Tennessee carried out its death penalty for the fifth time since restarting executions in 2000.
Steve Henley was executed by lethal injection just after 1 a.m., for the 1985 slayings of Fred and Edna Stafford, an elderly couple in Jackson County.
Henley had maintained his innocence, and yesterday his defense asked the U.S. Supreme Court and the governor to hold off the execution, but was denied. The state argues Henley shot the Staffords before burning down their house. His co-defendent, Terry Flatt, was given a reduced sentenced for testifying against Henley, and was paroled after five years.
Henley’s sister, daughter and son witnessed the execution, and afterward his son, Greg, spoke for the family.
“I forgive the state of Tennessee for executing our loving daddy. I want them to know I’m praying for both our side of the family, and Fred and Edna Stafford’s family. But I also want you to know you executed an innocent man.”
Down the road, some sixty protestors gathered for a candelight vigil, despite persistent wind and temperatures in the teens.
Only a few showed up in support of the execution. Angee Hix says she was about eight when the Staffords, her great uncle and aunt, were murdered. She expects Henley’s execution to bring closure.
“It’s been a long time coming. I mean, there was no reason for what he did. I just hope he got saved while he was in prison.”
Henley’s was the state’s first execution since September, 2007.
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Among those present at the vigil was Michael McCormick, who spent over a decade on Tennessee’s death row before his conviction was overturned.
“I’m here to support Steve – I’m here to support all of them; I knew them for twenty years. Killing to show that killing’s wrong is just not the way to solve problems. We’re teaching that violence solves problems, and if that was true, America would’ve been out of problems a long time ago.”
Henley’s sentence was carried out at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville; he was pronounced dead at 1:33 a.m.
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