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Thomas Edwin Loden Jr., a former Marine Corps recruiter convicted of s*xually assaulting and killing a 16-year-old girl in 2000, was executed by lethal injection in Mississippi.
On Wednesday, December 14, Thomas Edwin Loden Jr., 58, who has been on death row since his conviction in 2001, became the second inmate executed in the state in 10 years. He was administered a lethal injection at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman.
In the summer of 2000, Loden strangled and suffocated Leesa Marie Gray, a high school student who worked as a waitress at her uncle’s restaurant in northeast Mississippi, after assaulting her for four hours.
Thomas Edwin Loden Jr pleaded guilty after he murdered Leesa Marie Gray
Thomas Edwin Loden Jr. was executed two decades after he pleaded guilty to capital murder, r*pe, and four counts of s*xual battery against Leesa Marie Gray.
As per NBC, on June 22, 2000, Loden reportedly spotted Gray on the side of the road, stranded with a flat tire on her way home after finishing her night waitressing shift. Loden, who worked as a Marine Corps recruiter, reportedly had relatives in the area at the time.
Loden then encouraged Gray to accept his help, stating that he was a Marine but became enraged after Gary told him she would never want to be a Marine. Loden then forced her into his van and assaulted her for four hours before strangling and suffocating her to death.
As per court records, Loden was reportedly found the next day with self-inflicted injuries to his wrist while lying on the side of the road. He also had the words ‘I’m sorry’ carved into his chest. Loden confessed to the crime and was subsequently charged and convicted.
Thomas Edwin Loden Jr., seemingly remorseful during his execution, apologized to the victim’s family, stating:
“For the past 20 years, I’ve tried to do a good deed every single day to make up for the life I took from this world. If today brings you nothing else, I hope you get peace and closure.”
As per the New York Post, Wanda Farris, Gray’s mother, who was present during the execution, said although she believed in the death penalty, she forgave Loden years ago for killing her daughter. Farris, who described her daughter as a “happy-go-lucky, kid said:
“I don’t particularly want to see somebody die. But I do believe in the death penalty. … I do believe in justice.”
She added that her daughter always had a smile and aspired to become an elementary school teacher.
