The last man to be executed in California had some truly chilling last words after spending more than 23 years on death row.
76-year-old Clarence Ray Allen was sentenced to death for ordering the murders of three people in 1980 while serving a life sentence for another killing.
Allen was initially sentenced to life in prison in March 1978 having been convicted of burglary, first-degree murder, and conspiracy. It all came about as a result of a planned burglary in 1974.
He planned a burglary of Fran's Market in Fresno, California, with two men who worked for him at his security guard business and Mary Sue Kitts, his son's girlfriend. But, after Mary told the young Schletewitz that it was Allen who had robbed the market, he decided something would have to be done about the young woman and arranged her death.
Allen was arrested and sent to Folsom State Prison. While there, he planned to kill the people who had informed on him, leading to his imprisonment. He befriended Billie Ray Hamilton in prison, and three days after Hamilton's parole, Allen's son picked him up from the bus station and provided him with weapons for the planned murders.
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On September 4, 1980, Hamilton and his girlfriend, Connie Barbo, went to Fran's Market. They bought some meat from Joe Rias. Mr. Rias, Douglas White, Byron Schletewitz, and Josephine Rocha ended up in the storeroom, where Hamilton, armed with a sawed-off shotgun, ordered them to lie down. He then took Mr. White to the freezer, but when told there was no safe there, they returned to the storeroom.
Hamilton asked Schletewitz for the safe keys, which were handed over. Hamilton ordered Barbo to watch the others while he and Schletewitz went to the safe. Schletewitz promised to give Hamilton all the money. Mr. Rias later testified that he heard shuffling and a bang from the safe area.
Hamilton was found to have shot the market owner's son at close range with a shotgun. He then asked Mr White about the location of the safes, and when he didn't know, Hamilton shot him in the chest and stomach.
Another gunshot was heard, which later turned out to be the one that killed Josephine Rocha. Hamilton tried to kill Mr Rias too, but he shielded his face with his arm, which got severely injured. Before running away, Hamilton and Barbo made sure the other three victims were dead.
Hamilton was later caught as a suspect in a robbery and assault case in Modesto. The police found an address book with Clarence Ray Allen's name among his belongings. This led them to connect the dots between the murders and a previous burglary at Fran's Market, for which Allen had been convicted.
After further investigation, inmate Clarence Ray Allen was arrested. He was found guilty of three counts of first-degree murder and was sent to San Quentin's death row on December 2, 1982.
'It's a good day to die'
Allen, who had been on death row for 23 years and one month, was executed by lethal injection at San Quentin State Prison on January 17, 2006, at 12.20am. He was declared dead 18 minutes later at 12.38pm.
Before his execution, Allen savored a last meal of buffalo steak, KFC, all-white meat, fried bread, sugar-free pecan pie, sugar-free black walnut ice cream, and whole milk. His final words were: "First of all I'd like to say how good the last meal was, how much I enjoyed it and how much I love my family and friends who have stood by me all these years."
"I'd also like to thank my friends from Europe who have written to me and my spiritual advisor Richard Williams, one lady, Henny Ripp from Holland, and another lady from Italy, Christine Kaufmann, who I gave an Indian name of Morning Sun, and she's been that to me, and all of the inmates on death row that I'm leaving behind that they will be joining me one day."
"One good friend I've got that I hate to leave behind who's been my neighbour for 20 years in Ward Weaver. And all of my family that was here to visit me during this period, I love you very much for being with me during this time."
His last words were: "My last words will be, 'Hoka Hey, it's a good day to die.' Thank you very much. I love you all. Goodbye."
The families finally feel they have justice.
Allen was the second oldest person to be put to death since the US Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment in 1976. By the end, he was a blind wheelchair user, with his lawyers calling for clemency due to his health and age. Due to his health conditions, prison authorities arranged for Allen to be brought to the execution chamber in a wheelchair and lifted onto the gurney for the lethal injection to be administered.
Patricia Pendergrass, sister of victim Bryon Schletewitz, told ABC News: "His mind is still very clear. His mind is just the way it was when he was 50 years old and planned this heinous crime. He knows exactly why he will be taken into that execution chamber."
Bryon's family issued a statement after Allen's execution, saying: "Over thirty years ago with the burglary of the Chletewitz family business, Ray and Fran Schletewitz and their son Bryon were drawn into Clarence Allen's destruction of lives. Clarence Allen took the life of Mary Kitts with premeditation and was sent inside prison walls."
"We all thought we were free of him. He sent an assassin to kill Bryon for testifying against him. Two other young people, Josephina Rocha and Douglas White, died because they were working with Bryon. Clarence Allen destroyed the happiness of the Schletewitz family, the Rocha family, the White family, and the Kitts family."
"It has taken thirty years from the burglary of Fran's Market to this night for Clarence Allen to receive his just punishment. The Schletewitz family wishes to express gratitude to the men and women who stood by our families to ensure a just end of Clarence Allen's destruction of lives."
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story.
