OKLAHOMA LAST MEAL
JAMES MALICOAT
August 31, 2006

...baby killer....

Last Meal: Malicot had a final meal request of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn on the cob, biscuits, Dr Pepper and an apple pie.

The skinny: Malicoat, 31, was executed for the beating death of his 13-month old daughter.

More skinny: Malicoat was alone at home with his 13-month old daughter while her mother was at work. He had lived with the girl and her mother for 19 days, worked nights and cared for the child during the day. During that time she suffered abdominal bleeding, broken ribs, bite marks and extensive bruising.

According to the medical examiner’s report, the baby died from two subdural hematomas and abdominal bleeding caused by injuries Malicoat inflicted. Malicoat admitted hitting her head on a dresser a few days before she died and punching her twice in the stomach the day she died, causing her to stop breathing.

Malicoat used CPR to revive her before lying down beside her to take a nap. When he awoke, Malicoat noticed she was dead. He put her in her crib and covered her with a blanket before going back to sleep. When Leadford’s mother returned from work, the couple rushed the child to the emergency room, but staff there determined she had been dead for several hours. Mary Leadford was convicted of first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in jail for not protecting her child from the abuse of which she was keenly aware. A Grady County jury took only half an hour to decide the father’s fate.

Last words and such: When the curtains to the execution chamber were lifted, Malicoat -- strapped to a gurney and wearing glasses -- turned his head to the witness room, smiled and gave a small wave. Shortly before his execution, Malicoat apologized for the murder. "I just want everybody to know how sorry I am this thing had to happen; any of it," he said. "I am sorry I caused the death of another human being. There is nothing I can do to change it. Contrary to what some people believe I spent many years going over it in my head. It's never left me. I hope someday people involved in it will move on." He thanked his witnesses for supporting him, then said, "That's just about it."

"He died within a few seconds of injection," said Grady County District Attorney Bret Burns, who helped prosecute Malicoat and attended the execution. "You can't say that for his victim. (She) took 19 days to die." Burns said he respected Malicoat for offering remorse, but that Malicoat needed to be executed for his crime.

No members of the baby's family attended the execution, nor did Malicoat's adoptive mother.

Factoids: Malicoat was the....

40th murderer executed in U.S. in 2006
1044th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
4th murderer executed in Oklahoma in 2006
83rd murderer executed in Oklahoma since 1976


Outside the prison gates, a prayer vigil was held for the girl's family and Malicoat. Bryan Brooks, the pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Muskogee, said 10 similar vigils were being held at places across the state, including the Governor's Mansion in Oklahoma City. "For us as Catholics, it's part of our way of showing we believe in the dignity of all human life," Brooks said. "We believe that all human life is sacred and that each and every person has dignity from the moment of conception until a natural death, both victims of violence and people executed because of those murders."