Inmate: Hung Thanh Le
ODOC#: 239668
OSBI#: 650182
FBI#: 181661TA5
Birthdate: 12/17/1966
Race: Asian
Sex: Male
Height: 5 ft. 5 in.
Weight: 115 pounds
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown
County of Conviction: OKLAHOMA
Location: Oklahoma State Penitentiary, Mcalester

The DeathHouse.Com

"Oklahoma Executes Viet Refugee Who Killed Friend." (March 23, 2004)

McAlester, Okla. - Hung Thanh Le, the Vietnamese refugee who killed a fellow refugee with a meat cleaver, was executed by lethal injection at the state prison here Tuesday night. Gov. Brad Henry had postponed Le's two earlier dates with death, but the convicted killer received no postponement from the governor this time. Prosecutors said that Le murdered Hai Nguyen in 1992. They said Le stabbed Nguyen to death using a meat cleaver and a knife and then stole money from the victim's safe deposit box. Nguyen owned a beauty salon. Last month, Henry had decided to postpone Le's execution until March 23 after the Vietnamese government asked Henry to review the case.

It was the second time that Henry had decided to delay Le's execution. Le was scheduled for execution in January, but Henry gave him a 30- day stay of execution to consider a clemency request. Then, after the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board voted 4-0 to recommend that Le's death sentence be commuted to life in prison, Henry rejected clemency.

Enters Death Chamber

After entering the death chamber just after 6 p.m., Le apologized to the victim's family and his own family, wishing he could take back the murder he committed. "Thank you all for being here today," Le said from the death gurney. "I would like to apologize to both families. I can't take back what happened. I hope my death will help replace the hatred for each other. Instead of hatred, love each other. Life is short. If you see a stranger on the street and he needs help, please help him with a smile. "I wish i could take back the things I have done, but it's impossible. We all make mistakes in our lives. To my parents, tell them I love them very much. I'll be home soon....I'll see you in Heaven when you get their. I will be there first."

The lethal injection of chemicals began at 6:02 p.m. and Le was pronounced dead at 6:04 p.m., a spokesman for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections said. No members of the victim's family witnessed the execution. Le had once again requested a last meal that included Hunan beef, fried rice and dragon soup. Prosecutors said that Le and Nguyen first met in a refugee camp in Thailand after escaping from Vietnam during the fall of Saigon. Although they were friends, court documents indicate that Le, first went to the Nguyen's home and stole stereo and karaoke equipment.

Strikes From Behind

Then, on Nov. 12, 1992, while Nguyen was sitting on his couch watching television, Le crept up behind him and struck Nguyen in the head with a bar from a weightlifting set. Hai Nguyen remained conscious, and called out to his wife, Thuy, that Le was killing him. When she rushed into the room, Le dropped the metal bar and Hai Nguyen picked it up, striking Le on the forearm. The victim dropped the bar when his wife said she had called 911. Le then went to the kitchen and returned with a knife and cleaver.

Demands Big Check

According to court documents, Le told Hai Nguyen not to make him do it, and, after backing Hai Nguyen across the room, stabbed him with the butcher knife. When Thuy Nguyen begged him to stop, Le attacked her and said she should not have called 911. During the attack, Le told the couple that he was being paid $20,000 to kill them. But, he told Thuy Nguyen he would stop if she wrote him a check for $20,000. Hai Nguyen fell across the coffee table, and Le began chopping at his back and head with the meat cleaver, court documents stated. Thuy Nguyen ran out the back door, and saw an ambulance arriving and begged the attendants to go inside and save her husband. The attendants treated Thuy for knife wounds to her hands and head. While waiting for police, they saw Le leave the house and drive off in Hai Nguyen's car. Hai Nguyen later died from a loss of blood.

Washes Away Blood

Le stole his friend's car and the key to a safety deposit box. He drove to a farm pond near the highway where he washed and changed clothes. He drove to a bank, where he used Hai Nguyen's key to open his safe deposit box and steal $36,000 cash and a diamond ring. He then took a taxi downtown and went "shopping," court document stated. Le was arrested at the airport the next day. He admitted the stabbing, but claimed he did not try to kill Hai Nguyen. He said he wanted to knock him unconscious so he could steal the safety deposit box key. Le claimed he feared for his life and got knives to "defend himself" when Nguyen grabbed the bar he had used to strike him.

He admitted he told Thuy he had been paid $20,000 to kill them but said that was a lie. At trial, Lee claimed he had lent $10,000 to Hai Nguyen to start a business, but Nguyen refused to repay the money. Thuy Nguyen testified Le never loaned the couple any money and there were no plans to start a business. During the second stage of his trial, Le testified that in July, 1992, he gave Hai Nguyen $10,000 to start a joint business. He also claimed that after his family came in September, he needed the money but, Hai Nguyen refused to return it. Le did not tell the police about the $10,000 or alleged business deal, although he did tell them he knew Nguyen had $10,000.

Oklahoma Attorney General News Release

02/06/04 News Release - W.A. Drew Edmondson, Attorney General

Execution Date Set for Le

The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals today set Feb. 26 as the execution date for Oklahoma County death row inmate Hung Thanh Le. Le was convicted and sentenced to death for the Nov. 12, 1992, murder of Hai Nguyen, 34, at Nguyen's Oklahoma City home. Le struck Nguyen in the head with a bar and stabbed him with a butcher knife and a meat cleaver. Le also attacked Nguyen's wife, Thuy, who survived. After the murder, Le took Nguyen's car and the key to his safe deposit box. After taking the contents of the box, Le went shopping and spent the night in Oklahoma City. He was arrested the next day.

The United States Supreme Court denied Le's final appeal Oct. 6. Le's execution was originally scheduled for Jan. 6, but Gov. Brad Henry granted a 30-day stay after the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board recommended clemency for Le at a Dec. 9 hearing. The Governor denied clemency Jan. 28.

