Texas executes carjack killer

HUNTSVILLE, Texas, Jan. 18, 2000 -- Texas executed Spencer Corey Goodman beating death of a popular rock band manager's wife nine years ago during a Houston carjacking. Goodman was sentenced to death for the slaying of Cecile Ham, the wife of ZZ Top's manager.

Texas executes 35th killer this year

HUNTSVILLE, Texas, Dec. 15 _ A former nursing home attendant was executed Wednesday night for the 1975 murder of a quadriplegic patient during a robbery. Sammie Felder, 54, received a lethal injection in the 35th and final execution this year in Texas.

Police officer's killer executed

McALESTER, Okla., Dec. 9 _ Bobby Lynn Ross, convicted of killing a police officer during a robbery, was put to death Thursday morning with the injection of a lethal dose of chemicals. Ross, 41, shot Steve Mahan three times in the head after taking the officer's gun and making him lie on the floor of a motel that Ross was robbing in Jan. 5, 1983.

Double killer put to death in Indiana

MICHIGAN CITY, Ind., Dec. 9 _ D.H. Fleenor, convicted of killing the mother of his estranged wife and her husband as their daughter and grandchildren watched, was put to death Thursday morning. Attorneys for Fleenor, 48, argued that the man should not be put to death because he had an IQ of 75 and did not understand what was happening. His final words were a confused series of statements that included "I'm not guilty" and "I was of unsound mind when I did it."

Execution of ill inmate still on

HUNTSVILLE, Texas, Dec. 8 _ Texas officials are still planning for Wednesday night's execution of a convicted killer although he remains hospitalized from a drug overdose. A judge is expected to determine if David Martin Long's execution will be carried out as planned.

Texas inmate executed after resisting

HUNTSVILLE, Texas, Nov. 16 _ A former nurse's aide convicted of killing two people in a 1993 drug-related robbery was executed Tuesday night in Texas after a team of five guards had to forcibly remove him from a holding cell and take him to the death chamber. Desmond Jennings, who warned guards he would resist execution, was pronounced dead at 6:22 p.m. CST after the guards strapped him to a gurney in the death chamber to receive the lethal injection.

Killer of elderly Texas woman executed

HUNTSVILLE, Texas, Oct. 28 _ A convicted killer was executed Thursday in Texas for the 1988 rape and murder of a 94-year-old Dallas widow. Domingo Cantu Jr., 31, was pronounced dead at 6:23 p.m. CDT shortly after he received a lethal injection for the slaying of Suda Eller Jones at her home. The execution was the 28th carried out by Texas this year and the 192nd since the state restored the death penalty in December 1982.

Boyd executed for girlfriend's death

RALEIGH, N.C., Oct. 21 _ Arthur Martin Boyd, Jr., convicted of stabbing his girlfriend 37 times as her daughter and mother watched, was put to death Thursday. He was 53. Boyd was given a lethal dose of chemicals and pronounced dead at 2:18 a.m. Authorities said that on Aug. 7, 1982, Boyd killed Wanda Hartman after she had left him and moved in with her parents.

Joseph put to death for shooting clerk

JARRETT, Va. Oct. 20 _ Jason Matthew Joseph, convicted of killing a clerk during a robbery "because he laughed at me," was put to death. He was 27. Joseph was convicted of the Oct. 16, 1992, shooting death of 22-year-old Jeffrey Anderson during a robbery that Joseph committed to get money to buy drugs. Joseph was given a lethal dose of chemicals and pronounced dead at 9:05 p.m. Tuesday. Joseph's death marked the 12th execution in Virginia in 1999 and the 71st in the state since the death penalty was reinstated in the 1970s.

N.C. executes man for 1983 slayings

RALEIGH, N.C., Sept. 24 _ Harvey Lee Green, who pleaded guilty to killing two people during a 1983 robbery, was been put to death Friday morning in North Carolina. He was 38.

Green, who was declared dead at 2:16 a.m. after being injected with a lethal dose of chemicals, was the first black person to be executed in North Carolina since the death penalty began again in 1977.

Several religious leaders have said racism played a part in Green receiving a death sentence. They did not, however, deny that Green committed the murders of Michael Edmondson, 33; and Sheila Bland, 17; who were beaten to death with a pipe during a Christmas-time robbery at a dry-cleaning business in Bethel, N.C. Green pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of common law robbery in the case.

A jury gave Green two death sentences after his second trial in 1991. He was given a retrial because of a change in federal law. Death penalty opponents say the fact that there was just on black person on the jury that ordered Green to die hints at racism.

Pitt County District Attorney Clark Everett denied the charge, pointing out, "(Green) has had two trials, and 24 jurors have voted to give him the death penalty."

Four officials in North Carolina had urged Gov. Jim Hunt to delay the execution because Green's lawyers have not had access to all of the evidence in his case.

