John Ruthell Henry Executed, Asked for Forgiveness Before Dying
John Ruthell Henry, 63, was executed by the state of Florida last night, after being found guilty of murdering his wife and her young son in 1985. Henry asked for God's forgiveness and told the victims' families that he was sorry for what he had done.
"I can't undo what I've done," Henry told those present at his execution. "If I could, I would. I ask for your forgiveness if you can find it in your heart."
Henry was then injected with a combination of midazolam hydrochloride, vecuronium bromide, and potassium chloride. According to reports, he went peacefully and was pronounced dead at 7:43 p.m.
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His death brought some comfort and justice for Selena Geiger, niece and cousin of Henry's victims: Suzanne Henry and her 5-year-old son Eugene Christian.
"I actually feel good," Geiger told the Tampa Bay Times. "I don't feel sorry for him. I wish it could've been different. I wish he could've died the way he killed them."
Henry was actually convicted of three murders. In 1976, he stabbed his girlfriend Patricia Roddy 20 times in the front of a car while her children sat in the back. Henry was found guilty of her murder and served just over seven years in prison. According to the Times, he was a "model" inmate and released. However, he returned to the drug scene and became violent.
He murdered Suzanne after the two got into an argument; Henry then took Eugene for a final meal. While he smoked crack with the little boy on his lap, he stabbed him and left his body in a field. The stabbings of Suzanne and Eugene were so severe they were nearly decapitated.
"You see movies and you see TV shows about bad guys, but you never really know," Geiger said. "This man showed me that true evil really exists. We have some closure. Justice has finally been done."
Henry was the third inmate executed in a matter of 24 hours across the nation after a seeming moratorium was enacted after the botched execution of an inmate in Oklahoma two months ago.
