415:(now a death row exoneree), and Neill once explained Williamson's mental behavior and problems in his letter to Williamson's sister, Renee. During his last days on death row, Neill described his spiritual journey since his incarceration; the letter concluded, "Above all, I enjoy the sharing of love, and positive thoughts. I’m as unjudgmental as I know how to be. I believe every person has an individual right to live their lives free of harm, and prejudice. I just wish I knew more about life when I was a confused 19-year-old – the age I was, when I committed this crime."
443:
really sorry for what I did to you. I'm not sorry for dying here today. I'm not sorry because I'm lying here. I'm sorry for the horrible, horrible thing I did. I hope you find some comfort in that, to know Robert
Johnson wasn't in that bank. I know you think he was, but he wasn't. Please forgive me." As he made that statement, his voice quivered and he complained of being dizzy before asking, "Are they starting?", then he prayed until he became unconscious, and Neill was pronounced dead at 6:18 p.m.
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393:, despite there being a dispute whether or not Johnson was present in the bank at the time of the robbery. Neill testified that Johnson was at home waiting on him during the robbery, however, he had previously maintained that Johnson had accompanied him in the bank. Marilyn Roach testified to hearing the voices of two men inside the bank.
360:
At around 1 p.m. on
December 14, Neill entered the First Bank of Chattanooga in Geronimo, and at gunpoint forced the three tellers working at the bank to the back room. The tellers, Kay Bruno (42), Jerri Bowles (19), and Joyce Mullenix (25) were told to lie face down on the floor, where Neill then
368:
of one of the tellers, four customers entered the bank, who were taken to the back room by Neill and shot in the head. Ralph Zeller (33) died from his wounds, becoming the fourth and final murder victim. Bellen and Reuben Robles as well as
Marilyn Roach would recover from their head wounds. Neill
442:
consisted of a double cheeseburger, fries, peach or cherry cobbler, a pint of vanilla ice cream and a large bottle of cran-grape juice. As he was on the gurney, he offered an apology to the families of Bruno, Bowles, Mullenix and Zeller, and to the
Robleses, saying, "I want everyone to know I'm
411:, Neill's friendship with anyone was always doubtful and his conversion to Christianity was often the topic of conversation, as his "friends" were skeptical of the sincerity of his conversion even though he delivered mini-sermons and quoted Scripture often. Neill lived diagonally across from
315:. The bank account had frequent checks returned due to insufficient funds, and they were frequently present at the Geronimo bank to work out their money problems. The Geronimo bank was a small facility, which was housed in a prefabricated building, and usually had only two
369:
attempted to shoot the couple's 14-month-old daughter, Marie, but the gun was out of bullets. Johnson was 16 miles away from the crime scene as the FBI report reflects. However
Johnson remains in prison 34 years later for Neill's crime.
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stolen from the bank were used to pay for hotel rooms, limousine rides and shopping excursions. Bills worth around $ 3,700 were found on Neill and in their hotel room. Johnson was sentenced to four
300:
in 1983. Neill met Robert Grady
Johnson in February 1984 at a bar, and the two became romantically involved. He was discharged from the military in the summer of 1984 after disclosing that he was
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and no surveillance cameras or security guards. Neill commented to
Johnson on more than one occasion on the absence of the security measures, and how easy he thought it would be to commit a
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leaving at 6 p.m. the next day. On the morning of
December 14, Neill and Johnson returned to the pawn shop Neill had attempted buy a gun from two days earlier, and purchased a
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Neill was sentenced to death twice, once in 1985 and again in 1992. During the time of his incarceration, he converted to
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in 2002. His coconspirator, Robert Grady
Johnson, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
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stabbed them to death. The three employees were stabbed a total of 75 times, and
Mullenix was six months pregnant.
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Jay Wesley Neill was the 54th person executed by the state of Oklahoma since resuming executions in 1990.
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492:"Bank-robbery slayer's execution set for tonight: Debt, overdue bills blamed for heist plot, mass murder"
634:"Geronimo bank slayings: 1984 crime made community stronger: Victim's family says it will never forget'"
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938:"Death by Dehumanization: Prosecutorial Narratives of Death-Sentenced Women and LGBTQ Prisoners"
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Sutton, Jessica; Mills, John R.; Merrigan, Jennifer; Swain, Kristin (February 11, 2022).
344:, and that same morning Neill went to a travel agent to purchase tickets for flights to
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occurred on December 14, 1984, when Jay Wesley Neill killed four people during a
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Jay Wesley Neill was born on April 9, 1965, and at 18-years-old he joined the
823:"From the Redder Dirt Files: The Geronimo Bank Robbery, massacre and manhunt"
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Johnson was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
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404:. The first death sentence was overturned due to procedural errors.
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552:"Geronimo massacre 29 years later: How one man escaped death row"
606:"Writ of Habeas Corpus denied for Geronimo bank robbery suspect"
336:
On December 12, 1984, Neill shopped for firearms at a local
675:
The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town
284:. Neill was convicted and sentenced to death, and was
911:"2 'Living It Up' In San Francisco Held In Killings"
471:
List of people executed in the United States in 2002
304:, and quickly began having financial difficulties.