Earlier Friday in Smyrna, Del., Willie Sullivan, 28, was put to death for the 1991 slaying of his 78-year-old boss during a robbery. Sullivan and Green were the 75th and 76th people executed in the United States this year, the highest total for any one year since capital punishment was reinstated in 1976.

Delaware executes 'retarded' killer

SMYRNA, Del., Sept. 24 _ Willie G. Sullivan was put to death Friday morning for the 1991 slaying of a nursery owner during a robbery. Sullivan was 28.

Sullivan was declared dead at 12:24 a.m. after being injected with a lethal dose of chemicals.

Sullivan pleaded guilty to trying to rob Maurice Dodd, 78. On Dec. 27, 1991, the Frederica, Del., nursery owner was beaten stabbed 10 times and, while still alive, had a concrete block dropped on his chest. Sullivan took $347 and the victim's car.

Sullivan's attorneys had argued that Sullivan was mentally retarded with an IQ of 70 and suffered from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. They said he repeated several grades in school before being expelled as an 18-year- old ninth grader. He had trouble holding a job, working at a succession of places before being hired by Dodd.

Sullivan's mother, Barbara A. Sullivan, testified during a State Board of Pardons hearing that her own alcoholism, especially the heavy drinking she did while she was pregnant with her son, and subsequent mental abuse of the child contributed to mental problems.

Sullivan pleaded guilty in 1992 to trying to rob Dodd, but claimed it was Lenny Harrison who stabbed the nursery owner. Harrison served five years in prison for a conspiracy conviction in connection with the robbery, but witnesses and investigators said he was elsewhere when the killing took place.

Late appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court were turned down and Gov. Thomas Carper declined to stop the execution, even after receiving "numerous" letters on Sullivan's behalf. One of the letters was from the Vatican.

Sullivan was the 75th person put to death in the United States this year, the most in any one year since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. He was the 10th person executed in Delaware since the state resumed capital punishment in 1992.

Man put to death for 1992 killing

HUNTSVILLE, Texas, Sept. 21 _ Texas executed Tuesday the man who killed a Baytown store clerk in December 1992 in a robbery.

Rickie Wayne Smith was put to death by lethal injection on Texas' death row at Huntsville for the murder of Karen Birky in a convenience store's parking lot.

When asked if he had a final statement, Smith said, "No sir," and turned his head away from the two witness rooms.

Shortly afterward, the lethal injection was carried out. Smith gasped twice and fell still.

He was declared dead at 6:25 p.m. CDT.

No witnesses from either Smith's family or his victim's family were there to see him die. For Smith, only his lawyer attended the execution.

There was no significant protest activity around the death house. Only three protesters showed up, in contrast to an average of about a dozen who regularly protest other executions. The protesters on Tuesday were quiet and carried no signs.

Smith's execution was carried out relatively quickly.

He was sentenced to death in November 1993 and later ended all appeal efforts on his behalf. He was reported to be in poor health.

Smith's was the 189th execution carried out by the state since executions resumed in 1992.

He was sentenced to die for shooting Karen Birky point blank with a . 32 caliber pistol on Dec. 2, 1992. She died from a bullet wound to the neck.

Smith was caught after being spotted by three witnesses, and after investigators saw his image on a store security camera.

He was caught with a .32 caliber pistol and ammunition matching the kind that killed Birky, in addition to a shotgun.

At trial Smith blamed the killing on his abuse of alcohol and drugs, but the jury was not swayed and gave him the death penalty.

Texas executes killer of elderly woman

HUNTSVILLE, Texas, Sept. 10 _ A convicted killer was executed in Texas (Friday) for the murder of an 84-year-old Houston woman 11 years ago during a home burglary. Willis J. Barnes, 51, was pronounced dead at 6:19 p.m. CDT shortly after receiving a lethal injection at the prison in Huntsville. Barnes was convicted in the slaying of Helen Greb in her home in 1988.

Reputed mob figure put to death

POTOSI, Mo., Sept. 1 _ Reputed mobster David Leisure, convicted of the 1980 car-bombing that killed another alleged organized crime figure, has been put to death. He was 49. Missouri officials claim that Leisure planted a bomb in the car of James Michaels in September, 1980, during a series of bombings that authorities claim was part of a St. Louis play to grab control of a union local. Leisure was given a lethal mixture of chemicals and declared dead at 2:17 a.m. (Wednesday).

Virginia killer executed

WASHINGTON, Aug. 17 _ Marlon Dewayne Williams, who pleaded guilty to murder for hire, has been executed (Tuesday), say officials at Greensville Correctional Center in Jarrett, Va. In 1995, Williams killed a woman in exchange for money from her husband.

Killer of three executed in Fla.

STARKE, Fla., July 8 _ The state of Florida executed (Thursday) a man convicted in the 1982 murders of three members of a Jacksonville family during a home robbery. Shortly after being strapped into the state's electric chair, 54-year-old Allen Lee Davis was pronounced dead at 7:15 a.m. EDT in the first execution under the governorship of first- term Gov. Jeb Bush.

