Alabama Carries Out 2nd Execution of 2011

The 11th Execution of 2011

William Glenn Boyd was executed on March 31, 2011 at the Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Alabama, just hours after his last-minute request for a delay was denied, reported Reuters. Boyd was the second condemned inmate put to death in Alabama this year and the first under newly elected Governor Robert Bentley.

According to Reuters, Boyd and another man broke into Fred and Evelyn Blackmon's home in Anniston, Alabama, on March 26, 1986. They demanded ransom for Evelyn Blackmon's daughter, whom Boyd had dated and claimed to have abducted. After forcing Fred Blackmon to cash a $5,000 check, the men bound and gagged the couple and drove them into the woods, where they were beaten and shot to death. Police later found Evelyn Blackmon's body in a metal drum that had been dumped into the Coosa River and Fred Blackmon's body in the trunk of his car, also submerged in the river.

The jury in Boyd's case recommended a sentence of life in prison without parole. But citing the heinous nature of the crime, the trial judge overrode the jury and ordered the death penalty. Alabama is one of the only states that permit the judge to overrule the jury on a life in prison verdict. Alabama is one of two states that permit less than a unanimous verdict on the death penalty.

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Boyd's appeal on the day of his scheduled execution, reported Reuters. Boyd attorneys argued that the execution should be halted because the trial judge acted improperly. His attorneys said the trial and sentencing judge did not give the jury's recommendation or the neglect and abuse in Boyd's childhood sufficient consideration.

Boyd's last meal consisted of chicken, french fries, applesauce, a tomato and an orange drink, according to an Alabama Department of Corrections spokesman. Boyd also had a meatball sandwich, a Philly cheese steak sandwich, a V8 Splash drink and coffee from the vending machine.