All PRISONERS EXECUTED in March 2025 (US): Last Meals & Words
In this video, we’ll look at every person executed in the United States during the month of March. We’ll walk through the crimes that put them on death row, the final words they spoke, and the last meals they requested before facing execution. On March 7th, 2025, Brad Keith Sigman became the first person in South Carolina to be executed by firing squad.
But what exactly did he do to end up on death row? On April 27th, 2001, Brad murdered his ex-girlfriend’s parents, David and Glattis Lark, in Taylor, South Carolina. After his three-year relationship with Rebecca Barbara, ended, Brad became obsessed, stalking her and trying to win her back. The night before the murders, he consumed alcohol and cocaine, and the next morning, he told a friend he planned to tie up Rebecca’s parents and confront her. But his friend backed out.
Brad entered the Larks’ home alone and attacked them with a baseball bat, repeatedly striking their heads until their skulls were crushed. He then stole a gun and waited for Rebecca to return. When she arrived, Brad forced her into a car at gunpoint. He intended to take her to North Carolina, but she escaped by jumping out and running.
Brad fired at her, but missed. After she got away, he fled the scene. Police launched a manhunt and charged him with murder, kidnapping, and assault. 11 days later, Brad was captured in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and extradited to South Carolina. Prosecutors sought the death penalty. In July 2002, Brad was convicted of two counts of murder and first-degree burglary.
The jury sentenced him to death, rejecting his defense’s argument that his drug use and emotional distress warranted leniency. His appeals were repeatedly denied with his final appeal rejected by the US Supreme Court in 2021. On March 7th, 2025, 67-year-old Brad was executed by a firing squad at Broad River Correctional Institution.
Brad was the fourth person in the US to die by a firing squad. During a firing squad execution, the inmate is strapped into a metal chair in a room that also contains the state’s electric chair, which remains in place. A hood is placed over the inmate’s head, and a target is marked over their heart. Three voluntary corrections officers stand behind a wall 15 ft away with loaded rifles.
The wall has a small opening not visible to witnesses. After the warden reads the execution order, the officers fire. A doctor then examines the inmate and once death is confirmed, the curtain is drawn and witnesses leave. Witnesses, including family members, media, and attorneys, can see the inmate’s right side profile through bullet resistant glass.
Brad’s final meal consisted of four pieces of fried chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes with gravy, biscuits, cheesecake, and sweet tea. Prison officials denied his request for three buckets of Kentucky Fried Chicken to share with fellow inmates. Strapped into the chair, a hood was placed over his head. A target was pinned to his chest.
As witnesses looked on, Brad gave his final statement calling for an end to the death penalty. I want my closing statement to be one of love and a calling to my fellow Christians to help us end the death penalty. An eye for an eye was used as justification to the jury for seeking the death penalty, he said. At that time, I was too ignorant to know how wrong that was.
He continued, why? Because we no longer live under the Old Testament law, but now live under the New Testament. We are now under God’s grace and mercy. At 6:08 p.m., the execution team fired. He was pronounced dead moments later, becoming the first person ever in South Carolina to be executed by firing squad. He was 67 years old.
With Brad Sigman’s execution carried out, the next death row case took place just over a week later, this time in Louisiana. But unlike Brad’s, it wasn’t just the crime that made headlines, it was the method used to end his life. On March 18th, 2025, Louisiana carried out its first execution in over 15 years. Jesse Dean Hoffman Jr.
was put to death using nitrogen hypoxia, a method never before used in the state. But before we discuss his final moments, let’s go back to Thanksgiving morning, November 28th, 1996, when a duck hunter made a horrifying discovery in St. Tam Parish. Lying on a makeshift dock near the Middle Pearl River was the naked body of a young woman who had been shot in the head.
Later that day, her husband identified her as Mary Molly Elliot, a 28-year-old advertising executive. He got the news no one ever wants to hear. His wife was dead. He had reported her missing the night before when she never came home from work, and he had spent hours calling, searching, and hoping for any news. But this was the worst possible outcome.
The last time anyone saw Mary alive was November 27th, 1996. She left her office in downtown New Orleans, heading to her car like she did every night. But this time, someone was watching and that someone had a gun. That same night, miles away, a couple in New Orleans East made a disturbing discovery. They found a pile of clothing and personal belongings dumped in an empty lot.
