Execution of Nathaniel Woods

The execution of Nathaniel Woods occurred on March 5, 2020, at Holman Correctional Facility in Alabama, in what was described by many as a controversial execution due to skepticism about his culpability and the fairness of his trial.[3] Woods had surrendered to police inside a crack house when another man came downstairs and opened fire, killing three officers. Woods ran from the scene after the gunfire erupted.[4]

Nathaniel Woods
Born
Nathaniel Ali Woods[1]

(1976-10-24)October 24, 1976[2]
DiedMarch 5, 2020(2020-03-05) (aged 43)
Atmore, Alabama, U.S.
Cause of deathExecution by lethal injection
Criminal status
  • Executed
    (9:01 P.M. (CST), March 5, 2020)
Conviction(s)Capital murder
Criminal penaltyDeath

Incident

The murders that Nathaniel Woods was convicted of took place on June 17, 2004, in Birmingham, Alabama. Three police officers stormed a crack house while Nathaniel Woods and Kerry Spencer were inside. Spencer had an SKS rifle when he heard the officers, while Woods was in the kitchen. After Woods had surrendered to the officers, 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 stated 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."[4]

Trial

At Woods's trial, prosecutors successfully excluded every qualified black prospective juror, except for two, in a city that is majority black.[5] In deciding whether capital punishment was an appropriate sentence for Woods's convinction, the jury voted 10-2 in favor of execution. Unlike most states that allow capital punishment, Alabama does not require death sentence verdicts to be unanimous, and Woods was placed on death row.[6]

Kerry Spencer (born June 11, 1980)[2] was also sentenced to death, and remains on death row at Holman Correctional Facility awaiting execution.[7]

Controversy

Days before Woods's execution, controversy started regarding Woods's sentence and whether he was genuinely guilty of the murders. 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.[8] 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."[9]

Nathaniel Woods was executed by lethal injection on March 5, 2020. Afterwards, civil rights activist Shaun King called the execution "a modern day lynching" and said that the state of Alabama "just executed an innocent man."[3] 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."[10]

Ivey responded to critics saying, "...he later bragged about his participation in these horrific murders. As such, the jury did not view Woods’ acts as those of an innocent bystander; they believed that he was a fully engaged participant.” Ivey did not provide evidence for her claim that Woods bragged about the incident.[10]

Steve Marshall, the Attorney General of Alabama, said Woods was not innocent and said his punishment was just. "The only injustice in the case of Nathaniel Woods is that which was inflicted on those four policemen that terrible day."[3]

See also

References
  1. Pamela Woods [@pamelapwoods] (April 6, 2020). "I spent some time talking to my brother today. The anger that I have in me is indescribable" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. "Alabama Department of Corrections". doc.state.al.us. Archived from the original on October 24, 2012.
  3. Maxouris, Christina (6 March 2020). "Nathaniel Woods' execution doesn't end the controversy over his case". CNN. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  4. Savidge, Martin; McLaughlin, Eliott C.; Sanchez, Ray. "Alabama executes inmate Nathaniel Woods". CNN. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  5. "2 Jurors Voted to Spare Nathaniel Woods's Life. Alabama Executed Him".
  6. "Nathaniel Woods Execution Reveals Disturbing Bias in Alabama". Equal Justice Initiative. 6 March 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  7. "Alabama Inmates Currently on Death Row". doc.state.al.us.
  8. "Convicted cop-killer Nathaniel Woods executed, no last words". WWLP. 5 March 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  9. 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.
  10. "Sister of executed man to governor: 'You killed my brother'". AP News. 12 March 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2020.

 

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