44-year old Nathaniel Woods was executed for the murders of three Birmingham police officers last night, around 10 pm; since his arrest in 2004, there has been much controversy as to whether he was the true criminal in the investigation. 

Woods was known for being extremely soft-hearted and worked with his partner, Kerry Spencer, who was a key witness in the case. 

Officers Charles Bennett, Carlos Owen, Mike Collins, and Harley Chisolm were patrolling the neighborhood where Nate Woods was dealing drugs. The officers entered the drug house where Woods was dealing, to serve an arrest warrant on a misdemeanor assault charge. Before they could charge Woods, Spencer opened fire. 

Bennett, Owen, and Chisolm were killed, but Collins was able to escape only with an injury.

Spencer later claimed that Woods didn’t have a gun and ran away when the firing began. The State of Alabama arrested Woods for the killings and charged him with capital murder in 2005. Prosecutors alleged that he lured the officers into the drug house with the intent of killing them. He was initially given life without parole, but the sentence was then changed to the death row. 

The jury on the case voted against death row, in a 10-2 vote, yet the judge still imposed it in the sentence. 

Surviving Officer Collins said he heard Woods surrender when Spencer opened fire. Spencer is also insistent that Woods did not touch a gun throughout the entire incident, and ran the minute he saw gunshots going off. 

Through the years, there have been many attempts to prove Woods innocent, and celebrities such as Kim Kardashian West and Bart Starr Jr. have rallied behind him. 

Yet, even with the countless attempts by celebrities, family, friends, and activists to try to prove Woods’ innocence, he was executed last night. 

The process of killing Woods started at 9:38pm, and he was pronounced dead at 10:01pm. 

People have taken to social media in anger and a feeling of injustice in the situation. 

Activist Shaun King, who has been raising awareness for the case, called the execution a “modern-day lynching”. 

The sister of one of the slain officers, Kimberly Chisolm, stated that she did not support the execution. She stated, “He did not kill my brother. This is so unjust. I don’t understand”. 

Yet, Attorney General Steve Marshall claimed that Woods was not innocent and that his punishment was just. 

Marshall stated, “The only injustice in the case of Nathaniel Woods is that which was inflicted on those four policemen that terrible day.”

Here at Wayne Hills, there are varying opinions about this case, as well as the death penalty in general.

“I don’t think he should have been executed. The surviving officer himself claimed he was innocent, I don’t think he committed the crimes” said Leya Aladwan, senior.

“I think he was innocent. As for the death penalty in general, I think it is so often misused, like in the Woods case, that it just isn’t morally correct” said Ashley Peyser, senior.

Yet, others do support the death penalty.

“Yeah, I support it. If you murder, you deserve to be murdered” said AJ Losito, senior.

“I support it. Some crimes deserve that consequence” said Abbey Weltman, senior.

With Nathaniel Woods’s death being another controversial case, the public continues to question the morality and justification of the death penalty in general.