ProDeathPenalty.Com

On November 12, 1992, Hai Hong Nguyen, his wife Thuy Tiffany Nguyen, and Hung Thanh Le became involved in an altercation that led to the death of Hai Hong Nguyen, to serious physical injury to Mrs. Nguyen, and to the conviction of Le for assault and battery, robbery, and first-degree murder. Le, a Vietnamese refugee, met Hai Hong in a refugee camp in Thailand in the mid-1980s. They became friends, and both later immigrated to the United States. Hai Hong settled in Oklahoma City, where he and his wife owned and operated a beauty salon. Le settled in Cleveland, Ohio, where he worked as a machinist. According to Le, he and Hai Hong had planned to go into business together by opening a machine shop in Oklahoma City.

On July 4, 1992, Le flew to Oklahoma City, visited with Hai Hong, and met Mrs. Nguyen for the first time. Le alleges that at this time he gave the Nguyens $10,000 as initial capital for the machine shop. By September of 1992, however, Le's family had arrived in the United States. Le asserts that because of his family's arrival, he wanted to reclaim the $10,000. Whatever the purpose for his visit, Le returned to Oklahoma City again in November 1992. During the week of November 2, 1992, Le briefly stopped by the Nguyens' house in the early morning and told them that he was returning home to Cleveland after having secured a job in Texas. On November 9, 1992, Le again appeared at the Nguyens' house, and they offered him a place to stay. Le, after claiming to have lost his wallet, went shopping with the Nguyens on November 10. Mrs. Nguyen testified that Hai Hong gave Le $200 on that occasion. On November 11, Le went to the salon with the Nguyens, borrowed their car, returned to their home, removed their home stereo without their knowledge, and then mailed the stereo to himself in Ohio. Le returned the car that afternoon so that Mrs. Nguyen could pick up her daughter, Carolyn, after school. When the Nguyens returned home that evening accompanied by Le, they noticed the missing stereo. A search of the house revealed no other missing items and no signs of a forcible entry. Le told the Nguyens that he did not know what happened to the stereo and that he had an expensive personal bag that was also missing.

Mrs. Nguyen testified that the next morning--November 12--she was called from her bed by her husband's words, "Honey, Hung kill me." She ran into the living room of their house and found her husband covered in blood. Mrs. Nguyen dialed 911 and requested help. She next saw her husband try to pick up an 18-inch long metal bar from a barbell set that had apparently been used by Le to hit Hai Hong Nguyen. Mrs. Nguyen stopped him, telling her husband that she had called the police. At this point Le returned to the living room from the kitchen, brandishing a 13-inch long knife and a 7-inch long meat cleaver. According to Mrs. Nguyen, Le was visibly upset and angry, and she asked him to stop his attack. Le then attempted to corner Hai Hong with the weapons. When Le tried to reach for Hai Hong, a struggle ensued into which Mrs. Nguyen interceded, receiving knife wounds to her head and hands. Mrs. Nguyen then retreated to the front door, but she was unable to open it. As Le pulled Hai Hong towards the front door, Mrs. Nguyen sat down next to the television, shielding her injuries, and pleaded with Le to stop his attack. Mrs. Nguyen then watched Le stab her husband in the chest. According to Mrs. Nguyen, when her husband fell down onto the coffee table and couch, Le proceeded to hack at the back of Nguyen's neck with the meat cleaver.

Mrs. Nguyen's account of the events, which was uncontested at trial, is that Le responded to her pleas by telling her that he would kill her, too, for calling the police. At some point, Hai Hong apparently asked Le why he was attacking them, and Le responded that he had been hired by someone to kill the Nguyens for $20,000. Le apparently then told Mrs. Nguyen to write him a check for this amount, but she responded that they did not have that amount of money. As her husband lost consciousness, Mrs. Nguyen ran back to the door and made it outside, finding an ambulance on the street. The two paramedics who had arrived on the scene were waiting for the police before entering the Nguyens' house. When Mrs. Nguyen exited the house, they treated her wounds.

While the paramedics treated Mrs. Nguyen, Le collected Nguyen's wallet, the Nguyens' keys, and a suit. Le then left the house and drove away in the Nguyens' car. One paramedic testified that he saw Le surveying the scene nonchalantly while driving away. After learning that there was nobody else in the house, one of the paramedics entered, accompanied by two police officers who had just arrived. The paramedic testified that he saw Hai Hong writhing on the ground, stating, "[H]elp me, help me, I'm dying, I'm dying." Hai Hong also asked the paramedic to help his wife, telling the paramedic that she had been hurt, too. Hai Hong had multiple stab wounds to his chest, neck, head, abdomen, and arms, and he subsequently went in to hypovolemic shock and cardiac arrest before arriving at the hospital. At the hospital, Hai Hong went into full cardiac arrest and died.

After leaving the Nguyens' house, Le began driving towards Dallas, stopped at a ditch to wash the blood off his body, and then returned to Oklahoma City. At some point after the events of that morning, Le went to the Nguyens' bank and, assuming Nguyen's identity, used the Nguyens' safety deposit box key to open their safety deposit box. Le removed $36,000 in cash and two diamond rings, leaving the box empty. Le left the Nguyens' car at the bank with blood and his fingerprints on it. That day, Le also bought expensive new clothes and paid cash to a downtown travel agent for a one-way first class airline ticket to Cleveland. The ticket was issued under the name Paul Koring.

The following day--Friday, November 13, 1992--after placing bets at Remington Park, an equine racetrack in Oklahoma City, Le was apprehended at the Will Rogers World Airport by a police officer who recognized his description. Le claimed his name was Paul Koring and that his identification had been stolen. When Le failed to produce identification, the officer took him into custody and searched him for weapons. During the search, the police officer found Nguyen's wallet and a briefcase containing the Nguyens' safety deposit box key, the Nguyens' car keys, and $34,966.37 in cash. After his arrest, Le was booked at the police station, and his interrogation was videotaped.