Oklahoma killer put to death

McALESTER, Okla., July 8 _ Norman Lee Newsted, convicted of killing a Tulsa taxi driver in 1984, has been put to death by lethal injection. The 45-year-old Newsted was declared dead at 12:12 a.m. (Thursday). His was the 100th execution carried out in Oklahoma since 1915 when the death penalty was first carried out in the state.

Texas carries out 16th execution of '99

HUNTSVILLE, Texas, July 7 _ One of the first people convicted of capital murder in Texas with the use of DNA evidence has been executed at Huntsville. Prison officials say 36-year-old Tyrone Leroy Fuller, convicted of the 1988 sexual assault, robbery and slaying of a woman in her Paris, Texas, apartment, was administered a lethal injection (Thursday at 6:20 p.m. CDT).

Texas carries out 15th execution of '99

HUNTSVILLE, Texas, July 1 _ The repentant killer of an East Texas woman his been executed at Huntsville, telling the victim's friends and family members that he was truly sorry for his crime. Charles Daniel Tuttle was declared dead (Thursday at 6:28 p.m. CDT) after receiving a lethal injection for the February 1995 robbery and slaying of Catherine Harris in her Tyler home.

Canadian executed for Texas murder

HUNTSVILLE, Texas, June 17 _ Canadian Joseph Stanley Faulder has been executed (Thursday) in Texas for the murder of a 75-year-old oil heiress during a home robbery in 1975. Prison officials say Faulder was pronounced dead at 6:18 p.m. CDT after receiving a lethal injection at a state prison in Huntsville, Texas. Faulder is the 14th convicted killer executed by Texas this year.

Moore executed

McALESTER, Okla, June 3 _ Forty-two year-old Scotty Lee Moore has been put to death by lethal injection for the murder of his former boss during a 1983 robbery at an Oklahoma City motel.

Moore, 42, did not have a last meal and did not make a last statement. He was was pronounced dead today at 12:14 a.m. CDT.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court turned down three requests for stays of execution.

Moore was the third inmate executed in Oklahoma this year and the 16th since the state resumed the practice in 1990.

The attorney general's office said Moore, who had been fired from his job at the Airline Motel by Alex Fernandez, entered the motel Nov. 18, 1983, with the intent of robbing it. He was accompanied by his cousin and his girlfriend, Vicki Caster.

The office says Caster gathered up the cash as Moore, armed with a . 22 caliber rifle, took Fernandez to a back room and shot him five times in the back of the head.

Oklahoma law permits family members of murder victims to witness the execution, but the Fernandez family is not expected to be present.

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Missouri executes inmate

POTOSI, Mo., May 26 _ Missouri has executed a an inmate convicted of killing a woman with a pipe wrench in her condominium in August 1988 in Clayton, Mo.

Jessie Lee Wise was put to death at the Potosi Correctional Center today, becoming the sixth Missouri inmate to be executed this year. Wise was put to death by lethal injection and was declared dead at 12:54 a.m. CDT.

The execution was delayed nearly an hour while prison officials awaited final court rulings on appeals made by Wise's attorney and permission from Gov. Mel Carnahan to proceed.

The U.S. Supreme Court refused two requests to block Wise's execution on Tuesday. Wise's application to the Supreme Court claimed he was represented by ineffective court-appointed attorneys in federal appeals attacking his state conviction.

Wise, a condominium maintenance man, bludgeoned to death one of the building's residents, 49-year-old Geraldine Rose McDonald. He pawned her jewelry to feed a $300-a-day crack habit.

Wise previously had been convicted of murdering 39-year-old Ralph Gianino Jr. for $26 in a St. Louis alley in 1971.

Wise served 12 years of a life sentence for killing Gianino. Considered a model prisoner, Wise was paroled from prison in April 1984.

After his parole, Wise lived in a halfway house in St. Louis for three months. He was employed by a landscaping company, then a nursing home. He reported to his parole officer at least monthly.

Eight family members of Wise's victims viewed the execution through a Plexiglas window while sitting in a witness box.

The Rev. Carole Mehl of Kansas City, Mo., Wise's closest friend, also attended the execution.

Wise's final statement was directed to Mehl.

"Carole, I love you. Remember me," Wise said.

Wise admitted taking jewelry and McDonald's car but denied killing her. He said he found her dead, and then spent the next two days ransacking her apartment.

Wise said he was framed for the murder by McDonald's husband, the police, the prosecutors and the public defenders. The 8th U.S. Court of Appeals called Wise's theory "patently incredible."

Another of the 84 remaining convicts on Missouri's death row is scheduled to be executed in June.

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Kentucky executes inmate

EDDYVILLE, Ky., May 25 _ Kentucky has executed a 50-year-old inmate convicted of killing his adoptive parents in 1982.

