Chilling Last Words People Said At The Electric Chair

#1 James D. French “How’s This For Your Headline? French Fries!”

James D. French was executed by the electric chair on August 10th, 1966. His last words were “How’s this for a headline? French Fries!” One must admit that it was both witty and creepy. He was sentenced to life in prison after killing a motorist. Allegedly, French wanted to commit suicide while in prison but he didn’t really have the guts to do it on his own so he found a better way. He killed his cellmate hoping that will be a reason enough for the state to execute him. He was right, it worked. He was sentenced to death by the electric chair after murdering his cellmate. It was the last execution under death penalty laws in Oklahoma before the capital punishment was suspended in the period between 1972 and 1976.

#2 Robert Alton Harris “Everyone Dances With The Grim Reaper.”

Robert Alton Harris was sentenced to death for murdering two teenage boys in San Diego in 1978. He and his brother found two 16-year-olds sitting in their car in a parking lot in front of a supermarket. The Harris brothers got in the car with them and ordered them to drive the car to a nearby area with no one around where they killed them and then they used the boys’ car for robbing a bank. Harris was arrested about an hour after the robbery and one of the officers that had arrested him was actually the father of one of the murdered boys. However, he didn’t know that at that point. Harris’ last words before his execution have become well-known to the public as he said: “You can be a king or a street sweeper, but everyone dances with the Grim Reaper.”

#3 Roger Keith Coleman “An Innocent Man Is Going To Be Murdered Tonight.”

Roger Coleman’s case and execution were the topics to numerous discussions and he drew a lot of attention to himself because he claimed he was innocent until the very end of his life. He was executed by electric chair on May 20, 1992, and his last words were “An innocent man is going to be murdered tonight. When my innocence is proven, I hope Americans will realize the injustice of the death penalty as all other civilized countries have.” The anti-death penalty movement supported his appeals until the very end and the evidence in his case was analyzed both before and after his death. He was convicted of raping and murdering his sister in-law and the DNA evidence found post-execution had confirmed that he, indeed, was guilty. He had also been previously convicted of another attempted rape.

#4 Robert Charles Comer “Go Raiders”

It is a pretty standard thing for a convicted felon to send out as many appeals as possible, but there was nothing standard about Robert Charles Comer. He actually fought really hard to drop all of his appeals because he really wanted to be executed. He was convicted of killing a man on his camping trip, as well as of repeatedly raping a female camper that same day. Once he was imprisoned, he spent 7 years trying to get the state to execute him. At the end, he got what he wanted. His last words were “Go Raiders!” referring to an American football team known for their aggressive style on the field. One must admit those are pretty unusual last words, but as stated previously, there was nothing really usual about the behavior of Robert Charles Comer.

#5 David Martin Long “They Create Monsters In There.”

David Martin Long had committed 5 murders during an 8-year period. However, he was arrested in 1986 after killing three women in their home in Lancaster, Texas. He was hitchhiking and he claimed he had no place to go so the women offered him a place to stay. He killed all three of them in return. He blamed the system for what he had become and it is clear from his last words before his execution where he said, “I was raised by the California Youth Authority, I can’t really pin point where it started, what happened, but really believe that’s just the bottom line, what happened to me was in California. I was in their reformatory schools and penitentiary, but ah, they create monsters in there. That’s it, I have nothing else to say.”

#6 John Spenkelink “Capital Punishment: Them Without The Capital Get The Punishment.”

John Arthur Spenkelink was a murderer executed by electric chair at Florida State Prison on May 15, 1979. His execution was a little bit controversial at the time because he was the first person to be executed in Florida (and the second in the country) after the reinstallation of capital punishment in 1976. He had previously escaped from another prison and he shot and killed a fellow criminal while he was on the run. There had been 22 appeals to his death sentence and an interesting issue was brought up, regarding capital punishment discriminating against the poor. Spenkelink’s last words were: “Capital punishment: them without the capital get the punishment.” There has been some speculation about him being dead before he was strapped to the electric chair because the witnesses didn’t see him being brought due to the closed blindfolds to the chamber.

#7 Anna Antonio “I Am Not Afraid To die.”

Anna Antonio, also known as “Little Anna”, was an Italian woman sentenced to death for parricide – murder for hire. She paid a man to kill her husband, Salvatore Antonio. She was executed by electric chair on August 9, 1934, at Sing Sing prison in New York. While she was sitting strapped to the chair, she repeated a Christian prayer over and over again. When the time for her last words had come, she said “I don’t care what you do to me. I am not afraid to die. I have nothing on my conscience. I never killed anyone.” While some people use their last words to say goodbye to their loved ones, she decided to try to reassure everyone yet again that she was innocent. Unfortunately, it didn’t help her much and she was electrocuted just moments after that.

#8 Thomas J. Grasso “I Did Not Get My SpaghettiOs…”

Thomas J. Grasso was sentenced to death after he had strangled an 85-year-old with her own Christmas lights. Since the prisoners in the US usually have the right to pick their last meal (and they can get anything they want), he ordered a cheeseburger from Burger King, steamed mussels, steamed clams, 6 barbecued spare ribs, a half of pumpkin pie, 2 strawberry milkshakes, and a big can of SpagettiOs with meatballs. However, he wasn’t happy with what he got and he used his last words to express his disappointment. The last thing he said was “I did not get my SpaghettiOs, I got spaghetti. I want the press to know this.” This might easily be one of the most bizarre things anyone has ever said right before they were executed. But he was right about one thing – the press did know about it.

