On this day, July 28, in 2005, Texas death row inmate David Martinez uttered his last words: “Only the sky and the green grass goes on forever, and today is a good day to die.” The final statements offer a glimpse of the condemned before execution. Here are some last words: “I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul,” Timothy McVeigh, executed in 2001 in Indiana. “Kiss my ass,” John Wayne Gacy, 1994, in Illinois. “Redskins are going to the Super Bowl,” Bobby Ramdass, 2001, in Virginia. “I’d rather be fishing,” Jimmy Glass, 1987, in Louisiana. “Good people are always so sure they’re right,” Barbara Graham, 1955, in California. “Capital punishment: Them without the capital get the punishment,” John Spenkelink, 1976, in Florida. “Well, gentlemen, you are about to see a baked Appel,” George Appel, 1928, in New York.
– Scott McCabe
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