Alabama executes Nathaniel Woods for slaying of three cops in 2004 after the Supreme Court dramatically REVERSED his last-minute stay Nathaniel Woods, 44, was sentenced to death for the murders of three police officers on June 17 2004 at an apartment in Ensley, Birmingham He was set to die by lethal injection at 6pm Thursday at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, before judges issued an eleventh-hour stay Courts then reversed the decision just hours later, despite attorneys filing a petition for ineffective counsel Woods was executed by lethal injection at 9:01pm Police officers Carlos Owen, Charles Bennett and Harley Chisolm III, were shot dead when they were trying to serve a warrant for Woods' arrest Kerry Spencer confessed to being the lone gunman in the slayings Both men were charged and convicted with capital murder as prosecutors alleged Woods was an accomplice Celebrities have protested Woods' innocence with Kim Kardashian tweeting the case to her 64 million followers on Thursday and pleading for a stay Martin Luther King III wrote to the judge saying Woods was 'likely innocent' and has now slammed the courts for his execution, citing it an 'irreversible injustice' The Alabama inmate convicted of killing three cops has been executed - just hours after the Supreme Court issued a stay of execution following public protests of his innocence from Kim Kardashian and Martin Luther King Jr's son. Nathaniel Woods, 44, was sentenced to death for the 2004 murders that rocked Birmingham - despite another man confessing to being the lone gunman in the slayings. He was set to die by lethal injection at 6pm Thursday at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore. In a dramatic turn of events, the Supreme Court issued a stay just minutes before his execution at around 5:30pm. But the courts backpedaled on the move hours later, despite the 44-year-old's attorneys filing a petition claiming ineffective counsel in his first trial and the outcries of celebrities that he was innocent of the crime. Woods was executed by lethal injection and pronounced dead at 9:01pm. Martin Luther King III condemned the Supreme Court and Alabama Governor Kay Ivey for their 'reprehensible' actions and the 'irreversible injustice' caused. Police officers Carlos Owen, Charles Bennett and Harley Chisolm III, were shot dead on June 17 2004 at an apartment in Ensley, Birmingham, when they were trying to serve a warrant for Woods' arrest for misdemeanor assault. A fourth officer was also injured in the shooting but survived and testified against Woods. Woods' alleged accomplice, Kerry Spencer, confessed to being the lone gunman responsible for the slaying of the officers. But, despite the confession, both men were charged and convicted with capital murder. Prosecutors alleged that Woods and Spencer had conspired to lure the cops to the apartment to murder them. They said that, while Woods did not pull the trigger that ended their lives, he was Spencer's accomplice in the events that became known as the 'Deadliest Day' in the history of the Birmingham Police Department,. Woods was in the apartment at the time of the murders. A jury convicted Woods in December 2005, and returned a non-unanimous verdict of 10-2 for the death penalty. Such convictions are allowed under state law, and other people have been executed for 'non-triggerman' slayings in the past. Spencer has repeatedly insisted that Woods is innocent of any involvement. 'Nathaniel Woods is 100% innocent,' wrote Spencer in an open letter. 'I know that to be a fact because I'm the person that shot and killed all three of the officers that Nathaniel was subsequently charged and convicted of murdering. Nathaniel Woods doesn't even deserve to be incarcerated, much less executed.' Last week, in an interview with The Appeal, the shooter again said there had been no conspiracy. 'There was no plan to kill the police,' he said. Celebrities and activists waded in on the case, protesting Woods' innocence of the crimes and calling for Alabama Governor Ivey to halt the execution. Kim Kardashian, who is trying to rebrand herself as a justice reform activist, tweeted the case to her 64 million followers on Thursday and pleaded with the governor for a reprieve. '#NathanielWoods is scheduled to be executed in Alabama TONIGHT for murders he did NOT commit. Join the broad coalition- including members of the jury and relatives of the victims – in urging @GovernorKayIvey and @AGSteveMarshall to stay Nate's execution,' the reality star tweeted. Kardashian's plea came after Martin Luther King Jr's son and other famous figures all called for the execution to be halted. Martin Luther King III stepped in Tuesday after Woods' earlier request for a stay of execution was denied on Monday. 'WE NEED YOUR HELP. Nate Woods is about to be executed in Alabama. This is an injustice, and we need to make sure the public is aware. Please retweet, tag @GovernorKayIvey, and use the hashtag #SaveNate,' he tweeted Tuesday. The message was shared alongside a letter he sent to Ivey. King said in the Twitter post he sent the letter 'after she denied my phone call'. 