Lobster Tails and Eskimo Pies.
By
©
Jerry A.G. Ericsson 8/23/00
Darin Martin needed killing. Of this idea, there was no doubt in the
community. Everyone knew of his evil
ways, the way he beat his wife, and had sex with his young daughters. It was rumored that he kicked his dog and
even his cat if it happened to rub up against the drunkard. Well today was his day of reckoning, and
Gary Nelson was the man to serve it.
Gary was Darin’s wife’s eldest
brother. The role of protector fell
upon his strong shoulders. The day that
Susan Martin came to him to ask his protection from her father’s sexual abuse
was the last day of Darin’s life and the first day of hell for Gary.
The murder, no execution was a
simple matter. Gary, upon hearing his
nieces request drove his ancient 1947 Ford pickup truck over to the Martin
home. He parked in the back yard, and
entered the home through the back door.
Mary, Darin’s much abused wife was in the kitchen preparing the evening
meal, in anticipation of her husbands return from the local pub. Gary told her of his conversation with
Susan, Mary plead with him not to do it, but she knew it would do no good. Gary was the head of their family now that their
father was gone, and what he said was in their family the last word. Gary sent Mary to his home, to care for her
daughter who was waiting for her. Then
Gary went into the living room, and waited for Darin to come home.
Gary didn’t have to wait very long,
when the front door slammed open, and Darin staggered through the door. No words were spoken, none were needed. The look on Darin’s face, that look of
shock, of fear, of shame told the story.
The Smith and Wesson .357 magnum in Gary’s had told the rest. Gary fired twice. Darin fell to the floor, a pool of blood quickly formed around
his lifeless form. Gary walked to the
coffee table and put the still smoking revolver down, then picked up the
telephone and dialed 911.
“I have just killed my
brother-in-law.” He told the 911 operator.
“I will have an officer there
shortly.” The shocked operator told him, then asked him to hold on while she
talked to the officer. Gary let the
receiver drop to the floor and sat back, his face in his hands, and wept. Not for his actions, not for the man who lay
dead on the floor, but for his sister and her children. For the hell that he had allowed to go on
for so long, and because it had taken him so long to respond.
In a few minutes, the police were
there. Gary heard the sirens, and saw
the red lights flash through the windows of the house. He stood, and walked to the door, and opened
it. Then he stood in the doorway, his
hands over his head, and waited for the officer to come and take him into
custody.
The rest was a blur of lawyers,
judges and police officers. Guards lead
him from the jail to the court, then back to the jail, and finally to the
prison, and to death row. It seems that
in Texas, even when the victim needed killing, you still get the death
penalty. That was in 1980, twenty years
ago. For twenty years, Gary sat there,
on death row. He saw many men come and go
his lawyers filed endless appeals, to the courts in Texas, and the US. Supreme Court,
but to no avail, he was guilty, of this there was no doubt, but was his crime
so horrible that he should be put to death?
He did not know, but he knew it was coming. The death warrant was in the hands of the warden now, and his
execution was to be tonight at midnight.
Why midnight he wondered, why not at
sunrise, or more appropriately, at sundown a time when things ended, not at
midnight, the time of the birth of a new day.
He had placed his order for his last meal. Lobster tails were always his favorite food, although he had only
been able to afford them three times in his short life. Eskimo Pies just because he used to love
them when he was a kid, and because he hadn’t had one for over twenty years.
His dinner arrived, as did his
sister and her daughter, they were here to share the last few hours of his
live. He didn’t regret killing Darin,
Darin needed killing, and in his way of thinking, he was only getting what
society said he deserved. His only
regret was that he had to go so soon, and that he had waited so long. His hopes of reprieve were gone, his lawyer
told him that all the appeals were spent, the Governor had refused to
intervene. After all it was
first-degree murder, he met the words of the statute. He had planned, with malice and forethought the murder of
another, then he had carried out the plan without mercy. Yet Darin needed killing, he knew that. The police had done nothing when Mary went
to them and asked for help. The school
had been no help to Susan when she asked the school nurse for help after her
father raped her. What choice did he
have, he had to kill the bastard, it was the only way to stop him.
Quietly, he sat there at the card
table, and pulled great chunks of the delicious white meat from the lobster
tail, dipped it into the melted butter, and chewed the tender meat. Then he washed it down with one of the three
beers allowed with the meal, it was over twenty years since he had enjoyed the
mellow taste of Coors beer, it was so good.
When he was done with the beer and lobster tails, he opened the first
Eskimo Pie and ate it down without stopping, then tackled the next, this one he
ate slowly, enjoying the bar, stopping between each bite and smiling. Mary and Susan looked on, tears running down
their faces, knowing that in a matter of hours, their protector would be dead. The dinner done, Mary and Susan were escorted
from the cell by Father O’Malley, the prison chaplain. Then the Father sat with Gary, and together
they prayed for his soul. Their prayers
went on for a few minutes, then Gary asked the Father to say a few prayers for
his sister and niece. The Father complied.
The Warden appeared at the door to
the waiting cell, and nodded at Father O’Malley. The Father understood, and turned to Gary.
“It’s time my son.” He whispered.
Gary began to cry, but he stood, and
taking Father O’Malley’s hand, they walked with the warden down the green
hallway, and into the death chamber.
The Death Chamber was a small room,
about eight feet long by five feet wide.
In the center of the room was a hospital gurney, to which were attached
two boards, leading off to the left and right sides, designed to hold the prisoner’s
arms. The room was painted
institutional green, that horrible color that once graced the hallways of such
places as schools, army barracks and insane asylums. There was a large picture window on one side, which allowed the witnesses
to the execution to see into the chamber, and along another wall was a small
window to allow the executioner to see his victim.
Gary was lead through the door, and
nearly collapsed when he saw the gurney.
Father O’Malley held him up on one side, the Warden on the other, as
they guided him to the gurney. Two
guards from the cellblock were there to help Gary up onto the gurney, and once
he was there, strap him down. Straps
were buckled around his legs, pelvis, chest and three around each arm. A male nurse was there, he quickly tied a
rubber strap around Gary’s upper arm, then tapped a vein on his arm, to bring
it to the surface, so he could insert the IV needle. Then the nurse used an alcohol swab to prepare the site for the
needle, and pushed it into the vein, he was very good at his job and this being
Texas, and he had lots of practice. Why
bother with the swab Gary wondered, but his throat was so tight, he couldn’t
ask. The needle in place, the nurse
attached the IV tubes, and started the saline drip, then pushed the executioner’s
needle into the tube. All prepared, all
left the chamber except Father O’Malley and the Warden. Father O’Malley began the prayer, while the
Warden read the death warrant allowed as required by law. These steps out of the way, the Warden left,
and after a final prayer, so did Father O’Malley.
Gary was alone now. He looked at the small window, but could
only see a shadow of the executioner, who was awaiting the final order from the
warden. He turned and looked at the
picture window, as he looked on, the red curtain was drawn open, and behind it
he saw the prosecutor who put him there, the police officer who arrested him,
his sister and niece, and the brother of Darin, who represented the victim’s
family. A loud speaker behind the
gurney crackled, and the voice of the warden asked Gary if he had any last
words.
“I love you Mary, Susan…”
With these words, the warden pushed
a small red button. A red light lit up
in the executioners area and the executioner pushed a small lever forward, this
allowed a strong sedative to be released into Gary’s IV, and in a short time,
Gary went to sleep. Seeing this
reaction, the executioner pushed another lever, and allowed a strong mixture of
potassium solution to be released into the IV, this stopped the heart of Gary
Nelson.