STARKE, Fla. — A man who orchestrated a prison van ambush in 1987 in an attempt to free a prisoner was put to death by lethal injection Wednesday night at the Florida State Prison.
The U.S. Supreme Court, through Justice Thomas, denied a last-ditch stay request.
William Van Poyck, 58, was executed at 7:24 p.m. for the murder of prison guard Fred Griffis. "Set me free," were his final words.
Van Poyck's execution was originally scheduled at 6:00 p.m. It was delayed untill 7:00 p.m. to allow Florida Governor Scott to return to the capital following a funeral in Illinois.
"He's finally free from those prison walls," Lisa Van Poyck, the inmate's
sister, said as she stood among the protesters standing across the street from
the building where her brother was executed.
Van Poyck's case garnered international attention because he published three books and maintained a blog while on death row.
Van Poyck and Frank Valdes ambushed a prison van outside a West Palm Beach doctor's office in a failed attempt to free James O'Brien. Griffis was fatally shot after he threw the van's keys into the bushes to foil the escape. Van Poyck and Valdes were captured following a car chase.
In his appeals, Van Poyck argued Valdes fired the fatal shots and if the jury had known that, he wouldn't have been sentenced to death. The Florida Supreme Court last week rejected Van Poyck's latest appeal involving Valdes' widow, who says her husband told her he was the shooter.
The justices noted Van Poyck planned the escape attempt and he and Valdes carried loaded weapons. Courts have rejected similar arguments in the past, including one from a former inmate who also said Valdes confessed to killing Griffis.
Van Poyck, Valdes and James O'Brien had served time together at various Florida state prisons for violent crimes.
In 1999, Valdes was stomped to death in prison. Seven guards were charged with his death, but none were convicted.
Following Valdes' death, Van Poyck was moved to Sussex State Prison in Virginia for his safety. That's where he wrote a 324-page autobiography, "A Checkered Past: A Memoir," saying his purpose was not to elicit sympathy but "to put a human face on me and convicts in general."
Van Poyck went on to write two novels. He won awards for his writing and had been keeping a blog since 2005 - he wrote letters to his sister Lisa Van Poyck and she posted them online.
"He is deeply remorseful for the ending of Fred Griffis' life," Lisa Van Poyck told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "He is guilty of a crime of trying to break somebody out of a prison transport van - he had no intention of hurting anyone."
"He's not the man that he was when this crime was committed," she said.
In his blog, Van Poyck wrote in recent entries that he has received dozens of letters a day regarding his pending execution.
"I am not unusual in wanting to believe, at the end of my line, that my life counted for something good, that I had some positive influence on someone, that my life made a difference, that I was able to at least partially atone for the many mistakes I made earlier in life," he wrote.
During interviews, the Griffis family said they were frustrated news stories constantly focused on Van Poyck, the crime and his writings and not their relative. They said they didn't plan to attend the execution and would instead gather somewhere for quiet reflection about Fred Griffis' life.
"When he was murdered, it basically ripped a hole in the family's heart that's never really healed," said brother Ronald Griffis.
Van Poyck declined to eat a final meal. In addition to meeting with his sister and friends, he spent the day with his spiritual adviser, a Baptist minister.
Van Poyck becomes the 3rd condemned inmate to be put to death this year in
Florida and the 77th overall since the state resumed capital punishment in
1979. Only Texas (499), Virginia (110), and Oklahoma (103) have executed more
inmates since the US Supreme Court re-legalized the death penalty in America on
July 2, 1976.
Van Poyck becomes the 14th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the
USA and the 1334th overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17,
1977.
Death Row Diary
William Van Poyck spent nearly 26 years on death row in solitary confinement. He wrote to his sister about his life in prison, and in recent years she published his letters to a blog called
Death Row Diary.
In these letters, Poyck wrote about everything from the novels and history books he was reading and shows he watched on PBS to the state of the world and his own philosophy of life–punctuated by news of the deaths of those around him, from illness, suicide, and execution. He also commented on the
bill recently passed by the Florida legislature that will accelerate the schedule of executions in Florida.
The excerpts selected here focus on the inhumane treatment he and other individuals on death row endure as they move ever closer to their own finalities. His last entry was written on May 28, when he had “15 days left to live.”
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Click here to read the full article and further excerpts from Van Poyck's diary.
February 25, 2012
Robert Waterhouse was scheduled for execution at 6:00pm this evening.
