OKLAHOMA LAST MEAL
WINDEL RAY WORKMAN
August 26, 2004

...it's the kid killers that really stay with us....

Last Meal: Workman's last meal was a barbecue meat plate and unsweetened iced tea.

The skinny: Windel Ray Workman, 46, was executed nearly two decades after he beat a 2-year-old to death.

Workman long maintained his innocence and claimed the bruises were caused by the girl's falls from her bed and in the bathtub. Later, he claimed that her mom or grandmother were at fault.

Testimony, including Workman's, indicated he had sole custody of the girl during the time her injuries occurred. Court records show he had a history of abusing the child.

Workman had said the girl's head trauma, body bruising and internal bleeding were caused by accidental falls, rough playing and a hard spanking.

More skinny: The two year old was the daughter of Workman's live-in girlfriend. She was brought to a emergency room on January 10, 1987 and pronounced dead upon arrival. Hospital personnel observed numerous bruises on the face, chest, back and buttocks, and suspected child abuse.

Workman told police that the girl had fallen backwards out of bed the night before. He also admitted to spanking the child hard, leaving bruises on her body. He played "pitch" with her, in which he threw the girl up in the air and caught her.

Expert testimony, however, unanimously concluded that her injuries could not have resulted from these activities alone and she was not a child who bruised easily. The cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head.

Final words and such: Workman's final words included thanks to his attorneys.

"Steve (Presson), Robert (Jackson) -- thanks for everything you've done," he said. "I appreciate it. Keep up the good fight. You understand what I'm saying? OK. Lets go."

As he was injected with a lethal mix of drugs, Workman's eyes twitched and closed. He exhaled heavily through his mouth and snorted. Workman's torso heaved 19 times before he died.

Workman's last words were not the ones the victim's mother, wanted to hear. She was disappointed her former boyfriend did not show remorse or apologize.

"This isn't about Windel by any means," she said. "It's about my daughter." "It's just been a long time coming, and I really thought it would never come," she said.

Factoids: Workman in 1987 became the first person in Oklahoma County sentenced to die for child abuse.

More than 80 inmates are on Oklahoma's death row.

Before he was executed, other death row inmates banged their doors in rhythmic booms to show solidarity with Workman in a gesture they sometimes use before death sentences are carried out.

Workman was the....

41st murderer executed in U.S. in 2004
926th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
6th murderer executed in Oklahoma in 2004
75th murderer executed in Oklahoma since 1976