At first, it may have seemed like trash, but then they spotted something unusual. Three ATM receipts scattered among the items. They turned them over to police, and when investigators traced them back, they led to a Region’s Bank ATM in Eastern New Orleans. And when police pulled the security footage, they uncovered a horrifying scene.
There was Mary standing at the ATM withdrawing cash. Her face was tight with fear. Right next to her stood an African-American man wearing a valet jacket that read valet. It looked like a normal transaction, but it wasn’t. This was a hostage situation, and the night was only getting started. Investigators turned to the Sherin parking garage, the place where Mary parked her car every day.
The employees there wore jackets identical to the one seen in the ATM video, and it didn’t take long for police to zero in on a suspect. One valet, Jesse Hoffman, 18 years old, had been on break at the exact time Mary was last seen. Police arrested Jesse and took him in for questioning. At first, he denied everything.
He claimed he had left work, taken a bus, and gone to visit his girlfriend. But when detectives pressed him, his story started to change. Now, he said he had been forced into a car by two armed men. He claimed that when he got inside, he saw a white woman in the back seat with a towel over her head. According to Jesse, these men took them to an ATM, forced the woman to withdraw cash, and then drove to a remote area.
He insisted that they threatened to kill him and his girlfriend if he didn’t assault the woman. Later, his story changed again. This time he said one of the kidnappers walked off with the woman while he stayed behind. He swore he never heard gunshots and had no idea what happened to her. But the evidence told a different story.
Under pressure, Jesse finally broke. He confessed. He admitted that he kidnapped Mary at gunpoint from the Sheran parking garage, forcing her into her own car. He made her drive to an ATM where she withdrew $200. But he didn’t let her go. Instead, he forced her to drive even farther, taking her to a desolate area in St. Tam Parish, where the nightmare would only get worse.
Mary begged for her life, and Jesse told her he wouldn’t hurt her as long as she cooperated. But it was a lie. Instead of letting her go, he sexually assaulted her in the back of her own car, still holding her at gunpoint. Even after kidnapping, robbing, and her, he wasn’t finished. Still naked and terrified, Mary was forced to walk down a narrow dirt path surrounded by overgrown weeds and piles of trash.
She reached a small dock at the edge of the Middle Pearl River. Jesse made her kneel and then he shot her in the head, execution style. She was still alive for a few minutes after the gunshot, but she was left there alone to die in the cold November night. After killing Mary, Jesse tried to cover his tracks. He threw away her belongings and the gun, wiping away any evidence that could tie him to the crime.
Then, as if nothing had happened, he went back to work, telling his boss he had just taken an extended lunch break. His lunch lasted 2 and 1/2 hours. The same 2 and 1/2 hours in which he had kidnapped, robbed, and murdered an innocent woman. Later, his girlfriend unknowingly helped seal his fate. She told police that after Mary’s murder, Jesse took her shopping, paying cash for multiple items he bought.
With DNA evidence, ATM footage, and Jesse’s own confession, prosecutors had everything they needed to convict him. There was no doubt. There were no excuses. There was no way out. His lawyers tried to argue that the gun went off by accident in a struggle. But the jury didn’t believe him. The execution style gunshot told the truth.
This was no accident. They also claimed the was consensual, but the jury dismissed that argument as well. After hearing the overwhelming evidence, the jury convicted Jesse of murder. On September 11th, 1998, the jury found Jesse guilty of first-degree murder. And just two days later, they delivered their final decision, a unanimous death sentence.
For over two decades, Jesse sat on death row. He filed appeals arguing that his jury was all white and claiming that his traumatic childhood should spare him from execution. But court after court rejected his p. Then in 2010, Louisiana stopped executing inmates, not out of mercy, but because the state couldn’t get the drugs needed for lethal injections.
For 25 years, Jesse waited, trapped in a limbo between life and death, unsure if his execution would ever come. But then, in 2024, everything changed. That year, the state of Alabama introduced nitrogen hypoxia, a new way to carry out the death penalty. Nitrogen is an invisible, odorless gas making up 78% of the air we breathe.
