This week in 2001
“Someday I will see you there. I’ll be there waiting for you but don’t be in a hurry. You have a lot of work left to do. Just know that I’ll be watching over you. I love you all and thank you for being a part of my life.”
He then recited the Lord’s Prayer
— Jeffrey Tucker, convicted of robbery and murder, lethal injection, Texas
Executed November 14, 2001
A truck driver with a long history of theft and jail, Tucker was to be executed under his conviction of murdering 65-year-old Wilton B. Humphreys on September 11, 2001. He was granted a 30-day reprieve by the governor due to the terrorist attacks in NYC, for fear that the courts would not be able respond to any pleas from Tucker’s attorneys. In a letter, Tucker told prosecutors he did not not welcome the reprieve.
This week in 2000
“I am saying, I want y’all to keep your heads up, hold on and stay strong for everybody. I mean ah, I don’t want y’all to look at me like I am a killer or something man, cause I ain’t no killer…I can’t say that I done it because I didn’t do it. I’ve got love for everybody. I am a Christian now. I’m saying I want everybody to keep thier heads up and stay strong. I’m going to stay strong. I’ll be seeing you, this is my last breath…Give my love to everybody. I love y’all”
— Stacey Lawton, convicted of murder, lethal injection,Texas
Executed November 14, 2000
On a Christmas Eve two day “crime spree,” Lawton and two accomplices broke into more than 16 vehicles. When the owner of one of the trucks came out of his home to investigate, Lawton shot him. Lawton was on parole for a cocaine-delivery conviction.
This week in 1991
“Let’s do it, man. Lock and load. Ain’t life a [expletive deleted]?”
— G. W. Green, convicted of murder, lethal injection, Texas.
Executed November 12, 1991
Green was convicted in the murder of a juvenile probation officer, John Denson, during a burglary. Green and two accomplices entered the man’s home to steal his gun collection. Denson fought back until Joseph Starvaggi, one of Green’s accomplices, shot and killed him. Green allegedly urged Starvaggi to kill Denson’s family as well, but Starvaggi refused. Green’s final words were redacted by the prison’s press office.
