Wednesday, July 09, 2003

OKLAHOMA LAST MEAL
ROBERT DON DUCKETT
July 8, 2003


A very bad roommate...

Last Meal: a small pizza, a chili cheese coney, a half-gallon of cookie-dough ice cream and a vanilla Coke.

The skinny: Duckett was executed for beating a man to death with an ashtray stand and fireplace poker. Duckett was a 24-year-old prison escapee in October 1988 when he killed the man with whom he briefly shared an apartment.

Prosecutors said the man was killed because he wanted Duckett to move out. The defense alleged that Howard made a homosexual pass at Duckett, who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after a prison rape.

The Capture: Two weeks later Duckett was arrested in Clear Creek, Arizona driving John Howard's car. He had switched the license plates on John's car with the plates of another car in the parking lot of Howard's apartment complex. Found in the trunk were blood-stained clothing and bank bags from the store.

Final words and such: In his final statement, Duckett asked for forgiveness. "I just want to apologize and hope my family forgives me. I love them very much, and I hope they never forget that. Let's go."

Factoids: Duckett, 39, became the state's 11th inmate executed this year. He had not tried to stay his execution at the last minute, having already exhausted his appeals.

Oklahoma has three more men scheduled for execution this month.

This summary was compiled from various news accounts.