#9 Aileen Wuornos “…I’ll Be Back Like Independence Day”

Although statistically, most of the serial killers are men, there has been a number of cases of women with their killing sprees as well. One of them was Aileen Wuornos. She was working as a sex worker and she shot and killed 7 men between 1989 and 1990. She claimed that every one of her victims had attempted to rape her (some of them successfully) while she was working so she took on her own path of revenge and she claimed that all of the murders were committed in self-defense. She was sentenced to death and executed at Florida State Prison in 2002.

Her last words were: “I’d just like to say I’m sailing with the rock, and I’ll be back like Independence Day, with Jesus, June 6th. Like the movie, big mother ship and all. I’ll be back.”

#10 Ted Bundy “Give My Love To My Family And Friends.”

Ted Bundy, born Theodore Robert Cowell, was one of the worst serial killers, rapists, necrophiles, and pedophiles in the world. He raped and murdered an unknown number of young women during the ’70s and possibly earlier. He confessed to 30 murders but the estimated number of his victims is actually much higher than that. He was sentenced to death by electrocution and he was executed in Raiford Prison in Florida on January 24, 1989. His last words were “I’d like you to give my love to my family and friends.” Those words wouldn’t be creepy at all weren’t they said by a sadistic sociopath who was, according to psychiatrists who had examined him, completely unable to feel anything remotely resembling love, remorse, guilt, or empathy.

#11 Francis ‘Two Gun’ Crowley “You Sons Of B*tches. Give My Love To Mother.”

Francis “Two Gun” Crowley was only 19 years old when he was executed by electrocution at SingSing Prison in New York. He committed a series of crimes during his 3-month long crime spree. He got his nickname “Two Guns” after he shot Rudolph Adler 5 times with 2 guns. In May 1931, he engaged in a shootout with the NY Police Department where he killed a police officer Frederick Hirsch. He was arrested after that and convicted for a murder, as well as a number of other crimes. When he was brought to the electric chair, he asked for a rag. He said: “I want to wipe off the chair after this rat sat in it”, referring to Durringer, a man who had been executed before him. After that, his last words were “You sons of b*tches. Give my love to Mother.”

#12 Jimmy L. Glass “I’d Rather Be Fishing.”

Jimmy L. Glass had escaped from a prison on December 24, 1982, and he killed two people the very next day. Newton and Erline Brown got in his way while he was robbing their inn and he shot them to death. He was executed by electric chair on June 12, 1987, in Louisiana. His last words were: “I’d rather be fishing.” Well, who wouldn’t? Before his death, he became known as a petitioner in a Supreme Court where he tried to prove that death by electrocution is a “cruel and unusual punishment“. He bought himself some time but he was eventually executed anyway after the Court had found that this method of execution was in the accordance with the US Constitution. His friend who was his accomplice in those crimes was executed four days later.

#13 George Appel “Well, Gentlemen, You Are About To See A Baked Appel”

George Appel was sentenced to death by the electric chair after being convicted of a first-degree murder in 1928. He murdered a police officer earlier that year and that was what got him strapped to the electric chair. His final words were “Well, gentlemen, you are about to see a baked Appel.” Pun intended, probably. He said this to the officers who put him in the electric chair right before a leather band was tightened across his face. One must admire that he managed to keep a bit of humor until the very end. On the other hand, it is also kind of creepy to make jokes about being baked by the electricity. Reportedly, he was laughing while saying his last words. Well, just like Jim Morrison said, “people are strange.”

#14 James Jackson “See You All On The Other Side.”

James Jackson was executed for the murder of his wife and his two step-daughters in February 2007. His wife wanted to divorce him due to his heavy drug use that had resulted in his long term unemployment. When he asked her daughters what they thought about the divorce, they took their mother’s side so he strangled them both. He put their bodies into their beds and told their mother that they were sleeping when she came home from work. Shortly after that, he strangled her as well. He left their apartment but he was arrested the next day and he confessed to his crimes.

His last words before he was executed were “See you all on the other side. Warden, murder me … I’m ready to roll. Time to get this party started.”

#15 Robert Gleason Jr. “Put Me On The Highway To Jackson And Call My Irish Buddies.”

Robert Gleason was one of the rare guys who truly wanted to be executed. He was sentenced to life in prison and then he started killing his cellmates in order to get the execution he wanted. He killed his first fellow prisoner in 2009. That wasn’t enough to put him in the electric chair so he killed another one one year after that. He also vowed to kill again as many times as needed until he gets his death sentence. He was executed that same year. His last words were “Well, I hope Percy ain’t going to wet the sponge. Put me on the highway to Jackson and call my Irish buddies. Pogmothoin. God bless.” The phrase “Pogmothoin” means “Kiss my ass” in Irish Gaelic, while the part about Percy was a reference to the movie The Green Mile.