The Department of Criminal Justice is reportedly complying with a state senator's request that
they no longer give condemned criminals the last word. Sen. John Whitmire said a death row
inmate's final statement must be read to the public before execution, and no written statement
should be read to the public afterward. Last week, John William King was executed for the 1998
murder of James Byrd Jr. in Jasper. King left behind a statement that was read after his
execution: "Capital punishment: Them without the capital get the punishment."