Shania Harris Executed at Rockville Penitentiary After Final Appeal Fails

ROCKVILLE — Shania Harris was executed by electric chair early Tuesday morning at Rockville Penitentiary, bringing to a close years of appeals and legal challenges stemming from the deaths of Marcus Webb and Jenna Fraiser.

Harris was pronounced dead at 7:13 a.m., prison officials said.

Witnesses began arriving at the penitentiary shortly before 6 a.m. and were taken to a secured holding area, where they remained until shortly before the execution. Outside the

prison, members of the Webb and Fraiser families gathered with reporters and waited for confirmation that the sentence had been carried out.

Final Appeal Denied

Harris learned Monday night that her final attempt to stop the execution had failed.

According to prison officials, members of her legal team met with Harris inside the death-watch unit and personally informed her that no further court intervention was expected.

The news reportedly devastated Harris.

People familiar with the meeting described an emotional confrontation in which Harris became angry and, at one point, yelled at members of her legal team. After the attorneys departed, Harris remained with her spiritual advisor until approximately midnight.

Despite the turmoil of the evening, correctional officers reported that Harris eventually slept for several hours.

She was awakened shortly before 5 a.m. to begin the final preparations.

Harris Eats Entire Final Meal

Harris had previously requested a final meal consisting of three McDonald's cheeseburgers, two large orders of french fries, an apple pie and a large Coca-Cola.

Unlike some condemned prisoners who eat little in their final hours, officials said Harris finished the entire meal.

At approximately 6 a.m., Harris was taken under guard to a preparation area where her head and left leg were shaved clean to accommodate the electrodes that would later be applied to Shania.

Harris was then permitted to shower before being dressed in a white, short-sleeved button-up shirt and black slacks. She was also provided a diaper for any sanitary precautions. Witnesses claimed that Shania was defiant and refused to wear the diaper, but officers moved swiftly and firmly, and Shania was eventually subdued.

She was subsequently returned to the death-watch cell. For nearly another hour, Harris waited.

Final Walk to the Chamber

At approximately 6:55 a.m., the cell door opened, and a team of female correctional officers entered. Harris sat on her bed and refused to get up at first, and it took the officers' firm hand to pull her to her feet. Harris was becoming increasingly alarmed and panicked and even told officers to 'stop' and 'you can't do this' diatribes. All of it fell on deaf ears as the officers secured the chain belt, shackles, and handcuffs.

Harris was handcuffed and escorted from the death-watch unit toward the execution chamber.

Witnesses described Harris as visibly nervous but defiant. After entering the chamber, she was seated in the wooden electric chair while members of the execution team began securing the restraints.

Harris reportedly fidgeted throughout the process and resisted some officers attempting to secure the straps.

At one point, according to witnesses, she resisted an officer attempting to secure one of her wrists to the chair's armrest. The confrontation was brief, and Harris ultimately allowed officers to complete the procedure. When Shania was secure, the witness curtain opened. Those in attendance described Shania as shaken and upset, while trying fighting for courage. At one point when the warden was reading the sentence, Shania interrupted and told the warden, "get on with it..."

Once she was secured, the warden asked whether she wished to make a final statement.

Harris looked toward those assembled and replied:

"You think I'm sorry for this? Marcus and that little b**ch got what they deserved. I'm going with God now. Ya'll all a bunch of monsters for doin' this.

There were reportedly several moments of silence afterward.

The execution team then placed the hood over Harris' head and completed its final checks.

Execution Carried Out Shortly After 7 A.M.

According to the prison's official account, the electric chair was activated shortly after 7 a.m.

Harris received three electrical cycles as part of the execution procedure. The state applied 2200v for 1 minute followed by a 30-second cool-down. Afterward, the witnesses saw no movement from the condemned. Then she was hit with 1800v for 1 minute. Each jolt made her body jerk with tenseness where it appeared she was lifting weights and straining under the pressure. The last cycle ended with another 2200v for 1 minute.

After the final cycle concluded, medical personnel entered the chamber and examined her.

At 7:13 a.m., Harris was formally pronounced dead.

Her body remained secured in the chair for several minutes while officials completed the required documentation and witnesses were escorted from the viewing area.

Victims' Families: "Remember Marcus and Jenna"

Outside Rockville Penitentiary, relatives of Marcus Webb and Jenna Fraiser addressed reporters after receiving confirmation of Harris' death.

Family members urged the public not to allow Harris' execution to overshadow the lives of the two people at the center of the case.

They asked that attention remain on Marcus and Jenna, rather than on the woman convicted in their deaths.

Relatives said they were satisfied that the sentence imposed by the court had finally been carried out and described the morning as the conclusion of a painful chapter that had stretched across years of trials and appeals.

For the families, they said, the story did not end with what happened inside Rockville's execution chamber Tuesday morning.

It ended with remembering the two people whose deaths put Shania Harris there.