Grasso's calm death during Oklahoma execution
Thomas Grasso, 41, described his crime calmly as he was strapped to the Oklahoma prison gurney. Witnesses noted a composed finish with the first drug taking effect at 12:17 a.m. and Grasso dying quietly at 12:21 a.m. after expressing a wish to die rather than life in prison.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
O’neal
Grasso
Larry Fisher
Tulsa
KVOO
Anthony Thornton
The
Daily Oklahoman
Grasse
Jim Harris
Ward
Larry Fields
Oklahoma
Correcons
Don Brooks
Catholic Prison Ministries
Diocese of
Archdiocese of
Oklahoma City
Brooks
Grasso Executed in Oklahoma Thirteen Years After Christmas Killings
Grasso was executed in the Oklahoma death chamber after strangling 87 year old Hilda Johnson on Christmas Eve 1990 and later an 81 year old Staten Island woman. He declined breakfast and lunch, received his last meal with a spaghetti order mix up, and dictated multiple statements and a poem before dying at 12:22 a.m. Witnesses described a quiet, "motorboat" breath and a calm exit as the procedure concluded.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Cuomo
Grasso
Oklahoma
Drew Edmondson
Pataki
Tulsa
Hilda Johnson
Leslie Holtz
Staten Island
Burger King
Ward
Outside prison crowds sing and mock Grasso execution
McAlester Oklahoma. Four Eastern Oklahoma State College students chant Dum dum dum and mock the death, while about twenty protesters pray and sing Amazing Grace as Thomas Grasso is executed for Christmas Eve 1990 Tulsa murder. Revelers mix laughter with prayers in a small turnout on a mild morning.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Mcalester
Okla
Thomas Grasso
Grasso
Oklahoma State Penitentiary
Tulsa
Kyle Cunningham
Eastern Oklahoma State College
Wilburton
Grasso Executed After Tulsa Family Reflects
In Tulsa a family gathered around a single flame as Thomas Grasso was executed for the Christmas Eve 1990 strangling of Hilda Johnson, 87, after a $4 penny and television robbery. Granddaughter and others spoke of healing as Grasso awaited death on Oklahoma’s death row releasing a poem titled A Visit With Mystery two hours before his death.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Tulsa
Okla
Oklahoma State Penitentiary
Thomas Grasso
Hilda Johnson
Alice Simms
Grasso
Mcalester
Oklahoma
Mr. E
Calvin Johnson
Tulsa County
Yvonne
Lana” Grooms
New York
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