OKLAHOMA LAST MEAL
KENNETH TURRENTINE
August 11. 2005

...declared that he had shot his "ol lady"...

Last Meal: 10 slices of cheesecake, 10 pieces of fried chicken and fried catfish.

The skinny: Turrentine was put to death for killing his ex-girlfriend in a jealous rage that prosecutors said claimed three other lives, including the women's children.

More skinny: Turrentine was having problems with his live-in girlfriend and moved out of the house. He later suspected she was having affairs with other men and came to believe that his sister knew about the affairs and that the two women were cheating him out of money in order to support their drug habits. Turrentine got a .22 caliber handgun from his ex-wife and confronted his sister about the supposed affairs. The sister apparently laughed in Turrentine's face and Turrentine shot her in the head. Turrentine then drove to the girlfriend's house, and during an argument he shot her and her two children in the head. After this carnage, Turrentine talked to a 911 operator and declared that he had shot his "ol lady," his kids, and his sister. He waited for police to arrive and again admitted to the shootings.

Turrentine originally was convicted and sentenced to death as well for the killings of the 13-year-old son and 22-year-old daughter. But a federal appeals court last year threw out the convictions in the case because of a judge's error during the trial.

Leading up to: A week ago, Turrentine told the Pardon and Parole Board about the alcohol and the antidepressants he'd taken at the time. But in the end, he couldn't answer the board members' questions about motive. "I've been struggling with that for years," he said, just before the board declined to spare him.

Last words and such: Before being given a lethal injection, Turrentine, 52, proclaimed his innocence, despite an earlier confession. "I've always maintained I've been innocent of crimes charged. This is a violation of my 14th Amendment rights. It's not over. With that being said, Mom, Dad, I love you all. Be strong. The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ensures due process of the law and equal treatment of all citizens and was adopted to protect former slaves after the Civil War.

When it was over, his mother cried, "Let me get out of here," but paused just before she left the death chamber. She placed her hand on the window that separated her from the room where her son's body lay and tearfully patted it.

Factoids: Turrentine was the....

35th murderer executed in U.S. in 2005
979th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
4th murderer executed in Oklahoma in 2005
79th murderer executed in Oklahoma since 1976