During the interrogation, he waived his Miranda rights and recounted his version of the events. Le admitted coming to Oklahoma City with the intent of robbing the Nguyens. He admitted to knowing beforehand about the safety deposit box and the address of the bank, but he said he never intended to kill Nguyen. He admitted having taken the Nguyens' stereo and mailing it to Ohio, and he said that Hai Hong had confronted him about the theft the morning of the murder. He told the officers that the morning of November 12--even before being confronted by Hai Hong about the stereo--he intended to rob Hai Hong by knocking him out with the metal pipe from the weightlifting set. Le admitted striking Hai Hong and noted that Hai Hong remained conscious after receiving the blow. Le claimed that Hai Hong then threatened to kill Le if he did not stop, at which point Le said he ran into the kitchen and grabbed only one knife. Le claimed that Hai Hong hit him on the forearm, to which Le responded by stabbing Hai Hong five times. Le claimed that at this point, Hai Hong collapsed on the coffee table. Le admitted to having told Mrs. Nguyen that he was hired to kill her and hitting her as a warning. He then confirmed the rest of the events after the homicide. Le did not mention the business plans he allegedly had with the Nguyens, although he suggested he knew the Nguyens had at least $10,000 in their safety deposit box.

UPDATE: Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry granted a 30-day stay of execution to a Vietnamese national on Wednesday so that he will have time to consider a pardon board recommendation that the sentence be commuted. Hung Thanh Le, 34, was scheduled to be put to death on Jan. 6 for the 1992 slaying of fellow Vietnamese refugee Hai Hong Nguyen over a $10,000 business deal gone bad. The state's Pardon and Parole Board voted a week ago to recommend commuting Le's sentence on the grounds that Le was not notified under international law that he could report his case to his consulate or embassy. If his death sentence is commuted, Le will most likely be sentenced to life in prison. Henry said in a statement he plans to personally interview both prosecution and defense attorneys in the case as well as review evidence presented to the pardon board. "I want this case to go through the same deliberative process as previous clemency recommendations, and the only way to do that is by ordering a temporary stay," Henry said. Le was convicted for the 1992 beating and stabbing death of Nguyen after the two argued over $10,000, which Le had given Nguyen for a business partnership. Le hit Nguyen with a metal bar and stabbed him with a butcher knife, according to evidence presented in court.

UPDATE: A condemned man was denied a stay of execution today by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. Hung Thanh Le, 37, is scheduled to be executed at 6 p.m. today for the 1992 stabbing death of Hai Hong Nguyen, 34. Nguyen was attacked with a butcher knife and a meat cleaver while Le was a guest in his home, prosecutors said. His execution has been delayed previously. Le's application for a stay of execution was filed Tuesday by Lanita Henricksen, his attorney. The application said that staying Le's execution will ensure that the constitutional violations suffered by him can be fully reviewed and analyzed by the court of Criminal Appeals. Le's execution originally was set for Jan. 6. Gov. Brad Henry ordered a stay after the state Pardon and Parole Board recommended that he not be executed. His attorneys argued to the pardon and parole board that Le had not been told he had the right to contact Vietnamese authorities, a right attorneys said is guaranteed by the Vienna Convention. After reviewing the case, Henry chose not to commute Le's death sentence and he was scheduled to die Feb. 26. Henry granted a second stay within an hour of Le's scheduled execution after the Vietnamese government asked for more time to review the case.

UPDATE: Oklahoma executed a Vietnamese national on Tuesday who killed a fellow refugee over a business deal gone bad, despite a state parole board recommendation to commute his death sentence. "I would like to apologize to both families. I can't take back what happened. I hope my death will help replace the hatred for each other," Le said in his final statement. "Instead of hatred, love each other. Life is very short."

National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty

Hung Thanh Le, OK - Feb. 26, 6:00 PM CST

The Governor of Oklahoma, Brad Henry, has denied the unanimous recommendation of the parole board to grant clemency to Hung Thanh Le. After hearing his case, the Clemency Board voted unanimously to overturn Mr. Le's death sentence. There has been an international outpouring of support for Mr. Le, due to the circumstances of his case. Please take a moment to send a message to Gov. Henry and express your disappointment and anger with his decision to uphold injustice.

There are a number of concerning issues in this case, all of which cast serious doubts on the “justice” of Mr. Le’s execution; including the failure of police to provide an interpreter despite Mr. Le’s limited English, prosecutorial misconduct so severe that the district attorney in Mr. Le’s trial was the only lawyer mentioned by name in a 58-page appellate court decision lambasting Oklahoma prosecutors, and failure to examine Mr. Le for mental capacity despite his suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder due to his incredibly violent childhood and escape from Vietnam.

Hai Nguyen, the victim, was an old friend of Mr. Le. They had met in a refugee camp in Thailand and had decided to go into business together upon arrival in the United States (Mr. Le was placed in Ohio and Mr. Nguyen in Oklahoma.) Mr. Le gave Mr. Nguyen his contribution to the venture, approximately $10,000. After a few months of no contact, Mr. Le attempted to contact Mr. Nguyen: there had been no progress with the business, Mr. Le had lost his job, and his family had just arrived in the U.S. Mr. Le wanted his money back but Mr. Nguyen would not return his phone calls. Mr. Le went to Oklahoma to visit in person. While he was there, a fight erupted over the money. The fight escalated and Mr. Nguyen was killed.

Mr. Le was apprehended at the airport. Despite his very limited English, police made no attempt to obtain an interpreter, and Mr. Le waived his right to a lawyer. However, towards the end of the interview he said “Too many things confusing me right now. I still don’t know what to do and what to say. I don’t have an attorney.” Asked whether he wanted a lawyer he replied, “No what is it? Like what for is it?”

