Allen Execution

A sketch by courtroom artist Bill Robles, who was among the witnesses to the execution of Clarence Ray Allen, Tuesday, Jan. 17. Here Allen is seen being lifted out of his wheelchair to be taken into the execution chamber.

Artist drawing shows Clarence Ray Allen during his execution in San Quentin, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2006. Allen, 76, was sentenced to death for ordering the slaying of three people at a Fresno, Calif., market while he was behind bars in 1980 for another murder.

Artist drawing shows Clarence Ray Allen strapped in as he wears a headband and a feather on his chest during his execution in San Quentin, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2006. The oldest death row inmate in California has been executed.Allen was pronounced dead by lethal injection at 12:38 a.m. at San Quentin State Prison. His death came less than an hour after his 76th birthday ended at midnight.

Benjamin Vaughn, lower right, is shown with his great uncle, Clarence Ray Allen, lower left, and Allen's son Roger Allen, upper left, and his wife, Dell Ray Allen, upper right, inside San Quentin Prison in San Quentin, Calif., Monday, Jan. 16, 2006, before the execution of Allen.

Death penalty opponent, actor Mike Farrell, talks at a rally in front of San Quentin Prison in San Quentin, Calif., Monday, Jan. 16, 2006, before the scheduled execution early Tuesday of Clarence Ray Allen.

The death chamber as seen from the witness area at San Quentin State Prison in San Quentin, Calif. Clarence Ray Allen was executed early Tuesday morning Jan. 17, 2006 for hiring a hit man who killed three people at a Fresno, Calif., market in 1980.

Clarence Ray Allen is shown in an undated photo provided by the California Department of Corrections. The California Supreme Court Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2006, refused to block the scheduled Jan. 17 execution of Allen after the inmate claimed the punishment would be cruel and unusual because of his age and health problems.

Josephine Rocha, Bryon Schletewitz and Doug White were killed by a hit man while working at a market in Fresno Calif., back in 1980. Condemned inmate Clarence Ray Allen ordered the hit because he feared the testimony of Bryon Schletewitz regarding a previous murder would hurt his chances of prevailing at overturning his conviction on appeal, prosecutors said. White and Rocha were innocent victims.

Death penalty opponent William Rogers prays near the front gate of San Quentin Prison in San Quentin, Calif., Monday, Jan. 16, 2006 before the scheduled execution Tuesday of Clarence Ray Allen. Allen, 76, ordered the slaying of three people at a Fresno, Calif., market while was behind bars in 1980 for another murder.