“I was just going to ask everybody if they could hear my brothers out there. I know it’s kind of quiet now, but I want to acknowledge that my brothers are here with me to send me off on my journey. They are here on my behalf. They’ve already given me my little send off. So let’s get it on because that’s what we’re here for.” He then repeated four times, “Valhalla, Odin, slay the beast.”

– Gary Roland Welch, convicted of murder, lethal injection, Oklahoma. Executed January 5, 2012.

During a dispute over a drug shipment, Welch and Claudie Conover beat and stabbed Robert Hardcastle. Before the lethal injection was administered, Welch’s fellow death row inmates banged on their cell walls, a tradition that is regarded as a sign of a respect.

“If I only knew my family would not be in want I could die in peace.”

— George Dolinski, convicted of murder, Illinois. Executed October 11, 1901

Dolinski’s wife ended a visit with her parents and hurried across the Atlantic to prove that her husband was innocent of her murder. When she arrived, she discovered that she had been misinformed: it was for the murder of her brother-in-law Anton Lisle that Dolinski had been arrested. Reportedly, Dolinski had become infatuated with his wife’s sister, Mrs. Lisle. Anton Lisle was found in a pasture with his throat cut and four bullets in his body. Dolinski claimed that he and his brother-in-law had fought about money and he was forced to shoot Lisle in self-defense. The Chicago Daily recorded different last words: “I have got this to say. I am not guilty of killing that man. I—I—”

“I’d just like to say I’m sailing with the Rock and I’ll be back like ‘Independence Day’ with Jesus, June 6, like the movie, big mother ship and all. I’ll be back.”

— Aileen Wuornos, convicted of murder, lethal injection, Florida.
Executed October 9, 2002

Wuornos was labeled a serial killer for murdering seven men in less than twelve months. The life of Wuornos, from her abusive  childhood to her life as a teenage prostitute, became the focus of the 2003 film “Monster” and two documentaries by Nick Broomfield. On the day of her execution, she told Broomfield that the police framed her and used sonic waves to control her. State psychiatrists decided that she was mentally competent for execution. Charlize Theron won an Oscar for her portrayal of Wuornos in “Monster.”