David Hosier was put to death in Missouri on Tuesday night. He was found guilty of killing two people in 2009 but claimed his innocence.
He was found guilty of shooting and killing a couple in Jefferson City in September 2009 and was given the death penalty after a jury unanimously chose that as the best punishment.
“I’ve been able to say the truth about how innocent I am.” “I’ve been able to show other lawyers how to deal with rude clients,” Hosier said he planned to say in a final statement that was given to NBC News. “Family and friends, both new and old, have helped me remember good times.” I’ve learned how to be my whole self.
Karen Pojmann, a spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Corrections, said that Hosier was put to death by lethal injection at the state prison in Bonne Terre. She was declared dead at 6:11 p.m.
Hosier, who is 69 years old, said earlier that he also planned to thank the Rev. Jeff Hood, who is his spiritual advisor and has been involved in other high-profile death row cases, such as the first execution in the U.S. using nitrogen gas earlier this year.
His lawyers didn’t answer when asked for comment before the execution.
Hosier had told NBC News from jail that he was angry that his lawyers focused on his childhood and how it affected his mental health instead of the details of the crime when they were presenting his clemency petition.
A 19-page plea for clemency says that Hosier’s stress from the murder of his own father as a child is a mitigating factor in his case. Uncle Glen Hosier was a police officer in Indiana who died on the job when Hosier was sixteen years old.
The petition said, “David fell into a lifelong depression, and while at times he seemed to be on the verge of some success, his mental health struggles would ultimately determine his life’s course.” It also talked about his “record of service,” pointing out that he joined the Navy and later became an EMT and firefighter.
Hosier said he didn’t agree with the way his lawyers were looking at things.
“Fifty-three years ago, my dad was killed,” he stated. “I told them not to use any of that. It has nothing to do with this case.
On Monday, Hosier asked Missouri Gov. Mike Parson to spare his life, but Parson said no and said the execution would happen because “he displays no remorse for his senseless violence” and “earned maximum punishment under the law.”
The couple Rodney and Angela Gilpin from Jefferson City were shot and killed, and Hosier was found guilty of their murder. He revealed that he had an affair with Gilpin while she was having an affair with someone else.
But Gilpin broke up with Hosier, and court records show that she got back together with her husband. After a month, the police said Hosier broke into their apartment and killed the couple.
Prosecutors said Gilpin’s purse had papers for a protective order against Hosier and one saying she was afraid he would shoot her and her husband. They said Hosier was a jealous ex-lover who wanted to get even.
Soon after the bodies were found, Hosier was caught in Oklahoma. From his car, police found 15 guns, a bulletproof vest, many rounds of ammunition, and a knife. Court records show that all but one of the guns were loaded. Prosecutors said the murder weapon was a submachine gun from World War II. But the results of the ballistics tests were “inconclusive,” a criminalist said at Hosier’s hearing.
Prosecutors said there was also a note in Hosier’s car that could be used against him. It said, in part, “If you are going with someone, do not lie to them” and “be honest with them if there is something wrong.” This could happen to YOU if you don’t do it!!
When he was caught in Oklahoma, Hosier said he wasn’t trying to get away. He said he liked long drives to clear his mind and would often bring his guns with him because he hunted.
“I know two people died.” Not long ago, he told NBC News, “I know I got blamed for it.” He also said that there were no fingerprints, eyewitness accounts, or DNA proof linking him to the crime scene.
Hosier was found guilty of murder in the first degree, armed criminal action, theft in the first degree, and having a gun without a permit while a felon.
The state Department of Corrections said Hosier’s last meal was a New York strip steak, a baked potato with butter and sour cream, Texas toast, Dutch apple pie, orange juice, and milk. It was served at 11 a.m. on Tuesday.
Hosier was moved from jail to a hospital in May. There, he was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, a heart condition that makes the heart beat very irregularly. He was tired and short of breath when he talked from jail last week.
He meant for his last words from the death room to be “I leave you all with love.”
“Don’t cry for me,” it says in his letter. “Just join me when your time comes.”
Source: NBC News
