Murray Hooper: Arizona executes man for 1980 killings of 2 people

FLORENCE, Ariz. - An Arizona man convicted of murdering two people in 1980 was put to death on Nov. 16 in the state’s third execution since officials started carrying out the death penalty in May after a nearly eight-year hiatus.

Murray Hooper, 76, died by lethal injection at the state prison in Florence for his murder convictions in the killings of William "Pat" Redmond and his mother-in-law, Helen Phelps, at Redmond’s home in Phoenix. Redmond’s wife, Marilyn, also was shot in the head during the attack but survived and testified against Hooper at his trial.

Authorities say the killings were carried out at the behest of a man who wanted to take over Redmond’s printing business.

Hooper’s death was announced by Frank Strada, a deputy director of the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry. He died at 10:34 a.m.

His last meal was Kentucky Fried Chicken, mac and cheese, cheesecake and ice cream.

According to witnesses watching, the 12-minute-long process, from drug injection to declaration of death, it was described as peaceful, well-rehearsed, even had moments of levity.

Hooper's final words were short and sweet.

Strada said Hooper stated, "It's all been said. Let it be done. To all my lawyers and loved ones, don’t be sad for me. Don’t cry. Don’t say goodbye. Say, ‘I’ll see you later.’ Let’s go."

Media witness Bob Christie described the moments, saying, "Not a word was said while this is going on. It was quiet in his room. He actually looked around and said, ‘What’s taking so long?’"

The only other witnesses were lawyers, reporters, and a Chaplin to read the last rights.

Arizona did not carry out the death penalty for nearly eight years after criticism that a 2014 execution was botched and because it encountered difficulty obtaining lethal injection drugs. No other executions are currently scheduled in the state.

Arizona now has 110 people on death row.

Hooper was executed within a couple hours of the U.S. Supreme Court rejecting a last-minute appeal from him over his claim that authorities had until recently withheld that Marilyn Redmond had failed to identify him in a photo lineup. The high court made no comment in rejecting his appeal.

Authorities said that claim was based on a mistake a prosecutor made in a letter to the state’s clemency board and now insist that no such lineup was shown to Marilyn Redmond. She later identified Hooper in an in-person lineup.

Courts also rebuffed attempts by Hooper’s lawyers to order fingerprint and DNA testing on evidence from the killings.

Authorities say Hooper and two other men forced their way into the Redmond home on Dec. 31, 1980. The three victims were bound, gagged, robbed and shot in the head.

Two other men, William Bracy and Edward McCall, were convicted in the killings but died before their death sentences could be carried out.

Authorities say Robert Cruz, who was alleged to have had ties to organized crime, hired Hooper, Bracy and McCall to kill Pat Redmond, who co-owned a printing business. They said Cruz wanted to take over the business and was unhappy that Redmond had rejected his offers to enter several printing contracts with Las Vegas hotels, according to court records. Cruz was acquitted of murder charges in both deaths in 1995.

Hooper’s lawyers say Marilyn Redmond’s description of the assailants changed several times before she identified their client, who said he was not in Arizona at the time. They also raised questions about the benefits received by witnesses who testified against Hooper, including favorable treatment in other criminal cases.

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Billeaud reported from Phoenix.

Continued Coverage

• Arizona prisoner to die by lethal injection, not gas chamber
• Lawyers for Murray Hooper file new appeal as execution date nears
• Murray Hooper: Death-row inmate’s failed testing bid keeps Arizona execution on track