NEWS

Arkansas executes 4th inmate in 8 days

Melanie Eversley, and John Bacon
USA TODAY

Arkansas put to death its fourth inmate in eight days Thursday night after the U.S. Supreme Court denied a stay of execution for a condemned killer.

Kenneth Williams, 38, was pronounced dead at 11:05 p.m., 13 minutes after the execution began at the Cummins Unit prison at Varner. The convicted killer had originally been scheduled to die at 7 p.m. local time

An Associated Press reporter who witnessed the execution said Williams lurched and convulsed 20 times during the lethal injection. A prison spokesman said he shook for approximately 10 seconds, about three minutes into the procedure.

His death wrapped up an execution spree that drew global headlines yet fell short of the state's ambitious plans.

Earlier, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson placed a courtesy pause on the state's fourth lethal injection in just over a week, as officials awaited the ruling from the high court. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit denied all three requests for a stay of execution made by Williams' lawyers. The announcement was made by Judd Deere, spokesman for Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, who commended the execution.

U.S. District Court shot down another possibility of halting the execution, denying Williams' motion for a preliminary injunction stopping the execution on the grounds that the family of a victim — a family that has forgiven Williams — was not notified of a clemency hearing.

As the evening ticked on, Williams requested communion with his last meal, KARK-TV News reported. He also was brought a tray meal of fried chicken, barbecue beans, rice, corn, tomatoes, cinnamon rolls, cookies, bread and punch, according to the station.

The state had hoped to inject eight convicted killers over 11 days and beat the clock on the expiration date of a key drug, midazolam, that can be difficult to acquire for lethal purposes. Four men won court stays, three were executed. Lawyers for Williams continued to press the courts for a legal stay to save their client's life.

Williams was sentenced to die in 2000 for fatally shooting farmer and former deputy warden Cecil Boren, 57. Williams had been serving life in prison for killing a college cheerleader when he escaped, fatally shot Boren at his home a few miles from the prison and then fled in Boren's pickup to Missouri.

Williams was recaptured after a police chase when he crashed the pickup into a water delivery truck — killing driver Michael Greenwood. Williams claims he is a changed man, that God has transformed him and that "revealing these truths meant more to me then being granted clemency."

His lawyers petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court, saying three health care professionals have determined Williams was "intellectually disabled" and thus couldn't be executed.

Read more:

Arkansas parade of executions could end Thursday

Last-minute drama as Arkansas carries out nation’s first double execution since 2000

The European Union’s ambassador to the U.S. forwarded a letter to Hutchinson, who signed the eight death warrants, on behalf of the 28-nation alliance. Ambassador David O'Sullivan requested that Williams be spared because of the findings that Williams was intellectually disabled.

Ledell Lee, 51, was executed April 20. Four days later, Jack Jones, 52, and Marcel Williams, 46, were put to death about three hours apart in the nation's first double execution in 17 years. O'Sullivan said in his letter that justifying the "unprecedented pace" of executions because of drug expiration dates was a "concerning precedent."

Amnesty International expressed outrage at Arkansas' "conveyor belt of death."

“While the rest of the country and the world moves away from the death penalty, Arkansas has shown just how committed it is to running in the wrong direction,” said James Clark, a senior campaigner at Amnesty International USA.  "Whether the state kills one person or eight, the death penalty is unacceptable anywhere that values human rights. It is time to end the death penalty in the United States for good.”

Boren's wife, Genie, said it was time Kenneth Williams paid for his crime with his life. Greenwood's family disagreed and lobbied the state Parole Board to grant clemency.

Hutchinson responded to the request from the Greenwood family saying he appreciated their generosity but that the facts of the case warranted the death penalty.

"I appreciate the genuine spirit of forgiveness and compassion demonstrated by Mrs. Greenwood," Hutchinson wrote of Stacy Yaw. "Her letter certainly has an impact, however my responsibility is to look at the totality of the case including the view of all the victims and the interest of justice."

Hutchinson noted that Williams was spared the death penalty after his first murder conviction. Despite that, he escaped and killed again, Hutchinson wrote. "These facts support the final verdict of the second jury in giving the death penalty."

Yaw, bought plane tickets for Williams’ daughter, Jasmine, and his granddaughter so they could fly from their home in Washington state to see him before he was put to death.

Stacey Yaw, her daughter Kayla and other family members drove from Missouri to Little Rock so they could pick up Jasmine at the airport and drive her to the prison. Kayla said she immediately felt a closeness with Jasmine.

"We both cried. We had a lot to talk about and a lot to relate to," Kayla Greenwood said. "We are just excited for today and being able to be there for each other."

Contributing: Jackie Rehwald, Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader, and The Associated Press.