Thomas Loden Jr.'s Final Words Before Mississippi Execution
A man who raped and killed a 16-year-old girl in Mississippi more than two decades ago was put to death by lethal injection on Wednesday.
Thomas Edwin Loden Jr. was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman, officials said. He was the second inmate executed in Mississippi in 10 years.
Loden, 58, had been on death row since 2001, after he pleaded guilty to capital murder, rape and four counts of sexual battery against Leesa Marie Gray.
His execution went ahead after a federal judge declined to block it amid a pending lawsuit by him and four other Mississippi death row inmates over the state's use of three drugs for lethal injections.
Loden wore a red prison jumpsuit and was covered by a white sheet during the execution, while brown leather straps held him down on a gurney, The Associated Press reported.
He said he was "deeply remorseful."
"For the past 20 years, I've tried to do a good deed every single day to make up for the life I took from this world," Loden said.
"I know these are mere words and cannot erase the damage I did. If today brings you nothing else, I hope you get peace and closure."
His final words concluded with him saying "I love you" in Japanese, the AP reported.
Gray had been stranded with a flat tire on June 22, 2000 when Loden, a Marine Corps recruiter, forced her into his van.
Court records say that Loden began talking with Gray after discovering her car on the side of the road at around 10:45 p.m.
"Don't worry. I'm a Marine. We do this kind of stuff," he said.
He told investigators that he became angry after Gray allegedly said she would never consider becoming a Marine and he forced her into his van. He admitted to raping and sexually assaulting her for almost four hours before strangling and suffocating her.
The following afternoon, court records say Loden was found lying by the side of a road with the words "I'm sorry" carved into his chest and apparent self-inflicted lacerations on his wrists.
Gray's mother, Wanda Farris, attended Loden's execution.
She told the AP in an interview last week that her daughter was a "pretty happy-go-lucky" girl who wanted to become an elementary school teacher.
"That's what I most remember her by, is her smile. She loved life and she was a good Christian girl," Farris said.
She said that she forgave Loden years ago, but did not believe his apology. "I don't particularly want to see somebody die. But I do believe in the death penalty. ... I do believe in justice," Farris said.
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