In 2020, Wesley Ira Purkey, a 68-year-old death row inmate, suffered a painful and distressing execution partially linked to a mistake involving his last meal request. Purkey was convicted for the kidnapping, rape, and murder of 16-year-old Jennifer Long in 1998.
According to reports, Purkey lured Jennifer into his pickup truck outside a supermarket. She was last seen attending skipping lessons on January 22. He then took her to his home, where he assaulted and murdered her before dismembering her body with a chainsaw. Purkey burned her remains and scattered her bones in a septic pond to cover up the crime.
Later that year, while working as a plumber, Purkey brutally beat 80-year-old Mary Bales with a claw hammer and attempted to burn her home. Neighbors witnessed suspicious behavior and contacted the police. Purkey was arrested, pled guilty to Bales’ murder, and received life imprisonment. In hope of serving time in federal prison, he confessed to the murder of Jennifer Long, but without any guarantee regarding his punishment for that crime.
Eventually, Purkey was sentenced to death for Jennifer Long’s murder. He was executed by lethal injection using pentobarbital. An autopsy showed severe fluid buildup in his lungs and airway, causing “frothy pulmonary oedema,” which led to sensations of drowning and suffocation during the process.
Dr. Gail Van Norman told News.com.au that pentobarbital is likely to cause intense suffering, including feelings of suffocation, for many inmates during execution.
Before his death, Purkey expressed remorse for the pain he caused Jennifer’s family and his own daughter. He called his execution a “sanitized murder” without purpose.
Concerns had been raised about Purkey’s mental fitness to be executed, as he appeared to suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. The night before, he watched Bill Clinton on TV and stated he would vote for him in the upcoming election.
Regarding his last meal, Purkey requested pecan pie but asked that he receive it “later,” not realizing there would be no opportunity after the execution.
