May 12
OKLAHOMA----execution
Miller executed for killing Oklahoma City motel clerk
A man convicted of beating and stabbing an Oklahoma City motel clerk and
pouring acid down his throat was put to death on Thursday.
George James Miller Jr., 37, received a lethal injection of drugs and was
pronounced dead at 6:24 p.m. at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary.
Miller was convicted of killing Kent Dodd, 25, a night auditor for the
Central Plaza Hotel in Oklahoma City, during a Sept. 17, 1994 robbery.
Dodd was stabbed repeatedly, beaten with hedge shears and a paint can, and
had muriatic acid poured on his face and down his throat, authorities
said.
Strapped to a gurney inside the death chamber, Miller nodded to his mother
and other family members who witnessed the execution.
"I love you," were his final words.
Miller's breath hitched once, and he exhaled deeply as the lethal
combination of drugs entered his system. Miller's breathing slowed and
then, after several minutes, stopped.
"He's resting now," his mother said softly, her eyes full of tears.
Miller's attorney, Robert Jackson, also attended the execution, but
neither he nor Miller's family addressed the media.
Miller and Jackson both had maintained his innocence.
Miller becomes the 2nd condemned inmate to be put to death this year in
Oklahoma, and the 77th overall since the state resumed capital punishment
in 1990. Only Texas (342) and Virginia (94) have executed more condemned
prisoners since the death penalty was re-legalized in the USA on July 2,
1976.
Miller becomes the 21st condemned inmate to be put to death this year in
the USA and the 965th overall since America resumed executions on January
17, 1977.
(sources: Associated Press & Rick Halperin)
