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'I AM AN INNOCENT MAN'

Dustin Higgs execution: What were his final words?

DEATH row inmate Dustin Higgs was executed on January 16 at Terre Haute prison complex.

by the government prior to the president’s final days in office.

Terre Haute prison complex in Indiana
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Terre Haute prison complex in IndianaCredit: AP:Associated Press
Dustin Higgs was executed on January 16
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Dustin Higgs was executed on January 16Credit: savedustinjhiggs.com

What were Higgs’ final words?

he spoke his last words on the conviction saying: “I'd like to say I am an innocent man as he mentioned the three women by name. "I did not order the murders.”

Higgs was sentenced for the 1996 murder and kidnapping of three young women in Maryland. this month

Higgs was sentenced for the 1996 murder and kidnapping of three young women in Maryland
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Higgs was sentenced for the 1996 murder and kidnapping of three young women in Maryland

His execution was postponed as he had contracted .

Higgs’ attorneys had called on the Department of Justice to withdraw his execution date after he contracted the virus.

The litigation stated that the execution would be a violation of the US constitution's Eighth Amendment prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment while Higgs was still recovering from the virus.

How long did it take for him to die?

As Higgs was administered the injection, he reportedly looked toward a room reserved for his relatives and lawyers, waved his fingers and said, “I love you.”

As Higgs was administered the injection, he reportedly looked toward a room reserved for his relatives and lawyers, waved his fingers and said, “I love you”
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As Higgs was administered the injection, he reportedly looked toward a room reserved for his relatives and lawyers, waved his fingers and said, “I love you”Credit: Dustin Higgs Defence Team

His eyes began to roll back and his stillness grew, with his pupils visible and his eyelids left partially open.

Higgs was pronounced dead at 1.23am.

How long was he in prison?

Higgs had been in jail over 25 years prior to being executed.

In January 1996, Higgs and two friends drove from to Maryland to pick up Black, Jackson, and Chinn, whom Higgs had invited to his apartment in Laurel, Maryland.

Higgs was the last prisoner to be executed this month by the US government
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Higgs was the last prisoner to be executed this month by the US governmentCredit: EPA

Once at the apartment, Higgs made advances towards Jackson, which she rejected, and the girls ultimately all left together.

Higgs offered to take the women back to Washington DC, but instead, a secluded area in the Patuxent National Wildlife Refuge ordered the women out of the vehicle, gave a gun to one of his friends, and said, “better make sure they’re dead.” 

One of Higgs' friends shot Black and Jackson in the chest and back, and then shot Chinn in the back of the head, killing all three women.

Lisa Montgomery, the only female inmate on federal death row has been executed for murder in Indiana
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