It’s harmless when mixed with oxygen, but without it, a person loses consciousness within seconds and dies within minutes. The gas will flow for at least 15 minutes or 5 minutes after the inmate’s heart flat lines, whichever takes longer. Now, Louisiana has a new method, and Jesse had an execution date. Jesse’s execution date was set for March 18th, 2025.
But Jesse’s lawyers went to federal court arguing against his execution by nitrogen hypoxia. They argued that nitrogen hypoxia is cruel and unusual punishment, violating the US Constitution. They also said it violates his religious rights since Buddhist breathing and meditation practices are important to his faith. In addition, they claimed that wearing a tight industrial mask would trigger his PTSD and claustrophobia, making his final moments a form of mental torture.
They stated that as a child, his mother locked him in a pantry for hours, leading to severe claustrophobia. He panicked at the idea of suffocating in a mask, knowing he would lose control, unable to calm himself. His legal team suggested that other execution methods, such as a firing squad or an oral drug mixture, would be more humane than nitrogen suffocation.
However, Louisiana law currently only allows three execution methods: nitrogen hypoxia, lethal injection, and electrocution. The appeal was rejected and the execution remained scheduled. On March 18th, 2025, Jesse Dean Hoffman Jr. became the first person in Louisiana executed in over 15 years. He declined a final meal and gave no final statement.
Jesse was 46 years old. But not every death row inmate fears the end. Some, like the next man, demand it. On March 19th, 2025, Aaron Brian Gunches was executed for the 2002 murder of his girlfriend’s ex-husband, Ted Price. What’s surprising about this case is that unlike most death row inmates, Aaron didn’t spend years fighting for his life.
He demanded that the state carry out his sentence as fast as possible. But before we dive into this, let’s take a look at how he got into this mess in the first place. In November 2002, Ted arrived at his ex-wife Katherine Lecher’s apartment in Mesa, Arizona, planning to stay for a while as he waited for a school grant to come through.
But things didn’t go as planned. For the first few days, everything seemed fine. But as time passed, tensions started to rise. The past they had tried to leave behind was still there, boiling beneath the surface. After about 10 days, Catherine snapped. She told Ted to leave and the argument quickly escalated. Then at some point, she grabbed a telephone and smashed it into his face.
Ted didn’t collapse, but something was off. He was still conscious, but he looked dazed, unsteady, like he wasn’t fully there. That night, Aaron showed up at Catherine’s apartment. He listened to what had happened. And instead of calling for help, he took control of the situation in his own way. He told Catherine and her two roommates, Michelle Beck and Jennifer Garcia, to help load Ted into Catherine’s car, and Jennifer was told to drive.
Aaron claimed he was taking Ted to the bus station, that he’d buy him a ticket and send him away for good. But Aaron had no intention of letting Ted leave town. When they arrived at the station, Aaron realized he had a problem. He didn’t have the money to buy Ted a bus ticket. And just like that, the plan changed.
Instead of letting Ted go, Aaron told Jennifer to keep driving out of Mesa, out into the desert. The city lights faded behind them, and the further they went, the clearer it became. This trip wasn’t about putting Ted on a bus anymore. Eventually, Aaron told Jennifer to turn onto a dirt road, taking them deeper into the dark, empty desert off the Beeline Highway.
No traffic, no witnesses, no way out. The car rolled to a stop in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nothing but darkness and the eerie emptiness of the desert. Aaron stepped out and walked toward the trunk. But at that same moment, Ted saw his chance and made a desperate attempt to escape. Despite his injuries, he managed to climb out, stumbling as he tried to run.
But before he could get far, gunshots shattered the silence. Jennifer later recalled hearing three sharp cracks ring out before she saw Ted collapse, followed by a fourth shot that left no doubt about what had happened. When she looked again, Aaron was standing over his body, the gun still in his hand as if it was just another task completed.
Without a word, Aaron climbed back into the car and Jennifer did what she was told. She turned the car around and drove back to Mesa. Along the way, they stopped at a dumpster where they tossed out Ted’s belongings, erasing any sign that he had ever been with them. A few days later, Ted’s body was found in the desert. And it didn’t take long for police to turn their attention to Catherine and her roommates.
