OKLAHOMA LAST MEAL
ROBERT BRYAN
June 8, 2004

..."I'll be leaving here shortly..."...

Last Meal: 10 pieces of fried chicken, barbecue beans, cole slaw, potatoes and gravy, two biscuits and two liters of Dr Pepper.

The skinny: Bryan, 69, was executed for killing his aunt in 1993. Shortly before the murder, Bryan wrote agreements and promissory notes and filled out checks to withdraw money from his aunt's checking account. She signed some of the checks, and he forged her signature at least once on a promissory note for $1,800.

Legal Machinations: Bryan had hinged his last hopes to avoid execution on a claim that he did not understand why he was to be executed. However, U.S. District Judge David L. Russell found that Bryan did understand and was therefore eligible for execution - the same finding reached by the federal appeals court and the Supreme Court later in the day.

Last words and such: "I have been on death row for some time. I've made peace with my maker. I'll be leaving here shortly. I hope I'll see you on the other side. Until then, so long."

Factoids: Bryan was the...

29th murderer executed in U.S. in 2004
914th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
5th murderer executed in Oklahoma in 2004
74th murderer executed in Oklahoma since 1976