VARNER, Ark., Aug. 8 -- An Arkansas convict who converted to Buddhism while on death row was executed by lethal injection Thursday night for shooting to death his in-laws during a 1984 crime spree. Si-Fu William Frank 'Frankie' Parker, 41, was sentenced to die for the murders of James and Sandra Warren in their Rogers, Ark., home. His latest appeal was denied Tuesday by the U.S. Supreme Court. Parker, who was allowed to wear a Buddhist garment under his white prison coveralls, was pronounced dead at 9:04 p.m. CDT, three minutes after he received the injection. Before he died, Parker, who entered the execution chamber chanting in a language the witnesses did not understand, said, 'I seek refuge in the Buddha. I seek refuge in the Dharma. I seek refuge in the Sangha.' His spiritual advisor explained 'the Sangha is the community of those who walk on the path of the awakened state of mind.' Earlier, Parker was moved to a 'quiet' room near the death chamber at the Cummins Prison Unit in southeast Arkansas this week, prison spokeswoman Dina Tyler said. Family visitation ended Wednesday, she said. 'He will be permitted to see his spiritual adviser and his lawyer before his execution,' she said. Parker became a Buddhist in 1988 after reading about the religion during a stint in solitary confinement. The governor's office has received more than 300 letters asking for clemency, many of them from Buddhists. Gov. Jim Guy Tucker had rescheduled Parker's execution date for September, but after his resignation in July following his Whitewater conviction, incoming Gov. Mike Huckabee lifted the extension.
Parker shot the Warrens at their home and attempted to kill their daughter, Cindy. He then kidnapped his estranged wife, Pam, at her home and took her to the Rogers Police Department where he held her hostage. Parker shot his wife and a police officer during the standoff, but eventually surrendered. His wife and the officer survived. Parker's execution would be the 10th in Arkansas since the state restored the death penalty in 1990.