Edward Lee Harper Jr. was put to death tonight at the state penitentiary at Eddyville, becoming the state's first inmate to die by lethal injection. Until now, the state conducted executions by electric chair. Harper was declared dead at 7:28 p.m. CDT.

Harper was visited earlier today by his only child, a 27-year-old son. Prison officials say the two had a quiet and calm conversation. The son was present for the execution, as was Harper's spiritual advisor, Paul Stevens, and nine media witnesses.

For his last meal, Harper requested three bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches.

A number of protesters planned to be on hand by the prison along with 30 National Guard troops to keep the crowd under control.

Leaders of human rights and religious organizations Monday urged Gov. Paul Patton to grant Harper clemency.

Department of Corrections spokeswoman Carol Czirr said Harper was the 164th convict executed in Kentucky since 1911, but only the second in 35 years.

Texas executes killer of disabled man

HUNTSVILLE, Texas, May 4 _ A 31-year-old convicted killer has been executed for the 1987 robbery and slaying of a disabled Corpus Christi, Texas, man. Jose Elijio de la Cruz said he had no final statement, and he was pronounced dead (Tuesday at 6:23 p.m. CDT) after receiving a lethal injection.

Yeatts executed in Virginia

JARRATT, Va., April 29 _ Convicted killer Ronald Dale Yeatts has been executed by lethal injection at the Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt, Va.

Thirty-eight-year-old Yeatts was convicted of slashing to death 70- year-old Ruby Meeks Dodson in her rural Pittsylvania County home Sept. 23, 1989, during a robbery allegedly for money to be used for drugs.

He and friend Charles Vernon gained access to Dodson's house by claiming to have car trouble and stole $1,400. Court records say Yeatts told his accomplice he cut the woman's throat to prevent her from identifying him.

Vernon is serving two life sentence for his part in the killing.

The Supreme Court had refused to block the execution. After a secret vote, only Justices John Paul Stevens and Ruth Bader Ginsburg indicated they had voted to delay the execution. The Supreme Court also formally refused to review his case.

Missouri carries out execution

POTOSI, Mo., April 28 _ Convicted killer Ralph Davis was executed by lethal injection in Missouri's death chamber at the Potosi Correctional Center.

Davis, 61, was convicted of killing his wife Susan who disappeared after leaving work in Columbia, Mo., in 1986. Her body was never found.

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Davis's request for a stay of execution without comment Tuesday evening, and Gov. Mel Carnahan refused to grant the condemned man clemency at 8:30 p.m. CDT.

Davis was pronounced dead at 12:04 a.m. today _ four minutes after the lethal dose of drugs was administered _ becoming the fifth man executed in Missouri this year.

Justice swift for Texas killer

HUNTSVILLE, Texas, April 28 _ The often slow pace of justice in Texas has picked up with the execution of 26-year-old death row inmate Aaron Christopher Foust, less than two years after he murdered a Fort Worth hospital administrator.

Foust was declared dead at 6:22 p.m. CDT today after receiving a lethal injection for the May 18, 1997, robbery and strangulation of 43- year-old David Ward, the senior vice president of John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth.

An unrepentant Foust had few last words before his execution at the death chamber in Huntsville. He told two friends who were serving as witnesses _ Mark Mallott and Scott Foster _ "Adios, amigos. See y'all on the other side. That's it. I'm ready. I'm ready when y'all are."

Prison spokesman Larry Fitzgerald says Foust _ a so-called execution volunteer _ had waived all his appeals, and his trip to the death chamber from the date of the crime was the second fastest in state history.

Death sentences in Texas usually take an average 10 years to be carried out. Earlier this year, the state executed Robert Excell White, who had been on death row for about 25 years.

According to the evidence, Foust had just been released from the Tarrant County Jail and needed money to pay his attorney. He and an accomplice went to Ward's home to collect a $500 debt, but Ward balked at the payment.

Ward was then bound with speaker wire and strangled and his apartment ransacked. Foust took his cash, ATM card, VCRs, stereo equipment and BMW. Foust and 23-year-old Jamal Brown were caught when they tried to use one of the stolen credit cards at a restaurant. Brown is awaiting trial.

In his confession to police, Foust claimed he did not mean to kill Ward and just wanted him to pass out.

Foust was the 10th Texas death row executed this year and the 174th since the state resumed the death penalty in 1982.

Virginia executes killer

WASHINGTON, April 20 _ Prison authorities at the Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt, Va., have executed Arthur Ray Jenkins III for killing two elderly men in 1990.

A prison spokesman says 29-year-old Jarrett had a last meal of pepper steak, macaroni and cheese, apple pie and tea before being administered a lethal injection. Jarrett died at 9:05 p.m. EDT.

The spokesman said Jarrett's last words were difficult to understand, but prison authorities believed he asked for forgiveness. No relatives or friends were present.

Jenkins had been living with his aunt and uncle in Warren County after his release from prison when he shot his uncle, 72-year-old Floyd Jenkins, and his uncle's friend, 69-year-old Lee Brinklow, after an argument.

