The man whose hands ended the life of a teenage girl in 2000 has died at the hands of the state.
Thomas Loden Jr. was pronounced dead by Sunflower County Coroner Heather Burton at 6:12 p.m. at Parchman.
In 2000, Thomas Edwin Loden kidnapped sixteen-year-old Leesa Marie Gray after discovering her stranded on the side of the road. He spent the next four hours repeatedly raping and sexually battering Leesa before suffocating and manually strangling her. Loden recorded various portions of the torture he inflicted on Leesa. Loden was indicted for capital murder, rape, and four counts of sexual battery.
Court records show Loden waived his right to a jury and pleaded guilty to the six charges.
Gray’s mother attended the execution but did not address the media.
As he awaited execution, Loden made his final statement.
“I’d like a brief moment to express to the Gray family and anyone else I hurt how deeply remorseful I am for everything I did. I know I these are mere words and cannot erase the damage I did,” WLBT quoted him as saying. “For the last 20 years, I’ve tried to do a good deed every single day to make up for the [life] that I took for this world. If nothing else, I hope you get peace and closure.”
The TV station reports that he then said “I love you” in Japanese.
