Posted on 10/19/2006 7:14:42 AM PDT by 2dogjoe
Texas inmate kills himself hours before execution By MICHAEL GRACZYK Associated Press
LIVINGSTON ? Condemned prisoner Michael Dewayne Johnson committed suicide early today in his death-row cell, less than 18 hours before he was scheduled to be executed, a prison official said.
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Johnson slashed his throat with a makeshift blade fashioned from a small piece of metal attached to a wooden stick, said Michelle Lyons, spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in Huntsville.
Prison guards had been checking on Johnson's welfare every 15 minutes, as is customary, when they found him unresponsive in a pool of blood in his cell, Lyons said. He was transported to a hospital in nearby Livingston, where he was pronounced dead, Lyons said.
Johnson, 29, who was scheduled to die shortly after 6 p.m. Thursday, was convicted in the 1995 killing of a Waco-area convenience store clerk. He was 18 at the time of the crime.
Suicides on death row are not unprecedented, but Johnson was the closest to his scheduled execution. His last-minute appeal was still pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.
the mind boggles at the idea of transporting the guy to the hospital so they can save his life so he can be brought back to prison to be executed. Who knows, they may have taken the scenic route to the hospital LOL.
Ping
What's the point of commiting suicide if your going to be executed? I don't get it........
Which cost more: The ride to the hospital or the drugs to do him in? My guess is the ride...
It's possible he wasn't intending to kill himself. Only inflict enough of an injury where he couldn't be executed for a while. But as fate would have it, he screwed up and saved the state of Texas some money.
The ride for sure.
---Johnson slashed his throat with a makeshift blade fashioned from a small piece of metal attached to a wooden stick, said Michelle Lyons---
Generally known as a knife.
The only thing I can think of is being the one to have the control over one's own death.
cheating the executioner of his fee, perhaps.
Makes sense.
Hey, who saw that Bears comeback against the Cardinals?
a final act of defiance? a final act of contrition? a final act none the less.......
Bummer dude: you missed out on the last meal thing!
Saves a few bucks on the electric bill.
The family will sue.And they'll win big $$$.I kid you not!
Maybe we can offer incentives for inmates to do it earlier... Maybe a SHARP blade, sleeping pills?
It beats a rusty mop handle.
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