The state of Oklahoma executed 52-year-old Raymond Eugene Johnson Thursday morning.
He was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of first-degree arson for the deaths of his former girlfriend, Brooke Whitaker, and their seven-month-old daughter, Kya, in 2007.
His last words were: “To Brooke and Kya and your family, I apologize for any pain I have caused you. I know I hurt you, one day I hope you can forgive me. I hope one day people can speak your name without it being tied to mine.”
Johnson entered Whitaker’s Tulsa home in the early hours of June 23, 2007 and beat her with a claw hammer, according to court documents. Whitaker asked Johnson to call 911 and Johnson struck her about five more times in the head.
She said her head hurt and felt like it was going to fall off, according to court documents. After six hours of keeping her alive, Johnson found a gasoline can. He soaked Whitaker and the house, including the bedroom where seven-month-old Kya slept with gasoline, before setting the house on fire.
Johnson admitted he was trying to kill Whitaker and he was sentenced to death in 2009.
In the 60 years since Oklahoma re-legalized the death penalty, the state has executed 130 prisoners, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
Johnson was executed using a three drug cocktail of midazolam (meant to anesthetize the inmate), Vecuronium Bromide (meant to stop breathing) and potassium chloride (meant to stop the heart).
Angie Short, Brooke Whitaker’s aunt, speaks during the press conference after Raymond Eugene Johnson’s execution at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary on Thursday, May 14, 2026. “He (The firemen) picked up Kya, he thought she was a burned baby doll. That’s what damage Raymond Johnson did,” Short said. Credit: Milo Gladstein / Tulsa Flyer 
Interim Director of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections Justin Ferris speaks during the press conference after Raymond Eugene Johnson’s execution at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary on Thursday, May 14, 2026. Ferris said the execution went according to policy and was uneventful. Credit: Milo Gladstein / Tulsa Flyer 
Carolyn Short, center, is surrounded by her family during the press conference after Raymond Eugene Johnson’s execution at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary on Thursday, May 14, 2026. She is the mother of Andra, grandma to Brooke and great grandma to Kya. She has lost her first-born daughter, first-born granddaughter and her first-born great-granddaughter.
“It’s finally here, justice has been served for Brooke and Kya,” Angie Short, Whitaker’s aunt, said after the execution.
Johnson’s last meal request was for 12-piece boneless chicken, a pint of gizzards, a side of fried pickles and four packets each of hot sauce and ranch dressing.
Tulsa Flyer visual journalist Milo Gladstein was one of the witnesses to the execution.
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