Yes I know I must be sick. Ive been reading off Texas DOC web site. On the site there is executed offenders last statements. Some of them are pretty bizarre. Some proclaim that they are innocent all the way to the end.Ive been wondering if they were guilty or not. Anyway I want to know if you have read any of these last statements.

Why would you say u are sick for reading this, i read it all the time, i think its quite interesting, and yes you do wonder if people who are guilty, will still say to there dying day no im innocent.

I think most people readm that sort of thing its human nature, some times we can learn form it also, so now your not sick for reading it.

could you give me the website address, I have never read them before..Thanks

Actually before I ever wrote my DR pal I read all that stuff I wanted to learn as much as I could about DR before I made the decision. I knew once I started writing someone it was for the long haul so naturally my curiousity was peeked and I wanted to see what went through someone's mind right before the end to see if they showed remorse etc.,,, I actually do believe some of them were innocent it's a proven fact that some have been killed for no reason. But that's a whole other story. So yeah your not strange your normal to be curious.

could you give me the website address, I have never read them before..Thanks

Here is the address they are on the TDCJ website

http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/executedoffenders.htm

softie

I just read them a few weeks back...and to tell you the truth i read them quite often. I don't believe in the death penalty, but when i do go to that website i ball and ball and ball. It's sooooo sad to read what they say, and sometimes i think about how hard it is for the death row inmates family. sometimes i wonder if they are guilty or not also, but i don't care if they are or not...i still don't believe in the death penalty.~~~Brandi

Actually before I ever wrote my DR pal I read all that stuff I wanted to learn as much as I could about DR before I made the decision. I knew once I started writing someone it was for the long haul so naturally my curiousity was peeked and I wanted to see what went through someone's mind right before the end to see if they showed remorse etc.,,, I actually do believe some of them were innocent it's a proven fact that some have been killed for no reason. But that's a whole other story. So yeah your not strange your normal to be curious.

Hi all, I am new to this forum and I like Silent Dreamer have been reading everything on the death sentence. I am also thinking of writing to some people who have expressed a need for a friend. I have been praying about it and feel that I should do it, not as a charity thing but as a friendship thing that will be mutually beneficial to all. I have read many last statements and it kills me to think that innocent people have been put to death, it brings to mind this quote "It is better for 1000 guilty people to go free, than 1 innocent person to go down " I have paraphased it. I would like to express my support in ending this barbaric practice! I sincerely hope that we'll see a day when suc practices are abolished. God bless you all and i'll let you know how my first correspondence works out, all I am hoping to do is to brighten someone's days by the offer of friendship.:)

CREEPY.. I got goose bumps reading them.

I have never visited this particular site--to be honest, I don't know if I could handle it. I will say that I am astonished at how many executed prisoners make no statement at all. Perhaps they have already made the most profound statement possible, with their lives, by living the time they had with dignity. I salute them.

The death penalty is wrong on so many levels. The offender isn't the person who is punished. The people punished are the offender's children, his/her mother and father. Too many people that were incarcerated have been found innocent. How many innocent people have we killed in the name of "justice?" What justice is there in taking another life?

Yes, I've read each and every one of the statements on that web site and you're right - it does make you cry.

An eye for an eye and soon the whole world is blind. . . I can't remember who said that but I think it sums things up.

I believe Gandhi said something of the sort, but never mind.

I happen to live in a state that does not have capital punishment. If it did, I would be enraged any time the government of my home state carried out a judicially-sanctioned murder. And I would say to those who say that they are "only carrying out the will of the people" that they are not carrying out my will, that I would never elect or voluntarily place myself under the jurisdiction of a government that would kill on my name. And I would write, to all who might hear, on the occasion of each execution, to remind the officials of said government that the blood is on their hands, not mine.

Indeed I do raise my voice often when an execution is pending, even though my out of state words perhaps fall on especially deaf ears. But the message is simple: do not kill in my name. If you claim to act on behalf of the people.....I am a person, as is the inmate scheduled for execution. Never, NEVER claim that you have carried out a death sentence in my name--I have never given permission, and never will.

I believe you are correct - that it was Gandhi that said that.

We have the death penalty in my state but it hasn't been carried out in my life time. I'm not even sure that anyone has been sentenced to death in NH in that many years or longer. So my question to the policy makers and citizens of NH would be why do we even have this repulsive law on the books?

I have seen the "don't kill in my name" statement before and I agree with that statement.

Hi all, I am new to this forum and I like Silent Dreamer have been reading everything on the death sentence. I am also thinking of writing to some people who have expressed a need for a friend. :)

While you are at it you should also write to your legislators/policy makers and let them know how you feel about the death penalty. As long as we remain silent about it they will continue with this legalized murder.

