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.”
Whether it’s a defiant speech or a heartfelt apology, the final statements offer an inside look at the last moments of death row inmates. Here are some of their 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.
“Let’s do it!” Gary Gilmore, who fought to be put to death, 1977 in Utah.
“Well, gentlemen, you are about to see a baked Appel,” George Appel, 1928 in New York.
