Posted on 10/15/2013 7:57:17 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Officials said William Happ was pronounced dead at 6:16 p.m. at Florida State Prison in Starke. He was executed by injection.
Florida has executed 51-year-old William Happ for the 1986 rape and strangulation of a woman he encountered by chance in a convenience store parking lot.
Officials said Happ was pronounced dead at 6:16 p.m. at Florida State Prison in Starke. He was executed by injection, 24 years after he was sentenced to die following his conviction in the murder of 21-year-old Angie Crowley.
In a final statement, Happ expressed remorse for his actions.
"To my agonizing shame, I must confess to the crime," he said in a slow, deliberate voice. "I wish to offer my most sincere, heartfelt apology. I have prayed for the good Lord to forgive me for my sins. But I understand why those here cannot."
The words didn't mean much to Crowley's brother Chris.
"The apology, for what it's worth, I personally think that's more for himself than anything," Crowley said, adding that he doesn't forgive Happ. "He needs to ask someone a lot more important than me for forgiveness."
The execution began at 6:02 p.m. Happ's eyes opened and he blinked several times. He closed them and opened them again two minutes later. He then yawned and his jaw dropped open.
At 6:08 p.m., the official overseeing the execution tugged at Happ's eyelids and grasped his shoulder to check for a response. There was none.
A minute later, Happ's head began moving back and forth and shortly thereafter his breathing stopped. He was pronounced dead at 6:16 p.m.
Happ was the first person to be executed under a new mix of drugs Florida is using for lethal injections. It appeared Happ remained conscious longer and made more body movements after losing consciousness than other people executed recently by lethal injection under the old formula.
Angie Crowley's family gave a statement afterward.
"We have lost a vibrant young lady with dark blue eyes and an infectious smile. With this loss we will no longer experience her great sense of humor, her laughter and her loving and caring personality," Chris Crowley said while surrounded by family and friends. "Our loss is also your loss. You have lost the possibility of meeting such a special person."
Angie Crowley's mother and two siblings died before they could see the sentence carried out, but Crowley's surviving sisters and brothers were in Starke to watch as Happ was executed. Chris Crowley made the trip from Missouri.
Angie Crowley had moved to Florida from Oregon, Ill., just five months before her 1986 murder. The 21-year-old was working as a travel agent in the Fort Lauderdale area and planned to make the 300-mile drive to visit a college friend in Yankeetown. Crowley was prone to getting lost, so her friend told her to drive to a convenience store in Crystal River and call her from a pay phone in the parking lot and she'd met her and guide her the last few miles.
Crowley found the store, but she never made it to the phone. Happ just happened to be there, too. He smashed the window to the car and kidnapped Crowley and took her to a canal where he gave her 10 to 20 severe blows to the head. He raped her, then strangled her with her stretch pants and threw her body in the water.
Happ left for California, where he was arrested on unrelated charges. A detective flew from Florida to get one of his sneakers and later matched it to a shoe print at the scene of the killing.
At the time, Happ was a high school dropout living with his aunt. He did odd jobs, laid bricks and did some landscaping. He was also abusing alcohol and drugs.
Crowley was a beautiful, smart, popular woman who was pursuing her dream to travel the world. Her murder shocked Oregon, a town of about 3,500 about 25 miles southwest of Rockford, Ill. She was an honor student, cheerleader and musician.
She just happened to pull into the parking lot at the wrong time.
"They just intersected — and the odds," Chris Crowley said. "Those are lottery odds."
The randomness of the crime has left questions in Crowley's mind.
"The only thing I would like to know is why, and I don't expect to find out," Crowley said. "I have a lot of hatred for the man. A lot of hatred."
After Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed Happ's death warrant, Happ told a judge he did not want any lawyers filing appeals for him.
Happ was calm Tuesday when he met with two spiritual advisers, including a Roman Catholic priest who administered last rites, according to Department of Corrections spokeswoman Jessica Cary.
For his last meal, Happ had a 12-ounce box of assorted chocolates and 1½ quarts of German chocolate ice cream.
Now, he goes to the Big Judge in the sky. I wouldn’t want to be him when he meets his Maker. Oooooo, bad boy’s gonna get it.
With the exception of FL and TX, death row inmates die of old age.
He murdered someone in Illinois on Tuesday and they executed him in Florida today?
He’s dead Jim!
Unfortunately he got 24 more years of life than did his victim.
My God -- don't you know that eating like that will kill you?
Florida Prisoner Executed for Illinois Woman's Murder Tuesday
Wow! That is some fast justice!
It took 27 years to execute this guy even in Florida.
He may have gotten it before he got it.
In any case, he agrees with the rest of us that the world is better without him in it.
Well, he was allowed to enjoy life for another 24 years. Angie did not get that option. His penalty was a relative “slap on the wrist.”
yes if you count the 24 years in between.
She just happened to pull into the parking lot at the wrong time. “They just intersected
If she had been carrying a firearm odds would be very good that Happ would have been executed in 1986.
24 years is WAY too long...5 years Max between conviction and execution....otherwise it is meaningless..
Finally...
It should never take 27 yrs to execute a murderer. Criminal Rights NutJobs encourage crime and devastation when they fight capital punishment
There are men on Death Row in California that were sentenced over 30 years ago. They’re not even close to an execution date. I don’t know how that can be allowed to happen.
Lawrence Bittaker was sentenced to death in 1981 for the vicious murders of five teenage girls, and he’s still years or perhaps decades away from an execution date. Most of these men will die of old age in prison.
Because of the overcrowding in the prisons, California courts have long ruled that death row inmates must get better treatment..often private, bigger cells, more food choices, TV in their cells, and other facilities, etc.. Convicted murderers are now REFUSING life without parole pleas..choosing instead to go to trial, get sentenced o death, knowing that they’ll likely never get executed, but will enjoy far better conditions inside prison for decades
I would gladly pay you next Tuesday for a hamburger today.
The words didn't mean much to Crowley's brother Chris.
I'm a Christian.In *my* branch of Christianity,at least,we were taught that there's no sin so grievous that God will not forgive it if the proper amount,and type,of repentance is shown by the sinner.Remember the thief who was crucified right next to Christ.His statement sounds to me like it's a genuine one...that it represents genuine,deep remorse.If my hunch is correct then it's distinctly possible that he is now now in need of an asbestos suit.
Yes,"man's" law sentenced him to death and I support that.But under *God's* law,as I understand it,that it's possible that he's in a far better place right now.
That's 10 years of federal appeals right there.Didn't SCOTUS just approve of the particular execution protocol of a particular state? Kentucky's I think it was.If I'm correct what doesn't every other state adopt the same protocol,word for word.
Yes there is forgiveness but there are also consequences. It is best if both happen?
As I said....under *man's* law he was put down,understandably so.But,after death,God may have had different plans for him...plans that are different than those assumed by at least one or two folks who've responded to this thread.That's all I was pointing out.
Check out the Texas Dept of Corrections website.They have a special section on Death Row inmates,past and present.One of the things they do is give details regarding those already executed,including any last statement they might have made.I've read more than a few of those statement and although more than a few of the guys swear until the very end that they're innocent and/or the DP is immoral a surprising number simply acknowledge their crime,express remorse and ask forgiveness.*I*,at least,would expect *all* of them to claim innocence but that's not the case.So maybe some people executed,including this guy,actually have a conscience,a basic sense of right and wrong,and fear of God's ultimate judgment.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.