Harry Charles Moore
Born(1941-05-05)May 5, 1941
Salem, Oregon, U.S.
DiedMay 16, 1997(1997-05-16) (aged 56)
Oregon State Penitentiary, Salem, Oregon, U.S.
Cause of deathExecution by lethal injection
Other namesJerry Lee Moore
Children3
Conviction(s)Aggravated murder (2 counts)
Criminal penaltyDeath (July 20, 1993)
Details
VictimsThomas B. Lauri, 60
Barbara Jean Cunningham, 49
DateJune 5, 1992
CountryUnited States
State(s)Oregon

Harry Charles Moore (May 5, 1941 – May 16, 1997)[1] was an American convicted murderer who was executed in Oregon for the 1992 murders of Thomas Lauri and Barbara Cunningham. He was the second person executed by the state of Oregon since 1978 and remains the state's most recent execution.[2][3]

Murders

On June 5, 1992, Moore shot Thomas Lauri four times in the face with a 9 mm pistol in front of a Salem post office. He then drove to Barbara Cunningham's house, shot her in the abdomen, and then fired three more rounds into her head. Cunningham was Moore's half-sister, and Lauri was her former husband. Moore said he had killed them because he thought they would move to Las Vegas with his estranged wife and baby daughter and expose them to a life of prostitution and drugs.[4]

Sentencing and execution

Moore was sentenced to death on July 20, 1993. He later threatened to sue anyone who tried to stop his execution.[5] He also appealed to the Oregon Supreme Court to drop the automatic appeal of his sentence. Moore's last meal consisted of two green apples, two red apples, a tray of fresh fruit, and two 2-liter bottles of Coke.[6]

Just prior to the execution, Moore asked the warden if he could borrow the keys to the prison, promising to "bring them right back." The request was denied. As Moore lay dying, he whispered: "I want the last word I say to be Jennifer, J-e-n-n-i-f-e-r." Jennifer is the name of Moore's daughter by his niece Cindy Moore.[6]

Moore was executed by lethal injection on May 16, 1997.[7] He remains the second of only two people to be executed in Oregon since the resumption of the death penalty.[8] The other was convicted serial killer Douglas Franklin Wright in 1996.[3][9] Both waived their appeals and asked that the execution be carried out.[10][11][12]

See also

References

  1. ^ "OregonLive.com: Special From The Oregonian". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on May 16, 2007. Retrieved October 9, 2006.
  2. ^ Afshar, Paradise; Almasy, Steve (December 13, 2022). "Oregon governor calls death penalty 'immoral,' commutes sentences for all 17 inmates on death row". CNN. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Searchable Execution Database". Death Penalty Information Center. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  4. ^ "Oregon executes convicted killer, state's second in 34 years". Associated Press. May 16, 1997. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  5. ^ "1997 Year End Report: The Death Penalty in 1997". Death Penalty Information Center. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved October 9, 2006.
  6. ^ a b Baum, Bob (May 16, 1997). "To the end, Moore maintained murders were justified". Albany Democrat-Herald. pp. 1, 5. Retrieved November 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Oregon Executes a Killer". The New York Times. May 17, 1997. Archived from the original on July 2, 2018. Retrieved October 9, 2006.
  8. ^ "History of Capital Punishment in Oregon". Oregon Department of Corrections. Archived from the original on April 22, 2012. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  9. ^ Cain, Brad (December 20, 1996). "Convicted Killer Seeks Death Penalty Prisoner Berates Those Trying To Block His Execution". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  10. ^ Thompson, Semon Frank (September 15, 2016). "What I Learned From Executing Two Men". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 9, 2021. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  11. ^ Jones, Stephen (September 28, 2016). "Death Row prison boss relives executing two murderers - and how staff practise for more than a month". Daily Mirror. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  12. ^ Pindyck, Eben (May 5, 2018). "In the crosshairs of conscience: John Kitzhaber's death penalty reckoning". The Oregonian. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
Executions carried out in Oregon Preceded byDouglas Franklin WrightSeptember 6, 1996 Harry Charles Moore May 16, 1997 Succeeded byN/A Executions carried out in the United States Preceded byAnthony Westley – TexasMay 13, 1997 Harry Charles Moore – Oregon May 16, 1997 Succeeded byClifton Belyeu – TexasMay 16, 1997
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