An Alabama death row inmate had been put to death late Thursday at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore.
The execution of Willie B. Smith was carried out by lethal injection at 9:47 p.m. after a delay of nearly eight months and continuous arguments over Smith’s inability to choose a method of execution due to cognitive incapacities.
Smith was convicted of the 1991 heinous murder of 22-year-old Sharma Ruth Johnson who was robbed, forced into her car trunk, and shot dead before Smith lit the car with the victim inside ablaze.
“The family of Sharma Johnson has had to wait 29 years, 11 months, and 25 days to see the sentence of Sharma’s murderer be carried out,” AG Steve Marshall said.
“Finally, the cruel and unusual punishment that has been inflicted upon them – a decades-long denial of justice – has come to an end.”
