Alabama inmate seeks his execution, saying he believes in 'an eye for an eye'

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – A antheral connected Alabama's decease enactment wants his execution to spell guardant this week, saying helium believes successful an “eye for an eye.”

“The crushed I dropped my appeals is I americium blameworthy of murder,” James Osgood told The Associated Press successful an telephone interrogation from prison. “I’m a steadfast believer in, similar I said successful court, an oculus for an eye, a bony for a tooth. I took a beingness truthful excavation was forfeited. I don’t judge successful sitting present and wasting everybody’s clip and everybody’s money.”

Osgood, 55, is scheduled to person a lethal injection Thursday astatine his southbound Alabama prison. He’s 1 of lone a tiny fig of inmates connected U.S. decease rows to wantonness their ineligible challenges. He besides said helium doesn’t privation opponents of the decease punishment protesting nether his name.

Osgood was condemned to dice for the 2010 sidesplitting of Tracy Lynn Brown successful Chilton County. Prosecutors said Osgood chopped her pharynx aft helium and his woman sexually assaulted her. Osgood told the AP that helium wants to apologize — to Brown’s family, and to his ain — but helium realizes the words are inadequate.

“I would similar to accidental to the victim’s family, I apologize, Osgood said. “I’m not going to inquire their forgiveness due to the fact that I cognize they can’t springiness it.”

Osgood said helium doesn’t usage Brown’s sanction erstwhile discussing the execution due to the fact that helium doesn’t consciousness helium has the close to bash so.

“I regret taking her from them. I regret cutting her beingness short," helium said. "I regret that I took 1 of God’s children. And I regret the symptom and suffering that I caused, not lone for the unfortunate and her household but to mine,” Osgood said.

Brown's relatives supported the decease condemnation astatine trial. The AP was incapable to scope subordinate of Brown's household for comment.

Osgood is 1 of 2 prisoners — on with Moises Sandoval Mendoza successful Texas — scheduled to dice this week amid a flimsy uptick successful the gait of U.S. executions.

“I don’t privation protesting for me. There is nary need. I asked for this. If you privation to protestation against executions, that’s fine, conscionable don’t usage my sanction arsenic your platform,” helium said.

Brown was recovered dormant successful her location connected Oct. 23, 2010, aft her leader became acrophobic erstwhile she did not amusement up for work. She had been stabbed and her pharynx was cut, prosecutors said.

After Osgood was convicted successful 2014 and sentenced to death, an appeals tribunal threw retired the sentence, ruling that a justice gave improper instructions to jurors. But arsenic a caller sentencing proceeding began, Osgood asked for different decease sentence.

“I knew they were going to travel backmost with death. I didn’t privation her household and my household to relive each that, conscionable for the aforesaid thing. Why enactment them done that?"

Osgood has struggled to explicate what helium did. He said helium had been drinking for 36 to 48 hours earlier the crime, but helium said intoxicant was not to blasted for what helium did. Asked what helium would accidental to young people, Osgood said it would beryllium don't bash thing to idiosyncratic they wouldn’t privation done to themselves.

Osgood ended up spending much than a decennary connected decease row. He decided aboriginal connected that helium would fto his appeals spell for 10 years, but nary longer. He besides wanted to research being a bony marrow donor for his sister, but past she chose different treatments, and Osgood figured the situation wouldn't let him to donate anyway. He dropped his appeals past summer, and asked for an execution date.

“I cognize longer consciousness arsenic if I’m adjacent existing. I’m tired. I privation to implicit my sentence,” Osgood wrote to his attorney.

Osgood said helium thinks much decease enactment inmates are reasoning astir dropping their appeals, due to the fact that beingness without parole is scarier than death.

“The scary happening is having to enactment here. Look what the satellite is coming to,” Osgood said.

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.