John Louis Evans III was born in Beaumont, Texas on January 4, 1950
Facts of the Crime: After his 1976 parole from an Indiana prison, Evans (born in Beaumont, Texas on January 4, 1950) and fellow convict Wayne Ritter embarked on a two-month long crime spree involving, by Evans's own admission, over thirty armed robberies, nine kidnappings, and two extortion schemes across seven states. On January 5, 1977 he and Ritter robbed and killed Edward Nassar, a pawn shop owner in Mobile, Alabama while his two young daughters were in the store. The perpetrators fled, but were captured on March 7 by FBI agents in Little Rock, Arkansas. Among the evidence recovered was the gun used to shoot Nassar in the back, and another gun stolen from the pawn shop.
Time of Death: 12:15 AM
Manner of Execution: Electrocution
Last Meal: Evans requested ‘steak, shrimp and french fries’, however, ‘it was not available so it was ordered from a nearby hotel restaurant and the warden [JD White] paid for it out of his own pocket’. Evans had also ‘requested a six-pack of beer with his last meal, but was denied by Alabama Prison Commission Fred Smith, because “alcohol is not allowed” on prison property’
Final Words: Evans, 33, a drifter from Beaumont, Texas, convicted of killing a Mobile pawnbroker, had asked that his final statement remain private. But when the warrant was read and it was Evans’ turn to speak, Prison Chaplain Martin Weber, one of nine men in the small observation room, began to quote the condemned man’s last words. “He’s saying, ‘I have no malice for anyone, no hatred for anyone,’” Weber, apparently knowing what Evans intended to say, whispered to the witnesses. Prison Commissioner Fred Smith turned and shook finger as if scolding a child, and Weber fell silent. One of Evan’s final wishes had been violated.
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