PARCHMAN — Hart Turner died without expressing remorse for his crimes at 6:21 p.m. today, while the family of one of his victims said justice had finally been served.
Wearing a red jumpsuit, Turner, 38, showed little movement after a lethal injection began flowing into his arm.
Emmitt Sparkman, superintendent of the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman, lowered a microphone to Turner’s mouth before the dose was administered.
“Last statement?” Sparkman said.
“No,” Turner replied.
Afterward, Roy Curry, brother of victim Everett Curry, read from a prepared statement to the gathered media.
“This awful person brutally murdered a beloved husband, father and brother. The hurt and pain are just as real to us now as it was on that day 16 years ago,” he said. “During this entire ordeal, the families of those who perpetrated this violent crime have never offered any statement of remorse or apologies for taking Everett's life and leaving behind his wife and two young children.”
Members of the family of the other victim, Eddie Brooks, observed the execution but did not speak to the press.
Turner’s body was released to Williams and Lord Funeral Home of Greenwood.
Earlier, MDOC Commissioner Chris Epps said Turner didn’t appear to be mentally ill when Epps met with him but that Turner declined to discuss his crime when Epps asked him about it.
“He appears to be on the ball,” Epps said while giving a 4:45 p.m. update to reporters.
Epps said he’d not received any word from the U.S. Supreme Court regarding the possibility of a stay of execution. But Epps, who said this is his 17th execution, said such stays have come as late as when the inmate was being taken out of his cell.
Later, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to block the execution. Earlier in the day, Gov. Phil Bryant had refused to grant a reprieve.
“After reviewing the facts associated with Mr. Edwin Hart Turner’s case, I have decided not to grant clemency for his violent acts. Mr. Turner has been convicted by a jury of his peers and I see no reason to delay his execution,” Brytant's statement said.
Epps said he learned that the execution was back on when an attorney from the Mississippi attorney general’s office called him at 9:40 this morning.
Turner was eating his last meal as Epps gave the update.
The condemned man from Greenwood was described as talkative with his family as he waited in a holding cell in Unit 17 for his execution.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans this morning had rescheduled the execution for today.
No one disputes that Turner killed Curry, 38, of Greenwood and Eddie Brooks, 37, of North Carrollton during a robbery spree at two Carroll County convenience stores on Dec. 13, 1995.
His lawyers had argued he should not be executed because they say he is mentally ill.
Turner’s final meal today included a porterhouse steak and fried shrimp, Mississippi Department of Corrections officials said.
Turner met with his mother, LaDonna Turner; his aunts, Pam Cresswell and Marsha Downs; and two cousins, Shelley Shaw and Jamie Yates. He made one phone call to his attorney, Lori Bell of Carrollton.
He ate breakfast at his normal holding cell on death row, Unit 29, before transferring to Unit 17.
He requested a last meal of porterhouse steak, medium rare; fried shrimp with cocktail sauce; two slices of Texas toast; side salad with Russian dressing; one pack of red Twizzlers candy; and sweet tea.
Turner requested that his family not witness the execution. Witnesses include his spiritual advisor, Tim Murphy, attorneys Jim Craig and Bell; victims’ family members Martha Primus, Carla Holmes, Everett Curry Jr. and Michael Curry; sheriffs James Haywood of Sunflower County and Billy McGee of Forrest County; and media members.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves in Jackson blocked the execution until Feb. 20, but Attorney General Jim Hood had asked the 5th Circuit Tuesday to reverse the order.
Turner and Murrell Stewart, a 17-year-old from Greenwood, drove around Leflore and Carroll counties drinking beer and smoking marijuana prior to the killings. Turner’s face is disfigured from a 1991 attempt to kill himself in his driveway on Poplar Street.
Stewart pleaded guilty and received a life sentence in exchange for testifying against Turner.
