Jay Wesley Neill

Neill was convicted and sentenced to death, and was executed in 2002.

Neill's sentence appeal was denied by the U.S. Supreme Court on October 7, 2002, and he was executed by lethal injection on December 12. His final meal consisted of a double cheeseburger, fries, peach or cherry cobbler, a pint of Vanilla Ice cream and a large bottle of cran-grape juice. As he was on the gurney, he offered an apology to the families of Bruno, Bowles, Mullenix and Zeller, and to the Robles', saying, "I want everyone to know I'm really sorry for what I did to you. I'm not sorry for dying here today. I'm not sorry because I'm lying here. I'm sorry for the horrible, horrible thing I did. I hope you find some comfort in that, to know Robert Johnson wasn't in that bank. I know you think he was, but he wasn't. Please forgive me." As he made that statement, his voice quivered and he complained of being dizzy before asking, "Are they starting?", then he prayed until he became unconscious, and Neill was pronounced dead at 6:18 p.m.

Jay Wesley Neill was the 54th person executed by the state of Oklahoma since resuming executions in 1990.

Neill was sentenced to death twice, once in 1985 and again in 1992. During the time of his incarceration, he converted to Born-Again Christianity at first, and then to Buddhism. While on death row, Neill's friendship with anyone was always doubtful and his conversion to Christianity was often the topic of conversation, as his "friends" were skeptical of the sincerity of his conversion even though he delivered mini-sermons and quoted Scripture often. Neill lived diagonally across from Ron Williamson (now a death row exoneree), and Neill once explained Williamson's mental behavior and problems in his letter to Williamson's sister, Renee. During his last days on death row, Neill described his spiritual journey since his incarceration; the letter concluded, "Above all, I enjoy the sharing of love, and positive thoughts. I’m as unjudgmental as I know how to be. I believe every person has an individual right to live their lives free of harm, and prejudice. I just wish I knew more about life when I was a confused 19-year-old – the age I was, when I committed this crime."

On December 12, 1984, Neill shopped for firearms at a local pawnshop, but the shop keeper informed him that a buyer must be at least 21-years-old, and Neill was only 19-years-old at the time. The following day, Johnson applied for a gun license, and that same morning Neill went to a travel agent to purchase tickets for flights to Nassau, Bahamas leaving at 6 p.m. the next day. On the morning of December 14, Neill and Johnson returned to the pawn shop Neill had attempted buy a gun from two days earlier, and purchased a revolver Neill had seen during his previous visit.

Jay Wesley Neill (April 9, 1965 – December 12, 2002) was an American mass murderer, who on December 14, 1984, killed 4 people during a bank robbery in Geronimo, Oklahoma.

Jay Wesley Neill was born on April 9, 1965, and at 18-years-old he joined the United States Army in 1983. Neill met Robert Grady Johnson in February 1984 at a bar, and the two became romantically involved. He was discharged from the military in the summer of 1984 after disclosing that he was homosexual, and quickly began having financial difficulties.

While Neill was attempting the decapitation of one of the tellers, three customers entered the bank, who were taken to the back room by Neill and shot in the head. Ralph Zeller (33) died from his wounds, becoming the 4th and final murder victim. Bellen Robles, 15, and her husband Reuben Robles, 20, would recover from their head wounds. Neill attempted to shoot the couple's 14-month-old daughter, Marie, but the gun was out of bullets. Johnson was 16 miles away from the crime scene as the FBI report reflects. However Johnson remains in prison 34 years later for Neill's crime.