It makes me so sad to read them, it really breaks ny heart! E*** though my only brother was murdered I never wished the death penalty on the guy that did it as it wasn't going to bring back my only brother to us so what the use??? Murder is murder

my friend who was executed in July 2005 said he would not make a public statement, the only statement he would make was to me in the form of his last letter written just one hour before the state of Oklahoma took his life . he said he was a better person and man because of my friendship, so for the ladies wanting a death row pal, go for it, you have no idea how much your friendship can meant to them,its makes them feel human again and not like animals as they often get treated as if they were animals/monsters.
my friends on the row have truely enriched my life beyond believe

It is very sad reading these last statements and its very unsettling when people repeatedly say that they are innocent, in that situation they have nothing to loose so why still insist on their innocence?.....because they may be! it's a shame that many innocent people have been murdered "legally" by the state, God bless their families and friends!

Yes, I read those last statements off and on. I'm nosy, I guess. LOL But I do find them quite interesting. A while back, they used to post what the last meal requests were . . . now, that was interesting!!!!

Yes I know I must be sick. Ive been reading off Texas DOC web site. On the site there is executed offenders last statements. Some of them are pretty bizarre. Some proclaim that they are innocent all the way to the end.Ive been wondering if they were guilty or not. Anyway I want to know if you have read any of these last statements.

If you are sick... a lot of us are. It's okay to read those - they're fascinating, and interesting, saddening - and sometimes very funny. I don't mean I think it's funny they are making a last statement, but that some of them kept their sense of humour right til the end.

I've read the Texas DOC website back to front. I don't know why. I think that there are some of us who are a different breed to the rest of the world. In that we have compassion and thoughts for people in a terrifying position.

I have found alot of interesting stuff through this site and even changed my views on alot of issuses since then. I too went to the last statement site and I live a long way from texas. I do have one qestion though and hopefully someone can explain it to me. Why is it when they perform a execution that they have to shave them completely bald. Why cant they have a shred of compassion and let these inmates die with a little of their dignity?

Ruben Cantu, executed in 1993 is on that web site and now they are saying he is most likely innocent. He did not have a final statment and I wonder if these statements are ever removed by TDCJ.

Ruben Cantu, executed in 1993 is on that web site and now they are saying he is most likely innocent. He did not have a final statment and I wonder if these statements are ever removed by TDCJ.

Sometimes the inmate doesn't make a final statement.

Here is an article about him that is interesting.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/3472872.html

I have found alot of interesting stuff through this site and even changed my views on alot of issuses since then. I too went to the last statement site and I live a long way from texas. I do have one qestion though and hopefully someone can explain it to me. Why is it when they perform a execution that they have to shave them completely bald. Why cant they have a shred of compassion and let these inmates die with a little of their dignity?

When using the electric chair it is for conduction. And to prevent setting hair on fire.

Sometimes the inmate doesn't make a final statement.

Here is an article about him that is interesting.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/3472872.html


That really was an interesting article. This is why there should be no death penalty! I understand that, when you commit a crime, you've got to pay for it . . . but, what about LWP?!?

That really was an interesting article. This is why there should be no death penalty! I understand that, when you commit a crime, you've got to pay for it . . . but, what about LWP?!?

That would definitely make a difference. Not every state has that though. The killing machine has to be stopped.

Babygirl or anyone else that knows the answer, why is it that not every state in the USA has LWOP??

Babygirl or anyone else that knows the answer, why is it that not every state in the USA has LWOP??

Because the lawmakers haven't made a law to have it. Texas never had LWOP, only life and the DP. But in Sept 2005 the lawmakers voted in LWOP. So now juries can chose between LWOP or the DP. They took away the opition of life in Capital cases. But that only counts for someone convicted after September 2005. Unless they have a retrial then they would have that opition.

But 37 out of the 38 States have LWOP now except for New Mexico. And I believe New Mexico has taken the DP off their books. (Not positive) But they haven't executed anyone in many years. I believe I read they were taking the DP off their books so no one would get the DP.

The other States that don't have the DP all have LWOP except for Alaska.

softie

Because the lawmakers haven't made a law to have it. Texas never had LWOP, only life and the DP. But in Sept 2005 the lawmakers voted in LWOP. So now juries can chose between LWOP or the DP. They took away the opition of life in Capital cases. But that only counts for someone convicted after September 2005. Unless they have a retrial then they would have that opition.

But 37 out of the 38 States have LWOP now except for New Mexico. And I believe New Mexico has taken the DP off their books. (Not positive) But they haven't executed anyone in many years. I believe I read they were taking the DP off their books so no one would get the DP.

The other States that don't have the DP all have LWOP except for Alaska.

softie

Thank you for letting me know the answer to my question. :thumbsup: Lets hope that it is right about New Mexico and there will be no more DP there. And hopefully soon there will be no more DP anywhere!!!