In his 1993 pre-trial hearings, he had an interpreter and entered a guilty plea. A year later, the judge allowed him to withdraw that plea on the grounds that, even with an interpreter, he had not understood the proceedings, including that he could be sentenced to death. However, a different judge allowed Mr. Le’s statements to the police to be shown to the jury, despite defense objections that he did not have enough English to have intelligently waived his rights to remain silent and get a lawyer. Mr. Le stated that he had no previous contact with U.S. law enforcement and thought that, like in Vietnam, he would face torture if he did not cooperate with police.

The district attorney in Mr. Le’s trial was the only lawyer mentioned by name in an appellate court decision upholding Mr. Le’s sentence but lambasting Oklahoma prosecutors. Judge Robert Henry wrote “some prosecutors in that office over the last 15 years have repeatedly and seriously crossed the line in capital cases,” and that district attorney Bob Macy made “improper” and “irrelevant” comments during sentencing. Macy insinuated, without support or evidence, that Mr. Le had murdered before (“How do you know he hasn’t?” he asked the jury).

Judge Henry also wrote that “any prosecutor will have his share of trial outcome challenges, but the Oklahoma County district attorney’s office has been cited for action deemed improper, ‘egregiously improper,’ deceitful and impermissible in striking foul blows, deplorable, ‘perhaps inappropriate, and worthy of condemnation’ in the past 15 years by various judges.

Mr. Le has experienced a terribly frightening and violent childhood. His father an opponent of the Vietnamese Communist party. In punishment for this, his family was exiled into the jungle for five years. They managed to build a small hut for shelter and eat the small fish and animals that Mr. Le was able to catch for his family. Mr. Le often went without food so that his younger siblings could eat. Mr. Le was forced into the army from the ages 9 – 14.

When Mr. Le was 16, he escaped with his father to neighboring Cambodia, leaving his mother, his four sisters and two brothers behind to wait until they could bring them to safety. It took 17 days for Mr. Le and his father to get through the jungle to Cambodia. They were badly beaten, and had to cross over many dead bodies of those who had been killed by soldiers trying to escape Vietnam.

Once in the refugee camp, they remained for four years; causing both men to fall into depression. They had not expected such a long confinement and worried for the family left behind. The camp was wretchedly violent, and was often terrorized and bombed. He and his father lived on 2.8 kilos of rice, a handful of salt, and one tin of sardines per week. After four years they moved from Cambodia to a refugee camp in Thailand where they stayed for two additional years. It was in this camp that Mr. Le and Mr. Nguyen met. When Mr. Nguyen was baptized, Mr. Le’s father was his godfather.

Mr. Le’s trial lawyers had done almost no investigation into his background or preparation of the witnesses. As a result, the mitigation testimony was brief and did not include expert evidence on the impact of his past.

Mr. Le is still suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, and is often plagued with nightmares. He is a devout Catholic and prays daily for his family and the family of his victim. Three prison guards testified at his trial, calling him “kind, gentle and respectful,” and “the most courteous inmate” one had ever come across.

Please send a letter to Gov. Henry, urging him to show mercy. Mr. Le does not deserve to be killed. He has experienced much pain in his life, and has been further victimized by the state’s miscarriage of justice.

McAlester News-Democrat

"Le asks forgiveness, hopes death replaces hate with love," by Doug Russell. (Wednesday March 24, 2004)

As 18 people prayed and sang hymns outside of the Oklahoma State Penitentiary, Hung Thanh Le looked out of the prison's execution chamber, expressed sorrow for his crime and urged witnesses to love one another. Two minutes after he finished speaking, he was dead.

The 37-year-old Vietnamese refugee was pronounced dead at 6:04 p.m.; the fourth inmate executed in Oklahoma this year. He had been sentenced to death for killing another Vietnamese refugee, Hai Nguyen, with a meat cleaver and kitchen knife more than 11 years ago.

As the blinds to the state's execution chamber raised at 6:01 p.m., Le raised his head from the gurney to which he was strapped. He smiled and nodded at those gathered in the witness room, including his brother, Thung Le, two spiritual advisors, five reporters and his brother-in-law, Hung Nguyen, who is no relation to the murder victim.

"Thank you for being here today," Le said. "I would like to apologize for both families. "I can't take back what happened. I hope my death will help replace the hatred with love for each other." Le thanked Hung Nguyen and others for trying to stop his execution, something which had been temporarily accomplished when Gov. Brad Henry stopped a Feb. 26 execution to allow the Vietnamese consulate time to study Le's case. Looking at the reporters, Le said, "If you see a stranger on the street and he needs help, help him. "I wish I could take back the thing I had done, but it's impossible. We all make mistakes in our lives."

He apologized for the grief and suffering of Thuy Nguyen, the murder victim's wife, who had been injured when Le attacked the Oklahoma City beauty shop owner on Nov. 12, 1992. "I hope she can throw the hate from her vocabulary," he said. "Again, thank you. "Good-bye everybody, I will see you in heaven. When you get there, I will be there." About two minutes after the combination of lethal drugs began flowing into his veins, Le was dead.

In the hours leading up to the execution, Le's supporters continued to fight for his life. Death penalty opponents rallied at the state Capitol, asking the governor to intervene, and Le's attorneys filed a last-minute appeal, asking for an emergency stay of execution. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals rejected the request Tuesday afternoon.

Le's attorney, Larita Henrickson, said the inmate should have been given the opportunity to have the Vietnamese consulate help with his case, even though the United States and Vietnam did not have diplomatic relations in 1992. The two countries resumed relations in July 1995. Le was convicted in September 1995.

Le had three execution dates set before the execution was actually carried out. Governor Henry stopped a Jan. 6 execution date so he could study a recommendation for clemency from the state Pardon and Parole Board. After clemency was denied, a Feb. 26 date was set, but Henry stopped the proceedings just minutes before the scheduled 6 p.m. execution to comply with a request from the Vietnamese government.

