SOUTH CAROLINA LAST MEAL
CALVIN SHULER
June 22, 2007

...Shuler dumped the armored car on a back road without any money to show for his actions -- all of it was either ripped to shreds by gunfire or soaked in blood....

Last Meal: Shuler, 40, had a final meal request of t-bone steak, well done with A-1 Steak sauce, baked potato, french fries, grape drink and chocolate cake.

The skinny: Shuler was executed by lethal injection for the killing of an armored car guard 10 years ago.

More skinny: Shuler had been an employee of Anderson Armored Car Service and had briefly worked with his victims. Shuler quietly and patiently waited under a house for the armored car to make its routine stop at a bank in Harleyville. When it did, he made his way from under the house, pointed a gun at the driver and shouted for the driver to get out of the truck.

Shuler exchanged gunfire with two of the guards before driving off in the van with the victim, who was locked in the back of the van.

The victim apparently did his best to defend himself from inside the truck with only a five-shot revolver versus the SKS assault rifle Shuler was toting. Investigators on the scene said the man fired every shot in his gun prior to his death.

Following the robbery and gun battle, Shuler dumped the armored car on a back road without any money to show for his actions -- all of it was either ripped to shreds by gunfire or soaked in blood. The victim's body was found in the armored car.

Shuler was wounded in the neck before he got into another vehicle and fled.

Shuler confessed to the robbery and murder when questioned by police officers and FBI agents. Following his confession, Shuler's home was searched and physical evidence was found in abundance, including items containing traces of Shuler's DNA, which matched DNA found in blood inside the armored car.

Last words and such: Just after 6 p.m., prison officials pulled back a burgundy curtain, revealing the glass-encased death chamber to the 10 witnesses. Shuler, clad in a bright green jumpsuit, had already been strapped to a gurney,

Shuler made no final statement. On the gurney, he kept his eyes locked on a man Corrections Department officials said was his spiritual adviser. "Amen, amen, my brother," the adviser said to Shuler, then hummed softly as the execution was carried out.

Factoids: Shuler was the...

26th murderer executed in U.S. in 2007
1083rd murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
1st murderer executed in South Carolina in 2007
37th murderer executed in South Carolina since 1976