Gary Welch: Something's Fishy in Oklahoma

It's been less than a week since the champagne corks popped, but death row has already hosted its own New Year's celebration. 

First in line for 2012 was Gary Welch, convicted of attacking another man inside that man's own house and then chasing the man down the street and stabbing him to death in a ditch, "in self-defense." Uh, right.

Welch was executed in Oklahoma, and as fans of our book already know, that state only allows take-out food priced under $15 when granting last meal requests. Welch asked for fried fish fillets with red cocktail sauce from Long John Silver's, but abstained from any side dishes.

After the lethal injection was given, Welch--who immersed himself in Norse mythology during his prison years--repeatedly chanted "Valhalla, Odin, slay the beast!" until he eventually lost consciousness.