David LeBlanc, 16, and his fiancée, Loretta Bourque, 18
Facts of Crime: Sonnier was convicted of the slayings of Loretta Bourque, 18, and her fiance, David LeBlanc, 16. Each was shot three times in the head on November 5, 1977. Brothers Elmo and Eddie Sonnier were both convicted and sentenced to die for the deaths. The two pretended to be law enforcement officers, abducted the couple from a lovers lane near New Iberia and drove them more than 20 miles to a remote sugar cane field, where both raped the girl while the boy was handcuffed to a tree. Both teenagers were then murdered, shot three times each in the back of the head with a .22-caliber rifle. A month after the murders, both confessed that Elmo was the one who pumped three .22-caliber bullets into each of the victims' heads. Although Eddie initially was also given the death penalty, he managed to "give it back," as he put it, by claiming he did not pull the trigger. It was after his sentence was reduced to life in prison that he first said he was the triggerman. Elmo's death sentence was also reversed on procedural grounds. Upon a new sentencing hearing, he was again sentenced to death, despite Eddie changing his testimony and claiming that he had pulled the trigger.
The execution of Sonnier gained notoriety later, when it served as the foundation for a book written by Sister Helen Prejean: "Dead Man Walking."
Victims: Loretta Bourque and David LeBlanc
Time of Death: 12:15 a.m.
Manner of execution: Electric Chair
Last Meal: steak dinner
Final Statement: As he was led into the execution chamber, he looked at LeBlanc and said, "Mr. LeBlanc, I can understand the way you feel. I have no hatred in my heart, and as I leave this world, I ask God to forgive what...I have done." He then asked LeBlanc's forgiveness. Immediately after, Godfrey Bourque, the father of the other victim, who also witnessed the execution, said, "He didn't ask me." Both fathers sat expressionless, with their arms crossed, as the execution was carried out. They declined to talk to reporters afterward. Sonnier's last words were addressed to Prejean. "I love you," he said. "I love you, too," she replied.
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