Despite Nathaniel Wood’s execution on Thursday night at the Alabama Prison through lethal injection, his supporters and non-supporters still rage on about his innocence or otherwise.
A gurney in Huntsville, Texas, where death row inmates are strapped down to receive a lethal dose of drugs.
Pat Sullivan/AP
Nathaniel Wood was convicted in 2005 for the killings of three Birmingham officers. However, Wood’s co-defendant, who fired the shots, had claimed since his arrest that Woods did not have a gun on him and rather ran away when the shooting began.
Meanwhile, hours before the death of Nathaniel Wood, the U.S Supreme Court temporarily ordered the execution to be halted, however, it later denied a stay. The State Correction department stated that Wood died at 9:01 pm, without making any final statements.
His death has been met with several reactions from various important persons, with regards to his presumption of innocence, and otherwise. Martin Luther King III, who had earlier on pleaded with the Alabama Governor to halt the execution in other to avoid an ‘irreversible injustice’, has made his comment on the execution via Twitter, where he stated that “The actions of the US Supreme Court and the Governor of the State of Alabama are reprehensible and have potentially contributed to an irreversible injustice, It makes a mockery of justice and constitutional guarantees to a fair trial.”
Activist Shaun King also stated via Twitter that the State “just executed an innocent man. We are crushed that Nate experienced this grizzly injustice and crushed for his family, This is a modern-day lynching. He broke no laws, at all. Never fired a gun. And surrendered.”
On the other side, a relative of one of the policemen killed during the shooting as described the execution as a movement towards justice. In a statement read by Starr Sidelinker, Harley Chisholm III’s sister, on behalf of her sister, Rhonda’ she stated that “Partial justice has been served today for our families. One cop killer down as we patiently wait for the next one, No petitions could stop this day from him taking his last breath.”
The Governor of Alabama, Kay Ivey, who declined to stop the execution on Thursday, stated that Nathaniel Woods was an integral part of the intentional murder of the three police officers. According to her, “There is no evidence, and no argument has been made, that Nathaniel Woods tried to stop the gunman from committing these heinous crimes. After thorough and careful consideration of the facts surrounding the case, the initial jury’s decision, the many legal challenges, and reviews, I concluded that the state of Alabama should carry out Mr. Woods’ lawfully imposed sentence this evening.”