TEXAS LAST MEAL
HILTON CRAWFORD
July 2, 2003

Uncle Hilty...

Last Meal: For his last meal, Crawford requested 12 beef ribs, three enchiladas, chicken fried steak with cream gravy, a crispy bacon sandwich, a bowl of ketchup, a loaf of bread, french fries, onion rings, three colas and three root beers and cobbler.

The skinny: Crawford was executed for the abduction and slaying of a 12-year old boy almost eight years ago. Crawford was known to his 12-year-old victim as "Uncle Hilty,"

Alibi: The former Beaumont police officer and sheriff's deputy acknowledged being present when the boy was fatally beaten and shot after he was grabbed from his home. But Crawford insisted that the killer in a kidnap-for-ransom scheme that went awry was a mysterious accomplice known to him as R.L. Remington, a man he met at a Louisiana race track.

Prosecutors said Remington was a figment of Crawford's imagination.

The investigation led to Crawford, who was facing huge credit card and gambling debts.

Last words and such:Crawford nodded and smiled to witnesses, asking for forgiveness and expressing love for his family.

"I thank Jesus Christ. I had an opportunity to serve Jesus Christ; I'm very thankful for that," he said, as a small wooden cross dangled from a cord around his neck.

The victim's mother was standing behind a window just a few feet from her son's killer when he turned toward her and said, "I want to ask Paulette for forgiveness from your heart. One day I hope you will. It's a tragedy for my family and your family. I am sorry."

He asked a witness to deliver a yellow rose to his wife, Connie. He told his wife, who wasn't present, that he loved her and his sons. "They were the greatest gift from God."

"May God pass me over to the kingdom's shore softly and gently," he said.

"I'm ready," he said just before the dose of lethal drugs began.

Factoids: At 64, Crawford was the second-oldest of the state's 451 condemned killers, earning him the nickname "Old Man" among some of his prison colleagues. He also became the second-oldest of the 306 Texas inmates to receive lethal injection since the state began using that method of capital punishment in 1982.

Crawford's execution was the 17th in Texas this year and 306th since the state resumed capital punishment in 1982.

Another three executions are scheduled for later this month, and at least four more are on the calendar for August.

This summary was compiled from various news accounts.

A CALL FROM THE GOVERNOR IN VIRGINIA

Swisher Sweet....

Governor Postpones Swisher Execution

The highlights from WaPo...

Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner (D) yesterday postponed the execution of Bobby Wayne Swisher just hours before the convicted killer was to enter the death chamber.

Warner did not grant clemency for Swisher, but he said the execution should be halted to give defense attorneys time to argue before the state Supreme Court that jurors might not have known that they could choose a sentence of life in prison.

Swisher, 27, who kidnapped, raped and killed a young mother in Augusta County in 1997, had been scheduled to be executed by lethal injection at 9 p.m. Defense attorneys had asked Warner for clemency, arguing that the verdict form used by the jury was flawed.

OKLAHOMA LAST MEAL
LEWIS GILBERT
July 1, 2003

Whoppers!

Last Meal: For his last meal, Gilbert dined on a half-gallon of vanilla ice cream, a box of assorted cones and a box of Whoppers.

The Skinny: Gilbert was sentenced to die for killing a security guard. He had also been sentenced to death in Missouri for killing two people, and he had confessed to killing an Ohio woman.

SPREE! Prosecutors in Gilbert's Oklahoma trial said he and Eric Elliot started the spree in Ohio, where they approached Loader's home.

Gilbert and Elliot kicked in the back door and tied up a 79-year old woman. They stole $40 and her car, then put her in the trunk. They took her to the woods, where they shot her in the head three times. Her remains haven't been found and Gilbert was never tried in the case.

Gilbert and Elliot then drove the woman's car to Missouri, where they approached a couple's home. They knocked on the door and asked to use the telephone.

They held the couple at gunpoint, marched them into the cellar and shot each of them in the head three times.

The 37-year old Oklahoma woman had gone fishing after her shift as a security guard at Lake Stanley Draper when Gilbert and Elliot approached her, intending to steal her pickup.

They took her to a nearby wooded area and forced her to sit under a tree as they rummaged through her purse, took her keys and stole $2 or $3.

She told the pair she wouldn't call police if they didn't hurt her, but Gilbert reportedly thought she was lying and grew angry.

Elliot tied the woman's hands and Gilbert shot her three times in the head and once in the back of the neck.

Gilbert and Elliot were arrested in New Mexico, where they confessed to all four murders.

Elliot is serving a sentence of life in prison without parole.

Witnesses: Fourteen friends and family members came to watch Gilbert put to death.

The security guard's husband said before the execution that he is still too upset to visit her grave. The death penalty was the only appropriate punishment for Gilbert, he said.

After it was over, he said he finally had closure. "It brought some relief to both our families. Right now he's up there having to testify to what he did to God. We know where our loved ones are - they're with God."

Final words and such: Gilbert's final statement was mostly inaudible. He thanked God several times but didn't address the victims' families.

"This is weird, but I'm actually looking forward to seeing God. I'm coming home," Gilbert said. "Thank you, God."

Factoids: Gilbert's execution was delayed about an hour while an Oklahoma appeals court and the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request for a stay.

Gilbert was the 10th person executed in Oklahoma this year and the 64th since the state resumed executions in 1990.

Lewis and Gilbert were the names of the two lead characters in "Revenge of the Nerds".

This summary was compiled from various news accounts.

IN THE MEANWHILE...

You still have time to pick up the month's DETAILS magazine, with that nice young boy, Josh Hartnett on the cover. After you pick it up, flip over to page 35 and check out...

KNOW & TELL...Numbers, nomenclature, and news for the conspicuously clued-in....

At the bottom, right-hand corner is their know & tell website for this month....

www.deadmaneating.com


Consider yourself, conspicuously clue-in....

BACK FROM HELL'S KITCHEN....

Look for posting to return to pre-NYC level. It might not happen right away, but it will get there...

There are two reservations for July 1. Gilbert in Oklahoma and Swisher in Virginia....