Oklahoma Executes Convicted Killer

Thomas Grasso, a killer at the center of a two-state tug of war over the death penalty, was executed by lethal injection early today.

Grasso had been sentenced to 20 years to life for the murder of a New York City man and later was sentenced to death for slaying an 87-year-old woman in Tulsa, Okla.

Former New York Gov. Mario M. Cuomo, a death penalty opponent, fought to have Grasso serve his New York sentence first. A federal court ruled in Cuomo’s favor, less than 12 hours from Grasso’s scheduled execution on Oct. 19, 1993.

Grasso was returned to New York, and his case became a campaign issue in Cuomo’s November loss to Republican George Pataki.

Pataki returned Grasso to Oklahoma in January, within days of taking office. He signed death penalty legislation in New York on March 7.

Grasso had tried since 1993 to expedite his own death, saying he would rather die than spend his life in prison. For his last meal, Grasso had steamed mussels, a cheeseburger, spaghetti and meatballs, and a strawberry milkshake.