A letter delivered to the press:
“The poor young fellow I killed and the girl I loved and also killed, were victims of a moment’s passion. I only wish that I could bring them back to life. The scaffold has no terrors for me. I rather welcome it. A man can only die once. My time has come and I am content with it.”

— Harvey Allender, convicted of murder, hanging, California.
Executed December 10, 1897

When Allender found that his longtime sweetheart Wilburga Feilner was to marry an ice-cream cart driver, Venanze Crosetti, he stalked both of them. After a few whiskeys one night, he drew a pistol and shot them. With one bullet left, Allender attempted to shoot himself in the head but only punctured his hat.

“God bless you, boys. I got the old smile on my face.”

— Charles McLaughlin, convicted of murder, electric chair, New York.
Executed December 9, 1920

While the warden made his last rounds, McLaughlin reached through the bars, extended his hand, and said, laughing, “Shake, put it there, shake.”

“A lot of people view what is happening here as evil, but I want you to know that I found love and compassion here. The people who work here, I thank them for the kindness they have shown me and I deeply appreciate all that has been done for me by the people who work here. That’s all, warden, I’m ready.”

— Michael Lockhart, convicted of murder, lethal injenction, Texas.
Executed December 9, 1997

Ohio native Michael Lockhart had ties to robberies and thefts nationwide but faced capital murder charges in Florida and Indiana. He had served one year of a robbery sentence in a Wyoming state prison before the governor commuted it. Three years later, he was convicted of murder and sentenced to death for the fatal shooting of Paul Douglas Hulsey Jr., a Texas police officer who had attempted to arrest him for driving a stolen vehicle.