When investigators began questioning them, the story started to unravel. And under pressure, Michelle finally admitted what they had all been too afraid to say. Aaron had told her that he killed Ted. But by then, Aaron was already gone. For two months, he managed to stay on the run. But on January 15th, 2003, his luck finally ran out.
Arizona State Trooper Robert Flannry pulled him over for what should have been a routine traffic stop. But he had no idea that the man behind the wheel was a killer. Before Robert could react, Aaron pulled out a gun and fired twice, hitting the officer before speeding off into the night. Officer Robert collapsed to the ground, bleeding on the side of the road.
But luckily, he survived. And this set off an immediate and massive response. Within hours, more than 50 law enforcement officers were on the hunt for the man who had just shot a cop and killed another man in cold blood. Aaron had managed to disappear into the wilderness, but he couldn’t hide forever.
Officers spread out across the state, searching every possible hideout. And by the next day, they had him cornered. When they finally found him, he was curled up inside a haystack in Wendon, Arizona. Cold, exhausted, and completely out of options. There was no more running. His time on the outside was over, and from that moment on, the countdown to his execution had already begun.
Aaron was taken into custody and faced multiple charges, including the attempted murder of Officer Flannry. But when it came to Ted Price’s murder, he didn’t put up a fight. There were no drawn out legal battles or desperate pleas for leniency. In 2004, he pleaded guilty to firstdegree murder and kidnapping, fully accepting the consequences of what he had done.
But rather than allowing a defense attorney to argue for his life, Aaron made another bold decision, he chose to represent himself in court. And instead of fighting for a lesser sentence, he did nothing. He offered no defense, no argument, no emotion. With nothing standing in their way, the jury found him guilty.
And in 2008, he was sentenced to death. But his execution wouldn’t come as easily as he had expected. The Arizona Supreme Court overturned the sentence, ruling that the crime, while brutal, didn’t meet the legal standard for cruelty. Prosecutors had argued that Ted’s murder was cruel and heinous. But the court disagreed.
Because Ted never saw the attack coming and died instantly, they stated that he hadn’t experienced fear or prolonged suffering, meaning the crime didn’t legally meet the criteria required for the death penalty. Aaron had been sentenced to die, but now the state would have to put him on trial all over again. With the Arizona Supreme Court’s decision to overturn his sentence, Maricopa County put Aaron back on trial in 2013.
But just like before, he refused to fight for his life. Once again, he chose to represent himself, and once again, he refused to put up any defense. The court assigned attorney Elizabeth Crowder as his advisory council, but Aaron wanted no part of it. Every attempt she made to help was met with resistance.
“We argued every single day,” she later recalled. Elizabeth Crowder believed the case should never have been a death penalty trial. “In her view, the evidence could have supported seconddegree murder, which would have spared him from execution. But Aaron had already pleaded guilty. That meant the jury had only one decision left to make.
Would he spend the rest of his life in prison or would he be sentenced to die? What do you think should have happened? While most death row inmates spend years fighting to escape execution, Aaron did the opposite. In November 2022, after spending 14 years awaiting execution, he took an extraordinary step.
He asked the Arizona Supreme Court to issue his execution warrant. He claimed he didn’t want delays, saying he wanted justice to be served and for the victim’s families to have closure. The Arizona Attorney General agreed, and the process to carry out his death sentence was officially set in motion.
For the first time in decades, it looked like his execution would finally happen. But then, in early 2023, Aaron changed his mind. After years of demanding to die, he suddenly wasn’t so sure. He had watched how other executions in Arizona had gone horribly wrong, and what he saw disturbed him. Reports showed that lethal injections were failing.
Prisoners were gasping for air long after they were supposed to be unconscious. And executioners struggled to insert IV lines, leaving inmates writhing in pain for minutes before they finally died. Aaron called it torture. And at the same time, public pressure against the death penalty was growing. And as concerns about Arizona’s execution methods escalated, Governor Katie Hobbs made a bold decision.
She halted all executions and ordered a full review of the state’s protocols. With that decision, Aaron’s case was thrown into limbo. The courts approved his execution for April 2023, but when the time came, officials admitted they weren’t ready to go through with it. His warrant expired and the process fell apart once again.
