Execution of Nathaniel Woods

The execution of Nathaniel Woods occurred on March 5, 2020, at Atmore state prison in Alabama, in what was described by many as a controversial execution due to questions about the reliability of Woods's conviction and sentence.[1]

Nathaniel Woods
Born
Nathaniel Woods

(1976-10-24)October 24, 1976
DiedMarch 5, 2020(2020-03-05) (aged 43)
Atmore, Alabama, U.S.
Cause of deathExecution by lethal injection
Conviction(s)2005; murder
Criminal penaltyDeath

Incident

The murder that Nathaniel Woods was convicted of took place on June 17, 2004, in Birmingham, Alabama. Three police officers unexpectedly came into the home of Nathaniel Woods and Kerry Spencer due to their home being a suspected drug house. Spencer had an SKS rifle when he heard the officers, while Woods was in the kitchen. Spencer came downstairs to see two officers pointing guns at him. Spencer fired shots at all three police officers, leading to their deaths. Woods ran out of the house when he heard the gunshots. Spencer and Woods were both charged with the murders, despite Woods never firing a weapon. Spencer claimed Woods was not involved and said, "Nate is absolutely innocent. That man didn't know I was going to shoot anybody just like I didn't know I was going to shoot anybody that day, period."[2]

Controversy

Days before Woods's execution, controversy started regarding Woods's sentence and whether he was genuinely guilty of the murders he was convicted of. Certain civil rights leaders, including Shaun King and Martin Luther King III, urged Alabama governor Kay Ivey to commute his death sentence. Ivey told Woods's attorney that she denied his request for clemency.[3] Kimberly Chisholm Simmons, the sister of one of the murdered officers, Harley Chishom III, called Governor Ivey to request clemency for Woods and said, "He didn’t kill my brother, and he didn’t kill the other officers, may they rest in peace. I'm asking for mercy, and I believe my brother would want me to take a stance because of the man he was."[4]

Nathaniel Woods's execution by lethal injection began on March 5, 2020 around 8:38 p.m., but Woods was not declared dead until approximately 9:01 p.m.

Aftermath

Civil rights activist Shaun King called the execution "a modern day lynching", and called Kay Ivey a murderer.[5] On March 13, 2020, Nathaniel Woods's sister, Pamela Woods, confronted Governor Kay Ivey during one of Ivey's press briefings and said, "Governor Ivey, you killed my brother."[6]

See also

References
  1. Maxouris, Christina (6 March 2020). "Nathaniel Woods' execution doesn't end the controversy over his case". CNN. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  2. "Alabama executes inmate Nathaniel Woods". CNN. 5 March 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  3. "Convicted cop-killer Nathaniel Woods executed, no last words". WWLP. 5 March 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  4. Garcia-Roberts, Gus (17 March 2020). "'Please have mercy': Minutes before Nathaniel Woods' execution, murder victim's sister begged an Alabama official to spare him". USA Today. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  5. Corbett, Jessica (6 March 2020). "'Don't Look Away. This Nation Is So... Cruel': Rights Advocates Decry Execution of Nathaniel Woods by Alabama". Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  6. "Shaun King on Twitter". Retrieved 9 June 2020.

 

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