OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (TCN) — A man on death row died by lethal injection Thursday, 18 years after he suffocated a 10-year-old girl and had cannibalistic fantasies about eating her body.
According to The Associated Press, Kevin Ray Underwood’s execution process began at 10:04 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 19. He became unconscious minutes later, then was declared deceased at 10:14 a.m. Underwood was sentenced to death for the 2006 murder of Jamie Rose Bolin.
Dec. 19 was also Underwood’s 45th birthday. He reportedly said, “The decision to execute me on my birthday and six days before Christmas was a needlessly cruel thing to do to my family. But I’m very sorry for what I did and I wish I could take it back.”
The Oklahoman reports prior to the injection Underwood apologized for “all the terrible things I did,” adding, “I hate that I did those things, and I wish I could take them back.”
Underwood petitioned for clemency, but the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board rejected his request on Dec. 13. Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said following the decision, “I am pleased the board voted to deny clemency for this deeply evil monster and ensured that justice will be delivered for Jamie Rose Bolin. Jamie’s family has waited 18 excruciating years for justice that finally will be carried out when this murderer is executed.”