Killer of two young siblings is executed in Kentucky

EDDYVILLE, Ky. — Marco Allen Chapman, who killed two children by slitting their throats after raping and stabbing their mother, was put to death Friday as he requested when an executioner pumped drugs into his veins to shut down his lungs and heart.

Chapman, 37, became the third person executed in Kentucky since 1976, when the U.S. Supreme Court lifted a national moratorium on the death penalty.

With his last words, Chapman apologized to Carolyn Marksberry for the attack on her and her children — Courtney Sharon, 10, Chelbi Sharon, 7, and Cody Sharon, 6 — but he also said the murders were not in his nature.

Chapman stabbed all three children in their home in Warsaw, Ky. Chelbi and Cody died, but Courtney survived and identified the killer.

"I don't know why I did the things I did and I know the hate of me over that night must be overwhelming, but Carolyn and Kourtney you have to know that wasn't who I was or am," Chapman wrote in a statement that Warden Tom Simpson read for him.

"I am not a moster (monster) even though I did a mosterous (monstrous), evil thing. That is why I give my life willing as well as quickly in hopes that you know how truelly sorry I am. I hurt and ache daily for the loss I've created in the Marksbury's family, but I hurt as well.

"I don't know if I deserve Heaven after what I did, but I pray with all my heart that I find some sort of peace and happiness after my last breath."

After Simpson read the statement, Chapman raised his head, looked toward the room where Marksberry and family members were to view the execution, and apologized again. His voice shook and he had tears in his eyes.

Chapman could not see into the room reserved for families of victims because of two-way glass.

The execution team, made up of prison employees who volunteer for the duty, escorted Chapman into the death chamber from a cell down the hall at 7 p.m. CST.

Media witnesses were not allowed to see the execution team members insert needles into Chapman's arms. The team completed that task without problems; the execution went according to plan, said Lisa Lamb, spokeswoman for the state Department of Corrections.

Simpson drew back the beige curtain for media witnesses to see Chapman at 7:15. He lay on his back with both arms bound to a gurney at right angles to his body; there was a needle in each forearm. He wore a red shirt and was covered to his chest by a white sheet. He had aged visibly in the last few months, one witness said.