Robert Van Hook convicted dies by lethal injection in Ohio

56th person put to death in Ohio since the death penalty resumed in the state in 1999. His time of death at the South African Correctional Facility in Luca According to prison guard Ron Erdos, Van Hook, crying, told the brother, sister and brother-in-law of his victim that he was "very sorry for taking away your brother." 19659008] "I'm not good," he says. "I hope you have peace now."

Van Hook then recited a poem and started singing, which stopped after 2 minutes when the drugs took effect.

The execution with the help of a cocktail of three drugs was unrolled without any problem. the 58-year-old inmate's chest who climbs up and down quickly for a few minutes before stopping.

► May 19: Texas school shooter will not face the death penalty, could
► May 14: Illinois gov wants to restore punishment of death for cop killers, mass murderers
► March 21: Execution by nitrogen near becoming law in Alabama

In February 1985, neighbor of the victim Van Hook's found David Self, 25, who almost disemboweled the Cincinnati apartment, about 80 miles northeast of the prison

. He was also drunk with a cigarette butt and the murder weapon itself: a paring knife.

Van Hook arrived Tuesday morning in Lucasville and spent the day watching television, sleeping, listening to music and talk to her family, according to the spokesperson of the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.

He had a restless night without much sleep. His final meal: three double cheeseburgers, three fries, a strawberry cheese cake with whipped cream, a large vanilla milkshake and grapefruit juice.

Van Hook ate leftover strawberry cheesecake from his last meal after he got up at 5 am, said Smith.

On the night of the 1985 massacre, Van Hook, then 25, met Self at Subway. Cincinnati Institution popular among gay men. During the appeal process, the Van Hook defense team said that "homosexual panic" may have motivated the murder.

The defense lawyers argued unsuccessfully that Van Hook's life should be spared.

However, Van Hook confessed to the police that he had stolen homosexuals since the age of 15.

He pleaded not guilty on the grounds of insanity. A panel of three judges in Hamilton County found him guilty and sentenced him to death

In May, the Ohio Parole Board voted against clemency for Van Hook. Governor John Kasich rejected his call for clemency without comment

. Self's family supported the execution, telling the parole board last month that he was missing every day. A test of Van Hook's veins Tuesday, before the lethal injection, found no problems, Smith said.

Ohioans to Stop Executions protested at Lucasville Prison and Columbus. Other demonstrations of capital punishment took place in Cleveland, Dayton, Euclid, Mansfield and Toledo.

"We think of the family of David Self, the family of Robert Van Hook and those who are responsible for another execution. said Kevin Werner, executive director of the group against the death penalty.

Tuesday night, Texas killed Christopher Young, 34, the eighth execution of this state this year. The execution of Van Hook becomes the 14th US lethal injection of 2018, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

The most recent execution of Ohio took place in September 2017, when Gary Otte was killed because of the murders of two people. days in the suburbs of Cleveland.