Nathaniel Woods execution sparks outrage against death penalty, many seek abolition of 'modern-day lynching'
An Alabama man convicted of the killing of three Birmingham officers in 2004 was executed on Thursday night. Nathaniel Woods was convicted despite his then-roommate Kelly Spencer admitting to carrying out the shooting on his own.
Woods was pronounced dead at 9:01 pm CST Thursday following a lethal injection at the state prison in Atmore, authorities said. The inmate had no last words before the chemicals began flowing.
“Killing this African American man, whose case appears to have been strongly mishandled by the courts, could produce an irreversible injustice. Are you willing to allow a potentially innocent man to be executed?” Martin Luther King III had written the state's governor, Kay Ivey.
Celebrities like Kim Kardashian West and rapper TI had also called on their followers to urge Ivey to issue clemency for Woods hours before his execution. OJ Simpson has also shared a video on Twitter, saying "it's just wrong," hoping that Woods was offered clemency, writing, "Everyone deserves a fair trial and appeal."
Kardashian-West had tweeted following the lifting of the stay of execution, "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."
After Woods' execution, many took to social media to express their discontent over the execution. In a video shared on Instagram after the Supreme Court lifted the stay of execution, TI said, "This ain't a legal execution, this is a lynching."
On Twitter, many expressed the same sentiments, with one saying, "#NathanielWoods I'm outraged. Allah is the Most Just. Justice denied here shall be given on Judgement Day. This is so infuriating & painful. He deserved a fair trial but a racist system took his life tonight. The death penalty is modern-day lynching. Jim crow system still exists."
Another wrote, "Tonight at 9 pm in Alabama, America chose to execute a man who was innocent. Not of crime, but murder. Refusing to review evidence & a confession from the killer that he acted alone #NathanielWoods was denied his life. All the pleading for naught, you willed his life away. #Shame!"
Many called for Gov. Ivey to step down, with one writing, "Someone should have put a stop to this the governor should be removed immediately."
Another shared, "@GovernorKayIvey has earned her spot right next to George Wallace. The officer’s sister called Ivey to beg for Woods’ life. Ivey ignored her, opting to use law enforcement in the state to kill the black man. She’s sealed her legacy, and she will be judged."
Users also took to social media to call for the abolishing of the death penalty. One user wrote, "Let's just be honest the death penalty is an excuse for states to legally murder Black men. 10 seconds of reading would show you why #NathanielWoods should not have been executed. The justice system has shown time and again they have no place handing out death sentences."
Another shared, "The death penalty needs to be abolished. We need to stop murdering people and rebuild our 'justice' system with real justice and compassion."
Others pointed out that Woods, who did not carry out the actual shooting, was executed while Dylan Roof (2015 Charleston church shooting) and Nikolas Cruz (2018 Stoneman Douglas High School shooting) were still in prison. A user tweeted, "a quick reminder, Nathaniel woods got ex*cuted for a crime he was proven not to have been committed yesterday night, while actual criminals such as Dylan roof and Nikolas Cruz are still sitting in their prison cells after both committing massacres years ago."
Another tweeted, "Pro-lifers will open their mouth for any fetus but not for this. You can’t call yourself pro-life if you don’t stand up for every life. An innocent man was murdered tonight for a crime he didn’t commit, our justice system is a joke at this point. #NathanielWoods."