OHIO LAST MEAL
JOHN GLENN ROE
February 3, 2004

The wrong stuff...

Last "Special" Meal: In Ohio, it is called a "special" meal. Roe's special meal...a medium-well T-bone steak with A-1 steak sauce, onion rings, macaroni and cheese, butter-pecan ice cream and root beer. He later had ham and roast beef sandwiches, strawberry ice cream and root beer. later Monday but refused breakfast Tuesday morning.

The skinny: Glenn was executed for shooting a young mother 20 years ago.

Roe claimed he was innocent of the murder. He said he was robbing a video game store on the other side of town at the time of woman's abduction.

Roe’s .357 Ruger was the murder weapon. Roe wouldn’t comment about how his gun was involved.

The capture: Roe was arrested for breaking and entering at a Radio Shack one month after the slaying. He was on parole and afraid of going back to prison, so he told police where the woman's body could be found, he said. He said he figured he could reach a deal that would keep him out of prison. He said he found the body while looking for cement blocks to put around a fireplace. He said he had kept quiet because he knew he'd draw police attention to his record.

The day: Roe became "cranky" with guards assigned to execute him Tuesday morning and was emotional with family members.

Last words and stuff: Asked if he had any final words, Roe maintained his innocence. He again accused prosecutors of lying and blamed a jailhouse snitch whose testimony helped to convict him. "God is my witness, and you're killing an innocent man today."

“That son of a bitch never quits does he,” said the victim’s father and a witness to the execution

Delay: Guards needed about 20 minutes to insert shunts to carry a deadly mixture of muscle relaxant and a heart-stopping drug into Roe's veins. Despite the delay in inserting the shunts, which is viewed by witnesses, Roe remained calm throughout the execution. Inside the death chamber, Roe glared at the family of his victim.

Roe did not resist during the execution process, partly because he took a sedative. His 5-foot, 6-inch and 235-pound body lay nearly motionless on the preparation table. When he came into the execution room he used a step stool to climb onto the execution table.

Factoids: Roe was the...

9th murderer executed in U.S. in 2004
894th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
2nd murderer executed in Ohio in 2004
10th murderer executed in Ohio since 1976