An inmate from Florida State Prison, convicted for the murder almost 30 years ago of his wife and her wife’s 5-year-old son from a previous marriage, became the third man to be executed in 24 hours in the U.S.
Regardless of his lawyers’ last minute appeal, John Ruthell Henry, 63, was declared dead Wednesday at 7:43 p.m., following a three-drug lethal injection.
Before him were two others, Marcus Wellons and John Winfield. Wellons, 59, was convicted for raping and murdering 15-year-old India Roberts in the Cobb County. He was pronounced dead Tuesday at 11:56 p.m. ET in Georgia. Winfield, meanwhile, was convicted for the death of two women from shooting, said to be friends of his former girlfriend, whom he left blind after also shooting. He was also pronounced dead Wednesday at 12:01 am CT in Missouri.
The series of executions came after the botched execution by lethal injection of Clayton Lockett on April 29 in Oklahoma. Lockett’s execution lasted for over 40 minutes because the executioner failed to insert the needle properly into Lockett’s vein in his groin. After the injection, Lockett showed moments of pain for about 25 minutes and went to have a heart attack.
Such incident was criticized and scrutinized by the general public, including President Barrack Obama, citing that secrecy laws in execution are deemed unconstitutional and that drugs being used may be undependable. Under the laws, information on who administers the injection and where the state gets these injectible drugs are kept secret or protected.
Lockett’s fate resulted to several appeals being granted to those prisoners who sought not to have the same fate. After his death, there were no executions for two months, which drew speculations whether it was simply a matter of schedule or a result of the criticism and caution from Lockett’s case.
Winfield’s and Wellon’s lawyers used the same argument to appeal their fate, but the courts rejected it. Henry’s lawyers, on the other hand, also appealed, citing their client’s unfit mental state and a ruling by the Supreme Court that bans execution of inmates mentally disabled. The Supreme Court denied their appeal, however.
Atty. Baya Harrison III, lawyer of Henry for several years, admitted that their mental-disability argument was kind of a stretch, considering that their client wrote elaborate and intelligent letters to the judges regarding his case.
"He's killing me with these very well-written letters quoting the Constitution and things of that nature. I’m sitting here saying, 'John, for God's sake!'" Harrison recalls.
The recent executions by lethal injection, however, only signify that death penalty in the country will continue with the approval by the Supreme Court. Henry’s death brought the total figure of executions to 23 for the first half of 2014.
