ARKANSAS LAST MEAL
RILEY DOBI NOEL
July 9, 2003

Avenging Skeeter...

Last Meal: fried chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, hot rolls, a green garden salad with ranch dressing, Kool-Aid and cookies.

The Skinny: Noel was executed for killing three children in the mistaken belief that their sister set up his brother, Cornelius “Skeeter” Ganaway, for a gang hit .

Noel and three others, Terry Carroll, Curtis Lee Cochran, and Tracy Trinette Calloway were riding around Little Rock "getting high." They went to the home of a woman, whose daughter Noel suspected of being involved in the drive-by killing of his brother.

Calloway got out of the car and followed Noel and Carroll into the house. Noel told the three children: ages 17, 12 and 10, in the residence to get down on the floor. Calloway testified she watched as Noel shot each of the children in the head and killed them. A co-defendant tried to shoot the intended victim's mother with a shotgun but it jammed, and she was able to wrestle it away. Noel testified at the trial against his lawyers' advice and denied killing the children.

One of Noel's accomplices received a 20 year prison sentence after he testified on behalf of the state. Another was sentenced to life in prison without parole and the third got 132 years in prison for the three killings.

Legal Machinations: In his appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, Noel's attorney argued that medical tests that were not available when he was convicted in 1996 would reveal a brain abnormality that might have been viewed as a mitigating circumstance by the jurors who recommended the death penalty.

Final words and such: Before he was executed, Noel gave a final statement. "I want my family to know I love them," Noel said. "I want my kids to know I love Jesus."

Factoids: Noel became the 25th individual executed in Arkansas since the state reinstated the death penalty in 1990.

This summary was compiled from various news accounts.

TEXAS LAST MEAL
CHRISTOPHER BLACK, SR.
July 9, 2003

....""I ran out of bullets."....

Last Meal: Steak (medium well), fried chicken (wings and thighs), french fries with mushroom gravy, mixed steamed vegetables, chocolate fudge cake, peach cobbler, sweet tea, bread, chef salad with Italian dressing.

The skinny: Black was executed for killing his 17-month-old step-granddaughter. He also killed his wife and his 5-month-old daughter. Black was convicted of killing the child at the Killeen home of his estranged wife, the toddler's grandmother. She was found slumped in a high chair. She had been shot five times in the chest. Her grandmother was shot 10 times. Black's daughter was shot once. "I ran out of bullets," Black told a 911 operator he called after the attack. Black was charged, but never tried, in the slayings of his wife and daughter.

Black bought a 9 mm semiautomatic pistol the day before the shooting. He mailed cassette tapes to relatives explaining plans to kill his 36-year-old wife and anyone else in the house. The tapes were timed to arrive after the shooting. The couple had married just over three years earlier but relatives said the wife was seeking a divorce.

Final words and such: Asked by the warden if he wanted to make a final statement, Black Sr., said no.

Factoids: Black is the 18th Texas inmate to receive lethal injection this year and the second in as many weeks. Two more are set to die later this month.

Black has no previous criminal record.

This summary was compiled from various news accounts.

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.