Neither initial wound was fatal, but Jenkins then stabbed his uncle seven times with a kitchen knife and shot him in the head before shooting Brinklow.

A Washington Post report said Jenkins had an IQ of about 65 and was on powerful anti-psychotic drugs for most of his life.

In documents filed with the Supreme Court, Jenkins claimed his alleged abuse in the Washington County, Va., jail by a jail official led to mental illness and trouble with authority figures.

The Supreme Court refused to block Jenkins' execution after a closed- door vote Monday. Justices John Paul Stevens and Ruth Bader Ginsburg indicated they voted to grant a stay of execution but made no further comment.

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Arkansas killer gets lethal injection

VARNER, Ark., April 12 _ Arkansas prison officials have executed a 49-year-old convicted killer responsible for at least three slayings during a 1981 crime spree that spanned four states.

Marion Albert Pruett received a lethal injection at 8:04 p.m. today for the slaying of Bobbie Jean Robertson, a 30-year-old convenience store clerk killed during an Oct. 12, 1981, robbery at Fort Smith, Ark. He was pronounced dead at 8:09 p.m.

In his last statement, Pruett said: "I would like to ask my heavenly father to forgive me all my sins in Jesus' name. I would also like to ask everyone to forgive me for the pain I've caused."

For his last meal, he took three bites of two cheeseburgers, had four of six slices of pizza, onion rings, pecan pie and a quart of buttermilk.

Pruett was also convicted in the slayings of his common-law wife, Pamela Sue Barker, on April 16, 1981, in Rio Rancho, N.M.; and bank loan officer Peggy Lowe, of Jackson, Miss., who was kidnapped and killed in Alabama on Sept. 17, 1981.

He was also convicted of the Oct. 16, 1981, shooting deaths of two Colorado convenience store workers for $54 and some candy bars. He was stopped for speeding at Amarillo, Texas, the next day and arrested.

Pruett also confessed to killing his cellmate in an Atlanta federal prison in 1979 where he was serving a term for banking robbery.

Pruett did not seek clemency from the state parole board or Gov. Mike Huckabee, who signed his death warrant in February.

Pruett's execution was the second in Arkansas this year and the 19th since the death penalty was reinstated in 1990.

Another man had been scheduled to die tonight with Pruett, but the Arkansas Supreme Court last week set aside the execution date for Robert Robbins, convicted for the 1997 slaying of his former girlfriend at Jonesboro.

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Confessed Nevada killer executed

CARSON CITY, Nev., April 6 _ A 25-year-old Philippines native who refused all efforts to appeal his death sentence has been executed by injection in Nevada as relatives of his two victims watched.

Alvaro Calambro had pleaded guilty to killing two U-Haul rental company workers in Reno, Nev., five years ago and fought all attempts to appeal his death sentence, including efforts by his mother and Filipino government officials.

Among the official witnesses at Monday night's execution were the parents of victim Peggy Crawford and the brother of victim Keith Christopher. Calambro received the lethal injection at 9 p.m. PST and was pronounced death a few minutes later.

Groups in favor of and opposed to the death penalty marched outside the state prison. Those protesting against the execution included a group of Catholics led by a priest and members of Amnesty International and the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. A slightly smaller group of death penalty advocates stood in the snow alongside them.

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Texas executes man for three killings

HUNTSVILLE, Texas, March 30 _ After 25 years on Texas death row, Robert Excell White has been executed at Huntsville for a 1974 triple murder he committed during a robbery that netted only $66.

The 61-year-old White, who has served on death row longer than any other Texas inmate, was declared dead at 6:17 p.m. CST today after receiving a lethal injection. His 25-year tenure on death row was the fourth longest in the nation.

His final words were, "Send me to my maker, warden."

White was tried twice and convicted for the August 1974 murder of 73- year-old Preston Broyles, the owner of the Hilltop Grocery Store near McKinney in north Texas. Two customers, Gary Coker and Billy St. John, were also killed.

Police said White and two accomplices got only $6 from Broyles' cash register and another $60 from the pockets of Coker and St. John.

His execution was welcomed by relatives of his victims.

Lois Coker says she has had to relive the murder of her son for 25 years, "To go through this over and over, every time this comes up in the media, it's just been real hard on us."

White and two accomplices, James Livingston, and his brother, Gary Livingston, also were convicted in connection with the bloody holdup.

An investigator says White confessed to killing the three victims with a carbine stolen earlier that same day in a murder and robbery in Waco.

White told a judge in 1976, "I ain't going to ask for forgiveness, because I don't deserve it."

James Livingston is still serving a life prison sentence. His brother served 20 years in prison and was released in 1984. He killed himself two years later.

White's execution was the ninth in Texas this year and the 173rd since the state resumed the death penalty in 1982.

