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.