Arizona AG Tom Horne statement on Stokley execution

Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne release the following statement after Richard Dale Stokley was executed Wednesday for the 1991 murders of two girls.

Horne’s statement has not been altered in any way.

“Justice was finally delivered to Richard Dale Stokely today for the horrible crimes he committed against two teenage girls more than 20 years ago.

‘In 1991, Stokely and an accomplice were at a southern Arizona camping event as part of an Independence Day celebration near the town of Elfrida where they met and subsequently sexually assaulted 13 year-old Mandy Meyers and 13 year-old Mary Snyder. Both girls were strangled to death and their bodies dumped in an abandoned mine shaft.

‘Shortly after his arrest, Stokely confessed to his role in the sexual assaults and murders and was convicted and sentenced to be executed by lethal injection. Today that sentence has been carried out, and Stokely was pronounced dead at 11:12 AM.

‘One can only imagine the terrible pain the families of these victims have endured for more than 21 years since these brutal crimes were committed. My hope is now that the sentence has been carried out, they will find some measure of peace.

‘This office will continue to fight to reduce the unconscionable delays that federal courts have caused between verdict and the chance for victims’ families to see justice done.”