CNN Law Center

"Vietnamese refugee executed for 1992 stabbing." (Wednesday, March 24, 2004)

McALESTER, Oklahoma (AP) -- A man who confessed to killing a fellow Vietnamese refugee in front of the man's wife was executed Tuesday. Hung Thanh Le, 37, died by an injection of drugs for the 1992 stabbing death of an Oklahoma City beauty salon owner. Le said Hai Nguyen owed him money that he needed to support his family.

In a final statement, Le apologized for killing Nguyen with a meat cleaver and kitchen knife. "I can't take back what happened," he said. "I hope my death will replace the hatred ... with love for each other." Le also apologized to his victim's wife, Thuy Nguyen, who had pleaded with Le to stop as he stabbed and slashed Nguyen.

Tuesday was Le's third execution date. Gov. Brad Henry delayed the execution in January so he could decide whether to grant clemency and again in February at the request of the Vietnamese Embassy. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals rejected Le's request for an emergency stay Tuesday afternoon.

Le and Hai Nguyen had fled Vietnam during the war and met at a refugee camp in Thailand. Le testified he had given Nguyen $10,000 as part of a business proposal, but nothing came of it and Nguyen kept the money.

KOTV

"Vietnamese Refugee Put To Death For 1992 Murder." (March 24, 2004)

McALESTER, Okla. (AP) -- Thuy Nguyen has been living in fear for the past 12 years. Now she might sleep a little better. After two delays and three execution dates, her husband's killer, Hung Thanh Le, was put to death Tuesday for the 1992 beating and stabbing death of Hai Nguyen. Thuy Nguyen watched as Le stabbed her husband with a kitchen knife and slashed his neck and back with a meat cleaver. "It's a big relief knowing that he's gone for good," Nguyen said. "I know it must be hard for his family right now, watching him die, but I watched Hai die. I sort of feel like what goes around comes around."

Before a lethal combination of drugs took effect, Le said he hoped his death would give her peace. "I hope she can put this behind her and that she is doing better in her life and can put hate from her vocabulary," Le said. Le, 37, died at 6:04 p.m., about two minutes after receiving the injections.

Before the lethal combination of drugs took effect, Le apologized for the murder. "I can't take back what happened," Le said. "I hope my death will replace the hatred ... with love for each other." Le's brother-in-law, Hung Nguyen, who is not related to the victim; his brother Thung Le and two spiritual advisers witnessed the execution. Le thanked them for their help in trying to save his life. Hung Nguyen had advocated clemency for Le and had spoken at a rally protesting Le's Feb. 26 execution date.

As the drugs were administered, Le closed his eyes and exhaled deeply before the color drained from his face and lips. Death penalty opponents rallied against Le's execution at the Capitol, again asking Gov. Brad Henry to give Le clemency.

The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals on Tuesday rejected an emergency request to stop Le's execution. He had no other appeals pending. Le's attorney, Lanita Henricksen, had argued Le was denied access to assistance from the Vietnamese consulate, as guaranteed by the Geneva Convention. Vietnam and the United States did not have diplomatic relations when Le was arrested for the murder in November 1992. The two countries resumed relations in July 1995. Le was convicted in September 1995. "I think if this were any other state besides Oklahoma or Texas, there wouldn't be an execution," Henricksen said. Le had been scheduled to die Feb. 26, but officials from the Vietnamese Embassy asked Henry to delay the execution so the embassy could have time to review the case.

His first execution date in January was delayed so Henry could review the case after the Pardon and Parole Board unanimously recommended clemency for Le. Henry later rejected that request. Since Henry has been in office, he has rejected three recommendations for clemency.

Le confessed to killing Hai Nguyen the night he was arrested, saying the two had argued about money and a proposed business deal before the murder. After the murder, he took $36,000 from Hai Nguyen's safety deposit box and used it to buy new clothes, to buy a one-way, first-class ticket back to Ohio and to bet on horses at Remington Park in Oklahoma City. Le was the fourth inmate executed in Oklahoma this year.

Le v. State, 947 P.2d 535 (Okl.Cr. 1997) (Direct Appeal).

Defendant was convicted in the District Court, Oklahoma County, Nancy L. Coats, J., of first-degree malice murder, robbery with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery with intent to kill, larceny of a motor vehicle, and grand larceny, and was sentenced to death. He appealed. The Court of Criminal Appeals, Chapel, P.J., held that: (1) defendant validly waived his Miranda rights; (2) trial court was not required to conduct post-examination competency hearing; (3) trial court properly removed prospective juror for cause; (4) defendant was not entitled to instruction on first degree manslaughter as a lesser included offense of murder; (5) defendant was not entitled to instruction on self-defense; (6) photographs of victim's body were admissible; (7) convictions of robbery and malice murder did not violate statutory prohibition against multiple convictions; (8) convictions of larceny of a motor vehicle and grant larceny could not stand in light of robbery conviction; (9) evidence supported aggravating circumstances; (10) victim impact evidence was admissible; (11) improper prosecution remarks did not deprive defendant of fair trial; and (12) defendant was not denied effective assistance of counsel. Affirmed in part and dismissed in part. Lane, J., concurred in results and filed opinion. Lumpkin, J., concurred in part and dissented in part and filed opinion.

CHAPEL, Presiding Judge:
Hung Thanh Le was tried by jury and convicted of Count I, Malice Murder in the First Degree in violation of 21 O.S.1991, § 701.7(A) FN1. The murder occurred in November 1992. On October 18, 1993, Le entered a blind plea of guilty to all the charges. Sentencing was set for December 27. On December 28, Le changed attorneys. After several continuances, Le withdrew his plea on October 28, 1994 (the trial court allowed this because, although Le had an interpreter in the plea hearing, the trial court believed the record did not show Le understood the consequences of his plea). Trial began September 18, 1995. Le waived any speedy trial claims.

