Hung Le was executed by the State of Oklahoma for the murder of Hai Hong Nguyen
According to court documents Hung Le would strike Hai Hong Nguyen over the head with a metal bar however it failed to kill him. Le would grab a meat cleaver from the kitchen and strike Hai Hong Nguyen repeatedly causing his death
Hung Le would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
Hung Le would be executed by lethal injection on March 23 2004
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When Was Hung Le Executed
Hung Le was executed on March 23 2004
Hung Le Case
As 18 people prayed and sang hymns outside of the Oklahoma State Penitentiary, Hung Thanh Le looked out of the prison’s execution chamber, expressed sorrow for his crime and urged witnesses to love one another. Two minutes after he finished speaking, he was dead.
The 37-year-old Vietnamese refugee was pronounced dead at 6:04 p.m.; the fourth inmate executed in Oklahoma this year. He had been sentenced to death for killing another Vietnamese refugee, Hai Nguyen, with a meat cleaver and kitchen knife more than 11 years ago.
As the blinds to the state’s execution chamber raised at 6:01 p.m., Le raised his head from the gurney to which he was strapped. He smiled and nodded at those gathered in the witness room, including his brother, Thung Le, two spiritual advisors, five reporters and his brother-in-law, Hung Nguyen, who is no relation to the murder victim.
“Thank you for being here today,” Le said. “I would like to apologize for both families. “I can’t take back what happened. I hope my death will help replace the hatred with love for each other.” Le thanked Hung Nguyen and others for trying to stop his execution, something which had been temporarily accomplished when Gov. Brad Henry stopped a Feb. 26 execution to allow the Vietnamese consulate time to study Le’s case. Looking at the reporters, Le said, “If you see a stranger on the street and he needs help, help him. “I wish I could take back the thing I had done, but it’s impossible. We all make mistakes in our lives.”
He apologized for the grief and suffering of Thuy Nguyen, the murder victim’s wife, who had been injured when Le attacked the Oklahoma City beauty shop owner on Nov. 12, 1992. “I hope she can throw the hate from her vocabulary,” he said. “Again, thank you. “Good-bye everybody, I will see you in heaven. When you get there, I will be there.” About two minutes after the combination of lethal drugs began flowing into his veins, Le was dead.
In the hours leading up to the execution, Le’s supporters continued to fight for his life. Death penalty opponents rallied at the state Capitol, asking the governor to intervene, and Le’s attorneys filed a last-minute appeal, asking for an emergency stay of execution. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals rejected the request Tuesday afternoon.
Le’s attorney, Larita Henrickson, said the inmate should have been given the opportunity to have the Vietnamese consulate help with his case, even though the United States and Vietnam did not have diplomatic relations in 1992. The two countries resumed relations in July 1995. Le was convicted in September 1995.
Le had three execution dates set before the execution was actually carried out. Governor Henry stopped a Jan. 6 execution date so he could study a recommendation for clemency from the state Pardon and Parole Board. After clemency was denied, a Feb. 26 date was set, but Henry stopped the proceedings just minutes before the scheduled 6 p.m. execution to comply with a request from the Vietnamese government.
http://mcalesternews.com/articles/2004/03/24/news/local_news/news02.txt
