Florida: Wayne Tompkins executed

Wayne Tompkins has been executed by lethal injection for the 1983 murder of Lisa DeCarr, his girlfriend's 15-year-old daughter.

DeCarr was strangled and buried under the porch of the Seminole Heights home where the three lived.

Tompkins, 51, was pronounced dead at 6:32 p.m today after he failed to get courts to listen to his claims of innocence.

Tompkins was "calm and businesslike" as the clock ticked toward his scheduled 6 p.m. execution, a state corrections spokeswoman said.

Earlier today, he spent 3 hours with his mother, Gladys Staley of Brooksville. For 2 of those hours, they were not allowed physical contact.

Tompkins, who is American Indian, also met with the prison chaplain since he had no other preferred spiritual adviser.

Tompkins was in isolation this week, which is common for inmates in their final days before execution.

He had no contact with other inmates in that time. A prison official sat down the hall from him recording his behavior and statements.

Tompkins didn't do anything unusual or make any notable statements in the hours leading up to the execution, Plessinger said. He had slept well.

At least 1 member of Lisa DeCarr's family was expected to attend the execution.

The final hours follow a close routine for death row inmates: a final shower, the offer of a shot of the anti-anxiety drug diazepam, and the walk to the execution chamber.

The inmate is strapped to a gurney and the execution team inserts needles to deliver chemicals into the body. 2 heart monitors are attached to check vitals.

A curtain lifts and witnesses and journalists watch the final minutes.

The execution chamber maintains an open line with the governor's office in case of a last-minute stay.

The executioner then injects sodium pentothal to render the inmate unconscious. Next comes pancuronium bromide to paralyze and stop all breathing. Finally, a lethal dose of potassium chloride interrupts signals to the heart, causing cardiac arrest.

Once the execution begins, death comes in 15 or 20 minutes, depending on how the body reacts to the chemicals.

Tompkins weighs 182 pounds.

Once an inmate is pronounced dead, a hearse takes away the body for autopsy.

A family representative claims the body.

DeCarr was the daughter of Tompkins' girlfriend. She was murdered in their Southeast Seminole Heights home and her body was buried under a porch.

The girl disappeared March 24, 1983. Tompkins told his girlfriend her daughter ran away and he doubted she would ever return.

Police found what they determined were the girl's skeletal remains in a shallow grave under the house about a year after her disappearance. The remains were found with a pink bathrobe, a diamond ring and a pair of gold-cross earrings.

While in jail on 2 other unrelated rape charges, Tompkins told a jailhouse informant he strangled the girl with her bathrobe sash when she fought off his sexual advances.

Tompkins' attorneys had asked the court to delay the execution, saying more time was needed to complete testing on DNA evidence found on and near the girl's body. The court said it would not entertain any motions for rehearing.

Charlie Crist was the third governor to sign a death warrant for Tompkins, following Jeb Bush in 2001 and Bob Martinez in 1989. Tompkins appealed in each instance.

Tompkins' mother said Tuesday she remained convinced her son did nothing wrong and that DeCarr is still alive.

The Innocence Project of Florida, which works to find and free innocent people in the state's prisons, sent a letter to Crist on Tuesday urging the governor to stay the execution to resolve what it calls "serious doubts" about the identity of the victim.

"We still harbor grave concerns about the legitimacy of Mr. Tompkins' guilty verdict," executive director Seth Miller wrote in the letter. "We feel strongly that more time is necessary to look into this case."

Mike Benito, a former assistant state attorney who prosecuted Tompkins, said the last-minute appeals are desperate and without merit.

"He deserves to die," Benito said Tuesday. "It's just unfortunate it took 25 years for it to be carried out."

Tompkins becomes the 1st condemned inmate executed in Florida this year and the 67th overall since the state resumed capital punishment in 1979. Only Texas (428), Virginia (102) and Oklahoma (89) have executed more inmates since the death penalty was re-legalized in the USA on July 2, 1976.

Tompkins becomes the 11th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA and the 1147th overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977.

Sources: Tampa Bay Online & Rick Halperin, Feb. 12, 2009