In 2020, Wesley Ira Purkey endured a painfully slow execution after a well-known error regarding his last meal order. Purkey was convicted for the brutal 1998 kidnapping and murder of 16-year-old Jennifer Long.
He tricked Jennifer into his vehicle near a supermarket and took her home, where he assaulted and killed her. He then dismembered and burned her body, scattering parts to hide the crime.
Shortly after, Purkey murdered 80-year-old Mary Bales and was arrested after suspicious neighbors called authorities. Sentenced to life in state prison, Purkey later told authorities about Jennifer’s murder, seeking transfer to federal prison, where he received the death penalty.
He was executed with lethal pentobarbital. The autopsy showed he experienced serious pulmonary edema, causing fluid to fill his lungs and throat—that means a suffocating and painful death.
Doctors believe pentobarbital causes prisoners to suffer intense feelings of drowning during execution.
Purkey expressed sorrow towards Jennifer’s family and his daughter before his death, criticizing the way he was killed as a meaningless, “sanitized murder.”
Concerns about his mental state, possibly Alzheimer’s, were raised. The night before he died, he viewed a Bill Clinton interview and said he would vote for him.
Purkey had requested pecan pie for his last meal but asked for it “later,” not realizing the meal would not be served after his execution.
