Killer executed for four slayings Fourteen years after brutal murders, victim's families still remember.
By Chad Previch
Published: January 10, 2007
McALESTER — More than 14 years after four restaurant workers in Tulsa were ushered into a refrigerator and shot in their heads, their killer was executed Tuesday.
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Corey Duane Hamilton, 38, died at 6:14 p.m. by lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, becoming the first prisoner in the United States to be executed this year. The procedure started at 6:08 p.m.
His last words were partially addressed to his victims' families. He smiled to some supporters in the viewing room.
"I wish everyone could experience the love of God to the degree I have experienced,” he said. "I love everybody and hope to see you on the other side.
"To the victims' families, I pray you have peace and all that you're in need of. To thy hands I commit my spirit, oh Lord.” Forgive and forget Patricia Hudson, mother of victim Joseph Gooch, said while some family members may have forgiven Hamilton, they can never forget what he did.
"If Corey's last statement ... was sincere, then that's what those kids died for, was to save one soul,” she said. "If it's not sincere, I'd certainly hate to be in his shoes.”
Amanda Lara, daughter of victim Sendy Lara, said she is finally able to put closure into her life. Amanda was six when her mother was murdered. Amanda's sister, Miranda, turned 16 on Tuesday.
"I regret that she did not get to know how wonderful our mother was, but I try to make sure that in some way, through our memories, she can know her as I did,” Amanda said. "I have a lot of mixed emotions today, but I hope my family and I can finally put an end to a long and difficult chapter of our lives.”
An effort to spare Hamilton's life was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court Monday. Rob Nigh, an attorney for Hamilton, asked the court during the weekend to block the execution on grounds that the process posed a risk of excruciating pain.
Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson's office filed a response to that attempt during the weekend.
Hamilton and three other men were convicted in the Aug. 17, 1992, robbery of Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken in east Tulsa. Four employees, ages 16 to 27, were murdered.
Prosecutors said Hamilton shot the employees after forcing them to kneel in a walk-in refrigerator. They were shot in the back of their heads.
Hamilton and his brother fled to a Detroit suburb, where they have family. The victims were Gooch, 17; Theodore Kindley, 19; Lara, 27; and Stephen Williams, 24. Several of their relatives pleaded with the state Pardon and Parole Board not to spare Hamilton's life.
The board denied clemency Dec. 27.
While the fatal drugs flowed through his veins, Hamilton prayed, mouthing several words, including "Jesus.” He gargled through his mouth about a half-dozen times before he became silent.
He died with his mouth open.
William Hamilton, the condemned man's brother, and Donnie Daniels were sentenced to life without parole on each of the four counts of murder, and Tyrone Johnson was sentenced to life on each counts.
Hamilton is the 167th person executed in Oklahoma, the 84th by lethal injection. There are 84 others on death row, but no executions are scheduled.
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