1976

Summary:
27 year old Veronica Fuentes dated Virgil Martinez for a short while and then was victimized by his harassment. On October 1, 1996 Veronica was found shot to death in front of her trailer park home, with 14 bullet wounds. Also found in the front yard was 18 year old John Gomez with 7 bullet wounds. Inside, Veronica’s two children, Joshua (5) and Cassandra (3), were found in their beds, dead from gunshot wounds: Several close neighbors identified Martinez shooting Veronica and Gomez in the yard. Ballistics revealed all four victims were shot by the same gun that was never recovered. Gomez also identified "ex-boyfriend" as the shooter.
Final/Special Meal:
Two fried chicken breast, two pork chops, seven flour tortillas, avocados and french fries.
Final Words:
“I know what you’ve been told and that’s all a lie. John Gomez killed your kids and sister. I wish I would have shot him in the leg, then he would be here. Those investigators were just trying to convict somebody.” He was recalling the slaying scene when prison officials, who warn condemned inmates they will have only a couple of minutes for their final comments, began pumping in the lethal drugs. Nine minutes later, he was pronounced dead.