Jeffrey Timothy Landrigan was born on March 17, 1962. He had a criminal past that began in Oklahoma. In 1982, he was convicted of killing his best friend, Greg Brown, by stabbing him to death. He was sentenced to life in prison for this crime.

While serving his sentence, Landrigan escaped from an Oklahoma prison in 1989. He fled to Arizona, where he continued his criminal activities.

On December 13, 1989, after escaping from prison, Landrigan committed an armed burglary in Phoenix, Arizona. During this crime, he murdered Chester Dean Dyer by strangling and stabbing him. He was later arrested, convicted of first-degree murder, and sentenced to death in Arizona.

Landrigan spent over 20 years on death row. His case attracted attention because of concerns about his legal representation and the drugs used in his execution. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights recommended a stay of execution, but it was denied.

On October 26, 2010, Landrigan was executed by lethal injection. His final words were "Boomer Sooner," a reference to the University of Oklahoma's fight song. His execution was controversial because Arizona used sodium thiopental from a British supplier that was not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.