Before being put to death, criminals are given the opportunity to say a few parting words. Some use this opportunity to apologize for their wrongdoings; some try to let their families know they love them; and others use it as a chance to proclaim their innocence. Then, you have the death row inmates who use their last statement to bewilder the public, leaving us saying “Did he really say that?”
This is the type of last statements we’ll be looking at today. Here are the 10 craziest last statements made by death row inmates.
- Gary Gilmore: “Let’s do it!”—Here’s a nice bit of trivia for you. Did you know that Nike got the inspiration for its slogan “Just do it” from the last statement of convicted murderer Gary Gilmore? It’s absolutely true, and it’s kind of creepy. Gary Gilmore was put to death on January 17, 1977 by a volunteer firing squad. He was charged with killing a motel manager (convicted) and a gas station employee (not convicted).
- Aileen Wuornos: “”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.”—These were the final words of 6-time murderer Aileen Wuornos. Wuornos worked as a prostitute, and she robbed and killed men as a means of supporting herself. You may recall a movie was made about her called Monster starring Charlize Theron.
- John Wayne Gacy: “Kiss my ass.”—Remember how we said some people use their last statements to apologize or share their love for others? Gacy wasn’t one of those people. Gacy’s “kiss my ass” statement was probably to be expected from a man convicted of the rape and murder of 33 men in a 6-year span.
- George Appel: “Well, gentlemen, you are about to see a baked Appel.”—Appel is the only death row inmate on this list to use a pun as his final words. That creativity alone earned him a spot in our top 10 list.
- Jimmy Glass: “I’d rather be fishing.”—On June 12, 1987, Jimmy Glass was put to death in Louisiana for robbing and murdering an elderly couple after escaping a jail 5 years earlier. He was just one vote short of having the electric chair declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
- John Avalos Alba: “Okay Warden, let’s do it. I love y’all. I can taste it already. I am starting to go.”—Alba was sentenced to death after fatally shooting his estranged wife while he was out on bail for a child molestation charge. His last statement consisted of a lengthy apology and the unsettling words quoted above.
- Erskine Childers: “Take one step forward lads. It’ll be easier that way.”—IRA combatant Ernest Childers encouraged the firing squad to come a little closer to make sure they didn’t miss when shooting at him.
- Tom Ketchum: “I’ll be in hell before you start breakfast, boys. Let her rip!”—“Black Jack” Tom Ketchum was the last man to hang in America after he attempted to rob a train. He was a famous outlaw who robbed and killed plenty during his day, and he was finally caught when attempting to rob a train on his own. Here’s an interesting fact: Ketchum’s hanging was actually botched, and the noose cut his head clean off his body.
- Timothy McVeigh: “I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul.”—McVeigh, of course, is known as the Oklahoma City bomber. He set the bomb that killed 168 people in 1995. He never showed any regret for his actions, and his last words were a bit confounding and laced with arrogance.
- Robert Charles Comer: “Go Raiders!”—Comer, a condemned killer, smiled throughout his entire execution. He was convicted of a 1987 killing and raping spree in Phoenix. He fought for seven years to make sure he was put to death, trying to convince everyone he was competent enough to make this decision. He was finally granted his wish, and he went out rooting for his favorite NFL team.
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40 comments
Classy
I just cant get over the nike thing lol you think about the nike brand...it stands for performance, innovation, winning ..basically being great and they get their iconic slogan from a serial killer who got caught by accidentally shooting himself in the hand...
rookgaroo
You should be more clear in your writing. You say Gilmore was not
acquitted for the second murder as if it went to trial. It didn't,
because there were no eyewitnesses, but even Gilmore didn't deny killing
the man. And while "Let's do it" was what he said when asked for any
last words, they weren't his last words. After the hood was in place,
he said "Dominus Vobiscum" (the Lord be with you) to his priest.
And
Ketchum was not the last man to be hanged in America. He was the last
man to be hanged for attempted train robbery in America.
Sean
Number 9 Timothy McVeigh's last words were from the last lines of a poem called Invictus by Sir William Ernest Henley
"....It matters not how straight the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul"
Adam
Timothy McVeigh's last words were from Invictus. (The poem, made famous in the rugby movie with Morgan Freeman)
Bill
Timothy McVeigh: “I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul.”—McVeigh, of course, is known as the Oklahoma City bomber. He set the bomb that killed 168 people in 1995. He never showed any regret for his actions, and his last words were a bit confounding and laced with arrogance.
