A man who gave up appeals to hasten his execution was put to death by injection early Friday for murdering a couple in their home just two days after he was paroled.
Doyle Cecil Lucas, 41, wanted to die and was "filled with remorse" for the 1983 murders of Bill and Evelyn Rayfield during a burglary, Lucas' lawyer said. But in his final statement, Lucas criticized the state for bringing "itself down to a level of the people who have, themselves, killed."Moments before the execution, Lucas - through a thick glass window - told his wife of six months that he loved her. One of the Rayfields' grown sons also watched.
After shooting the couple, Lucas carried out a blood-spattered pillowcase stuffed with money and costume jewelry, and drove away in the couple's car. Lucas, wearing a blood-stained shirt and Rayfield's watch, was arrested soon after when the car was spotted.