A Missouri man who long maintained his innocence was executed Tuesday for the fatal shooting of a state trooper more than 20 years ago.
Lance Shockley, 48, was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m. following a lethal injection at the state prison in Bonne Terre.
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Shockley was convicted of killing Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Carl Dewayne Graham Jr. in March 2005. Prosecutors said he waited for hours near Graham’s home in Van Buren, in southeast Missouri, and shot him with a rifle and shotgun after the trooper exited his patrol vehicle.
Shockley’s execution was one of two in the country Tuesday. Samuel Lee Smithers, 72, died by lethal injection in Florida for the killings of two women whose bodies were found in a rural pond in 1996.
In the death chamber, Shockley’s head was elevated on a pillow, and he raised his head off the pillow and communicated with loved ones in the witness room to his left. A woman there appeared to try to carry on a detailed conversation with him from his soundproof room.
After about 90 seconds, he laid his head back on the pillow and appeared to stop talking.
There were seven witnesses present for Shockley, 12 for Graham and 13 for the state. The woman who was communicating with him dropped her head and stopped motioning after he laid his head back. At least two women wiped tears from the eyes, and other witnesses largely sat stoic and expressionless.
Shockley's final visits, meal and statement
He was visited by his daughters and a friend in the morning, according to prison officials. His last meal consisted of items from the canteen: peanut butter, three packs of oatmeal, water and two sports drinks.
In a written final statement, he said: “So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.”
The execution was carried out after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his final appeals earlier in the day. GOP Gov. Mike Kehoe turned down his request for clemency Monday.
“Violence against those who risk their lives every day to protect our communities will never be tolerated. Missouri stands firmly with our men and women in uniform,” Kehoe said in a statement.
‘A profound emptiness’
Graham's family issued a statement saying the grief from his loss “has left a profound emptiness in all of us that touches every part of our daily lives.
“No court proceeding, nor what happened here today can ever bring Dewayne back, or heal the hole left in our hearts,” it continued. “But after all these years, there is some measure of peace in knowing that this part of the process is over.”
Col. Michael Turner, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, said Graham represented the very best of the force, was respected by co-workers and the community and was “unwavering in his commitment to helping others.”
Lawyers sought DNA testing
Shockley’s attorneys were unsuccessful in their efforts to have state appeals courts stop his execution in order to allow DNA testing of evidence found at the scene of the killing. His lawyers argued that much of that evidence had never been tested and could have helped exonerate Shockley.
“Even a small chance of exoneration is enough to warrant testing,” his lawyers said in court documents.
They also asked the Supreme Court for a stay, arguing that his First Amendment rights were being violated since the Missouri Department of Corrections prohibited his daughter from being his spiritual adviser during the execution. In March 2022 the Supreme Court ruled that states must allow spiritual advisers to accompany inmates in the death chamber.
Missouri officials argued that state prison policy prevents family members from having direct contact with inmates during an execution due to security concerns they might interfere with the process.
Outside the prison Tuesday, about 90 people protested in opposition to the death penalty and three more showed up to demonstrate in favor, according to corrections spokesperson Karen Pojmann.
Graham was investigating Shockley
Authorities said Shockley shot Graham because he was investigating him for involuntary manslaughter after leaving the scene of a deadly accident in which Shockley’s best friend was killed. Prosecutors said Shockley borrowed his grandmother’s red Pontiac Grand Am, which was seen near Graham’s home the day of the killing.
Shockley first shot Graham with a rifle, severing his spinal cord and causing him to fall to the ground and fracture his skull, according to prosecutors. He then approached and shot Graham in the face and shoulder with a shotgun.
Shockley owned a .243-caliber rifle, and .243-caliber rounds were recovered from Graham’s body. Bullet fragments found on the property of Shockley’s uncle matched the rounds recovered from the trooper’s body, according to court documents filed by the Missouri Attorney General’s Office.
Defense said case was circumstantial
Jeremy Weis, one of Shockley’s attorneys, said prosecutors presented no direct evidence connecting him to the killing.
“The state’s case remained circumstantial,” Weis said last week while discussing the case during a forum at the University of Missouri School of Law. “The murder weapons were never found. There were disagreements between the ballistics experts hired by the prosecution.”
Shockley’s attorney also said witnesses placed him about 14 miles (23 kilometers) from Graham’s home at a time when prosecutors said he was lying in wait there.
Prosecutors said Shockley inquired about where Graham lived beforehand and tried to get rid of a box of .243-caliber ammunition around the time of the killing, according to court documents.
Favorable DNA test results, “even if obtained, would not tend to undermine Shockley’s conviction,” prosecutors said.
Shockley is the first person put to death this year in Missouri, where no other executions are scheduled for 2025. The last one in the state took place Dec. 3, 2024, when Christopher Collings died by lethal injection for the sexual assault and killing of a 9-year-old girl.
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Lozano reported from Houston. Follow him online at https://x.com/juanlozano70