| Last Words on Death Row: Texas Inmate Ninth to Be Executed This Year Sep 25th 2012, 18:29 Texas is scheduled to execute its ninth prisoner this year today as death row inmate Cleve Foster, 48, fights for a last-minute stay from the United States Supreme Court. Foster was convicted in 2002 of helping his roommate, Sheldon Ward, kill a Fort Worth, Texas, woman and hide her body in the woods. Ward, however, wrote a death-bed note before he died in jail saying that he acted alone, and Foster had nothing to do with the murder. Foster maintains his innocence. Foster has been scheduled to die four times over the past year, but has received three stays of execution from the Texas Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court. Today, Foster is hoping the country's high court will step in and give him one more stay. If the court does not stay the execution, Foster will be killed by lethal injection at 7 p.m. EST. In the following pages, take a closer look at this year's death row inmates - and their final statements of innocence, acceptance, or praise for their beloved Texas Rangers baseball team. Their statements were recorded by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Texas Set to Execute Ninth Inmate in 2012 "I want to tell ya'll, know that I love you," said Robert Wayne Harris, 40, before he was executed last week. "Billy, I love you, English, Hart and Eloise. Dwight, take care of Dwight. I'm going home, I'm going home. I'll be all right, don't worry. I love ya'll. God bless and the Texas Rangers, Texas Rangers," he said. Harris was convicted of a 2002 mass killing in which he opened fired on people at a car wash where he had worked. Harris had been fired from the car wash three days before the shooting, in March 2002, and returned to his place of employment to kill his former-coworkers. Five people were killed. He was put to death on Sept. 20. Texas Set to Execute Ninth Inmate in 2012 Marvin Lee Wilson, 54, was executed in August for the murder of Jerry Robert Williams, 21, in 1994. Wilson abducted and shot Williams after a dispute. Wilson's last words before he died were, like many other inmates, "I'm ready." "Bohannon, Peg and Kim, I love ya'll. Son, get your life right with Christ, also your mother. Give mom a hug for me and tell her that I love her. Ya'll do understand that I came here a sinner and leaving a saint. Take me home Jesus, take me home Lord, take me home Lord. I ain't left yet, must be a miracle. I am a miracle. I see you, Rich. Don't cry son, don't cry baby. I love ya'll. I'm ready." Texas Set to Execute Ninth Inmate in 2012 Yokamon L. Hearn, who was put to death in July of this year, was convicted of killing a 26-year-old and stealing his wallet in 1998. Hearn, 33, and three other men approached the victim with a gun, forced him into his own car, took him to a deserted area, and shot him 12 times in the head and upper body, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. "Yes, I would like to tell my family that I love ya'll and I wish ya'll well. I'm ready." Texas Set to Execute Ninth Inmate in 2012 Beunka Adams, 29, was convicted of a 2002 robbery and murder and was put to death in April of this year. He was found guilty of entering a convenience store, robbing a 24-year-old man, shooting him in he head, and then attempting to to kidnap, rob, and sexually assault two women. He then fled the scene with money. "First, I want to let my mom know not to cry. There is no reason to cry, everybody dies. Everybody has their time, don't worry about me. I'm strong. To my family: my old man, my kids, daddy is sorry. I love each and every one of you. I'll be looking for you. To my wife, I love you. The last two years have been the best. All my kids, mom, nieces, and nephews, I am proud of all of ya'll. I love each and every one of ya'll. I really love ya'll." Texas Set to Execute Ninth Inmate in 2012 Jesse Joe Hernandez was given the death penalty in March of this year for the murder of an 11-month-old baby in 2001. Hernandez was babysitting the child and the child's older sister when he hit both of the kids with a flashlight. The girl survived, but the 11-month-old died. Hernandez, 47, was one of many prisoners to comment on how the chemicals injected into his body felt as he was being executed. "Tell my son I love him very much. God bless everybody. Continue to walk with God. Go Cowboys! Love ya'll man. Don't forget the T-ball. Ms. Mary, thank you for everything that you've done. You too, Brad, thank you. I can feel it, taste it, not bad." Texas Set to Execute Ninth Inmate in 2012 Keith Steven Thurmond, of Magnolia, Texas, was put to death earlier this year despite his insistence that he was innocent. Thurmond had been found guilty for the 2001 murder of his estranged wife and her boyfriend, who were both shot at the woman's home. He used his last words on March 7, 2012, to maintain his innocence. "All I want to say is I'm innocent, I didn't kill my wife. Jack Leary shot my wife then her dope dealer Guy Hernandez. Don't hold it against me, Bill. I swear to God I didn't kill her. Go ahead and finish it off. You can taste it." 52 Texas Set to Execute Ninth Inmate in 2012 George Rivas, 41, escaped from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, robbed a sporting goods store at gunpoint, and killed a police officer who responded to the crime scene. He was captured, found guilty and sentenced to death. He told the world that he was "ready to go" when he was executed in February of this year. "Yes, I do. First of all for the Aubrey Hawkins family, I do apologize for everything that happened. Not because I am here, but for closure in your hearts. I really believe that you deserve that. To my wife, Cheri, I am so grateful you're in my life. I love you so dearly. Thank you to my sister and dear friend Katherine Cox, my son and family, friends and family. I love you so dearly. "To my friends, all the guys on the row, you have my courtesy and respect. Thank you to the people involved and to the courtesy of the officers. I am grateful for everything in my life. To my wife, take care of yourself. I will be waiting for you. I love you. God Bless. I am ready to go." Texas Set to Execute Ninth Inmate in 2012 Rodrigo Hernandez, 38, was the first Texas inmate to be put to death in 2012. He was sentenced to death for the abduction, rape, and killing of a 38-year-old woman whom he saw in a grocery store parking lot. As he tried to abduct and sexually assault her by placing his hands around her neck, he killed her, and then placed her body in a garbage can in a nearby park when he realized she was dead. Hernandez was the first inmate this year to tell corrections officers, "I'm ready," in his last words. "Yes, I want to tell everybody that I love everybody. Keep your heads up. We are all family, people of God Almighty. We're all good. I'm ready."  | |
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