POTOSI, Missouri, Dec. 6 -- Missouri inmate Robert Earl O'Neal III who fasted all day and then praised Jesus with his dying breath was executed Wednesday by lethal injection. O'Neal was pronounced dead at 1:17 a.m. EST.
He was convicted of the 1985 slaying of a fellow inmate at the Missouri State Penitentiary. 'Praise the Lord in the name of Jesus. I forgive everybody involved in this. Jesus is my Lord,' were the last words uttered by the condemned man, according to prison spokesman Tim Kniest. The Supreme Court late Tuesday turned down O'Neal's request for a stay of execution. O'Neal contended information about a key witness against him was kept from the jury. In his application, O'Neal said he was denied a fair trial because a corrections officer who testified against him had prior convictions for assault with intent to maim and rob, assault with intent to commit robbery and felonious stealing. O'Neal stabbed to death fellow inmate Arthur Dade while both were in the Special Management Unit of the prison. O'Neal maintained he killed Dade in self-defense and told the Supreme Court his version was supported by another inmate who witnessed the slaying. The first drug was administered to O'Neal at 1:15 a.m. EST, the second drug at 1:16 a.m. and the last at 1:17 a.m. He was pronounced dead at 1:17 a.m. EST. O'Neal fasted the whole day Tuesday, said Kniest. Six people protested quietly outside of the prison as the execution took place, Kniest said.
