Iraqi national 18th prisoner executed in Oklahoma this year

Friday, December 7th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

McALESTER, Okla. (AP) _ An Iraqi man who killed his wife and her uncle more than nine years ago because he was angry over the name given his infant son told another son Thursday not to follow the same path.

``Listen to me. This road is for the stupid and ignorant,'' Sahib Al-Mosawi told his grown son from another marriage before he was executed for the 1992 murders. ``Do not follow it.''

Al-Mosawi's execution came nine years and eight days after he fatally stabbed his wife Inaam Al-Nashi and her uncle, Mohammad Al-Nashi, in Mohammad Al-Nashi's northwest Oklahoma City apartment.

After the curtains of the death chamber were drawn, Al-Mosawi raised his head and acknowledged the presence of his son, Wala Al-Mosawi. He spoke mostly in Arabic and at times in broken English.

He told his son not to forget what he asked of him and to remember his grandparents.

``Remember how Jesus got killed by the Jews? I'm like that. I'm very happy I died this way,'' Sahib Al-Mosawi said. His son nodded his head.

Even as the execution began at 9:03 p.m., Sahib Al-Mosawi continued speaking. A prison chaplain began reading passages from the Quran that Sahib Al-Mosawi had requested.

After about a minute, he coughed deeply and his breathing became labored. His eyes rolled back and eventually closed. Death was pronounced at 9:06 p.m.

Wala Al-Mosawi put his head in his hands and wept. Attorney Robert Nance, who represented Sahib Al-Mosawi during the appeals process, comforted the son.

Seven years ago, an Oklahoma County jury convicted Sahib Al-Mosawi of two counts of first-degree murder and sentenced him to death during a trial that took 18 days because Al-Mosawi and the witnesses did not speak English.

Al-Mosawi said after the trial, ``I am ready to go.'' Al-Mosawi, who had no infractions during his imprisonment, did not request a clemency hearing.

Just a few years prior, Al-Mosawi met his wife and her family in a refugee camp in Saudi Arabia after they left Iraq in 1991 during the Persian Gulf War. A marriage was arranged and carried out, and Al-Mosawi and members of the Al-Nashi family moved to Oklahoma City.

Inaam Al-Nashi became pregnant, but the couple had marital problems shortly after coming to America and she moved in with her uncle.

Al-Mosawi became angry during a hospital visit after Inaam Al-Nashi named their son, Amir. He threatened to kill her and she sought a protective order against him.

Two weeks later, Al-Mosawi visited Inaam Al-Nashi at her uncle's apartment and became upset that his wife was going to a party with friends.

When Mohammad Al-Nashi tried to make him leave, Al-Mosawi pulled out a knife and stabbed the man. He grew angrier and went after his wife and her 19-year-old sister, Fatima.

Inaam Al-Nashi lived until she reached an Oklahoma City hospital, but her uncle died at his home. Fatima Al-Nashi was stabbed three times but survived.

Prosecutors could not reach members of the Al-Nashi family, and none were present at Al-Mosawi's execution, said Charlie Price, a spokesman for Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson.

Before his execution, Sahib Al-Mosawi, a Shiite Muslim, prayed and fasted from dawn to dusk in observance of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. He requested a final meal of chicken, olives, grapes and a pomegranate, said Jerry Massie, a spokesman for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.

Al-Mosawi's execution brought to 18 the number of people put to death in Oklahoma this year. Three women on death row were executed.

Texas has had 16 executions this year, with one more scheduled this month.