Before the U.S. Supreme Court halted his execution this week, Keith Tharpe spoke into a microphone to deliver what he expected would be his last recorded words.
The 59-year-old man made sure the family of his victim, Jacquelyn Freeman, knew he regretted murdering her on a Jones County road on Sept. 25, 1990.
“OK. Hey, uh, I’m Keith Tharpe and, uh, I want to say I’m sorry to, to the Freeman family,” Tharpe said, according to a transcript released on Wednesday from the state Department of Corrections in response to an open records request filed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“You know me taking the life of her was very wrong and, uh, I sincerely wish y’all would be able to be forgiving one day,” Tharpe said.
“God bless y’all. That’s all I can say.”
Later that night -- 3 ½ hours after the time the state had set for his execution -- the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay.
Tharpe was not executed so his “final” recorded statement was not final after all.
The justices granted a temporary stay so they could decide if they will hear Tharpe’s claim that one of the jurors who voted to convict and sentence him to death was motivated by a racial bias.
The warrant that set his execution will remain in effect until noon on Tuesday.
If the justices take his case, the stay will remain in place until the justices reach a final decision.
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