VARNER - Si-Fu William Frank Parker was executed by lethal injection Thursday night at the Cummins Unit for the 1984 murders of his former in-laws.
Dina Tyler, spokesman for the state Department of Correction, said that Director Larry Norris announced the lethal injection was applied at 9:01 p.m. Parker, 42, was officially pronounced dead at 9:04 p.m. By Lincoln County Coroner Jimmy Hawkins.
The last words uttered by Parker, who converted to Buddhism while in prison, were "I seek refuge in the Buddha, I seek refuge in the Dharma, I seek refuge in the Sangha," Tyler said.
Those words are a common Buddhist chant. Dharma is a concept embodying Buddhist teachings, Sangha the community of Buddhist monks.
Parker was convicted of killing James and Sandra Warren at their home in Rogers and of trying to kill their daughter, Cindy. Prosecutors Said during Parker's trial that he also went to the home of his former wife, Pam, and kidnapped her.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court denied Parker's request for a stay of execution. Parker legally Changed his name to Si-Fu William Frank Parker in 1991 after becoming a Buddhist.
Prison officials allowed him to be executed in a black biblike garment called a raksu, representing the robe of Buddha. Tyler said Parker was recently ordained as a Buddhist monk.