'In just 2 days, your state, and the state I was born in, is set to kill a man who is very likely innocent,' he writes in the letter. '(Fifty-five) years ago, my father, Martin Luther King, Jr., (led) a march from Selma, Alabama, where he and fellow civil rights activists were killed and beaten. 'Under your watch, Alabama is about to produce yet another tragic injustice.' He later added in a tweet: 'My father marched from Selma 55 years ago, where many were killed and beaten. He was fighting for justice his whole life. 'Allowing the execution of Nate Woods would only show that we have not learned from the past. It's time to be on the right side of history.' King reiterated concerns that Woods never got a fair trial. 'Killing this African-American man, whose case appears to have been strongly mishandled by the courts, could produce an irreversible injustice,' King wrote in the letter. 'Are you willing to allow a potentially innocent man to be executed? 'So before you allow the execution of Nathaniel Woods, I urge you to grant him a reprieve. We must allow time to accurately review the new evidence.' Democratic Senator Doug Jones said he had also shared his concerns over the execution with the Alabama judge. 'Given the questions and mitigating issues involved in this case — and the finality of a death sentence — a delay is warranted to provide time for a thorough review of all the facts and circumstances to truly ensure that justice is done,' he said. Woods' family has long insisted that he is innocent of the charges. His sister Pamela Woods stood outside the correctional facility Thursday ahead of his execution, holding up a page from the trial transcript that she said shows her brother was surrendering when the three officers were shot dead. 'We want justice for the officers,' she said, according to the Montgomery Advertiser. 'We want justice for my brother. It can't be one-sided or for one group of people. You have to have justice for everyone. We want justice for Nathaniel.' READ THE REST HERE - https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...-Court-issues-stay-execution-Alabama-man.html
Wow, that's shocking. For the Supreme Court to literally stop the execution at the last minute and then after it was scheduled to happen to suddenly change their mind? That is truly cruel and unusual. I can't imagine the rollercoaster of emotions that man went through. Guilty or not, that is really fucked up.
For something like this, does the Court generally issue a majority opinion? It feels like there should be some reasoning given for this kind of weird back-and-forth.
Alabama no longer allows conviction by non-unanimous juries, leaving Kate Brown's Oregon as the last state refusing to end this Jim Crow Justice relic.
I was following this story since it was happening in the state next door. This guy didn't even fire the shots that killed the cops, so how can they sentence him to death?
Very. The SC fucked up. They opened themselves up a foul can of sardines on this one. But, its not like they can be held responsible.
Yeah, and unfortunately, there's no way to reseal the can. The odd about face is very confusing and concerning.
I agree its concerning. I'd like to see who voted what on that and why it changed. Again, not like they can be held responsible. They are the top of the law. You can't bring litigation against them...it would just be appealed till it got back to them and they would shut it down...if it is even posdible to bring litigation against them or whatever. Is there a procedure for such things? I mean they can be pressured to resign, but not gonna happen.
They can theoretically be impeached, in a similar way as Presidents. That's the only thing that can affect the Court.
It's called "felony murder", if a person is involved in a felony and someone gets killed, everyone involved can be charged with murder regardless of who did the actual killing. Part of the "war on crime".
I'm quite aware of the laws. Yet the person who actually fired the shots and who also flat out stated that Nathaniel was innocent has not been executed...can you justify that?
No. I am not familiar enough to answer, possibly some kind of plea bargain? Please guilty, no death penalty.
Ma'am, to be honest, I'm only recently familiar with the case only because like I said, I'm from the state next door and it has been a hot topic recently. But I don't understand how someone like Woods can realize they are in a bad situation, and then flee from the house before the officers were lured in and gunned down by the very person who swore Nathaniel was innocent. I fully understand how some feel passionately about cop killers but it seems to me that the state of Alabama was grossly overzealous in wanting their pound of flesh. Again, I just don't understand how the actual shooter is not executed BEFORE the supposed accomplice.
