The state of Alabama executed convicted murderer Andrew Reid Lackey who prisoner rights groups said was mentally ill, Reuters reported. The 29-year-old Lackey was put to death by lethal injection at Holman Prison in the Atmore, marking the state's first execution since 2011.
There was no statement made by Lackey before being executed, according to prison officials. He was pronounced dead at 6:25 p.m on Thursday.
Lackey was convicted of killing an 80-year-old World War Two veteran Charlie Newman, after he robbed him. Newman was shot, stabbed 70 times and beaten in his Limestone County home on October 31, 2005.
Lackey made the request last year to halt his appeals process and set a date for his execution, which was the first in Alabama since October 2011.
"He took the stand and explained to the judge why he wanted to be executed," Limestone District Attorney Brian Jones said in 2012. "He said he was remorseful for what he'd done and wanted to go ahead and pay for his crime."
A prison rights group in Montgomery called the Equal Justice Initiative, however, argued that Lackey was mentally ill and had attempted suicide; someone who took multiple psychotropic drugs. The prisoners' rights group had hoped to stop the execution, arguing that the judge in the case should have properly evaluated his mental competency before permitting him to waive his appeals.
"Alabama prison doctors currently are treating Mr. Lackey with multiple psychotropic medications and his mental illness is longstanding. His mother testified at trial that he 'lives in Andrew land,' that he does not fully understand 'what is really going on,' and that there has been 'something wrong' with him since he was an infant... Recently, Mr. Lackey has attempted suicide, saying that his 'mind has started to break down,' and that he was in an 'infinite loop where he sees the end as the beginning.' After his failed suicide attempt, Mr. Lackey's suffering led him to ask the State of Alabama to execute him."
However, the appeals court allowed the judge ruling to stand.