But Ted’s sister, Karen, wasn’t going to let it slide. She petitioned the court to force the state to carry out the execution, arguing that justice had already been delayed long enough. Arizona’s prison officials, however, pushed back. They claimed they weren’t prepared to conduct an execution in a constitutionally sound manner and that they lacked staff with the proper expertise to ensure everything was done correctly.
With no way forward, Aaron’s execution warrant expired once again, and the process that had dragged on for decades hit yet another roadblock. But this time, things would be different. By 2025, Aaron had grown tired of the delays. And once again, he demanded to be executed, making it clear that he wanted no more legal obstacles.
This time, the state didn’t hesitate. The Arizona Supreme Court set March 19th as his official execution date and there would be no lastminute changes. Aaron was determined. He never asked for mercy and never tried to stop it. He criticized the court system for taking too long and even tried to speed up his own execution by skipping legal steps.
Now, after more than two decades, it was finally happening. On March 19th, 2025, Aaron was strapped to a gurnie inside the Arizona State Prison in Florence. The same lethal injection process he once called torture was now being used to end his life. His final meal consisted of onion rings, a spicy gyro, a barbecue gyro, baklava, and a double western bacon cheeseburger with fries.
He refused to speak any final words. At 53 years old, Aaron Brian Gunches was dead. As Aaron’s execution brought one long chapter to a close, another was already on the calendar just one day later. But this next case was darker, bloodier, and left a family shattered beyond repair. On March 20th, 2025, Wendell Ardan Gryom was executed by lethal injection after spending nearly two decades on death row.
His crimes were as brutal as they were senseless, leaving a trail of devastation. Wendell’s story begins on November 2nd, 2005, when he left Arkansas, heading west on Interstate 40 in his white Chevrolet truck. At the Oklahoma state line, he picked up a hitchhiker, Jesse John’s, a homeless drifter looking for a ride.
The two men started talking while sharing sips of whiskey as the miles passed. As the night wore on, their talk turned to money. How to get it fast and easy. Wendell had an idea. Robberies, burglaries, whatever it took to get some quick cash. Jesse listened, and neither one seemed to care about the consequences.
By the time they reached Oklahoma City, they had a plan. They checked into a motel, paying for a full week in advance, as if they weren’t just passing through, but preparing for something bigger. The next morning, Wendell wasted no time getting Jesse ready for what was to come. He showed him how to load a 44 caliber black powder pistol, carefully walking him through each step.
But that wasn’t the only weapon in his possession. He also carried a small 22 caliber Daringer tucked away, waiting to be used. As they continued west on Interstate 40, they made a quick stop at a Lo’s Country store. At first glance, their purchases seemed meaningless. Just two pairs of brown cotton gloves.
But security cameras captured every detail. And those gloves, bought in a moment of thoughtless preparation, would later become a key piece of evidence linking them to one of the most horrifying crimes in Oklahoma’s history. They drove deep into rural Blaine County, scanning the quiet back roads for a target.
Houses were spread far apart, surrounded by open land, making it easy to strike and even easier to disappear. That’s when Wendell spotted what he was looking for. A secluded home near Hitchcock, Oklahoma, belonging to Matt and Lauren Drew Cop. Without hesitation, he pulled into the driveway and turned to Jesse. Stay in the truck until the shooting is over.
Jesse didn’t argue. Wendell stepped out, moving with purpose toward the back of the house, where a sliding glass door led inside. Lauren was spending the morning at home, caring for her two young children, 18-month-old Riley and baby Gracie Joe. Her best friend, Amber Matthews, was there, too, chatting with her as the kids played nearby.
They had no idea that danger was already walking up their driveway. When Wendell knocked, it was Amber who answered. He stood there calm and asked a simple question. Was Lauren’s husband home? Amber told him no. Wendell nodded as if that was all he needed to know. He told her he’d come back later and turned to walk away.
Amber started to close the door, but before she could, Wendell turned around, lifted his gun, and fired. The glass door exploded, shards raining down as Amber grabbed baby Gracie Joe and tried to run, but Wendell stepped inside, his gun still raised, and fired again, this time hitting Lauren’s hand as she tried to protect herself.
She lunged at Wendell, shoving him onto the couch, pleading for him to take what he wanted and leave. But he just laughed. Then he reached for his 44 caliber pistol, pressed it to her head, and pulled the trigger. The bullet tore through her hand before slamming into her skull, but she was still alive. Wendell fired again, this time hitting her in the hip, knocking her to the floor.
