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08/12/2026

OSCAR FRANKLIN SMITH EXECUTED — CRIME, FINAL HOURS, LAST MEAL & LAST WORDS — Oscar Franklin Smith spent nearly 35 years on Tennessee’s d*ath row after being convicted of the 1989 murders of his estranged wife, Judith Smith, and her teenage sons, 16-year-old Chad and 13-year-old Jason Burnett. His ex*****on was stopped at the last minute in 2022 after officials failed to follow lethal-injection protocols, but his later appeals and requests to reopen the case were unsuccessful. Before his ex*****on on May 22, 2025, Smith chose hot dogs, tater tots, and apple pie with vanilla ice cream as his final meal. Maintaining his innocence until the end, he declared that the justice system “doesn’t work” and was heard saying, “I didn’t kill her,” before being pronounced dead at 10:47 a.m.

08/12/2026

MATTHEW JOHNSON EXECUTED — CRIME, FINAL HOURS, LAST MEAL & LAST WORDS — Matthew Lee Johnson spent nearly 12 years on Texas’s d*ath row after being convicted of setting 76-year-old convenience-store clerk Nancy Harris on fire during a 2012 robbery. Harris survived long enough to identify Johnson but died from her injuries five days later. After his clemency request was rejected, Johnson was executed by lethal injection on May 20, 2025—exactly 13 years after the attack. Texas does not permit personalized final-meal requests, so he received standard prison food rather than a specially chosen meal. Addressing Harris’s family, Johnson asked for forgiveness, said he never intended to hurt her and hoped she would be the first person he saw in eternity before he was pronounced dead at 6:53 p.m.

08/11/2026

MOISES MENDOZA EXECUTED — CRIME, FINAL HOURS, LAST MEAL & LAST WORDS — Moises Sandoval Mendoza spent nearly 20 years on Texas’s dath row after being convicted of abducting and klling 20-year-old Rachelle O’Neil Tolleson in 2004, leaving her six-month-old daughter alone inside the family home. His clemency request and final appeals were rejected before he was executed by lethal injection on April 23, 2025. Because Texas abolished special last-meal requests in 2011, Mendoza received regular prison food rather than a personalized final meal. Addressing Tolleson’s relatives, he apologized and said, “I am sorry for having robbed you of Rachelle’s life,” before telling his own family that he was at peace. Mendoza was pronounced dead at 6:40 p.m.

08/11/2026

GLEN ROGERS EXECUTED — CRIME, FINAL HOURS, LAST MEAL & LAST WORDS — Glen “The Casanova Killer” Rogers spent nearly three decades on Florida’s dath row after being convicted of the 1995 stabbing death of 34-year-old Tina Marie Cribbs, whose body was discovered inside a Tampa motel room. Rogers also received a separate dath sentence in California for the 1995 murder of Sandra Gallagher and was suspected—but never convicted—in several other killings. Before his ex*****on by lethal injection on May 15, 2025, he requested pizza, chocolate cake and soda as his final meal. Rogers cryptically told the victims’ families that their unanswered questions would soon be answered before declaring, “President Trump, keep making America great. I’m ready to go.” He was pronounced dead at Florida State Prison at 6:16 p.m.

08/11/2026

BENJAMIN RITCHIE EX*****ON — CRIME, FINAL HOURS, LAST MEAL & LAST WORDS — Benjamin Ritchie spent more than 22 years on Indiana’s d*ath row after being convicted of fatally shooting Beech Grove Police Officer William “Bill” Toney during a foot pursuit in September 2000. His attorneys sought clemency by citing brain damage, fetal alcohol exposure, bipolar disorder and a traumatic childhood, but his final appeals were rejected. Before his ex*****on by lethal injection on May 20, 2025, Ritchie chose Olive Garden’s “Tour of Italy,” featuring chicken parmigiana, lasagna and fettuccine Alfredo, as his final meal. His last words were: “I love my family, my friends, and all the support I’ve gotten. I hope they all find peace.” Ritchie was pronounced dead at 12:46 a.m., ending one of Indiana’s longest-running capital punishment cases.