This case involves friendship betrayed. Le and Hai Nguyen each fled Vietnam as young men and met in a refugee camp in Thailand. Each made his way to the United States where, by 1992, Le was a machinist in Cleveland while Nguyen owned a beauty shop in Oklahoma City. In July 1992 Le visited Nguyen, his wife Thuy, and their daughter Carolyn. Le stopped for a brief visit early in November 1992, then arrived by taxi around 9:30 p.m. on Monday, November 9, 1992. He spent the night. The following day the beauty shop was closed; the Nguyens loaned Le $200 and they went shopping. On Wednesday Nguyen cut Le's hair, then Le returned to the empty house, where he packed up the Nguyen's stereo and karaoke equipment and shipped it to Cleveland. The Nguyens suspected Le had stolen their property but did not confront him.

Thursday, November 12, Carolyn went to school. Nguyen sat on the couch watching television. Le crept up behind Nguyen and hit him on the back of the head with a bar from Nguyen's weightlifting set. The blows caused several contusions and bled, but Nguyen remained conscious. Thuy was still in bed when Nguyen called her name and said Le was killing him; she rushed into the room. Le dropped the bar and Nguyen picked it up. As Thuy called 911 Nguyen threatened Le with the bar and hit his forearm. Nguyen dropped the bar when Thuy said she had called 911. Le went to the kitchen and got a butcher knife and a meat cleaver. He returned, told Nguyen not to make him do it, backed Nguyen across the room, and stabbed him with the butcher knife. When Thuy begged him to stop, Le attacked her and said she should not have called 911. During the attack Le told the Nguyens he had been paid $20,000 to kill them and told Thuy he would stop if she wrote him a check for $20,000. Nguyen fell across the coffee table, and Le began chopping at his back and head with the meat cleaver. Thuy ran out the back door. She saw an EMSA ambulance which had just arrived, and begged the attendants to go inside and save her husband. The attendants treated Thuy for knife wounds to her hands and head. While waiting for police, they saw Le leave the house and drive off in the Nguyen's car. When attendants reached Nguyen he was still conscious, laying in a large pool of blood. He told them he was dying, asked them to help him, and asked about Thuy. Nguyen went into arrest in the ambulance and died of blood loss. He had been stabbed many times.

Le took Nguyen's car keys, car, and safe deposit box key. He drove to a farm pond near the highway where he washed and changed clothes. He drove to Nguyen's bank, where he used Nguyen's key to open his safe deposit box. He took the contents, including $36,000 in cash and a diamond ring, and put them in an empty bag. Le left the car at the bank and took a taxi downtown, where he went shopping and stayed the night.

Le was apprehended the next day at the airport. He admitted stabbing Nguyen but insisted he had not intended to kill him. Le told police he knew about the money in the safe deposit box and came to Oklahoma City to rob the Nguyens. He said he intended to hit Nguyen and "put him to sleep" so he could get the safe deposit box key. When Nguyen remained conscious and grabbed the bar, Le said he feared for his life and got the knives to defend himself. He admitted he told Thuy he had been paid $20,000 to kill them but said that was a lie. During the second stage of trial Le testified that in July, 1992, he gave Nguyen $10,000 to start a joint business; after his family came in September he needed the money but Nguyen refused to return it so he came to Oklahoma City to get it back. Le did not tell the police about $10,000 or a business deal, although he did tell them he knew Nguyen had $10,000. Thuy testified there were no plans for a joint business and Le never gave them any money.

* * *

After careful, independent review and consideration of the evidence supporting the valid aggravating circumstances, as well as the evidence offered in mitigation, we find the sentences of death factually substantiated and appropriate.

Le v. State, 953 P.2d 52 (Okl.Cr. 1998) (PCR).

Defendant was convicted in the District Court, Oklahoma County, Nancy Coats, J., of first-degree malice aforethought murder, robbery with dangerous weapon, assault and battery with intent to kill, larceny of a motor vehicle, and grand larceny. Defendant's convictions were affirmed on appeal, 947 P.2d 535, and he filed direct application for postconviction relief. The Court of Criminal Appeals, Chapel, P.J., held that: (1) postconviction statutory scheme for analyzing ineffective assistance of appellate counsel claims was not unconstitutionally vague; (2) Court of Criminal Appeals would not consider federal constitutionally-based claims where claims had been raised on direct appeal; and (3) defendant's claim that appellate counsel failed to raise all available challenges to sentencing instruction was barred. Petition denied. Lane, J., and Lumpkin, J., concurred in result and filed separate opinions. Affirmed.

CHAPEL, Presiding Judge:
Hung Thanh Le was tried by jury before the Honorable Nancy Coats in the District Court of Oklahoma County. In Case No. CF-92-6838 he was convicted of First Degree Malice Aforethought Murder in violation of 21 O.S.1991, § 701.7; Robbery with a Dangerous Weapon in violation of 21 O.S.1991, § 801; Assault and Battery with Intent to Kill in violation of 21 O.S.1991, § 652 , Larceny of a Motor Vehicle in violation of 21 O.S.1991, § 1720; and Grand Larceny in violation of 21 O.S.1991, § 1704 . At the conclusion of the first stage of trial, the jury returned a verdict of guilty. During sentencing, the jury found 1) Le knowingly created a great risk of death to more than one person; and 2) the murder was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel. Le was sentenced to death for the murder conviction and to a total of 124 years incarceration for the non-capital crimes. Le appealed his judgments and sentences to this Court and we affirmed. The United States Supreme Court has not yet ruled on Le's petition for certiorari.

* * * We have carefully reviewed Le's applications for post-conviction relief and an evidentiary hearing, and find that Le is not entitled to relief. The Application for Post-Conviction Relief and Application for an Evidentiary Hearing are DENIED.