And as she lay there bleeding out, struggling to breathe, he just laughed. He kept shooting and laughing like it was all a game to him. There was no panic, no sign of regret, just pure cruelty, as if the lives he was taking meant nothing at all. Then he turned his gun toward Amber and the children, stalking them through the house as Lauren, dizzy and bleeding, could hear Amber begging for her life.
Then another gunshot. Somehow Lauren forced herself to move. She was losing blood fast, but her survival instinct kicked in. She managed to stumble toward the garage, dragging herself away from the chaos behind her. She had no idea if Amber or her children were still alive. But she knew one thing.
If she stayed, she was dead. The second she made it outside, she spotted Wendell’s truck still running in the driveway. It was her only chance. Desperate, she ran toward it. But Jesse had already stepped out of the truck, drawn by the sound of gunfire, and he saw her flee. Inside the house, Wendell was still standing over Amber.
She was still alive, but barely moving. Jesse hesitated for just a second, but Wendell didn’t. He raised his gun and fired another shot, finishing what he had started. Then Jesse turned to him and said three words that changed everything. Someone got away. Wendell didn’t waste time. He bolted outside, racing toward his truck just as Lauren reached it.
He raised his gun and fired, the bullets whizzing past her as she ran for her life. Somehow she made it to the road. A mile away, barely able to stand, she saw three truckers hauling rock and threw herself into their path, waving them down with what little strength she had left. When they stopped, she looked at them pale, shaking, and covered in blood, and gasped, “My friend and my kids are dead.
” One of the men, a retired police officer, pulled Lauren into his truck, grabbed his phone, and called 911 as he sped toward the nearest hospital, knowing that every second counted. And just like that, Wendell and Jesse’s escape plan fell apart almost immediately. Desperate to get away, they stole a red four-wheeler from the garage and sped off, kicking up dust as they tore down the road.
A dog chased after them, barking wildly as if trying to stop them from getting away. But they weren’t as invisible as they thought. A postal worker and the truckers who had just helped Lauren saw them fleeing. Worse, their stolen ride wouldn’t take them far. The four-wheeler ran out of gas before they even made it out of the area.
Stranded, they ditched it on the side of the road and stuck out their thumbs, hoping for a way out. A passing farmer stopped to pick them up, unknowingly giving a ride to two killers. They told him they needed to get to Kingfisher County, so he dropped them off at a small roadside diner, the Hilltop Cafe. By then, police had already swarmed the cop residence.
Officers moved carefully through the house, bracing for the worst. They had no idea what they were about to find. But in the bedroom, they found something no one expected. 18-month-old Riley and baby Gracie were still alive. Amber, barely breathing, was rushed to an Oklahoma City hospital, but she sadly didn’t survive the flight.
Meanwhile, at the Hilltop Cafe, Wendell and Jesse were acting suspiciously, pacing near the building, peering into windows and parked cars, looking for a way out. The clerks noticed them immediately. Two men, jittery and restless, watching every car that pulled in. Then, without warning, Jesse disappeared into the trees behind the cafe.
That was enough for the clerks, they picked up the phone and called the sheriff’s office. Deputies were already searching for the two suspects, and it didn’t take long before a patrol car spotted Jesse walking along the road. He was taken into custody without a fight. But Wendell had vanished. Officers began searching the area, sweeping through fields and brush, but he hadn’t gone far.
A short time later, they found him hiding in a rock pile near the cafe. His .22 pistol and gloves were covered in blood, the evidence of what he had just done still fresh. The 44 caliber pistol, the weapon he had used to shoot Lauren and Amber, had been tossed near the crime scene, but it wouldn’t stay hidden for long.
Within hours, police had it in their hands. The manhunt was over. Wendell and Jesse were in custody, and the countdown to justice had begun. Wendle’s trial began in 2006, and it didn’t take long for the jury to reach a decision. Witness testimonies, forensic evidence, and the brutality of the attack left no room for doubt. He was found guilty and sentenced to death.
