Alabama executes Torrey McNabb for 1997 killing of Montgomery police officer
The Latest on the execution of an Alabama inmate (all times local):
9:45 p.m.
An Alabama inmate who challenged the state's execution drug method has been put to death for killing police officer in 1997.
Torrey Twane McNabb was pronounced dead at 9:38 p.m. Thursday.
McNabb used his last statement to tell his mother and sister that he was unafraid and he cursed at the state, saying "I hate you."
As the procedure began, he raised his middle fingers before becoming still.
McNabb was convicted of killing Montgomery police officer Anderson Gordon, shooting him five times as he sat in his patrol car after arriving at a traffic accident McNabb caused while fleeing a bail bondsman.
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9:41 p.m.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey released a statement Thursday night about the execution of Torrey Twane McNabb, the man convicted of killing a Montgomery police officer in 1997.
“Though Mr. McNabb did not formally ask for clemency, I gave his case, and his sentence, the deepest level of consideration possible. Whenever an individual in Alabama is scheduled to be executed, I take seriously my responsibility to weigh the circumstances of the case, mitigating and aggravating factors and the need to ensure justice is served.
“Mr. McNabb was convicted by a jury of his peers of killing a police officer who was sitting defenseless in his patrol car, while on duty. Police officers across Alabama make great sacrifices to protect our people and to ensure proper enforcement of our laws. It is tragic that Mr. McNabb chose to murder Officer Anderson Gordon for simply trying to talk to him. Courts at every level have upheld Mr. McNabb’s conviction for his senseless act.
“Due to the nature of his crime, the decision of a jury to condemn him to death and because our legal system has worked as designed, Mr. McNabb’s sentence was carried out.”
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6:10 p.m.
The U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily delayed an Alabama execution in order to consider the inmate's request to halt the lethal injection.
Justices on Thursday issued a temporary stay that blocked the execution of 40-year-old Torrey Twane McNabb.
The reprieve came down minutes before McNabb was scheduled to be executed by lethal injection at 6 p.m. CDT. The justices could decide later tonight whether to let the execution proceed.
McNabb is one of several inmates in an ongoing lawsuit challenging the humaneness of the state's lethal injection procedure.
McNabb was convicted of killing Montgomery police officer Anderson Gordon in 1997. Prosecutors say McNabb shot Gordon five times as the officer sat in his patrol car after responding to a traffic accident McNabb caused while fleeing a bail bondsmen.
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5:55 p.m.
An attorney is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the execution of an Alabama inmate who killed a police officer 20 years ago.
The last-minute appeal was filed Thursday evening shortly after the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied the request.
Torrey Twane McNabb is scheduled to be executed at 6 p.m. CDT. A federal judge has not yet ruled on a separate request to stop the execution.
McNabb's attorney is seeking to stop the execution since McNabb is part of a pending lawsuit challenging the humanness of the state's lethal injection procedure.
McNabb was convicted in the 1997 shooting death of Montgomery police Officer Anderson Gordon.
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5:30 p.m.
An appellate court has refused to halt the execution of an Alabama inmate.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday denied a request for a stay filed by Torrey Twane McNabb.
McNabb is scheduled to be executed at 6 p.m. CDT. A federal judge has not yet ruled on a separate request to stop the execution.
McNabb's attorney is seeking to stop the execution since McNabb is part of a pending lawsuit challenging the humanness of the state's lethal injection procedure.
McNabb was convicted in the 1997 shooting death of Montgomery police Officer Anderson Gordon.
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5 p.m.
Attorneys for an Alabama inmate have filed new motions seeking to halt his execution scheduled for Thursday evening.
An attorney for Torrey Twane McNabb said Thursday that renewed motions for a stay were filed with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Circuit and the federal court in Montgomery, Ala.
The flurry of last-minute filings came after the U.S. Supreme Court lifted a stay issued by a federal judge. McNabb is scheduled to be executed Thursday evening unless a court intervenes.
McNabb was convicted in the 1997 shooting death of Montgomery police Officer Anderson Gordon. Prosecutors say McNabb shot Gordon multiple times after he arrived at a traffic accident that McNabb caused while fleeing a bail bondsmen.
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4:25 p.m.
The U.S. Supreme Court says Alabama can execute an inmate convicted of killing a police officer, overruling an appellate court in a case exploring whether the state's drug protocol amounts to cruel and unusual punishment.
Justices on Thursday evening vacated a stay issued by a lower court judge that been blocking the execution of 40-year-old Torrey Twane McNabb.
McNabb is scheduled to be executed Thursday at 6 p.m. CDT. Two justices said they would keep the execution on hold.
McNabb was convicted in the 1997 shooting death of Montgomery police Officer Anderson Gordon. Prosecutors say McNabb shot Gordon multiple times after he arrived at a traffic accident that McNabb caused while fleeing a bail bondsmen.
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3:14 a.m.
Alabama is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to let it execute an inmate convicted of killing a police officer two decades ago.
The attorney general's office plans to ask justices to lift a stay blocking Thursday's scheduled execution of 40-year-old Torrey Twane McNabb.
McNabb was convicted in the 1997 shooting death of Montgomery police Officer Anderson Gordon. Prosecutors say McNabb shot Gordon multiple times after he arrived at a traffic accident that McNabb caused while fleeing a bail bondsmen.
A federal judge stayed the execution after an appellate court ordered more proceedings in an inmate lawsuit claiming the state uses an unreliable sedative at the start of lethal injections.
The attorney general's office argues the high court has allowed four executions with the drug.