Column Chronicles: Last words of the lethally injected

Last words of the lethally injected

Frank Cotolo
April 13, 2017

In states of America where capital punishment is legal, the preferred method of death is an injection of a lethal substance. This became the precedent in the 1970s when it was discovered that certain chemicals killed death-penalty prisoners more quickly than a large bag of Famous Amos cookies.

Journalist-author Albert Swing made it his business to record the last words of every person being executed since the injection method began and will soon be publishing a book that reveals their last words.

"Some are sad and some are belligerent," Swing said, "and some are downright funny."

Swing's book will include some information about the people being executed. He said, "Unlike all other kinds of executions, death by lethal injection, with drugs like pentobarbital and midazolam hypochloride, give the victim a few cogent moments before going into a deadly coma. That's when people on death row say the craziest things."

One example from Swing's book is the execution of Robert Bentleaf, who was convicted for killing six circus clowns while they performed at the Ripmore Solitude Traveling Circus in Boise, Idaho. Bentleaf was injected and said, "Holy living crap, I hope this concoction of drugs does not affect my bowling score."

Others include quotes from low-profile killers like Rusty Pipe, who strangled his wife after she served him an improper side dish. Rusty's post-injection comment was, "If this joint serves grits with eggs for breakfast tomorrow, I will kill again."

Still other random comments include the following:

"Where's my bicycle?"

"I'm never changing my underwear again."

"Ethel, where the (BLEEP) is Ethel?"

"I only wish I had learned more about the Pony Express."

"This is not justice, this is not the America where I grew up... that place was a place where people were free and able and able to be free... I was young once and had a puppy... vegetables are good for you and my mother made me eat them with every meal... bite me!"

Swing hopes that readers enjoy the last words of the lethally injected so that he may publish volume two. He said, "I will have to wait, though, until at least another hundred people are executed because the book has be a certain length."

Frank Cotolo can be found hosting the talk and interview programme Cotolo Chronicles. You can send him an e-mail at this address: frank@148.ca.