A death row inmate wrestled with guilt and addiction before his execution

ATMORE, Ala. — When Derrick Dearman entered Alabama’s execution chamber Thursday evening, he was the fifth man the state put to death this year.

ATMORE, Ala. — When Derrick Dearman entered Alabama’s execution chamber Thursday evening, he was the fifth man the state put to death this year. The difference between Dearman and the men who came before him is that he went to his death willingly.

In April, Dearman, 36, dropped his appeals and wrote a letter to Gov. Kay Ivey and state Attorney General Steve Marshall asking for an execution date, saying he no longer wanted to delay justice for the families of his victims. In the days leading to his death, Dearman got high on illegal drugs smuggled into prison and worried that giving up his life would not be enough to change perceptions of his monstrous crime. 

Dearman was convicted in 2016 of killing Shannon Melissa Randall, 35; Robert Lee Brown, 26; Justin Kaleb Reed, 23; Joseph Adam Turner, 26; and Chelsea Marie Reed, 22, who was five months pregnant. 

Dearman said in an interview with NBC News in April that he was awake for nearly a week before the crime, high on methamphetamine.

Bryant Randall, Chelsea’s father and the brother of Shannon and Robert, said that he forgives Dearman because of his Christian faith but that he believes Dearman is trying to relieve his own suffering.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/death-row-inmate-wrestled-guilt-addiction-execution-rcna175749

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