And, although more than 20 years have passed since the perpetrator of this crime was executed, it serves as a window into the true depths of human depravity - a depravity that can only be appropriately punished with the ultimate sentence. Defense attorney Truman never disputed the fact that his client was guilty of murder. Gary Davis, he admitted, was guilty of the crime he was accused of. Knowing that Davis would be convicted of murder, Truman decided to focus his efforts on saving his client from the gas chamber, and tried to shift most of the blame to Fincham. The murder of Ginny May, Truman claimed, was Fincham's idea, and if Fincham's part in the crime wasn't worthy of a death sentence, then Davis' life should also be spared.

What are you folks doing out here?", the deputy asked the couple. "Oh, we were just going fishing", Fincham responded. "Is everything alright?" Fincham's attorneys attempted to paint their client as an abused housewife, who was manipulated by her husband into becoming his accomplice in crime. They claimed that Fincham had tried to stand up for Ginny May when Davis was going to kill her. She had screamed for him to stop, they said, and had pleaded with Davis to let Ginny go free.To advance the notion that the goddess of reason is able to answer to the darkest questions of the human heart is a conceit and fantasy civilization would do well to avoid. Any astute historian will tell you that “reason,” as the handmaiden of truth and morality, was ground into the mud of the trenches at the Somme and Verdun in World War I. Too often in history, “reason” has been utilized to rationalize the most hateful and vile of human actions. Reason and logic, without wisdom, have advanced and served the darkest lies and outrages of the twentieth century. Reason, in and of itself, is a tool that may be used and may also be misused in the name of the law. At 8:26, the executioner administered the second drug, pancuronium bromide, to stop Davis' breathing. Davis' lips twitched and his eyes fluttered, and the rise and fall of his chest slowly came to a stop. Those words echo through countless law school classrooms across the country. Time and again, law students are taught that they must learn to “think like a lawyer.” The question however, is whether thinking like a lawyer can teach you to “think like a killer.” DuVall's family members spoke against the sentence reduction; a victim representative has not responded to Westword's request for more details. Westwordhas been unable to reach members of Vigil's family.

The panel noted that, even for a gang member, Francisco went above and beyond the scale of barbarity any of them had seen. It didn't take long for the three judges to reach a verdict: Francisco Martinez would have to die for his crime. The following day, on July 22, Davis appeared in court again for his sentencing hearing. This time, Davis pleaded with the jury to spare his life. At 8:24 PM, while a priest prayed beside Davis, an executioner in an adjoining room injected the first drug, sodium thiopental, into the IV lines. Gary Davis clenched his hand into a fist as the drug took effect and slowly closed his eyes as he drifted off to sleep. Her future was looking bright; she was an honor roll student, and had recently brought home her first rose from a boy.On June 25th, 1997, nearly ten years after his conviction, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Gary Davis' appeal. On October 1st, Gary Davis received his final execution date. He would die by lethal injection at 8:00 PM on October 14th, 1997. There, Davis met with his family, friends, and his attorney. He even joked with the guards, and told them of his love of fishing, sports, and his boyhood dream of becoming a "cowboy" - all things that could have defined Davis' life, had fate taken a different turn.