08/11/2026

FORMER POLICE OFFICER EXECUTED AFTER NEARLY FOUR DECADES — JAMES AREN DUCKETT’S CRIME, FINAL HOURS & LAST WORDS — James Aren Duckett spent approximately 38 years on Florida’s d*ath row after being convicted of sexually assaulting and drowning 11-year-old Teresa Mae McAbee while serving as a Mascotte police officer in 1987. Duckett maintained his innocence, and his first 2026 ex*****on date was halted for DNA testing, but the results proved inconclusive and his final appeals were rejected. Before his lethal injection on July 28, 2026, he requested eggs, grits, bacon, biscuits and chocolate milk as his final meal. When asked whether he had any last words, Duckett replied, “No sir,” and was pronounced dead at 1:19 p.m.

08/11/2026

BENJAMIN COLE: THE DEATH ROW INMATE WHO KLLED HIS 9-MONTH-OLD DAUGHTER — CRIME, FINAL HOURS & LAST WORDS — Benjamin Cole spent nearly 18 years on Oklahoma’s dath row after being sentenced in 2004 for the 2002 k*lling of his infant daughter, Brianna Cole. His ex*****on drew intense legal scrutiny after his attorneys argued that paranoid schizophrenia, brain damage and a growing brain lesion had left him mentally incompetent, but his appeals and clemency request were rejected. Cole declined to request a special final meal and was served vegetarian lasagna, salad, a tortilla and a fruit drink before being executed by lethal injection on October 20, 2022. During his final moments, he delivered a rambling two-minute prayer and told witnesses, “Choose Jesus while you still can,” before being pronounced dead at 10:22 a.m.

08/10/2026

HE SHOT HER THROUGH BOTH EYES—NOW HE’S SCHEDULED TO DIE — CARLOS CUESTA-RODRIGUEZ’S CRIME, FINAL HOURS & LAST WORDS — Carlos Cuesta-Rodriguez has spent nearly two decades on Oklahoma’s dath row after being sentenced in 2007 for the 2003 klling of his girlfriend, Olimpia Fisher. Prosecutors said he shot Fisher through her right eye, waited approximately eight minutes, and then fired a fatal second shot through her left eye while her pregnant 18-year-old daughter was nearby. The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board rejected clemency by a 3–1 vote after Cuesta-Rodriguez said he did not want mercy and declared, “It’s time for me to pay for what I did.” He is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on August 13, 2026; because the ex*****on has not yet occurred, no official final meal or ex*****on-chamber last words have been documented.

08/10/2026

In Alabama's shadowed halls of justice, a saga of heartbreak and forgiveness unfolded—where even the victim's daughters begged for mercy, yet the gavel struck coldly. Can forgiveness rewrite the fate sealed by time? 💔 NATHAN JAMES JR. EX*****ON: THE ALABAMA CASE THAT SHOCKED AMERICA — FAITH HALL MURDER, FINAL HOURS & LAST WORDS — Joe Nathan James Jr. spent more than two decades on Alabama’s dath row after being convicted of the 1994 klling of his former girlfriend, 26-year-old Faith Hall. Despite Hall’s daughters publicly forgiving him and asking that his sentence be changed to life without parole, Alabama carried out his ex*****on by lethal injection on July 28, 2022. The procedure drew intense scrutiny after officials struggled for hours to establish an IV line, and James was not pronounced dead until 9:27 p.m., more than three hours after the scheduled time. James made no special final-meal request, refused dinner, and declined to give any last words before his death.

08/10/2026

MISSOURI EXECUTES LEONARD TAYLOR FOR K*LLING HIS G/F AND HER THREE KIDS — HIS FINAL MEAL & LAST WORDS — Leonard Taylor spent decades on Missouri dath row following his conviction for murdering his girlfriend and her three children. His ex*****on by lethal injection marked the conclusion of one of the state’s most closely followed capital punishment cases. The case involved extensive appeals, legal scrutiny, and public attention due to the severity and tragic nature of the crimes. His last meal and final words were documented, prompting ongoing discussions about justice, accountability, and the administration of dath sentences in Missouri.

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