But the legal battle wasn’t over yet. On February 25th, 2008, Wendell went to trial again. And this time, his lawyers focused on one last effort to spare him from execution, arguing that he should spend the rest of his life in prison instead. But the jury didn’t buy it. They found him guilty on all charges. And for murder, they handed down the ultimate sentence, death.
But Wendell wasn’t done fighting. Over the next 19 years, he filed appeal after appeal, claiming his trial had been unfair, that lethal injection was cruel and inhumane, and that his constitutional rights had been violated. He challenged the court system at every turn, but each appeal was rejected one after another.
By 2025, there was nothing left to argue. Every legal option had been exhausted, and the state moved forward with its final decision. His execution was set for March 20th, 2025. His final meal consisted of a Canadian bacon supreme pizza, a pint of vanilla ice cream, and a pint of Coca-Cola.
In his final statement, he asked for forgiveness from the family of the woman he murdered. I apologize to all of you that I’ve hurt. At 10:13 a.m., Wendell was pronounced dead. He was 56 years old. Wendell’s execution brought an end to one of Oklahoma’s most disturbing cases. But just hours later, another man was preparing for his final walk.
This time in Florida. His story stretches back decades, shaped by betrayal, addiction, and a violent path that would leave deep scars behind. On March 20th, 2025, Edward Thomas James was executed by lethal injection after spending nearly three decades on death row. His crimes were as brutal as they were senseless, leaving a trail of devastation.
But before we get into that, let’s go back to how it all started. Eddie was born in Bristol, Pennsylvania in 1961. For years, he believed his stepfather was his real dad, never questioning the truth. But everything changed when he turned 11. That was when he finally met his biological father, the man who had left before he was even born.
But instead of finding love, guidance, or stability, Eddie was pulled into something much worse. His father wasn’t the role model he had imagined. By day, he worked as a drug counselor, but behind closed doors, he was an addict himself. And instead of keeping Eddie away from that world, he introduced his own son to drugs.
By the time Eddie moved back in with his mother in Castleberry, Florida, he was already on a dark path. He was angry, violent, and constantly in trouble. His mother tried to help, turning to mental health professionals, hoping someone could set him straight. But nothing worked. His life spiraled into drinking, drugs, and fights. And with every year, he drifted further away from any chance of redemption.
At 17, desperate for a way out, he joined the army, hoping for a fresh start. But discipline couldn’t fix what was already broken. Stationed in Germany, his behavior didn’t improve, and before long, he was discharged for failure to conform. He was sent back home, right back to the chaos he had tried to escape.
Back in Castleberry, things only got worse. Eddie bounced from job to job, drowning himself in drugs and alcohol and burning every bridge along the way. No one wanted him around. Then a family took him in. Kind, trusting, and completely unaware they had just welcomed a future killer into their home. Eddie once had big plans. He and his friend Tim Dick were supposed to start a business together.
a fresh start, a real chance at something better. But those plans fell apart fast. Instead of working, Eddie got lost in drugs. Crack, angel dust, LSD. One addiction led to another. He stopped trying, stopped caring, and while he spiraled further down, Tim stayed on track. Still living at his mother, Betty’s house in Castleberry, Florida.
That summer, Eddie became a regular at the Dick family’s gatherings. Betty had built her life around her family after losing her husband, turning her home into a place filled with love and laughter. Kids ran through the house, grandkids played in the yard, and there was always warmth at the table. It was the kind of home Eddie had never really known, but instead of finding comfort in it, he was about to destroy it.
Betty had a big heart, maybe too big. She welcomed Eddie in like he was one of her own, treating him not as an outsider, but as family. To the kids, he was the fun uncle, especially to Tony. He had a way of making them laugh, always joking, always playing the clown. He seemed easygoing, carefree. But behind the jokes, behind the charm, was something much darker. Eddie had a past.
Assaults, theft, even a shooting. But Betty and her family never saw that side of him. To them, he was just Eddie. A little troubled maybe, but harmless. Then Tim moved out, leaving his old room at Betty’s house empty. And when she found out Eddie had nowhere to stay, she didn’t hesitate. She gave him a home.
A kindness that would cost her everything. On the night of September 19th, 1993, Eddie went to a party at Todd Van Fawson’s house, just two blocks from where he was renting a room. He showed up around 6:00 p.m. and spent the night drinking, laughing, blending in. By 10:30 p.m., the party was winding down. Todd’s girlfriend, Tina, noticed how drunk he was.
