Three to One-Drug Execution: Yokamon Hearn Story

Delvin Diles 19, and Yokamon Hearn, 19 both walked up to Frank Meziere, 23 while Meizere was washing his car at a local coin-operated car wash spot in North Dallas, Texas. 

Diles and Hearn both forced Meziere with a gun pointed towards his head to step in his own car and drive them to a deserted area. However, Diles and Hearn where not in this alone either. They had Teresa Shirley, 19 and Dwight Burley, 20 follow them along in another vehicle. 

Diles and Hearn shot Meziere a few times in the skull along with his upper body when they got to the deserted area. Then the pair took off with Meziere’s wallet among other personal items in Meziere’s car. 

Meziere’s dead corpse was found the following morning. Meziere had a minimum of twelve bullet wounds from a .22-caliber and 9 mm weapons. Meziere’s car was also located a little bit later that same morning as well. Meziere’s car was discovered in a shopping center parking lot abandoned. 

Hearn along with the other assailants were on videotape from the security camera at an adjacent convenience store that was from the coin-operated car wash in North Dallas, Texas. 

During the trial, Teresa Shirley would testify that she was an accomplice and eyewitness to the death of Meziere. 

Diles would ultimately plead guilty to capital murder. Diles received a life in prison sentence. However, Shirley and Burley would also plead guilty to their charges of aggravated robbery and get a 10-year prison sentence. Both Shirley and Burley would be freed from prison in 2008. 

Final/Special Meal

The state of Texas no longer offers their inmates on death row a special final meal. However, the final meal for these Texas death row inmates will always be the same meal as the rest of the inmate population for that unit. 

Final/Last Words

Yokamon Hearns final words prior to execution were and I quote, “I’d like to tell my family that I love y’all and I wish y’all well. I’m ready.”

Crime Facts

On March 25, 1998, there was tons of evidence that the prosecution team could use to build their case. Some evidence that would be used in the trial would be that Hearn along with his companions would drive off to North Dallas with the sole purpose of making some quick, easy money. The group of teens would be armed with shotguns, Tec-9 automatic, and a .22 caliber pistol. 

Around 10:30 pm, the group of teens would locate Frank Meziere. Meziere was at the coin-operated car wash washing his 1994 Mustang. 

This is when Hearn would come up with a plan that they will steal Meziere’s car. He filled in his companions on the plan he had in his mind and how they will carry out this crime. 

This is when Hearn and his accomplices would kidnap Meziere with a gun pointed towards his head and drive him out to a deserted place before shooting him dead with a Tec-9. Ultimately Meziere died from his gunshot wounds to the head. Meziere was short many times at close-range. 

Then Hearn would drive Meziere’s beloved 1994 Mustang away from the crime scene. Hearn would be on the lookout for a “chop shop” to sell the car.  

However, just the following morning after the crime was committed a local city electrician would find Meziere’s dead body lying in a roadside field. Just two hours after Meziere’s body was located, a police officer would find Meziere’s beloved 1994 Mustang abandoned in a local shopping center parking lot. 

Criminal History

In Hearn’s punishment phase of the trial, the jury discovered that Hearn was involved in many offenses prior to this offense he was on trial for. They learned he had many offenses that included arson, at least four burglaries, aggravated assault, aggravated robbery, terroristic threat, sexual assault, criminal trespass, and finally a schoolyard assault. 

Yokamon Hearn Execution

Yokamon Hearn, 33, was sentenced to death for the 1998 death of Frank Meziere, Dallas stockbroker. 

Hearn would be the first death row inmate in Texas to be put to death using just one drug instead of the three-drug combination. 

Hearn would be executed on July 18, 2012. The correctional institution started administering the lethal drug at 6:12 pm and Hearn was officially dead at 6:37 pm. 

As for using the single drug for execution the correctional institution team monitored him. Hearn did not appear to have any reactions to this method of execution as he was the sixth person to be executed within the state of Texas in 2012. 

However, Hearn’s final and last words before the correctional institution started administering the drugs were and I quote: “I’d like to tell my family that I love y’all and I wish y’all well. I’m ready.”

Hearn never mentioned anything about the crime he committed. However, after the correctional institution started administering a lethal drug, Hearn had closed his eyes and started snoring before ultimately passing away. 

Just three and a half hours before Hearn was to be executed, the United States Supreme Court rejected all of Hearn’s appeals to stop the execution. However, none of Hearns appeals would ever address the change in Texas’s execution drug policy. 

Just a week before Hearn was to be executed the Texas Department of Criminal Justice would officially state that they would stop using the three-drug combination that they have used since 1982 only to start using what is known as a sedative pentobarbital, a single drug as they were having a drug shortage for executions. 

You should note that the state of Texas would have an extreme shortage of pentobarbital, pancuronium, and potassium chloride due to expiration. 

This is when the state of Texas would start using pentobarbital when the European supplier stopped producing sodium thiopental.