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Va. executes man who had friend killed

JARRATT, Va., March 25 _ David Lee Fisher, convicted of having a friend killed in an insurance scheme, has been put to death.

Fisher, 57, was executed tonight with an injection of a lethal dose of chemicals. He was implicated in the 1983 death of David Wilkey, whom Fisher had killed by a third person during a hunting trip in order to collect $100,000 in life insurance.

Fisher and Wilkey, who was 18 when he was killed, lived together in Charlotte, N.C. Court records say Fisher induced Wilkey to become close to a young woman. According to the plan, Fisher would take out a life insurance policy on her, Wilkey would kill her and the pair would split the proceeds.

But Wilkey backed out of the scheme when he fell in love with the intended victim. The couple planned a December 1983 wedding.

Angered, Fisher acquired a life insurance policy on Wilkey and induced Bobby Brice Mulligan to kill Wilkey during a November, 1983, deer hunting trip in Bedford, Va. The pair staged the killing to look like a hunting accident, and Fisher tried to claim the insurance money.

Two years later, a third man familiar with the plot told the FBI about the scheme. Mulligan was arrested, confessed and implicated Fisher. Mulligan pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison.

Fisher's execution is the first of seven that the state of Virginia has scheduled over the next seven weeks.

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Kokoraleis dies following legal dispute

By GREGORY TEJEDA

TAMMS, Ill., March 17 _ Illinois officials put Andrew Kokoraleis to death for the 1982 ritual slaying of a suburban Chicago woman.

Kokoraleis, 35, died by lethal injection early today, following a final day of legal appeals that briefly saw an Illinois Supreme Court justice try to postpone the execution indefinitely.

Kokoraleis spent his final day of life Tuesday at the Tamms Correctional Center, where he was under constant observation by prison officials.

He did not request a final meal, and spent the bulk of the day talking with his brother Nicholas and reading a Bible. Prison officials described his demeanor as "cooperative, calm and polite."

Kokoraleis said he was at peace with himself, and asked for the forgiveness of the family of his victim, Lorraine Borowski.

"I am truly sorry for your loss. I mean this sincerely," Kokoraleis said.

As a lethal combination of three drugs was injected into his left arm, he quoted from the Bible, reading passages from the books of Exodus and Proverbs.

The drugs took about four minutes to take effect, putting Kokoraleis to sleep before he stopped breathing. Kokoraleis was pronounced dead at 12:34 a.m.

Kokoraleis became the first person put to death in the state's new execution chamber at Tamms. Previously, executions were carried out at the Stateville Correctional Center near Joliet.

Kokoraleis died for the 1982 slaying of Borowski, an Elmhurst woman whom prosecutors say was butchered as part of a pseudo-Satanic ritual by Kokoraleis and three other men.

Prosecutors say as many as 18 women were killed in such a manner, and Kokoraleis was serving life prison terms for other slayings.

His attorneys argued he was not involved with the Borowski slaying, claiming he confessed to it only because he feared a beating by police.

Their appeals centered on the notion that more time was needed to thoroughly investigate the case.

Death penalty opponents also tried filing motions to delay the execution on the grounds that a review of Illinois' death penalty law is needed, in light of the fact that 11 death row inmates in the past decade were later absolved of the crimes for which they were condemned.

Illinois Governor George Ryan, in rejecting clemency for Kokoraleis, admitted concern about that aspect, saying he "struggled with his decision."

But in the end, Ryan said, he denied clemency because "some crimes are so horrible and so heinous that society has a right to deal the ultimate penalty."

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Mo. inmate denied stay of execution

POTOSI, Mo., March 10 _ Missouri has put its third inmate to death in three months.

Roy Roberts, 46, was pronounced dead at 12:07 a.m. CST today at Potosi Correctional Center, about 50 miles southwest of St. Louis.

Correctional officers received the order to proceed with the execution from Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan at 12:05 a.m. and Roberts was injected with three drugs, Tim Kneist, public information officer for the state Department of Corrections, said.

Roberts, of St. Louis, was serving time for armed robbery in 1983 when a guard was killed in a prison riot. Roberts was convicted of holding Thomas G. Jackson Sr. as two other inmates fatally stabbed Jackson in the eyes and heart with a metal ruler.

Roberts recently passed a lie detector test in which he denied holding the guard. In requesting clemency, lawyers said no guards standing near the site of the killing remembered seeing the 337-pound Roberts.

A 17-page report written for the state Department of Corrections two weeks after the riot details evidence against the two inmates accused of stabbing Jackson. Roberts isn't mentioned in the report.

The investigator who wrote the report concluded by saying that the identities of all those involved "may never be known."

A guard later identified Roberts months later at trial.

Neither of the two men convicted of killing Jackson is on death row. Rodney Carr is serving life in prison, and Robert Driscoll's death sentence was reversed in 1995.

Carnahan in January commuted the death sentence of an inmate after Pope John Paul II requested clemency during his visit to St. Louis. The Vatican last week sent a letter to Carnahan asking him to grant Roberts clemency.