In accordance with the established execution protocol he was strapped
to the gurney and the needles were inserted into each arm about 45
minutes prior to his appointed time. Just before 6:00, however, he
received a 45-minute stay which morphed into an almost 3-hour endurance
test as he remained on the gurney as the seconds, minutes and then hours
slid by at an excruciatingly slow pace, waiting for someone to tell him
if hope was at hand, if he would live or die. Just before 9:00 he
received his answer, the plungers were depressed, the syringes emptied
and he was summarily killed. Here on the row we can discern the
approximate time of death when we see the old white Cadillac hearse
trundle in through the back sally port gate to pick up the body, the
same familiar 1960′s era hearse I’ve watched for almost 40 years, coming
in to retrieve the bodies of murdered prisoners, which used to happen
on a regular basis back when I was in open population. I’ve seen a lot of
guys, both friends and foes, carted off in that old hearse. Anyway,
pause for a moment to imagine being on that gurney for over three hours,
the needles in your arms. You’ve already come to terms with your
imminent death, you are reconciled with the reality that this is it,
this is how you will die, that there will be no reprieve. Then, at the
last moment, a cruel trick, you’re given that slim hope, which you
instinctively grasp. Some court, somewhere, has given you a temporary
stay. You stare at the ceiling while the clock on the wall ticks away.
You are totally alone, not a friendly soul in sight, surrounded by
grim-faced men who are determined to kill you. Your heart pounds, your
body feels electrified and every second seems like an eternity as a
Kaleidoscope of wild thoughts crash around frantically in your compressed
mind. After 3 hours you are drained, exhausted, terrorized, and then the
phone on the wall rings and you’re told it’s time to die…
May 22, 2013
I have 21 days left to live. The fickleness, the arbitrariness, the fleeting nature of life itself is on display daily throughout our world but as good an example as any occurred here on Monday morning when, as I was being dressed out here on Q-Wing for a visit, a sudden radio call brought the wing officers rushing upstairs where they found a prisoner (non-death row) hanging in his cell. After 20+ years in prison this guy (Earl) had finally given in to the utter hopelessness that can seize the heart and spirit of any man mired forever in an American maximum security prison. The irony wasn’t lost on me that while 3 of us on death watch are fighting to live, this poor soul, living just 10 feet above us, stripped of all hope, had voluntarily surrendered his life rather than continue his dismal existence. When nothing but a lifetime of suffering lays ahead – with no hope, no promise, no opportunity to change your fate – the idea of utter annihilation can come to look appealing in contrast. When everything has been taken from you, the one thing you have left, that nobody can take away, is the decision to live or die. In that context choosing death can look like freedom…
Today my neighbor, Elmer, went on Phase II of death watch, which begins 7 days prior to execution. They remove all your property from your cell while an officer sits in front of your cell 24/7 recording everything you do. Staff also performs a “dry run” or “mock execution”, basically duplicating the procedures that will occur 7 days later. This is when you know you’re making the final turn off the back stretch, you know your death is imminent, easily within reach, you can count it by hours instead of by days. Right now I’m on deck; when Elmer goes I’ll be up to bat (that’s enough sports metaphors for now)…
May 28, 2013
Tomorrow Elmer will be executed and I’ll be next up to bat, with 15 days to live. A situation like this tends to make you reflect on the elusive nature of time itself, which some folks – physicists and metaphysicists alike – claim is an illusion anyway. Real or not it sure seems to be going someplace quickly!…
This may be my last letter to reach you before you begin your journey down south to be by my side for my final days. These many visits I’ve recently received from those who love me have been a blessing for me. I’m acutely aware that some guys on death watch have absolutely nobody to help them bear their burden during their last days and hours on earth, not a soul willing to share some love. It’s a terrible thing to die all alone…
I read in a recent newspaper article that the brother and sister of Fred Griffis, the victim in my case, are angry that I’m still alive and eager for my execution. These are understandable human feelings. I have a brother and sister myself and I cannot honestly say how I would deal with it if something happened to you or Jeff at the hands of another. I have thought of Fred many times over the years and grieved over his senseless death. I feel bad for Fred’s siblings though if seeing another human being die will truly give them pleasure. I suspect when I’m gone, if they search their hearts, they will grasp the emptiness of the closure promised by the revenge of capital punishment. There’s a lot of wisdom in the old saying “An eye for an eye soon makes the whole world blind.”…
Sources: The Associated Press, CounterPunch, Rick Halperin, June 12, 2013
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