Kenneth Hogan Executed for 1988 Murder: 'I Pray for Closure,' Victim's Mother Says
Kenneth Eugene Hogan, 52, was executed by the state of Oklahoma on Thursday night, after being sentenced to die for the murder of 21-year-old Lisa Stanley in 1988. He is the second person to be executed in the state this year.
Hogan was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m. after receiving the lethal injection. He apologized to the victim's family in his final moments.
"I am guilty for what I'm here for, and I take full responsibility for my actions," Hogan said. "And to Lisa's family, I say I'm sorry that I can't undo it. And I'm sorry to my family for all the pain I've caused."
He also thanked members of his family that came to be with him as he died and then, as the drugs were administered, said that there was a chemical taste in his mouth.
"I'm going. I'm going. I'm going," he uttered as he took his last breath.
Stanley's family is glad that Hogan received the death penalty for his crime. He reportedly stabbed the young woman more than 25 times in her back, neck, and chest. Hogan then trashed her apartment to make it look like a robbery and later claimed that he stabbed her in self-defense. A jury did not buy his story and he was sentenced to death.
"Kenneth Eugene Hogan was sentenced to death by a jury of his peers for the heinous stabbing of Lisa Renee Stanley, who was a young wife and a promising student. My thoughts and prayers are with Lisa's family and friends," Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt said in a public statement Thursday.
"You destroyed me and my family," Stanley's mother wrote to the state, urging them to carry out the execution. "I want peace and justice to be served for my daughter. I want for this nightmare to finally end. And on January 23, 2014, I pray for closure. It is well past due."