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Virginia killer put to death

JARRETT, Va., March 10 _ George Adrian Quesinberry has been put to death for killing a Chesterfield County, Va., businessman during a robbery attempt. He was 37.

Quesinberry was declared dead at 9:07 p.m. Tuesday after being given a lethal dose of chemicals. In his final statement, Quesinberry said: "I just want my family to know I loved them. And to the victim's family, I'm sorry for what I've done."

Quesinberry was convicted for his part in the Sept. 25, 1989, killing of Thomas Haynes, 63. Quesinberry and an accomplice were surprised by Haynes after they had broken into Haynes' electric supply company. Haynes was shot in the back and, when he tried to get up, Quesinberry hit Haynes on the head with his gun.

Quesinberry's accomplice, Eric Hinkle, surrendered to police the same day as the killing, and told them about Quesinberry, who confessed to the crime. Hinkle was convicted of first-degree murder and four other felonies and has been sentenced to 51 years in prison.

For his final meal, Quesinberry requested a vegetarian pizza, a fried chicken breast, a cheeseburger, french fries and chocolate pudding.

It was the 62nd execution in Virginia since capital punishment was reinstated in 1977. There are six other executions scheduled in Virginia before April 29.

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Clerk's killer executed in Texas

HUNTSVILLE, Texas, Feb. 24 _ A man who gunned down a San Antonio store clerk during a robbery has been executed in Huntsville.

Norman Evans Green was declared dead at 6:17 p.m. CST today after receiving a lethal injection for the 1985 slaying of 18-year-old Timothy Adams during the robbery of a Dyer Electronics store.

Green replied "no" when asked if he had a last statement.

The victim's father, Ernest Adams, knelt on one knee and bowed his head in prayer after Green was declared dead.

According to the evidence, Timothy Adams was shot four times when he failed to move quickly enough in following Green's commands during the robbery, which netted nothing for Green and his accomplice, Harold Bowens.

Witnesses who came into the store after hearing shots fired said that before he died, Adams said, "They tried to rob me, but they didn't get anything."

Green's former attorney, Sid Harle _ now a state district judge _ says Green repeatedly rejected a plea agreement for a life prison sentence. Bowens is currently serving a life term for his role in the crime.

The manager of the Dyer Electronics store at the time of the robbery was Gerry Rickoff, who is now the Bexar County Clerk.

Green was the seventh Texas death row inmate executed this year and the 171st since the state resumed the death penalty in 1982.

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Texas executes contract killer

HUNTSVILLE, Texas, Feb. 16 _ A man convicted of killing three members of a west Texas family in a murder-for-hire scheme has been executed (Tuesday) at Huntsville. After his final appeal was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court, 31-year-old Andrew Cantu received a lethal injection for the June 11, 1990, stabbing deaths of Helen Summers, Mandell Eugene Summers and Billy Mack Summers in their Abilene home.

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Arkansas executes triple killer

VARNER, Ark., Feb. 16 _ Johnie Michael Cox, convicted of killing three people including his step grandmother, has been put to death in Arkansas. He was 42.

Cox killed 68-year-old Marie Sullens, 68-year-old Margaret Brown and 32-year-old Billy Brown, in White County in northeast Arkansas on Nov. 1, 1989 _ All Saints Day _ a date Cox had marked in red on his calendar.

Asked if he had a final statement, Cox said, "Yes, I'm anxious. Please release me and let me go." He was pronounced dead at 9:11 p.m. today, 10 minutes after the a lethal dose of chemicals was injected into his system. He was the 18th person executed by Arkansas since the death penalty was reauthorized in 1976.

No motive was ever uncovered for the killings, other than a statement Cox made that he killed the three on All Saints Day because he wanted them to go to heaven.

Two members of the victims' family witness the execution, but left the prison without making a statement.

Another convicted killer had been scheduled to be executed the same night as Cox at the Cummins Unit, but on Feb. 5 the governor announced he intends to commute the sentence of Bobby Ray Fretwell.

Huckabee said he was swayed by a juror in the trial of Fretwell who said he made a mistake in voting for the death penalty. Fretwell was convicted in the 1985 shooting death of 81-year-old Sherman Sullins at Marshall.

There is a 30-day waiting period for public comment and relatives of Sullins are hoping to change Huckabee's mind about the commutation.

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Texas executes fourth convict in 1999

HUNTSVILLE, Texas, Feb. 10 _ A Texas death row inmate nicknamed "Spider" for his escape from a county jail has been executed for his role in a violent attack on a young couple in a San Antonio park.

George "Spider" Cordova was declared dead at 6:30 p.m. CST today after receiving a lethal injection for the Aug. 4, 1979, beating and stabbing death of Jose Hernandez.

Hernandez was killed and his date was sexually assaulted by Cordova and another man in San Antonio's Espada Park after the couple had attended a drive-in movie.

