State executes David Neal Cox by lethal injection

David Neal Cox was executed at 6 p.m. on Nov. 17 by lethal injection at the State Penitentiary at Parchman.

“Cox was pronounced dead at 6:12,” said Mississippi Commissioner of Corrections Burl Cain at the following press conference. “He died peacefully and without incident. I’ve never seen an execution go smoother.”

Cox is the first inmate to be executed in the state of Mississippi since 2012.  He was administered a mixture of three chemicals, midazolam, vecuronium bromide, and potassium chloride.

In May of 2010, Cox shot his wife, Kim, twice and then sexually assaulted his stepdaughter in front of her as she slowly bled to death. In court, Cox plead guilty to all charges and was sentenced to death by the jury.

After a letter written to the chief justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court, saying that he wanted to relinquish all appeals, fire his attorneys and requested that the Court set an execution date, the justices granted his request and set his execution date for Nov. 17.

Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioner Burl Cain has provided inside details of how Cox has been spending his last remaining hours.

“Well, he moved over to Unit 17 on Sunday evening, late and that was when it was scheduled. Prior to that, we came up and met with him… and spent some time with him to talk about what was going to happen, how it was going to happen, and what the process is and to find out what he wanted for his last meal and that sort of thing,” Cain told WLBT. “And so we probably spent 45 minutes with him at least, and he asked a lot of questions. He was upbeat and it was cool.”

Cox decided banana pudding, French fries, catfish and cornbread would serve as his final meal.

A petition sponsored Dealth Penalty Action, a group who’s aim is to abolish the death penalty, collected 4,600 signatures and urged Governor Tate Reeves to stay the execution. The group fell short of the 6,400 goal. Reeves declined to delay the execution process.