SAN QUENTIN STATE PRISON, Calif. (Reuters) — Robert Lee Massie, who spent more than 30 years on and off death row for two separate killings, was executed by lethal injection Tuesday, getting his wish to die rather than spend his life in prison.
Massie, 59, was pronounced dead at 12:33 a.m. PST, 13 minutes after receiving the fatal mix of chemicals at San Quentin State Prison north of San Francisco. It was California's first execution in more than a year.
Massie spent his final hours with his lawyer and spiritual advisers. His last meal was two vanilla milkshakes, french fries and fried oysters.
He remained alert and calm during the procedure, which was witnessed by members of the media and family members of the victims.
His last words were, "forgiveness, giving up all hope for a better past."
Massie had waived all legal appeals to save his life, saying he preferred to die rather than spend the rest of his life in prison for the 1979 murder of a San Francisco grocery store owner.
Earlier, a U.S. appeals court rejected a bid by an anti-death penalty activist based in Oakland, Calif., to stay the execution on grounds Massie was mentally unfit. The U.S. Supreme Court also rejected that request.
The execution was the first in California since last March and the ninth since the nation's most populous state resumed carrying out the death penalty in 1992.
California has almost 600 prisoners on death row, more than any other state. But it still trails far behind Texas, which leads the nation in executions.