John Ruthell Henry, 63, was executed in Florida Wednesday night for the 1985 murder of his wife and stepson, reports the Tampa Bay Times. It was the third execution in the United States in 24 hours. The others were in Georgia and Missouri. Henry’s execution was calm. His last words were an apology: He asked for forgiveness and said if he could take back what he did, he would. He muttered to himself when the execution began at 7:30 p.m. His eyes fluttered and he yawned when the first of the three-drug cocktail took effect. He stopped breathing a few minutes later.
Henry was convicted of three murders. In 1976, he stabbed his 28-year-old girlfriend Patricia Roddy 20 times in the front seat of a car while her children sat in the back. He spent seven years in prison and seemed to rehabilitate. He was a model inmate. But after his release, he got back into drugs and had pending charges against him. He murdered his wife and her 5-year-old son after an argument.