'To my agonizing shame, I must confess to the crime,' he said in a slow, deliberate voice before the injection was given. 'I wish to offer my most sincere, heartfelt apology. I have prayed for the good Lord to forgive me for my sins. But I understand why those here cannot.'
This was kind of interesting- the daughter of one of the victims really sought to talk to her father's killer and find out what her dad's last words were and how he faced death. You don't see that very often in these stories.
quote:
Originally posted by JB: Arizona
"It's just another meal, and there's nothing special about the day to me," he told Assistant Federal Defender Dale Baich.
Asked if he had any final statement, McCoskey replied: “The best time in my life is during this period. … I have been touched by an angel’s wings.” He said if he could, he would “change Dwyer’s parents’ suffering, because I know they are.”
Darius Kimbrough was pronounced dead at 6:18 p.m. at the Florida State Prison in Starke, officials said. He did not make any statement, telling officials "No, sir" when asked if he had any last words.
Franklin declined to make a final statement. Wearing black rimmed glasses with long hair tucked behind his ears, he swallowed hard as five grams of pentobarbital were administered. He breathed heavily a couple of times then simply stopped breathing.
Details.This message has been edited. Last edited by: JB,
December 02, 2013, 14:19
JB
"This is my one chance to do the right thing," he said at a June hearing before State District Judge John Delaney. "I've made my peace with God. And I'm grateful that I've had this opportunity ... to accept what I've done wrong and take responsibility for my actions and die with a little bit of dignity. And a lot of people don't have that."
Martin told his own friends and a brother, watching through another window, that he loved them. "You know I'm at peace. God is the ultimate judge. He knows what happened."
Nicklasson, 41, was pronounced dead at 10.52pm Wednesday, eight minutes after the process began. His eyes remained closed throughout and he showed little reaction to the drug, briefly breathing heavily about two minutes into the process. He offered no final words.
Muhammad converted to Islam in prison, changing his name from Knight. During his 1996 resentencing, he cursed at the judge and lawyers and yelled "Allahu Akbar!" - "God is great" in Arabic.
McGuire opened and shut his left hand as if waving to his daughter, son and daughter-in-law. More than a minute later he raised himself up, looked in the direction of his family and said, ‘‘I love you. I love you.’’
Asked by a warden if he had a final statement, he mumbled “no” and shook his head. As the lethal dose of pentobarbital began taking effect, he took a few breaths and then made one slightly audible snore before all movement stopped. He was pronounced dead 17 minutes after the drug was administered, at 9:32 p.m.
"I am guilty for what I'm here for, and I take full responsibility for my actions," Hogan said in his final statement, as he lay strapped to the gurney in the death chamber. "And to Lisa's family, I say I'm sorry that I can't undo it.
"And I'm sorry to my family for all the pain I've caused," he said.
Hogan went on to thank the family members who came to witness his death.
"There's a chemical taste in my mouth," Hogan said, seconds after the drugs were administered.
Hogan turned to look back at his family one last time.
Smulls did not have any final words. The process was brief, Smulls mouthed a few words to the two witnesses there for him, who were not identified, then breathed heavily twice and shut his eyes for good. He showed no outward signs of distress.
A federal judge has joined Texas' top criminal court in refusing to stop this week's scheduled execution of a woman condemned for the torture slaying of a mentally impaired man more than 15 years ago outside Houston.
U.S. District Judge Sim Lake on Monday turned down an appeal from 59-year-old Suzanne Basso hours after Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rejected a similar appeal. She's set for lethal injection Wednesday evening in Huntsville.
Chavez made no final statement in the death chamber, but did submit a statement laced with religious references in writing. He moved his feet frequently after the injection began at 8:02 p.m. but two minutes later stopped moving.
Eaton, whose research focuses upon apology and forgiveness, said by email Wednesday that she got the idea for this study after she "stumbled across" the Texas Department of Criminal Justice website and was struck by how many executed prisoners seemed remorseful in their last statements.
