Kim Kardashian Stands for Justice
Kim Kardashian is mourning the death of an Alabama death row inmate who was executed despite last-minute attempts to save his life.
Nathaniel Woods was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death for the June 17, 2004, murder of Birmingham police officers Carlos Owen, Harley Chisolm and Charles Bennett, the Associated Press reported.
However, a number of activists, including Kim Kardashian, Martin Luther King III, and Shaun King called for the state’s governor to intervene and stop the planned execution since co-defendant, Kerry Spencer, confessed to the crime in a handwritten letter provided by his attorneys this week.
Spencer wrote in the letter: “Nathaniel Woods is 100% innocent. I know this to be a fact because I’m the person that shot and killed all three of the officers.”
Woods and his roommate Kerry Spencer were dealing crack cocaine at their home when the officers attempted to serve an arrest warrant and were then all gunned down.
Although Spencer pulled the trigger, prosecutors say Woods came up with the idea to ambush and murder the officers, AP reported.
Spencer was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. No execution date has been set for him.
As Nathaniel’s execution drew closer, activists called on Alabama governor Kay Ivey to stop the planned execution.
Kim Kardashian joined the call. Hours before his planned execution, she wrote on her Instagram Stories: “Nathaniel Woods is scheduled to be executed in Alabama TONIGHT for murders he did not commit. Join the broad coalition – including members of the jury and relatives of the victims – in urging @GovernorKayIvey and @AGSteveMarshall to stay Nate’s execution.”
It had seemed like Woods would get the reprieve so many were hoping for when earlier on Thursday Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas signed a stay of execution order, which detailed that Woods’ execution would not proceed “pending further order of the undersigned or of the Court,” The Hill reported.
However, shortly after Thomas submitted the order, the Supreme Court denied to further review Woods’ case and the stay was lifted.
The Supreme Court’s decision comes after Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey announced she had no plans to stop the execution.
Kardashian West shared a copy of Ivey’s letter, which the governor issued after reviewing a request to reprieve the death sentence
The 39-year-old reality star wrote alongside a copy of Ivey’s letter: “The court has lifted the temporary stay of execution for #NathanielWoods. The governor will NOT save his life. My heart and prayers are with Nate and his family. This is a tragic example of injustice in the system — in a few minutes Nate may die for a crime he did not commit.”
Expressing her disappointment in the criminal justice system, Kim wrote in another tweet: “Nate will die for a crime another man confessed to and says Nate had nothing to do with. My heart and prayers are with Nate and his family and all the advocates who worked tirelessly to save his life.”
Nathaniel Woods was killed by lethal injection at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, ABC News reported. He was pronounced dead at 9:01 p.m. local time on March 5, 2020.
For his final meal, Woods requested sweet potatoes, spinach, chicken patty, chicken leg quarter, cooked apples, fries, two oranges and an orange-flavored drink, the Alabama Department of Corrections said in a statement obtained by ABC News. He took only one bite.
After Nathaniel Woods’ execution, Kim Kardashian mourned him on Twitter and Instagram, writing: “RIP Nathaniel Woods.”
Activist Martin Luther King III has also spoken out tweeting, “In the case of Nathaniel Woods, the actions of the U.S. Supreme Court and the Governor of the State of Alabama are reprehensible, and have potentially contributed to an irreversible injustice. It makes a mockery of justice and constitutional guarantees to a fair trial.”
Below are more reactions from Twitter users, come in support and some opposed to the execution.
