NORTH CAROLINA LAST MEAL
WILLIAM QUENTIN JONES
August 22, 2003

...tossed salad man.....

Last Meal: Jones requested a tossed salad with shredded carrots and cheese and thousand island dressing and a Coke.

The Skinny: Jones was executed for the shooting death of a man who had stopped for coffee at a Raleigh convenience store.

Jones was 18 when he came into the store and indiscriminately fired an Uzi, killing the victim. The shooting also injured another customer.

A tape from a security camera showed that Jones fired six shots from a gun as he entered the convenience store. He fired before announcing that he was robbing the store and discharged a total of 10 bullets. Jones' lawyers argued that his death sentence should have been commuted because he was 18 years old at the time of the murder.

Last words and such: Jones winked at his lawyer and his relatives when he was brought into the execution chamber. During the 10 minutes he waited for the injection of lethal drugs, he looked repeatedly at members of the victim's family and said, "I'm sorry." Just before the drugs put him to sleep, Jones looked back at his uncle and lawyer and said "I'm gone." He then said "I love you" several times to family.

Jones' last statement was made in English and Arabic asking for mercy.

Outside the walls: A group of between 30 and 40 death penalty opponents held a candlelight vigil. Stephen Dear, executive director of People of Faith Against the Death Penalty, said a drug used in executions made the death appear peaceful but paralyzes muscles and masks any pain that the inmate may feel.

Factoids:

Jones was the...

52nd murderer executed in U.S. in 2003
872nd murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
1st murderer executed in North Carolina in 2003
24th murderer executed in North Carolina since 1976