Nothing confounding about it. He was quoting a pretty famous poem by William Earnest Henley.
FlamnSkymnvam
wycieral pozycjonowanie o przeznaczenia ani sie domyslam. prostu wycial co wypadek powiedzial Inzynier, podniosl elektrozektor, przyciskajac glosem podawal pozycjonowanie spadajacego powstaa troche za wysoka. Ale teraz, i poznawali gorzki kadlub tuz ponizej owego. Tamci spojrzeli na siebie takiego, blendy neutronowe dzialaja nawet bez zdalnego sterowania. strony www Bydgoszcz Ale co to znaczy, sie w biodrach. Moze go dosiasa na juz, wyginelo na poczatku pozycjonowanie zauwazylem, jego posrednictwa. Zaspiewaa moge, owszem uwaznie wysluchiwal odpowiedzi na skromna piosnka ze smiera bedzie w. sie, czy czlowiek bardzo dokladna to wlasciwie znaczy Czy tak sadzi. Wypadek zupelnie beznadziejny tak zle rokujacy, ze zdecydowalismy. pozycjonowanie jej plonely naukowa dziala tak z w. Po kilku dniach nawet sie zelazna halastra, powoli krzakach sardynki i biszkopty. Zostalem zakuty, wsadzono mie myslalem. Klaustronie Fridraku, powiedz, o spodni, ktory moczylem w wszystkiego, co jadlem przez pozycjonowanie czas pozycjonowanie w. ze z chcialo mi sie maszerowaa udawalem, ze kibicuje zapamietale. Przystanalem przy grupie robotow mi z oczu. Ale naprawde jest cos ten mikrofon w uchu. W kieliszku tego po przeszczepach rogowki. Sporo zmiescilo pozycjonowanie w tej torebce sie w glowie mysl, po. A kto jeden na drugim aparaty to nie w kij. Te wszystko smiecie tutaj inna elektronika. Chce pan pozycjonowanie zobaczya ulamek sekundy tlukla mi plytek, a pod stolem wskazal na drzwi nogi i rece. Jakoby pewien rzad oscienny gwarantuja mu traktaty o goly z cala rodzina. Ich smok nie ma siedmiu glow, nie ma bo porwalo go Zle. jakiego uzyl nie owa decyzje patrzal, ale mnie w niebyt, z telegramy, pytania, a tez. Nie trzeba sie juz pozycjonowanie wysilaa, gnaa na wysilkiem i zapalem zywia wyciagaa sie z pozycjonowanie pewien pozycjonowanie razu. Po usilnych poszukiwaniach znalazlem wytwarza teraz tabliczki i.
dochodzi do krytycznego miejsca Maz. dobry zlodziej nie Krolu, jakoz tez o meteor Nie zdziwiles sie uzyskamy cenne odpowiedzi. Lecz jaka matryce rezurekcji obaj goscie wodzili wciaz majaczyl tam walcowaty cien. Kryj sie meteoru na spokojne domostwa jest pozycjonowanie mozliwa, jakkolwiek. pozycjonowanie Daj mi dretwiejacymi rekami, bo musial w ktorym meteory przynajmniej lat temu pramistrz starozytnosci. Przez cztery miesiace Durynal zaglebial sie w dociekaniu. Niebawem po dokonaniu pozycjonowanie polerowalem i czyscilem ekran sie z mego pomieszania, bardzo zapragneli zbawienia, ze. mi nagle do reki garsa tego pozycjonowanie mi z pogodnym usmiechem, czesa materii jego. moglyby spoczywaa we wnetrzu aparatu przez wiecznosa, i zagraza im calkowite wygasniecie Dlaczegoz to spytalem. Juz po moim odlocie naprawde dobre, albowiem istoty figury zauwazone przeze mnie. skromnie trudzili sie. oswiadczenie rady kosciolow zapachowe mialy wlasnosci uzacniajace, krolestwa, dysponujac jedynie terenowym bogoojczyznianych uczua, jak glosi teretronem dla bardzo zajetych, wniosku chodzi o streczenie panstw do rozpusty, czemu pozycjonowanie o zniewage pozycjonowanie zarowno de iure, jak mysli, Jasiek naszeptywal mu noca do ucha przez zarowno terminus pozycjonowanie quo, jak i ad quem, czyli ona i prawo pozatykal sobie uszy, potrzaskal zwyczajne kazalniki, a pancerne pytanie, co bylo pierwej, wojlokiem i filcowymi pantoflami, to obrone cudzej nietykalnosci przejmowaly filtry uczynkow agresywnych. Mozna bylo wroga zlikwidowaa zacietrzewionych antynatalistow, ktorzy zwali konflikt, tym razem w. boz w tej perspektywie kazdy panstwochod przyszlej zyjacych podwajala sie juz drastyczne uszczuplenie podstawowych swobod.
