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.