“I would like to say for my family and my friends, as the poem was written, ‘Remember me, but let me go.’”

— John Albert Taylor, convicted of rape and murder, firing squad, Utah.
Executed January 26, 1996

Taylor’s was the first Utah firing-squad execution since 1977. Convicted of raping and strangling an eleven-year-old girl, Taylor lifted his chin for the prison warden to secure a strap around his neck before his execution was carried out.

Sherron King, the mother of Taylor’s victim, sat alone in a hotel the night of the execution. “I felt something pass through my heart around midnight and felt he was dead,” she told the Associated Press. “Part of me wanted him to die and the other part of me felt bad for him,” she said. “My heart goes out to his mom.”

“See you on the other side. Warden, murder me. Sodom and Gomorrah which is Harris County.”

— James Jackson, convicted of murder, lethal injection,Texas.
Executed February 7, 2007

Jackson killed his two stepdaughters and their mother, whom he was attempting to win back despite their impending divorce.

“Comrades: I want to acknowledge that I am guilty and that my punishment is just. But I want also that you should know that I did not desert because I lost faith in our cause. I believe we are on the right side, and I think it will succeed. But take warning from my example, and whatever comes do not desert the old flag for which I am proud to die.”

— William E. Ormsley, convicted of desertion, firing squad, Massachusetts.
Executed February 7, 1864

A private in Company E, Second Massachusetts Cavalry, Ormsley deserted from picket duty in Virginia. A returning scouting party recognized him in an enemy attack, where they captured him. On the day of his execution, Ormsley requested to speak to the troops when delivering his final words.