Concerned, she asked if he wanted to stay the night and sleep it off, but Eddie refused. He had other plans. On his way home, he ran into Jerry Pearson, a neighbor who had just come back from a convenience store. They stood outside talking for about 10 minutes. Eddie admitted to drinking, but something was off. He didn’t seem nearly as drunk as he should have been.
Then, right in front of Jara, he pulled out 10 tabs of LSD and swallowed them all at once, like it was nothing. Still restless, Eddie wasn’t ready to go home. Instead, he made a stop at Tim’s house, drank some gin, and kept the night going. By the time he finally walked through Betty’s front door, the house was quiet.
The four grandchildren were asleep in the living room, completely unaware of the danger that had just walked through the door. 9-year-old Wendy woke up for a moment, just enough to see Eddie standing there laughing to himself. He looked drunk, but there was something off about him. He wandered into the kitchen, made himself a sandwich, and then went to his room.
The house fell silent again. At some point, Eddie returned to the living room and grabbed 8-year-old Tony Niner by the neck, pressing so hard that he could hear the bones in her neck crack. Thinking she was already dead, he carried her to his room, removed her clothes, andly assaulted her. Tony never made a sound or fought back.
Afterward, he threw her behind his bed against the wall, where she died as a result of the strangulation. But the horror of what he had already done wasn’t enough. He wanted more. So, he stormed into Betty’s bedroom, intent to assault her, too. She never had a chance to react. Before she could even open her eyes, Eddie raised a heavy pewtor candlestick and brought it crashing down on her head.
She screamed, “Why, Eddie? Why?” Her screams woke up Wendy, who ran to see what was happening. At that moment, Wendy saw Eddie stabbing her grandmother. When Eddie noticed her, he grabbed her, tied her up, and locked her in the bathroom. Believing Betty was still alive, Eddie went to the kitchen, got a butcher knife, and returned to stab her again in the back.
Afterward, he removed her pajama bottoms, but did not proceed further. Covered in blood, Eddie stepped into the shower, letting the water wash away the horror of what he had just done. Just feet away, 9-year-old Wendy remained tied up in the bathroom, too scared to move. When he was done, Eddie calmly packed his things, walked into Betty’s room, and went through her belongings.
He grabbed her purse, her jewelry, anything he could sell, then slipped out the door. Moments later, Betty’s car was gone, and Eddie had vanished into the night. For nearly three weeks, he managed to stay off the radar, traveling across the country and selling the stolen jewelry for cash. But his face was everywhere.
America’s Most Wanted aired a segment about the murders. And on October 6th, 1993, a viewer spotted him at an unemployment office in Bakersfield, California. One call to the police and Eddie’s time on the run was over. Once arrested, he didn’t even try to deny it. He sat in an interrogation room and gave two videotaped confessions, calmly detailing everything he had done.
The jury would later watch those tapes, listening as he described in his own words the nightmare he had created. At trial, psychiatrists described Eddie as a man broken by years of drug addiction, depression, and personality disorders. His defense argued that his mind was so damaged by substance abuse that he couldn’t fully control his actions.
But the prosecution made sure the jury stayed focused on the truth. Two innocent lives had been taken in a brutal, unforgivable crime. On April 5th, 1995, Eddie pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder along with charges of child abuse, attempted battery, kidnapping, and theft. By August 18th, 1995, the jury sentenced him to death for the murders of Tony Neiner and Betty Dick.
For the other charges, he received additional sentences ranging from 15 years to life. For the next 30 years, Eddie sat on death row waiting. Appeal after appeal was denied. And then the day finally came. On March 20th, 2025, inside Florida State Prison, the state carried out his execution.
Eddie had no visitors on the last day of his life and gave no final statement. His final meal has not yet been publicly disclosed. Keep an eye on the comments for updates. He died at 8:15 p.m. The family of his victims said this puts an end to the hold he had over them for decades. My mother lived life to the fullest and she is now gone.
She said Tony never got to live and we just wish you guys could understand the power that he had over this family for 31 years. At 63 years old, Edward Thomas James was pronounced dead. That concludes all executions carried out in March 2025. Which case shocked you the most?
