and had driven him to Harrisburg to kill him in order to prevent his testimony. On April 24, 1981, Zettlemoyer was convicted of first degree murder and was sentenced to death. After spending fourteen years on death row, Zettlemoyer fired his lawyers and dropped his efforts to live. He begged the courts to let him die because he claimed "brain disease" was making his life hell. Doctors reported that Zettlemoyer was suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder. Lawyers for the Pennsylvania Post-Conviction Defender Organization argued that Zettlemoyer was not mentally competent, however, three psychiatrists testified he was sane. DeVetsco's mother also argued that Zettlemoyer was mentally ill and was, therefore, not competent to be executed for the murder of her son. Execution On February 28, 1995, Governor Tom Ridge, who had made carrying out the death penalty a campaign issue, signed his first three death warrants. One of the warrants was for Zettlemoyer, who was scheduled to be executed on May 2. Zettlemoyer was executed by lethal injection on May 2, 1995, at State Correctional Institution – Rockview. His last meal was two cheeseburgers, french fries, chocolate pudding and chocolate milk. He became the first person to be executed by the state of Pennsylvania since the resumption of the death penalty in 1976 and the first inmate put to death in Pennsylvania in thirty-three years. He remains the first of only three people to be executed in Pennsylvania since the resumption of the death penalty. The others were Leon Moser in August 1995 and Gary M. Heidnik in 1999. See also Capital punishment in Pennsylvania Capital punishment in the United States List of people executed in Pennsylvania References 1955 births 1995 deaths American murderers 20th-century American criminals 20th-century executions by Pennsylvania 20th-century executions of American people 1980 murders in the United States American people executed for murder Executed people from Maryland People convicted of murder by Pennsylvania People executed by Pennsylvania by lethal injection People from Aberdeen, Maryland