Oklahoma executes killer

<br>McALESTER, Okla. (AP) _ The state of Oklahoma on Thursday executed a man who killed his girlfriend while he was out on a prison work detail. <br><br>Larry Kenneth Jackson was pronounced dead at 6:08

Thursday, April 17th 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

McALESTER, Okla. (AP) _ The state of Oklahoma on Thursday executed a man who killed his girlfriend while he was out on a prison work detail.

Larry Kenneth Jackson was pronounced dead at 6:08 p.m. at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary.

Jackson was put to death for the Sept. 6, 1994, slaying of Wendy Cade.

Cade was found dead in a north Oklahoma City motel room with more than 30 stab and slash wounds, authorities said.

When the curtain to the execution chamber was raised, Jackson turned and looked at his family members, who included two sisters and two nieces.

``Take care of mama, take care of mama,'' he told his family. ``I love all of you.''

He then asked Cade's mother to forgive him.

``I'm sorry for everything I brought upon her. I'm sorry for the pain, sorrow I brought on her and her family and kids. I want to say I'm sorry. That's all I can say. I just want to apologize.''

Jackson also asked his family to forgive him.

``I guess I'm going to go now. Bye y'all.''

``Bye-bye,'' his family members responded.

As the execution began at 6:06, Jackson gasped for air. His chest heaved and he began blowing air through his mouth, making a snoring sound.

Jackson's head turned slightly to the side and he did not move again.

The 40-year-old was serving a 30-year prison term for second-degree murder when he walked away from a prison work program at the state Capitol complex and left with Cade, authorities said.

Cade drove Jackson around the metro area, including a stop at her mother's home to drop off her young daughter, before going to the motel, according to prosecutors.

Cade, 29, was killed because she was ending her relationship with Jackson and was not going to help his effort to win parole, authorities said.

Cade was stabbed and slashed with a box cutter knife that prison officials had given Jackson to open boxes of furniture he was helping install in the Jim Thorpe Building, authorities said.

After the execution, Cade's sister, Anita Taylor, said the execution provided closure for her family.

Taylor responded, ``no,'' when asked if Jackson's apology satisfied her. When asked if there was anything he could have said that would have satisfied her, she said, ``Actually, no. That's between him and God.''

Cade's mother, Martha Gulley, said she had been wishing that Jackson would say he was sorry for what he did.

``I forgive him. I can't forget the hurt he caused,'' Gulley said.

Jackson's escape and the escape a week earlier of convicted killer Randolph Franklin Dial caused then-Gov. David Walters to order the state corrections department to transfer all murderers from minimum security.