TEXAS LAST MEAL
CRAIG OGAN
November 19, 2002

"They're trying to sell me as a nut case..."

Last Meal: None

The Skinny: Ogan received a lethal injection for shooting an officer during an argument near the Astrodome in downtown Houston.

Alais stuff: Ogan was fascinated with espionage, spoke several languages and longed for a job with the CIA. He said he was building a track record by working as an informant for the Drug Enforcement Administration and had moved to Houston because he feared his cover had been blown. When he arrived in Houston the DEA told him not to carry a gun or work any more drug deals. Ogan armed himself, however, and tried to get involved in drug transactions again. Ogan saw Boswell and his partner, Clay Gainer, had made a traffic stop across the street and he approached their patrol car, tapping on the window and stating he was an undercover agent. Boswell repeatedly told him to wait a minute but he continued to knock on the window. The officer then got out of the car and told him he was facing arrest. Bogan then shot Boswell in the head.

Final statement and such: Ogan claimed the case against him was fabricated and that he killed the cop in self-defense. "The people responsible for killing me will have blood on their hands for an unprovoked murder," he said. "I am not guilty; I acted in self defense and reflex in the face of a police officer who was out of control." His statement stopped in mid-sentence as the drugs took effect. In a meeting earlier, Walls Unit warden Neill Hodges had told Ogan he would have two minutes for his final comments.

Factoid: Ogan was the 30th convicted killer executed this year in Texas and the 286th since the state restored the death penalty in 1982.

Several dozen police officers and police supporters arrived on motorcycles shortly before Ogan's scheduled execution hour and stood down the street from the prison entrance.

The execution was delayed for nearly an hour while the U.S. Supreme Court considered a pair of 11th-hour appeals that questioned Ogan's competency and mental health.

"They're trying to sell me as a nut case," Ogan said of his attorneys' efforts. "I don't appreciate that."