Before his execution, convicted murderer David Zink had some
unusual advice for other inmates facing the death sentence: appreciate the fate
that awaits you.
"For those
who remain on death row, understand that everyone is going to die," Zink
said in his final statement ahead of his death by lethal injection in Missouri
on Tuesday night.
Execution, he
suggested, is preferable to spending the rest of your life in prison.
"Statistically
speaking, we have a much easier death than most, so I encourage you to embrace
it and celebrate our true liberation before society figures it out and condemns
us to life without parole and we too will die a lingering death," his statement
says.
Zink, 55, was
executed for the abduction, sexual assault and murder of 19-year-old Amanda
Morton in 2001, a killing described by authorities as "an unspeakable act
of violence."
He had confessed
to tying Morton to a tree in a cemetery, breaking her neck and then slicing her
spinal cord to ensure she wouldn't live, according to CNN affiliate KY3.
Failed
bid to avoid execution
Despite his words about embracing the
death penalty, Zink had mounted an unsuccessful legal challenge to avoid
execution, arguing the death penalty was unconstitutional.
The Missouri
governor also rejected a petition by Zink for clemency.
The murderer
said in his final statement that he had sought to be spared execution for the
benefit of his family and friends, who he said "had the unfortunate
circumstance of developing emotions, which will now cause them pain and suffering."
He apologized to
Morton's family, saying he hoped his execution "brings them the peace and
satisfaction they seek."
A young
life 'brutally taken away'
Zink was pronounced dead at 7:41 p.m.
Tuesday after receiving the lethal injection at the Eastern Reception,
Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre, Missouri, authorities said.
"Fourteen
years ago this week, a promising young life was suddenly and brutally taken
away through an unspeakable act of violence," Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon said
in a statement. "Tonight, as the sentence of David Zink has now been
carried out, I ask the people of Missouri to remember Amanda Morton, and to
keep her loved ones in their thoughts and prayers."
Zink abducted
Morton after rear-ending her truck in the town of Strafford, according to KY3.
He had been released from prison in Texas a few months earlier after serving 20
years of a 30-year sentence for raping and kidnapping a woman.
He buried
Morton's body in the rural cemetery where he killed her.
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