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The last words spoken by criminals before execution stand as the final statements from these convicted offenders, having been uttered moments before their deaths. Much like the statements made by famous people in their suicide notes, these are the famous last words before execution that others will remember these souls by for eternity. There are funny, crazy, and of course, sad death row inmates last words.
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From deranged ramblings to final proclamations of innocence, and even some morbid jokes
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the last words of death row inmates offer a glimpse of the notorious psychologies of those who spoke them
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But no matter what is uttered, the parting quotes of the condemned often chill those who hear them to the bone
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So, today we're covering the strangest and most haunting last words spoken by death row inmates
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All right, dead men, tell your tales. Some criminals on death row exhibit a sinister duality that can be observed within their last statements
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While many inmates certainly had loved ones outside those prison walls, there is still contempt for humanity at large seething beneath their veneer of normalcy
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This two-sided nature can be heard in the last words of Torrey Twain McNabb
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Executed by lethal injection for the 1997 shooting death of a Montgomery police officer
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Tory Twain McNabb's final words are a shocking reminder of the dichotomy in the criminal mind
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Mom, sis, look at my eyes. I got no tears. I'm unafraid
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To the state of Alabama, I hate you. I hate you. I hate you
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He was apparently not a fan of the Crimson Tide. McNabb's attorneys had attempted to get a stay of execution on the grounds that lethal injection is cruel and unusual
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but the plea was obviously denied. Similarly of a fractured mind, Francis Two-Gun Crowley's last words
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are a colorful example of such murderous duality. After the teenage gangster was apprehended
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during a two-hour shootout with police, Two-Gun Crowley offered these last words
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on his way to the electric chair. You sons of es. Give my love to mother
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Hopefully they left that first part out of the message, but maybe that's just the relationship
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Two-Gun and his mother had. Like many spree criminals of his day
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two-gun Crowley's career was short and not so sweet, and the pimpled mobster is best remembered
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for his cruel murders and his two-faced final goodbye. When faced with imminent demise
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some convicted criminals choose their final words less wisely. Though it may be difficult to imagine cracking jokes
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in the last moments before execution there are several examples of inmates who offer truly macabre banter on death row In these instances the last words of inmates serve as the literal definition of gallows humor
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Before his arrest in the 1920s, George Apple had robbed a Brooklyn restaurant and was swiftly caught
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by a policeman who just so happened to stroll through the door. After an intense fight over the robbery
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Apple shot the police officer three times and left him for dead. But before the fatally wounded policeman
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succumbed to his injuries, he jotted down Apple's plate numbers, and the criminal's
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notorious last laugh has been ringing in our ears ever since. When he finally
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took his seat in Old Sparky, Apple gave this charming quip before they
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threw the switch. Well, gentlemen, you are about to see a baked apple. All things
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considered, that was a pretty awesome joke. Maybe the governor should have pardoned him. James French
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executed for the murder of a fellow inmate, gave his own food-centric hangman's
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gag to reporter Bob Gregory, asking him, if our government my execution. Do you know
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what I'd say in the newspaper headline? French fries. See ya. I wonder if any
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of the city's finest news writers took Mr. French up on his gracious freebie
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You'd think at least the New York Post. The story of James French is a strange and
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complicated one. The convict was initially arrested for the murder of a man who had
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given him a ride as he hitchhiked. This first slaying landed him a life sentence
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which French apparently found quite distasteful. As French was serving his life sentence, he whacked his cellmate in a bizarre
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farewell ritual that included not one, but two last meals. Just before strangling the unsuspecting
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man with a pair of shoelaces, French bought him a steak sandwich from the snack bar and took him
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to breakfast. But only he didn't want the guy to go out on an empty stomach. After this disturbing
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act, French told the court that he had longed to be executed without appeal, an unexpected request
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that left many scratching their heads. The criminal's wish was ultimately granted
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and those final words made his death by electrocution all the more shocking
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Hey, he would have appreciated that pun. Obviously, not every death row inmate
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goes skipping off to the gallows with a witty remark. As could be expected, many of those condemned to die