Le v. Mullin, 311 F.3d 1002 (C.A.10 2002) (Habeas)

Following affirmance, 947 P.2d 535, of his convictions for first-degree murder, robbery, and assault and death sentence, petitioner sought habeas corpus relief. The United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, Tim Leonard, J., denied relief, and petitioner appealed. The Court of Appeals held that: (1) petitioner was not entitled to evidentiary hearing with respect to his allegations of prosecutorial misconduct and ineffective assistance of trial counsel; (2) prosecutor's comments did not render trial fundamentally unfair; and (3) petitioner was not denied effective assistance of counsel at trial. Affirmed. Henry, Circuit Judge, filed concurring opinion. Petitioner-Appellant Hung Thanh Le, a state prisoner in Oklahoma, filed a petition pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 seeking habeas corpus relief from his convictions for first-degree murder, robbery, and assault and resulting death sentence. In his petition, Mr. Le raised thirty-one grounds for relief. The district court denied him relief on each ground, and it also denied Mr. Le's request for a Certificate of Appealability ("COA"). After conducting a case management conference, this court granted a COA on three issues. On the basis of his COA, Mr. Le now appeals the denial of his § 2254 petition, arguing that (1) he was deprived of a fair trial because of the prosecutor's improper remarks; (2) he was denied effective assistance of counsel at trial; and (3) he should have been granted an evidentiary hearing by the district court in relation to these first two issues. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1291 and we affirm the district court's denial of habeas corpus relief on all three grounds.

A. Factual Background

This case concerns the tragic events of November 12, 1992. On that day, Hai Hong Nguyen, his wife Thuy Tiffany Nguyen, and Mr. Le became involved in an altercation that led to the death of Mr. Nguyen, to serious physical injury to Mrs. Nguyen, and to the conviction of Mr. Le for assault and battery, robbery, and first-degree murder. To understand the events of that day, it is necessary to recount the history between Mr. Le and the Nguyens.

Mr. Le, a Vietnamese refugee, met Mr. Nguyen in a refugee camp in Thailand in the mid-1980s. They became friends, and both later immigrated to the United States. Mr. Nguyen settled in Oklahoma City, where he and his wife owned and operated a beauty salon. Mr. Le settled in Cleveland, Ohio, where he worked as a machinist. According to Mr. Le, he and Mr. Nguyen had planned to go into business together by opening a machine shop in Oklahoma City.

On July 4, 1992, Mr. Le flew to Oklahoma City, visited with Mr. Nguyen, and met Mrs. Nguyen for the first time. Mr. Le alleges that at this time he gave the Nguyens $10,000.00 as initial capital for the machine shop. By September of 1992, however, Mr. Le's family had arrived in the United States. Mr. Le asserts that because of his family's arrival, he wanted to reclaim the $10,000.00.

Whatever the purpose for his visit, Mr. Le returned to Oklahoma City again in November 1992. During the week of November 2, 1992, Mr. Le briefly stopped by the Nguyens' house in the early morning and told them that he was returning home to Cleveland after having secured a job in Texas. On November 9, 1992, Mr. Le again appeared at the Nguyens' house, and they offered him a place to stay. Mr. Le, after claiming to have lost his wallet, went shopping with the Nguyens on November 10. Mrs. Nguyen testified that Mr. Nguyen gave Mr. Le $200.00 on that occasion. On November 11, Mr. Le went to the salon with the Nguyens, borrowed their car, returned to their home, removed their home stereo without their knowledge, and then mailed the stereo to himself in Ohio. Mr. Le returned the car that afternoon so that Mrs. Nguyen could pick up her daughter, Carolyn, after school. When the Nguyens returned home that evening accompanied by Mr. Le, they noticed the missing stereo. A search of the house revealed no other missing items and no signs of a forcible entry. Mr. Le told the Nguyens that he did not know what happened to the stereo and that he had an expensive personal bag that was also missing.

Mrs. Nguyen testified that the next morning--November 12--she was called from her bed by her husband's words, "Honey, Hung kill me." Tr. vol. II, at 336. She ran into the living room of their house and found her husband covered in blood. Mrs. Nguyen dialed 911 and requested help. She next saw her husband try to pick up an 18-inch long metal bar from a barbell set that had apparently been used by Mr. Le to hit Mr. Nguyen. Mrs. Nguyen stopped him, telling her husband that she had called the police. At this point Mr. Le returned to the living room from the kitchen, brandishing a 13-inch long knife and a 7-inch long meat cleaver. According to Mrs. Nguyen, Mr. Le was visibly upset and angry, and she asked him to stop his attack. Mr. Le then attempted to corner Mr. Nguyen with the weapons. When Mr. Le tried to reach for Mr. Nguyen, a struggle ensued into which Mrs. Nguyen interceded, receiving knife wounds to her head and hands.

Mrs. Nguyen then retreated to the front door, but she was unable to open it. As Mr. Le pulled Mr. Nguyen towards the front door, Mrs. Nguyen sat down next to the television, shielding her injuries, and pleaded with Mr. Le to stop his attack. Mrs. Nguyen then watched Mr. Le stab her husband in the chest. According to Mrs. Nguyen, when her husband fell down onto the coffee table and couch, Mr. Le proceeded to hack at the back of Mr. Nguyen's neck with the meat cleaver.

Mrs. Nguyen's account of the events, which was uncontested at trial, is that Mr. Le responded to her pleas by telling her that he would kill her, too, for calling the police. At some point, Mr. Nguyen apparently asked Mr. Le why he was attacking them, and Mr. Le responded that he had been hired by someone to kill the Nguyens for $20,000.00. Mr. Le apparently then told Mrs. Nguyen to write him a check for this amount, but she responded that they did not have that amount of money. As her husband lost consciousness, Mrs. Nguyen ran back to the door and made it outside, finding an ambulance on the street. The two paramedics who had arrived on the scene were waiting for the police before entering the Nguyens' house. When Mrs. Nguyen exited the house, they treated her wounds. While the paramedics treated Mrs. Nguyen, Mr. Le collected Mr. Nguyen's wallet, the Nguyens' keys, and a suit. Mr. Le then left the house and drove away in the Nguyens' car. One paramedic testified that he saw Mr. Le surveying the scene nonchalantly while driving away.

