Oklahoma executes Jehovah's Witness for rape and murder after he eats three apple filled bear claws for his last meal
- Anthony Rozelle Banks was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death for killing Sun 'Kim' Travis in 1979
- Travis was abducted from a Tulsa apartment complex parking lot, raped and shot in the head
- Banks put to death by lethal injection - the fourth execution in Oklahoma this year
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An Oklahoma death row inmate convicted of first-degree murder in the 1979 shooting death of a 25-year-old Korean national has been executed.
Sixty-one-year-old Anthony Rozelle Banks was pronounced dead Tuesday after he received a lethal injection of drugs at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester.
Banks is the fourth Oklahoma death row inmate to be executed this year.
Banks had a final meal of three apple-filled bear claw pastries and two 16-ounce bottles of water, according to a spokesman for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.
Lethal injection: Banks was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death by a Tulsa County jury for the June 6, 1979, killing of Sun 'Kim' Travis
Death penalty: Banks is the fourth Oklahoma death row inmate to be executed this year
Banks was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death by a Tulsa County jury for the June 6, 1979, killing of Sun 'Kim' Travis.
Travis was abducted from a Tulsa apartment complex parking lot, raped and shot in the head. Her body was found in a roadside ditch.
'I can't express the terrible things I've done. I'm sorry,' Banks said.
'To know that I took lives hurts me,' he said. He said he knew he had also hurt the victims' family members.
'This is justified,' Banks said. 'I've done one good thing in my life and that is to become a Jehovah's Witness. For that, I'm eternally grateful.'
Praying for change: Death penalty opponents join together to pray outside the Governor's Mansion in Oklahoma City, following the execution of Anthony Banks, who was executed at the state penitentiary in McAlester, Oklahoma
Opposed: Death penalty opponent Sadie Mast, right, prays along with Dane Gill, left, and Margaret Cox, center, outside the Governor's mansion in Oklahoma City, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2013, at the time of the execution of Anthony Banks
A barbaric act: D.W.Hearn holds a rosary as he protests the death penalty outside the Governor's Mansion in Oklahoma City. He said he believes Oklahoma will eventually abolish the death penalty
Banks, strapped to a gurney with IV lines attached to his arms, acknowledged witnesses to his execution, including his attorney, Tom Hird of the Federal Public Defender's Office in Oklahoma City, and an unidentified spiritual adviser.
'I'm thankful everybody's here. I appreciate that,' he said.
Banks singled out Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz, who also witnessed his execution.
'I haven't seen you in years, decades,' Banks said with a smile.
Banks closed his eyes and took several deep breaths as the lethal drugs were injected into his body. He appeared to grimace briefly before he stopped breathing and his body went limp.
No one from the victim's family witnessed Banks' execution. Attorney General Scott Pruitt issued a statement beforehand that said his thoughts were with the victim's family.
Last meal: Banks feasted on a last meal of three apple bear claw doughnuts and some water
Over after 34 years: Anthony Rozelle Banks was put on death row and given lethal injection the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester
'Anthony Banks brutally ended the life of an innocent young woman and has proven his willingness to continue committing violent crimes,' Pruitt said.
About five people protested the execution at the governor's mansion in Oklahoma City.
One of the protesters, D.W. Hearn, 68, held a rosary. He said he was praying for the man about to be executed, the man's family and the victim's family. He said he believes Oklahoma will eventually abolish the death penalty.
Banks has asked that his daughter and a spiritual adviser, as well as his attorney and defense investigators, be present to witness his execution.
Banks and a co-defendant, Allen Wayne Nelson, 54, were charged in the victim's death in August 1997, when their DNA was detected in evidence found on Travis' body and clothing.
A 12-member jury convicted Nelson of first-degree murder and sentenced him to life in prison.
Banks was already serving a life prison sentence for his conviction in the April 11, 1978, slaying of a Tulsa convenience store clerk during an armed robbery when he was linked to Travis' death by DNA evidence 18 years after her death.
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