April 24
ARKANSAS----execution
Arkansas death row inmate Jack Jones executed
Jack Harold Jones was put to death by the state of Arkansas Monday night by way
of lethal injection.
Authorities began administering the execution drugs at 7:06 p.m. and Jones was
pronounced dead at 7:20 p.m., according to the Arkansas Department of
Correction.
Asked if he had any last words, Jones said the following:
"Well, I just want to let the James family and Lacey [know] how sorry I am. I
can't believe I did something to her. I tried to be respectful from the time I
took and become a better person. I hope I did better. I hope over time you
could learn who I really am and I am not a monster. There was a reason why
those things happened that day. I am so sorry Lacey, try to understand I love
you like my child."
Jones also gave a written statement to his attorney to read:
"I want people to know that when I came to prison I made up my mind that I
would be a better person when I left than when I came in. I had no doubt in my
mind that I would make every effort to do this. I'd like to think that I've
accomplished this. I made every effort to be a good person - I practiced
Buddhism and studied physics. I met the right people and did the right things.
There are no words that would fully express my remorse for the pain that I
caused."
Jones, 52, was convicted and sentenced to death in the 1995 rape and murder of
34-year-old Mary Phillips at her accounting office in Bald Knob. He was also
convicted of the attempted murder of Phillips' 11-year-old daughter Lacy.
Following the execution, Lacy told the media, "I'm glad it's done."
The Supreme Court of the United States denied two requests for a stay for
Jones, allowing for the execution to proceed.
Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge released a statement following the
execution:
"This evening, Lacey Phillips Manor and Darla Phillips Jones have seen justice
for the brutal rape and murder of their mother, Mary Phillips. Mary was
performing her job as a bookkeeper in Bald Knob on June 6, 1995, when she was
strangled to death with a coffee pot cord while her 11-year-old daughter Lacey
clung to life a few feet away after being choked and beaten. The Phillips
family has waited far too long to see justice carried out, and I pray they find
peace tonight."
Jones is the second Arkansas death row inmate to be executed in less than a
week.
Jones becomes the 2nd condemned inmate to be put to death in Arkansas this year
and the 29th overall since the state resumed capital punishment in
1990.
Jones becomes the 8th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA
and the 1450th overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977.
(sources: KATV and Rick Halperin)
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