After learning that there was nobody else in the house, one of the paramedics entered, accompanied by two police officers who had just arrived. The paramedic testified that he saw Mr. Nguyen writhing on the ground, stating, "[H]elp me, help me, I'm dying, I'm dying." Tr. vol. II, at 320. Mr. Nguyen also asked the paramedic to help his wife, telling the paramedic that she had been hurt, too. Mr. Nguyen had multiple stab wounds to his chest, neck, head, abdomen, and arms, and he subsequently went in to hypovolemic shock and cardiac arrest before arriving at the hospital. At the hospital, Mr. Nguyen went into full cardiac arrest and died.

After leaving the Nguyens' house, Mr. Le began driving towards Dallas, stopped at a ditch to wash the blood off his body, and then returned to Oklahoma City. At some point after the events of that morning, Mr. Le went to the Nguyens' bank and, assuming Mr. Nguyen's identity, used the Nguyens' safety deposit box key to open their safety deposit box. Mr. Le removed $36,000.00 in cash and two diamond rings, leaving the box empty. Mr. Le left the Nguyens' car at the bank with blood and his fingerprints on it. That day, Mr. Le also bought expensive new clothes and paid cash to a downtown travel agent for a one-way first class airline ticket to Cleveland. The ticket was issued under the name Paul Koring.

The following day--Friday, November 13, 1992--after placing bets at Remington Park, an equine racetrack in Oklahoma City, Mr. Le was apprehended at the Will Rogers World Airport by a police officer who recognized his description. Mr. Le claimed his name was Paul Koring and that his identification had been stolen. When Mr. Le failed to produce identification, the officer took him into custody and searched him for weapons. During the search, the police officer found Mr. Nguyen's wallet and a briefcase containing the Nguyens' safety deposit box key, the Nguyens' car keys, and $34,966.37 in cash.

After his arrest, Mr. Le was booked at the police station, and his interrogation was videotaped. During the interrogation, he waived his Miranda rights and recounted his version of the events. Mr. Le admitted coming to Oklahoma City with the intent of robbing the Nguyens. He admitted to knowing beforehand about the safety deposit box and the address of the bank, but he said he never intended to kill Mr. Nguyen. He admitted having taken the Nguyens' stereo and mailing it to Ohio, and he said that Mr. Nguyen had confronted him about the theft the morning of the murder. He told the officers that the morning of November 12--even before being confronted by Mr. Nguyen about the stereo--he intended to rob Mr. Nguyen by knocking him out with the metal pipe from the weightlifting set.

Mr. Le admitted striking Mr. Nguyen and noted that Mr. Nguyen remained conscious after receiving the blow. Mr. Le claimed that Mr. Nguyen then threatened to kill Mr. Le if he did not stop, at which point Mr. Le said he ran into the kitchen and grabbed only one knife. Mr. Le claimed that Mr. Nguyen hit him on the forearm, to which Mr. Le responded by stabbing Mr. Nguyen five times. Mr. Le claimed that at this point, Mr. Nguyen collapsed on the coffee table. Mr. Le admitted to having told Mrs. Nguyen that he was hired to kill her and hitting her as a warning. He then confirmed the rest of the events after the homicide. Mr. Le did not mention the business plans he allegedly had with the Nguyens, although he suggested he knew the Nguyens had at least $10,000.00 in their safety deposit box.

B. Procedural Background

The State of Oklahoma charged Mr. Le with five criminal counts, including: first-degree murder with malice aforethought; robbery with a dangerous weapon; assault and battery with intent to kill; grand larceny; and larceny of a motor vehicle. [FN1] At the subsequent jury trial in September of 1995, Mr. Le was represented by counsel, and the state sought the death penalty. The jury found Mr. Le guilty on all five counts. During the sentencing stage of the trial, the state argued that three aggravating circumstances justified the death sentence: (1) the knowing creation of a great risk of death to multiple persons; (2) the commission of a murder that was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel; and (3) the commission of a murder for the purpose of avoiding or preventing a lawful arrest or prosecution. The jury found the first two aggravating circumstances to have been present and imposed a sentence of death in relation to the first-degree murder conviction. The jury also imposed sentences of ninety-nine and twenty years on Mr. Le's convictions for robbery with a dangerous weapon and assault and battery with the intent to kill, respectively. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals later dismissed Mr. Le's convictions on grand larceny and larceny of a motor vehicle, reasoning that the convictions violated the prohibition against multiple punishment contained in Okla. Stat. tit. 21, § 11. However, the Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the remaining convictions on direct appeal. See id. at 558.

After the conclusion of his direct appeal, Mr. Le filed for Oklahoma post-conviction relief, asserting thirteen grounds for relief, including a request for an evidentiary hearing. Mr. Le's request for relief and for a hearing was denied. See Le v. Oklahoma, 953 P.2d 52 (Okla.Crim.App.1998)

On February 1, 1999, Mr. Le filed the instant petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 in the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, raising thirty-one grounds for relief. The district court denied relief on each ground. Mr. Le then requested a COA on a number of grounds, but the district court denied a COA on each. We subsequently granted a COA on the following issues: a) Whether the United States District Court should have granted appellant an evidentiary hearing; b) Whether the appellant was deprived of a fair trial because of the improper remarks of the prosecutor; c) Whether appellant was denied effective assistance of counsel as set forth in Ground XI of his petition. Case Management Order (Nov. 13, 2000). It is on the basis of this certificate that Mr. Le's appeal reaches this court.

* * *

For the aforementioned reasons, we AFFIRM the district court's denial of Mr. Le's request for federal habeas corpus relief.