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550:Dorner, Robin; Townsend, Ken (February 16, 2014).
377:Neill and Johnson were arrested on December 17 in
763:"Geronimo Bank Murderer Gets Life Without Parole"
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699:
519:"Remark About 'Gays' May Have Led To 4 Slayings"
1061:Attacks on buildings and structures in Oklahoma
713:Office of the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney
1021:Mass murder in the United States in the 1980s
8:
311:, and a joint checking account at a bank in
1056:Attacks on buildings and structures in 1984
735:"Neill Receives 4 Death Terms For 2nd Time"
434:on October 7, 2002, and he was executed by
259:without the possibility of parole (Johnson)
851:"The Geronimo Bank Murders: A Gay Tragedy"
352:Neill had seen during his previous visit.
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1051:December 1984 events in the United States
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307:Neill and Johnson shared an apartment in
1041:1984 mass shootings in the United States
576:Branstetter, Ziva (December 13, 2002).
482:
461:Capital punishment in the United States
733:Hutchison, Mark A. (August 30, 1992).
238:Attempted shooting with intent to kill
27:1984 mass murder during a bank robbery
981:Gay Oklahoman scheduled for execution
946:(SSRN Scholarly Paper). Rochester, NY
7:
849:Howarth, Joan W. (January 1, 2008).
836:from the original on August 29, 2021
761:Hutchison, Mark A. (July 29, 1993).
1026:Mass stabbings in the United States
885:"Two Found Guilty In Bank Slayings"
856:Tulane Journal of Law and Sexuality
490:Doucette, Bob (December 12, 2002).
466:List of people executed in Oklahoma
1031:Knife attacks in the United States
793:Ellis, Randy (December 20, 1984).
632:Zizzo, David (December 13, 2004).
604:Brasier, Andrew (August 9, 2019).
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1006:1984 murders in the United States
820:Rains, Scott (August 29, 2021).
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923:. December 18, 1984. p. 22
364:While Neill was attempting the
1016:Robberies in the United States
883:Kinyou, Chris (May 25, 1985).
795:"FBI Says Evidence Discovered"
531:. January 16, 1984. p. 17
456:Capital punishment in Oklahoma
1:
102:Show map of the United States
233:Shooting with intent to kill
99:Geronimo (the United States)
578:"Killer is dealt injection"
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1046:Mass shootings in Oklahoma
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389:with the possibility of
1001:Mass murder in Oklahoma
829:The Lawton Constitution
709:"Jay Wesley Neill #818"
400:at first, and then to
976:Jay Wesley Neill #818
943:St. John's Law Review
373:Arrest and conviction
274:Geronimo bank murders
35:Geronimo bank murders
438:on December 12. His
69:Show map of Oklahoma
996:Mass murder in 1984
971:Johnson v. Champion
890:The Daily Oklahoman
800:The Daily Oklahoman
356:Robbery and murders
228:First degree murder
146:34.4803°N 98.3831°W
142: /
66:Geronimo (Oklahoma)
916:The New York Times
869:10.17613/qsff-5y21
524:The New York Times
432:U.S. Supreme Court
430:was denied by the
313:Geronimo, Oklahoma
298:United States Army
282:Geronimo, Oklahoma
251:Capital punishment
689:978-0-440-24383-0
678:. Dell. pp.
426:Neill's sentence
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165:December 14, 1984
151:34.4803; -98.3831
16:(Redirected from
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1036:1984 in Oklahoma
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948:. Retrieved
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901:– via
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803:. p. 69
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669:"Chapter 11"
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501:. Retrieved
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398:Christianity
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383:Marked bills
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366:decapitation
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278:bank robbery
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180:bank robbery
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950:January 17,
927:January 16,
897:January 16,
893:. p. 1
874:January 15,
840:January 16,
807:January 16,
774:January 16,
746:January 16,
718:January 25,
645:January 16,
617:January 16,
583:Tulsa World
561:January 17,
535:January 16,
503:January 17,
342:gun license
332:Preparation
224:Convictions
216:Perpetrator
176:Mass murder
171:Attack type
149: /
124:Coordinates
990:Categories
589:August 25,
477:References
440:final meal
302:homosexual
292:Background
235:(3 counts)
230:(4 counts)
137:98°22′59″W
134:34°28′49″N
556:The Gayly
422:Execution
409:death row
407:While on
834:Archived
666:(2007).
450:See also
402:Buddhism
350:revolver
338:pawnshop
286:executed
244:Sentence
116:Geronimo
112:Location
93:Geronimo
60:Geronimo
611:KSWO-TV
327:Robbery
321:robbery
317:tellers
253:(Neill)
208:Injured
186:Weapons
686:
428:appeal
391:parole
200:Deaths
190:Pistol
680:291–2
194:Knife
952:2024
929:2024
899:2024
876:2024
842:2024
809:2024
776:2024
748:2024
720:2010
684:ISBN
647:2024
619:2024
591:2021
563:2024
537:2024
505:2024
272:The
162:Date
865:doi
280:in
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921:AP
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