James Osgood was convicted in 2014 for the murder and sexual assault of Tracy Lynn Brown.
An Alabama man convicted of a 2010 rape and murder was executed on Thursday with a three-drug injection.James Osgood, 55, was convicted in 2014 in Chilton County for the murder and sexual assault of Tracy Lynn Brown.
His girlfriend, Brown's cousin, was sentenced to life imprisonment for the part she played in the crimes.Moments before his execution at a south Alabama prison, Osgood apologized for killing Brown.Newsweek has contacted the Alabama Department of Corrections for comment outside of regular working hours.The ContextOsgood is the 14th person to be executed in the U.S. this year and the second in Alabama.After receiving the lethal injection, Osgood's breathing became deep and his head fell back on the gurney at around 6:15 p.m., according to The Associated Press. He was pronounced dead several minutes later.What To KnowIn his final statement prior to the lethal injection, Osgood spoke about Brown. 'I haven't said her name since that day,' he said, according to AP. 'Tracy, I apologize.'Osgood's family members were seated in a witness room, and the victim's family witnessed the execution in a separate viewing room.Last week, Osgood told AP that he dropped his appeals against his execution because he was guilty and thought his execution should go ahead.'I'm a firm believer in — like I said in court — an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. I took a life, so mine was forfeited. I don't believe in sitting here and wasting everybody's time and everybody's money,' he said.The jury in 2014 took 40 minutes to convict him and unanimously recommended a death sentence. His initial death sentence was thrown out by an appeals court. But at a resentencing in 2018, Osgood asked for another death sentence, saying he did not want the families to endure another hearing.What People Are SayingAlabama Governor Kay Ivey said that the killing was 'premeditated, gruesome and disturbing,' adding: 'I pray that her loved ones can feel some sense of closure today.'Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said in a statement, according to local news outlet WSFA: 'Nearly fifteen years ago, James Osgood committed an unspeakable act of violence brutally raping and murdering Tracy Brown. A jury of his peers found him guilty, and unanimously recommended the ultimate punishment: death. Tonight, my heart and prayers are with Tracy's family. No one should have to endure the pain they've carried or relive the horror of her tragic and senseless death. I want them to know that the State of Alabama stands with them. We are unwavering in our commitment to seek justice, not only to hold the guilty accountable, but to honor the dignity of every victim and restore peace to the communities they leave behind.'Jamila Hodge, CEO of Equal Justice USA, told Newsweek previously: 'Equal Justice USA stands firmly against the death penalty. The death penalty is not justice. It does not heal families. It does not deter crime. What it does is deepen the wounds, waste public resources, and uphold a racist system that punishes the poor and marginalized more harshly. Worse, the death penalty carries the gravest risk of all: the possibility of killing an innocent person. Since 1973, at least 200 innocent people have been exonerated due to wrongful convictions.'She added: 'Look at all the states that have already ended the death penalty or don't use it. They have lower homicide rates, lower rates of violence, and that's because they don't waste public resources on the most extreme form of punishment and instead invest in community-based public safety solutions. It is past time for the death penalty to be abolished in the U.S.'Robin M. Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, told Newsweek previously: 'People opposed to the death penalty in the U.S. note the continued risk of executing innocent people, the documented racial and socioeconomic disparities in use, the high cost, and the lack of a proven deterrent effect. Supporters argue it is the harshest punishment for the worst crimes. Public support for the death penalty peaked many decades ago in the mid-1990s and is now at a five-decade low of just 53 percent approval. Polling also reveals that a majority of young U.S. adults ages 18 through 43 now oppose the death penalty.'
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