Arkansas Prison Executes Kenneth Williams, Fourth Man In A Week
1 min readArkansas has put to death its fourth inmate within a week after a dozen years without a single execution.
Kenneth Williams, 38, killed two people after escaping from a maximum-security prison where he was serving life for murdering a cheerleader.
His lawyers said he was intellectually disabled, but the US Supreme Court rejected his last appeal.
The four executions were carried out before the state’s supply of a drug used in lethal injections could expire.
Williams was pronounced dead at 23:05 (04:05 GMT Friday), after briefly coughing and convulsing, witnesses said.
Not far from the prison, he encountered Cecil Boren, 57, on his farm.
He killed Mr Boren, shooting him multiple times, and stole his pick-up truck.
Williams drove north to Missouri, where he led police on a chase that caused the death of 24-year-old delivery driver Michael Greenwood.
“His execution will not bring my father back or return to us what has been taken, but it will cause additional suffering,” Kayla Greenwood wrote.
She said her family had bought plane tickets for Williams’ daughter and granddaughter to visit him one last time, even picking them up at the airport and driving them to the prison.
But the state’s Republican governor said the inmate did not deserve mercy.
“Kenneth Williams murdered multiple people, and actions have consequences,” said Mr Hutchinson in a statement.
