FLORIDA LAST MEAL
JOHN BLACKWELDER
MAY 26, 2004

...wishes can come true...

Last meal: Blackwelder had a pizza with cheese, onions, green peppers, ground beef and mushrooms; a salad with lettuce, tomatoes, green peppers, cheese and ranch dressing with a coke.

Mr. Blackwelder then received a 24-hour stay from the governor.

The stay was lifted and he was not granted a second last meal.

He dined on regular prison fare of sloppy joes, french fries and corn.

The skinny: Raymond D. Wigley and Blackwelder were both inmates at the Columbia Correctional Institution in Florida. Wigley was serving a life sentence for First Degree Murder. Blackwelder was serving a life sentence following a 1998 conviction for Child Molesting of a 10 year old. He had been convicted in 1975 and served time for Sexual Battery.

Wigley went to Blackwelder's cell and asked for sex. Prior to the proposition, Blackwelder had hidden several pieces of cord around his bunk so he could restrain Wigley when the opportunity arose. Blackwelder consented to the proposition for sex and tied up Wigley after he had disrobed. Wigley allowed Blackwelder to bind his hands and feet to the bed and to tie a towel around his mouth. Blackwelder positioned himself on top of Wigley's back and strangled him with a piece of the cord that he had hidden near his bunk.

Blackwelder was also convicted in 1991 on federal charges of threatening then Vice President Dan Quayle. He had called the Secret Service, Miami television stations and the TV series "America's Most Wanted," saying he would "eliminate" Quayle and "put him on slab" unless he received $10 million.

Blackwelder said in a media interview he manipulated the state, killing Wigley to ensure he would get the death penalty because he couldn't stand the idea of spending his life in prison without parole, but couldn't commit suicide.

Last words and such: "I'm glad I get to go home," he said in his last statement, after being strapped to his death gurney. "I'm proud to be a Christian, and I thank Jesus for saving me and allowing me to go home. Amen."

Florida Factoids: The first 44 executions in Florida were carried out in the state's electric chair.

Six of the last 10 executions in Florida were inmates who dropped their appeals to speed up their deaths.

The executioner received $150 for his services.

Blackwelder was the....

26th murderer executed in U.S. in 2004
911th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
2nd murderer executed in Florida in 2004
59th murderer executed in Florida since 1976