Last words of executed prisoners

A harrowing site for a Friday evening, this is a Texas state government site, listing the offences and last statements of executed prisoners.

Reading through them, two things occurred to me. First, while most last statements are thanks, a few statements are strong declarations of a perceived injustice, as pithy or as elegant in their way as “to the health of fair Kritias” (example). Second, the original offences leading to the murders which the state is killing these people are often tiny, trivial things – theft, mostly (of $5,000, a car, $220 etc.). So much for the deterrent effect of the death penalty.