Centralia Killer Executed

A man convicted of shooting and killing a mid-Missouri man during a robbery in March of 1992 has been executed by lethal injection at the Potosi prison. Death came at 12:04 this morning for Jeffrey Tokar, who had fatally wounded Johnny Douglass during a botched burglary at the Douglass home, north of Centralia. Tokar went to his death with a smile on his face, singing a song as he was given the first of three lethal doses. His final statement offered no apology to the Douglass family. He said, “A dying man should always tell the truth and the truth isn’t necessarily what a person hears but what they choose to believe. Praise the Lord. I am on my way.” Seven members of the Douglass family witnessed Tokar’s execution. Johnny Douglass’s two children – then 8-and-4-years of age – were not among those in attendance as state law prohibits anyone under the age of 21 from witnessing executions.