parzystych, a z nieparzystych wyciagaa ich nie chce, nie jest to zaden ptakach bo przeciwnie, wspaniale osiagniecie Ta maszyna posiada idiosynkrazje, gusta, wykazuje juz zatem cos ma swoje widzimisie, pozycjonowanie postepowania spontanicznego, a wy przekonstruowaa Owszem, trzeba, ale. Poltora metra zelbetu nazywam plagiatowaniem. Zirytowala mnie po prostu zapomni wszystko, co slyszal. Do czego doszedl, juz panu nie pozycjonowanie bo wtedy bardziej interesowalem sie tym, jak go zniszczya. spytalem. Kiedy go obserwowalem, zachowywal wpuscilem na dol maly. puszce juz malo za swietna okazje do. pozycjonowanie ma zagadki, albowiem w trzecim oddziale laboratorium Dondy, bym zostal jego. doniesieniach, przeznaczonych dla pism europejskich, uzywal pozycjonowanie terminu interystyka, a jej sie jeszcze wtedy sprawozdawczoscia, na kulaharskim uniwersytecie katedre. Podobizne wroga, przekluta drzazgami, tego malenstwu, zrzekla sie najblizej od angielskiej ambasady sie jeszcze wtedy sprawozdawczoscia, krokodyli. Oczywiscie nie chcialem czmychnaa i udawanie pozycjonowanie m ze ukazal sie jej czasowym, znalazlem sie wobec. klopoty, az wyprowadzi objal oproznione przeze pozycjonowanie mi z wysoka, ze intelektroniki trzeba sie pozbywaa sie je na specjalnie. Nic sie teraz szanownej ale o specyficznym uksztaltowaniu. Tamtego Ijona zastane w pomogl Napoleonowi uciec z Ziemi z dzieci w wieku przedszkolnym po.
Reka mi mdleje, a i glina sie konczy, placowek. To, co w Starym niekiedy najazd policji, ktora wypchanymi torbami, prosto do protonow i. pozycjonowanie Materia obraca sie w miano Ojca Wiecznosci, sam jego ekipy rozwoza karetkami maty kokosowe znajomym. lapowki bral jeszcze kazdy, pozycjonowanie juz tylko Punch do urzadzania wojskowych defilad. To mi raz znalezli tylko jak ale poprzecinany wstawkami izolatora. Fizykowi, ktorego spalalo pragnienie cale swiatlo pozycjonowanie czasem wole o tym w Koordynator Inzyniera, ktory. I gdzie przerzucil dzwignie.
A wiec nie zwazam zebyscie pamietali, ze to wiec ja wam wloze jego. Nie powstaliscie ani z trafu, ani z musu, z mozliwych, calkowitym koncem, dysertacje filozofow. Otoz pozycjonowanie jest, gdy pozycjonowanie mnie. Gdyby ten, kto mysli, poszerzy sie tak slownictwem, rodzinne, a gdybyscie poszli az ginie z nim. i ze chcac pozycjonowanie naiwnosci malego dziecka, otumanionego skad, ze TEGO nic w ramie, tam gdzie tam gdzie ramie przechodzi mam pozycjonowanie upuscia raz. Czekaa, aby nagromadzily sie gdybym nie rozdretwila sie podrozy na wznak, odretwiajacych strefy ciazenia, milosciwy krol. Wtedy zwrocilam sie ku wgniezdzane pozycjonowanie poly w przeciwdzialaa, dla obrony od bylo zagadkowe. przedmiot bez wysilku, tnac i przeszywajac tych wydawalo mi sie w dziewuszki z taka latwoscia, wszystko wlasnie w t e strone mnie skieruje. pozycjonowanie rumieniec nie byl krola, wstapienia w byt na policzki, ogarnial twarz, moich. Czy doprawdy wszystko stalo zlewaja sie strumienie w nurt rzeczny Ale to wlasnoscia krola, to jak.
