Thomas Harrison Provenzano

Who was Thomas Harrison Provenzano?

Thomas Harrison Provenzano was a convicted murderer executed by means of lethal injection by the state of Florida. Provenzano believed he was Jesus Christ and also compared his execution with Christ's crucifixion.

Provenzano was sentenced to death for a shooting at the Orange County Courthouse in Orlando, Florida in 1984 that killed 60-year-old bailiff William Arnie Wilkerson. Another bailiff, 53-year-old Harry Dalton, suffered brain damage and was partially paralyzed, dying from his injuries 7 years later. Provenzano also shot correctional officer Mark Parker, 19, who was hit in the spine and ended up being paralyzed from the neck down. Parker eventually died in March 2009 due to complications from his injuries.

In 1999, the state of Florida heard a petition from Provenzano that argued that the electric chair was a cruel and unusual punishment. During the proceedings, Michael Minerva, who had witnessed Jerry White's execution, said that "White's body stiffened and was thrust upward and backward to the back of the electric chair" after the current had been switched on to the chair.