The United States Supreme Court voted Thursday to lift the suspension of 42-year-old Domineque Ray to allow the Alabama Department of Corrections to proceed with the execution that evening.
Ray was convicted and sentenced to death for the rape and murder of 15-year-old Tiffany Harville in 1995 in Selma, Alabama.
"Because of the nature of his crime, the decision of a jury to sentence him to death and our justice system working as intended, the conviction of Mr. Ray was executed," said the governor of the Alabama, Kay Ivey, in a statement Thursday night. . "Courts at all levels have upheld Mr. Ray's conviction"
Ray had been arrested at Holman Penitentiary in Atmore, Alabama since he was convicted in 1999. He had been a Muslim fan since at least 2006 and had met regularly with his imam, who had been dealing with Muslim detainees such as Ray since 2015, according to the newspaper. . court documents.
Ray asked if he could bring his imam in the place of the prison chaplain, but was told that his request could not be honored because of the ministry's policy. On January 28, Ray and his lawyers filed a civil rights complaint and an emergency stay of execution application, claiming that the police violated his rights.