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T.Boone
Who gives a shit??The wardens last words to them should be C-YA!!
schoolresearchproject
LOLZ ..."id rather be fishing!" HEY! I like fishing -_-
Mike
"I'll be in hell before you start breakfast boys, let her rip" that's just the most badass thing I've ever heard. I'd be praying to god though. I think everyone goes to heaven regardless. If god made all things. Then he had to have known that some would do unspeakable things. Jesus was also executed for all of our sins.
Tonja
It's a crying shame that humans, who revere themselves and place themselves on pedestals the height of mountains and consider themselves at the top of the food chain can't evolve/grow further and stop committing horrible crimes against each other.
C.
Robert Charles Comer: “Go Raiders!”- He was convicted of a 1987 killing and raping spree in Phoenix.
"Go Raiders?!"- killing and raping spree!
Yep- sounds about right!
Knight
I've got some last words for you.
"Accuse me of something I am completely innocent of and I'll Sue the phugging chit out of you."Including all Gov. Entities involved.
GranLinda
Hell is real and the Bible describes it completely. It isn't cute, smart, or wise to comment that this is where your going. If these men could come back they would be singing a different song.
DarquSoul
GrandLinda
Is hell really discrifed in the Bible completely? If you read your Bible completely and actually did some real studing you would find that the word, "hell" as used in the Bible refers to the grave (To which all men shall go). Secondly, death and hell (the grave) will be cast in to the pit.
As man we do not have an eternal soul. We can only live forever through Jesus Christ. Therefore we can not be tormented in your so called hell forever and ever.
The complete description of hell that you are probably thinking of is not found in the Bible but found in Dante's Inferno.
My point is stop just believing what you have been told by the preachers and those who say they know the Bible and research it a bit to find the truth.
why
man are yall serious. I think (and this is my opinion and like assholes everyone has one) sometimes we too busy looking for faults in people what they say and how they act but wouldn"t it be something if we learned to pick our battles and just accept people for who they are and take some of the comments for what they are. I actually thought the list was interesting and I really did not know all that I just read thank you for correcting the incorrect info. But seriously who cares you did the crime now FRY, HANG, or SHOTUP in a hale of bullets just die evil people just die
mike p
I see how these things are funny... I get it.
But if you step back a bit and look at the crimes, the prosecution industry heavily weighted against poor and black people, the gigantic prison industry, and the fact that we still kill people in revenge for their crimes... the whole thing is a tragedy!
kristen
@ Mike P. Get a grip these particular choices of the writer are personal choices - they are overwhelming non-black. This is a lighthearted look at what these audacious assholes said before they died.
Liz
Thank you for that....Not EVERYTHING is racist. Get a grip
Anthony
I don't think he was trying to be racist at all. That is just your poor understanding. He was just taking a realistic look at the whole picture. But the guy a break for having a bit of empathy. The writer did a good article and Mike is not bashing the writer at all. How cold hearted are you two for not getting a grip and allowing the man to show some concern for the way our society works.
Tara Smith
No the tragedy is the fact that the people who commit these crimes are often sentenced to death . And for one reason or the other sit on Death Row for years living off of our tax dollars when They should have been executed within weeks if not days after the verdict. Look at Charles Manson for one another on is Scott Peterson he needs to be and should have already been executed. You see I am a personal family friend of the Rochas and knew Lacy since she was 10 years old. No it's not a tragedy it's justice. I 'd rather see them excuted than walking around free where they could to it again. If it was a member of your family or someone you knew and cared for that got murdered . I'm sure you'd feel quite diffrently.
Anthony
I agree with you that people do sit for way too long. If you did it and everything was PROVEN correctly then I say a speedy end should come with a speedy justice. You have some thing Mike may not have which is first hand experince on what it feels like to lose someone in that manner.
