Oklahoma executes convicted killer Kendrick Simpson — as his final meal and last words are revealed

A man convicted of double homicide was executed by lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary on Tuesday. Kendrick Simpson, 45, was convicted of fatally shooting Anthony Jones, 19, and Glen Palmer, 20, after an altercation at an Oklahoma City nightclub in 2006. As he was being put to death, Simpson told supporters, “I love y’all,” while victims’ relatives watched on.

During the execution, Simpson’s demeanor unsettled the family members of the victims. Crystal Allison, Palmer’s sister, mentioned that the smile on Simpson’s face in the death chamber was the same one that had tormented them for two decades. Reverend Don Heath, Simpson’s spiritual advisor, read Scripture during the execution, which lasted less than 15 minutes. Doctors confirmed that Simpson was unconscious about five minutes into the procedure.

Attorney General Gentner Drummond expressed hope that Simpson’s execution brought some measure of peace to the victims’ families. He stated that justice had been served for Glen Palmer and Anthony Jones, whose lives were tragically taken too soon. Simpson’s last meal before the execution included a bacon cheeseburger, large onion rings, and a strawberry milkshake.

Simpson, who had moved to Oklahoma City from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, was diagnosed with PTSD resulting from the aftermath of the natural disaster. He was also a victim of gun violence, having been shot five times in a drive-by shooting in New Orleans in 2004. Despite his troubled past, during a clemency hearing in January, Simpson apologized for the killings and took full responsibility for his actions.

The Pardon and Parole Board in Oklahoma denied clemency for Simpson, and the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal to block the execution. Simpson’s death marked the first execution of the year in Oklahoma and the second in the U.S. Ronald Palmer Heath, 64, was also put to death in Florida on the same day for killing a man during a botched armed robbery in 1989.