Derrick Dearman executed in Alabama and stay of execution for Robert Roberson in Texas

Two executions in two different US states were scheduled for Thursday evening at the same time – one death sentence was carried out, the other ended with a stay of execution for the time being after hours of legal tug-of-war.

Derrick Dearman (Alabama)

On Thursday evening, 36-year-old Derrick Dearman was executed by lethal injection by the US state of Alabama. He was sentenced to death for murdering five members of his girlfriend’s family in August 2016 before kidnapping his girlfriend and a three-month-old child. They were later released by him and he turned himself in to the authorities.

Dearman was represented by lawyers from the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), but decided six months ago to forgo further appeals and be executed. Commenting on his decision, he said: “I am willingly giving everything I can to try to repay a small part of my debt to society for the terrible things I have done. From now on, I hope the focus is not on me, but on healing all the people I have hurt. I am guilty, plain and simple. Everyone tries to talk me out of it, but I feel in my heart that it’s the right thing to do.”

According to EJI and its well-known director Bryan Stevenson, Dearman had been hearing voices and suffering from paranoia on the day of the murders due to the abuse of large amounts of methamphetamine and the fact that he had not slept for six days.

In Dearman’s case, no court in Alabama held a hearing to assess his competency to plead guilty, waive his right to counsel, or dismiss his appeals, despite the fact that he had suffered from severe mental illness and suicidal thoughts his entire life, Stevenson criticized.

In his final words, Dearman said: “To the family of the victims: forgive me. This is not for me, this is for you… I have taken so much… To my family, you already know I love you.”

Robert Roberson (Texas)

The Texas State Supreme Court halted the scheduled execution of Robert Roberson, 57, late Thursday night, hours after he was scheduled to become the first person in the U.S. to be executed for a murder conviction related to so-called shaken baby syndrome.

Two state lawmakers filed a last-second civil appeal to the Texas Supreme Court late Thursday night to stay the execution, which was granted.

This decision came after a legal gauntlet in which the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals had earlier Thursday night denied a motion to stay the execution, reversing a temporary restraining order issued by Travis County Judge Jessica Mangrum to stay the execution.

All courts, including the US Supreme Court, as well as the Texas clemency board had previously rejected Roberson, despite massive doubts about his guilt and the fact that more than 80 Texan MPs, celebrities such as author John Grisham and even police officer Brian Wharton, who helped convict him at the time, have spoken out in his favor.

Roberson is accused of killing his two-year-old daughter in 2002 as a result of a shaking trauma. Experts now see the case very differently in terms of the child’s clinical picture. And Roberson’s apparent insensitivity when he brought the child to the clinic can understandably be explained by the fact that he suffers from autism.

Sources:
https://www.al.com/news/2024/10/derrick-dearman-who-killed-5-in-south-alabama-axe-murders-set-for-lethal-injection-thursday.html
https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/robert-roberson-texas-supreme-court-stay-of-execution/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2And9HmTPw0