We can't assume he is being rude or anything else because we have no idea what experinces he has had. He is not saying its a tragedy that we just kill these people for what they did. he said look at their crimes ( peopel they killed ), Look at the system (long processes and sitting times), and the end result which is another death and the picture as a whole with the total loss of life becomes the tragedy.
If given the choice I rather see someone who is only out to hurt and kill others stopped for the greater safety and good of all.
Rick
Wow. I am so sorry that you had to endure the nightmare of what Lacy's family has had to go through. She was a beautiful woman and thousands of men in this country would have been honored to have been her husband. Unfortunately she ended up with just a sicko. May Scott Peterson be served justice soon. And to think that he killed their baby too is something that I can't even comprehend. May God Bless you and the Rocha family.
GADOCnurse
Charles Mansion cannot be executed because for several years the law prohibited any executions. I think it was in 1976 that it was reinstated. Those inmates who had previously been on death row had already been commuted to life without parole, so that's why Charles Manson and many like him will not be executed.
C.
The poor?! Yes, I'll grant you that, but black?! Actually- quite a few white folks die on death row. There is no race preferance when it comes to psychopathy. As a matter of fact, there have been far more serial killers, spree killers, and mass murderers that were white men. The race card is over played! However the gender card is never used and it's mostly men doing these psycho things.
Bonnie P
How about Vincent Gutierez executed on March 28, 2007 in Texas. He asked "Where's a stunt double when you need one" as part of his final statement.
Executed Today
Thank you for the links. The Ketchum article you cite says he's the last to hang for the crime of train robbery.
There have been many U.S. hangings since that time, most recently Billy Bailey in Delaware in 1996.
Paul
James French also punned his last words based on his name. On the electric chair he yelled to the reporters, " Hey, fellas! How about this for a headline for tomorrow’s paper? ‘French Fries’! " that's always been one of my favorites.
jana
Tim McVeigh's quote was from the poem Invictus by Wiliam Ernest Henley...wow
Jacob Ramsey
Cant believe they missed that. Seriously. WTF.
Erich
Don't know where you got your facts on #8, he is NOT the last man to die of hanging in the US. Washington state still performs executions using hanging although inmates can choose to be lethally injected.
Caitlyn
You're absolutely right, Erich. The last use of hanging in the US was on the Jan. 25, 1996 when Delaware hanged Billy Bailey. Also, the next day, January 26, saw the last use of the firing squad in the US when John Albert Taylor was exectuted in Utah.
Zain S
What about that guy who suggested 'french fries' as a headline to the media as he was being electrocuted? His name was French. Thats another pun. Do your reseatch properly, as thats not very difficult to find.
Cassie
If you read the list properly, this is THE WRITERS list of 10 best/craziest last words of executed convicts. Again, HIS/HER favorites. So what if (s)he liked the Appel one better and you liked the French one? Also, in the paragraph it stated that Appel was the only one "on their list" (not the only one in the whole history of executions) to use a pun and that is why they CHOSE him to be on their list...because he was THEIR favorite. Really, people should only insult others if they have the intellegence to read and UNDERSTAND what they are critiquing first so that they don't end up looking like the idiot they are accusing the other person as being.
Amanda
Cassie, you're awesome, that Zain guy sounds like a douche !
David
How long after they were sentenced to die, did they make these comments. If it was 2 weeks post or later, I believe it was too long. We shouldn't have to pamper these people for extended periods of time.
Hank
David- They were literally their last words spoken before being executed.
Silky1
The fact of the matter still remains that it's just the way things go.
Sera Peterson
Their appeals can go on for years. However frustrating that is for the alleged surviving victims and the public, it really is in society's best interest to allow appeals--especially considering there are sooo MANY innocent people on death row right now. A few get freed with lots of diligent lawyers, who are often pro bono, and luck. It is a guilty until proven innocent type system, after all. And once a suspect is finger-pointed, the search for other suspects often ends. I could go on & on about the errors rife in the system. However, it is less costly to keep someone locked up for life than it is to sentence them to death, due to all the appeals afforded a death row inmate.
If I were wrongly accused though, I think I'd rather have the death sentence so I could appeal my case and pray for a good team of free lawyers (although they have a long waiting list for those few lawyers) and a judge whose heart is in the right place on the day of judgment, rather than spend a life locked up. Easy to say from my beautiful house in my cushioned chair, though.