Derrick Dearman executed for 2016 Alabama murders

Authorities executed Derrick Dearman on Thursday for the brutal 2016 murders of five people during a drug-induced rampage. Dearman, 36, confessed to the killings and ceased his appeals, allowing his lethal injection to proceed.

Dearman was declared dead at 6:14 p.m. at Holman prison in southern Alabama. He had admitted guilt in a spree that began when he broke into a residence where his estranged girlfriend had sought refuge.

Earlier this year, Dearman had halted his appeals. In an April letter to a judge, he stated, “I am guilty,” and acknowledged that prolonging the process was unfair to the victims’ families. He expressed remorse in an audio message, hoping the focus would shift to the healing of those affected by his actions.

#DerrickDearman is also scheduled for execution tomorrow in #Alabama. He has chosen not to pursue further appeals, having admitted to his crime and expressed his desire for justice to be served.

Read our slides to learn more… pic.twitter.com/R3KCD3utH7

— Amicus (@Amicus_ALJ) October 16, 2024

Dearman’s execution was one of two scheduled in the U.S. that day. Robert Roberson’s execution in Texas for a 2002 shaken baby syndrome case was delayed after a judge granted Texas lawmakers’ request. The Texas Attorney General’s Office is expected to appeal the delay.

This marked Alabama’s fifth execution of 2024, with two carried out by nitrogen gas and two by lethal injection, which remains the primary method.

The victims, killed on 20 August 2016 near Citronelle, about 30 miles north of Mobile, included Shannon Melissa Randall, 35; Joseph Adam Turner, 26; Robert Lee Brown, 26; Justin Kaleb Reed, 23; and Chelsea Marie Reed, 22. Chelsea Reed, married to Justin Reed, was pregnant. Turner was married to Randall, and Brown was Randall’s brother. Dearman’s girlfriend survived. Turner and Randall’s 3-month-old son was unharmed.

A judge detailed that Turner had taken Dearman’s girlfriend to their home the day before the murders due to Dearman’s abusive behaviour. Dearman appeared at the house multiple times that night, but was refused entry. Prosecutors described how he returned after 3 a.m., attacking the sleeping victims with an ax from the yard and a gun found inside. He then forced his girlfriend to drive him to Mississippi.

Dearman surrendered to authorities following his father’s urging. He attributed the attacks to methamphetamine use, claiming the drug induced hallucinations. Initially pleading not guilty, Dearman changed his plea after dismissing his lawyers. An Alabama jury found him guilty and unanimously recommended the death sentence.

Alabama Death Row inmate Derrick Dearman, who was convicted in the 2016 slayings of 5 people with an axe and two guns, was put to death Thursday night by lethal injection: https://t.co/tw4jjxsUi2

— AL.com (@aldotcom) October 17, 2024

Before abandoning his appeal, Dearman’s defence argued that his trial attorneys inadequately demonstrated his mental illness and incompetence to plead guilty. The Equal Justice Initiative highlighted his lifelong severe mental illness, including bipolar disorder with psychotic features.

Dearman had been on death row since 2018. In his final hours, he visited with his sons, sister, and father, and had a seafood platter from a local restaurant as his last meal.