In a lengthy final statement, Cordova repeatedly apologized for the crime, saying, "If you see tears, they're not for me, they're for Joe."

He told Hernandez's brother, Alfred: "If I see your brother I'm going to hug him, but I don't think I'm worthy to be where he is. I would be of service to him, to tie his shoes. I'm sorry, man."

While awaiting trial, Cordova escaped from the Bexar County Jail in San Antonio by making a rope out of bedsheets and lowering himself to the ground. He fled to Florida and began using an assumed name.

In Florida, on Jan. 26, 1981, Cordova rammed a woman's car as she was driving home from night classes, then abducted and sexually assaulted the victim in a nearby field. He was caught the next day following a three-hour chase.

Cordova was brought back to Texas and convicted of capital murder in 1982. During the punishment phase of his trial, prosecutors presented evidence of a criminal past dating back to 1971, when Cordova was a juvenile.

Cordova is the fourth Texas death row inmate executed this year and the 168th since the state restored the death penalty in 1982.

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Killer of car dealer executed

JARRATT, Va., Feb. 5 _ Tony Fry, who shot and killed a car dealer before dragging the man's body behind a vehicle, has been put to death by lethal injection.

Fry was pronounced dead at 9:09 p.m. Thursday after making a final statement of, "I'm sorry for what I have done. I've made peace with myself."

The 23-year-old convicted killer is the youngest person put to death in Virginia since 1961 when 22-year-old Linwood Bunch was put to death.

Fry had admitted to killing Leland Jacobs on Feb. 21, 1994. Fry and a then-17-year-old accomplice told Jacobs they wanted to test drive a Ford Bronco. They drove to a wooded area and shot Jacobs 11 timers with a . 22-caliber handgun. Fry and his accomplice tied Jacobs body to the bumper of the Bronco and dragged it nearly 800 feet.

Fry was arrested on an unrelated matter, but confessed to killing Jacobs. He also admitted to a string of thefts at church and two arsons.

For a final meal, Fry requested a vegetarian pizza, french fries, yellow cake with chocolate frosting and iced tea.

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Man who killed parents is executed

McALESTER, Okla., Feb. 3 _ Sean Sellers, convicted of killing his mother, stepfather and a store clerk, has been put to death.

Sellers, who was pronounced dead at 12:17 a.m. today, is the first person since the death penalty was ruled constitutional to die for crimes committed by someone as young as 16 years old.

Sellers was 16 and a high school sophomore in 1985 when he killed convenience store clerk Robert Bower. Six months later, Sellers shot his mother, Vonda Bellofatto; and stepfather, Paul Bellofatto; in Putnam, Okla., in the far northwest part of the state.

The 29-year-old was put to death with a lethal dose of chemicals. He became the 15th person executed in Oklahoma since the death penalty was reinstated in the state in 1977.

Witnesses said Sellers seemed almost cheerful as he was asked if he had a last statement. He greeted the seven members of the Bellofatto family who were on hand to witness the execution, adding, "All the people who are hating me right now and are here waiting to see me die, when you wake up in the morning you are not going to feel any different. "

Sellers concluded his statement with a verse from the Bible, told the prison warden, "Let's get it on," and began to sing a religious song. Four minutes later chemicals were injected and three minutes after that Sellers was declared dead.

A crowd of 50-75 death penalty opponents had a vigil outside the prison during the execution while another group of about 20 death penalty advocates was also on hand.

Sellers was the focus of an international campaign to spare his life because of his age at the time of the crimes and allegations that he suffers from multiple personality disorder. Family members say there had been no sign of a psychological problem before the killings.

Sellers asked for a last meal of egg rolls, won tons, sweet and sour chicken, batter fried shrimp, stir fried vegetables, rice, chow mein noodles, three cans of V-8 juice and a Squirt soda.

AZ executes 2nd inmate in two weeks

FLORENCE, Ariz., Feb. 3 _ The Arizona Department of Corrections executed 38-year-old convicted killer Darrick Gerlaugh just hours after the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to uphold a stay of execution granted by a lower court.

Gerlaugh was found guilty of robbing Scott Schwartz in Mesa, Ariz., and beating him, running him over with a car several times and then stabbing him 30 to 40 times with a screwdriver.

He is the second death row inmate executed this month, and the second American Indian to be executed in Arizona.

Department of Corrections spokeswoman Camilla Strongin said Gerlaugh was pronounced dead at 7:09 p.m. today, three minutes after he received a lethal injection at the Death House in Florence, Ariz.

Strongin said Gerlaugh had no last words, and his execution was witnessed by his spiritual advisor and attorney, as well as the victim's father, grandfather and brother.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay shortly before Gerlaugh's scheduled execution at 3 p.m. to give him a chance to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. But the high court decided not to uphold the stay.

Gerlaugh, a member of the Gila River Tribe, took part in a pipe ceremony Tuesday before being moved to the death house to await his execution.

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