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give chilling final statements to those who would hear them. Barbara Graham, convicted of the slaying
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of retired vaudeville performer Mabel Monaghan during a botched robbery had a history of hitting the figures of justice with difficult philosophical questions arguing that her dire circumstances left her with little choice but to steal and I guess kill to live
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During the trial, she pleaded, Oh, have you ever been desperate? Do you know what it means to not know what to do
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When it came time for her execution, she had this to say, Good people are always so sure they're right
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At her request, Graham had been given a blindfold to wear so she wouldn't have to look at all the people
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who came to witness her demise. And when the death row prison staff told her
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that her trip to the gas chamber would be smoother if she took a deep breath after the cyanide pellets descended
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the convict said, how the hell would you know? Graham was executed in 1955
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but her startling last words stuck with those who heard them. Many years earlier, in 1793
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Madame Du Barry was convicted of treason by the Revolutionary Tribunal of Paris
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after she was suspected of financially aiding those who fled the revolution
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The final haunting statement of Du Barry has also stood the test of time
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She said simply, You were going to hurt me? Why? One more moment, Mr. Executioner. I beg you
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Du Barry's last desperate plea came just moments before the guillotine fell
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Still others meet their final sentence by staring death directly in the face and daring him to pull the trigger
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Radical labor activist George Engel, accused of involvement in the deadly McCormick plant bombing of 1886
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offered these last words as he stood on the gallows. Hoorah for anarchy! This is the happiest day of my life
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That really takes the wind out of the hangman's sails. Engel was the oldest defendant on trial for the bombing of the Chicago plant
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and was, in fact, at home playing cards when the brutal explosion occurred. He was charged regardless, and when he stood before the courts prior to his execution
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he said that he would not stand down from his views, nor would he live and be punished for crimes he did not commit
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He eventually wrote letters to Illinois Governor Richard J. Oglesby asking, let me make sure we get this right, not to be pardoned
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Engel wrote, not being conscious of any guilt, the powers that be may murder me, but they cannot legally punish me
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I protest against the commutation of my sentence and demand either liberty or death
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Well, we know which one they chose. Though perhaps less enthusiastic writer Erskine Childers gave an equally fearless statement in his own last moments Childers an active participant in the Irish Civil War was taken out by firing squad
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after being found guilty of illegally possessing a semi-automatic pistol. Childers was a provocative
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and definitive figure in the history of the Irish Civil War, and his involvement polarized many who
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observed his efforts. Shortly before his arrest and sentencing, Winston Churchill himself referred
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to Childers as a murderous renegade. But later in Churchill's life, he claimed Childers
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had been a great patriot and statesman. Pick a side, Winnie. On the day of his execution, Childers remained unafraid
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and stood with pride and dignity. As the rifles descended, Childers said
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Take a step or two forward, lads. It'll be easier that way. OK, they really should have let this guy go
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Not everyone is funny, indignant, or bold when they reach the end
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Many final statements taken from death row inmates suggest that not all of their dogs were barking
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which isn't that surprising. After all, they are on death row. Take, for example, the final statement made by Thomas J. Grasso
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Convicted for the murders of multiple elderly victims, Grasso offered an observation so mundane it almost chills to the bone
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I did not get my spaghettios. I got spaghetti. I want the press to know this
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Rather than cracking a dusty old can of Chef Boyardee's finest, the prison canteen served Grasso a genuine plate of Italian pasta
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which wasn't what he asked for. But who are we to judge his final request
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No stranger to jarring interviews and obscene quotes to the press, convicted serial murderer Eileen Wuornos' famous last words are truly bizarre
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After her arrest and subsequent death sentence, Wuornos served a lengthy stretch on death row
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In the last moments before she received her lethal injection, Wernos proclaimed
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I'd just like to say, I'm sailing with the rock, and I'll be back like Independence Day with Jesus June 6th
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Like the movie Big Mothership and all. I'll be back. There certainly is much to unpack here
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For one, does anybody need to make an Independence Day sequel with Jesus? Wernos' sentence was carried out in 2002
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14 years before Independence Day resurgence, in which he does not appear
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The story did make it to the screen when actor Charlize Theron portrayed the criminal in 2003's Monster, but that film does not feature any motherships