MommaHen
07-29-2003, 07:15 PM
Killer of paraplegic, wife executed
2003-07-29
By The Associated Press
McALESTER - Harold Loyd McElmurry III asked for forgiveness just before he was executed Tuesday and received it from the grandson of the McIntosh County couple he murdered in 1999.
"I'd like to say I'm sorry to the Pendleys. I hope they can forgive me," were his last words before drugs were administered at 6:04 p.m. in the execution chamber at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary.
The Muskogee man looked up, turned his head to the side, made a slight snoring sound and was pronounced dead two minutes later at 6:06.
He was much heavier than the slender inmate who slithered between the bars at the McIntosh County Jail and escaped the day before he was scheduled to go on trial in 2000 for fatally stabbing and bludgeoning Robert and Vivian Pendley. He was captured the next day.
McElmurry, 33, became the fifth death row inmate to be executed this month.
He and his wife, Vickie, were convicted of killing Robert Pendley, an 80-year-old paraplegic and his 75-year-old wife on Aug. 1, 1999, at their rural home near Lenna.
McElmurry didn't file an appeal after the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals upheld his conviction and death sentence last year. He waived a last-ditch appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
McElmurry's decision not to seek additional appeals made it easier for the Pendleys' grandson, also named Robert, to grant McElmurry's request for forgiveness.
"I think he was sincere," said the grandson, who witnessed the execution along with his wife, Sheila, his father, also named Robert, and the father's wife, Diana.
"I do believe that I forgave Harold," he said, adding that is was "a hard thing to do because of the brutality" of the crime.
The grandson, who lives in Nowata, had fond memories of visiting his grandparents. "We just had a blast. They were like my mother and father, they really were. Just to see them go like they did it's been really tough."
McElmurry had done odd jobs for the couple. At trial, he testified he felt bad about killing Robert Pendley, who "was always real nice to me."
The couple was bludgeoned with garden implements. Robert Pendley was knocked from his wheel chair, then stabbed repeatedly with scissors.
Vivian Pendley tried to escape, but investigators said that McElmurry had his wife catch and hold the woman while he beat her to death. Vickie McElmurry is serving two life sentences.
McElmurry and his wife were caught in Texas near the Mexican border in the Pendley's automobile. They also had stolen two pistols and $70.
The condemned man testified he and his wife planned the crime, shooting up with methamphetamine before carrying it out.
The Pendleys issued a statement thanking prosecutors, police and "all of those who have prayed for our family since this nightmare began."
They described the victims as "simply two of the best people you could ever meet."
"They shared a love of nature and animals which was apparent to anyone who passed their home, a love of people which was obvious to anyone who was lucky enough to strike up a conversation with them and an extraordinary love for one another -- their devoted union lasted 57 years," the statement read.
McElmurry is the 14th person to be executed in Oklahoma this year. The record for executions in one year in Oklahoma is 18, set in 2001. Before that, 14 people were executed in 1933.
May he rest in peace
2003-07-29
By The Associated Press
McALESTER - Harold Loyd McElmurry III asked for forgiveness just before he was executed Tuesday and received it from the grandson of the McIntosh County couple he murdered in 1999.
"I'd like to say I'm sorry to the Pendleys. I hope they can forgive me," were his last words before drugs were administered at 6:04 p.m. in the execution chamber at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary.
The Muskogee man looked up, turned his head to the side, made a slight snoring sound and was pronounced dead two minutes later at 6:06.
He was much heavier than the slender inmate who slithered between the bars at the McIntosh County Jail and escaped the day before he was scheduled to go on trial in 2000 for fatally stabbing and bludgeoning Robert and Vivian Pendley. He was captured the next day.
McElmurry, 33, became the fifth death row inmate to be executed this month.
He and his wife, Vickie, were convicted of killing Robert Pendley, an 80-year-old paraplegic and his 75-year-old wife on Aug. 1, 1999, at their rural home near Lenna.
McElmurry didn't file an appeal after the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals upheld his conviction and death sentence last year. He waived a last-ditch appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
McElmurry's decision not to seek additional appeals made it easier for the Pendleys' grandson, also named Robert, to grant McElmurry's request for forgiveness.
"I think he was sincere," said the grandson, who witnessed the execution along with his wife, Sheila, his father, also named Robert, and the father's wife, Diana.
"I do believe that I forgave Harold," he said, adding that is was "a hard thing to do because of the brutality" of the crime.
The grandson, who lives in Nowata, had fond memories of visiting his grandparents. "We just had a blast. They were like my mother and father, they really were. Just to see them go like they did it's been really tough."
McElmurry had done odd jobs for the couple. At trial, he testified he felt bad about killing Robert Pendley, who "was always real nice to me."
The couple was bludgeoned with garden implements. Robert Pendley was knocked from his wheel chair, then stabbed repeatedly with scissors.
Vivian Pendley tried to escape, but investigators said that McElmurry had his wife catch and hold the woman while he beat her to death. Vickie McElmurry is serving two life sentences.
McElmurry and his wife were caught in Texas near the Mexican border in the Pendley's automobile. They also had stolen two pistols and $70.
The condemned man testified he and his wife planned the crime, shooting up with methamphetamine before carrying it out.
The Pendleys issued a statement thanking prosecutors, police and "all of those who have prayed for our family since this nightmare began."
They described the victims as "simply two of the best people you could ever meet."
"They shared a love of nature and animals which was apparent to anyone who passed their home, a love of people which was obvious to anyone who was lucky enough to strike up a conversation with them and an extraordinary love for one another -- their devoted union lasted 57 years," the statement read.
McElmurry is the 14th person to be executed in Oklahoma this year. The record for executions in one year in Oklahoma is 18, set in 2001. Before that, 14 people were executed in 1933.
May he rest in peace