The final words of a death row inmate who claimed to be innocent have been revealed.
Despite much evidence piled up against him for the murder of Sarah Walkers, the inmate claimed he was innocent and continued to do so until his execution.
Scroll down for the full story.
Now, although abolished in many countries, the death penalty is still retained in some parts of the world.
These countries include China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and of course, the United States of America.
The death penalty has been a part of the U.S. justice system for centuries…
And the penalty, which is often referred to as capital punishment, has been in action since approximately 1608… Yep, it’s really that old.
But it’s not currently legal in every state.
And as the years have gone on, it’s become more and more of a controversial and taboo subject.
Many U.S. states have now abolished the death penalty for a number of reasons…
Including the risk factors of executing an innocent person, the fact it doesn’t prevent future crimes, and the fact that it is both discriminatory and can be used politically, as per Amnesty.
Organizations such as Amnesty have been fighting for decades to have the death penalty abolished entirely and they have been trying to expose and hold to account governments that continue to use the punishment.
Many find the death penalty totally barbaric.
When questioned, it’s difficult to justify the state killing its citizens.
Campaigners argued that many of those executed over the last few years were killed despite suffering from serious mental and physical illnesses…
Which should have rendered the death penalty an unconstitutional punishment.
And some states have made huge progress in this field.
History was made by Virginia being the first-ever southern state to abolish the death penalty. Other states which have abolished capital punishment include Alaska, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Delaware, New York, and Washington.
Virginia is now the twenty-third state to abolish the death penalty.
And many are hoping for other Southern states to follow suit.
But the latest inmate to be executed is Kosoul Chanthakoummane.
Following the murder of forty-year-old Sarah Walker in July 2006, Chanthakoummane faced the death penalty for his crime.
On August 17 he was executed by lethal injection.
Walker was found stabbed thirty times in a model home.
And while Chanthakoummane admitted that he was inside the home, he denied that he murdered her and was only there for a drink.
It didn’t look good for Chanthakoummane to be at the crime scene.
At the time he was also on parole for aggravated robbery and kidnapping.
His name was written all over the crime scene, with Chanthakoummane’s blood being found under Walker’s fingernails.
Despite the evidence against him, Chanthakoummane wrote in a letter: “I am innocent.”
Before the execution, a Buddhist monk came and read a sacred passage to Chanthakoummane whilst keeping his hand on his chest.
When he had finished his prayer, he was then strapped down to the chamber chair.
Once he was strapped down, he thanked Jesus, the minister of the Texas prison system, and all the people in his life who helped him on his journey.
He then left a final message to Walker’s family, whom no one attended the execution, and said: “I pray my death will bring them peace.”
As the lethal injection went into his body, he looked towards a window, where his mother was sitting, watching the scene unfold.
He mouthed: “Mom, I love you.”
Fifteen minutes after the lethal injection was administered, Chanthakoummane was pronounced dead at 6:33 pm.
Here’s the full statement by Chanthakoummane…
“I would like to thank my Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. I would like to thank all these people in my life that aided me in this journey. I would also like to thank the Texas Department of Criminal Justice inmate Field Minister program True Foster and Garcia for aiding me in my journey. To Ms. Walker’s family, I pray my death will bring you peace.”
What do you think?