MONTGOMERGY, AL - On Thursday, April 24th, an inmate on Alabama death row was executed for being convicted of raping and murdering a woman back in 2010.
According to CBS News, 55-year-old James Osgood was pronounced dead at 6:35 p.m., CDT following a lethal injection at a south Alabama prison. In 2014, a jury convicted Osgood of capital murder in the death of Tracy Lynn Brown in Clinton County. Prosecutors said Osgood cut her throat after he and his girlfriend sexually assaulted her.
Before his execution, Osgood said that he deserved to die for the crimes he committed and dropped his appeals. He told the Associated Press (AP) that he dropped his appeals in 2024, adding, "I'm guilty of murder." In a letter to his lawyer explaining his decision to seek an execution date as soon as possible, he wrote that he was tired and no longer felt he was "even existing."
He told the AP, "I'm a firm believer in, like I said in court, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. I took a life, so mine was forfeited. I don't believe in sitting here and wasting everybody's time and everybody's money."
Brown, who was 44-years-old at the time of her murder, was found dead in her home on October 23, 2010, after her employer became concerned when she did not show up for work. Prosecutors said that Osgood admitted to police that he and his girlfriend sexually assaulted Brown after discussing how they had shared fantasies about kidnapping and torturing someone.
The duo reportedly forced their victim to perform sex acts at gunpoint. Prosecutors said Osgood when killed Brown by cutting her throat. His girlfriend, who was Brown's cousin, was sentenced to life in prison. After 40 minutes of deliberation, the jury found Osgood guilty. They unanimously recommended the death sentence.
Days before his execution, Osgood said he wanted to apologize to Brown's family, but he did not expect her relatives to forgive him. He said, "I regret taking her from them. I regret cutting her life short."
After the trial, his initial death sentence was thrown out by an appeals court ruling that the jurors were given improper instructions. At his resentencing in 2018, Osgood asked to be executed, saying he didn't want the families to endure another hearing. When handing down the death sentence at his resentencing, the judge acknowledged that Osgood had a difficult childhood that included sexual abuse, abandonment, and a suicide attempt.
However, the judge also said it was Osgood who cut Brown's neck and stabbed her as she begged the couple to not hurt her. Alison Mollman, who represented Osgood for the last decade, said that he was "more than his worst actions." Mollman said, "He made mistakes, terrible ones that he regretted until his dying day, but he didn't make excuses for his actions. He was accountable and he was sincere."
Osgood was the second inmate to be executed this year in Alabama and the 14th in the nation. On February 6th, Alabama used nitrogen gas to execute 52-year-old Demetrius Frazier, for his conviction in the 1991 rape and killing of a 41-year-old woman.
In 2024, Alabama because the first state to conduct nitrogen gas executions, putting three people to death by that method last year. Also called nitrogen hypoxia, it involves replacing breathable air with pure nitrogen gas through a respirator mask, causing death by lack of oxygen. In Alabama, inmates on death row can choose execution by lethal injection, the electric chair, or nitrogen gas.
According to CBS News, 55-year-old James Osgood was pronounced dead at 6:35 p.m., CDT following a lethal injection at a south Alabama prison. In 2014, a jury convicted Osgood of capital murder in the death of Tracy Lynn Brown in Clinton County. Prosecutors said Osgood cut her throat after he and his girlfriend sexually assaulted her.
Before his execution, Osgood said that he deserved to die for the crimes he committed and dropped his appeals. He told the Associated Press (AP) that he dropped his appeals in 2024, adding, "I'm guilty of murder." In a letter to his lawyer explaining his decision to seek an execution date as soon as possible, he wrote that he was tired and no longer felt he was "even existing."
He told the AP, "I'm a firm believer in, like I said in court, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. I took a life, so mine was forfeited. I don't believe in sitting here and wasting everybody's time and everybody's money."
Brown, who was 44-years-old at the time of her murder, was found dead in her home on October 23, 2010, after her employer became concerned when she did not show up for work. Prosecutors said that Osgood admitted to police that he and his girlfriend sexually assaulted Brown after discussing how they had shared fantasies about kidnapping and torturing someone.
The duo reportedly forced their victim to perform sex acts at gunpoint. Prosecutors said Osgood when killed Brown by cutting her throat. His girlfriend, who was Brown's cousin, was sentenced to life in prison. After 40 minutes of deliberation, the jury found Osgood guilty. They unanimously recommended the death sentence.
Days before his execution, Osgood said he wanted to apologize to Brown's family, but he did not expect her relatives to forgive him. He said, "I regret taking her from them. I regret cutting her life short."
After the trial, his initial death sentence was thrown out by an appeals court ruling that the jurors were given improper instructions. At his resentencing in 2018, Osgood asked to be executed, saying he didn't want the families to endure another hearing. When handing down the death sentence at his resentencing, the judge acknowledged that Osgood had a difficult childhood that included sexual abuse, abandonment, and a suicide attempt.
However, the judge also said it was Osgood who cut Brown's neck and stabbed her as she begged the couple to not hurt her. Alison Mollman, who represented Osgood for the last decade, said that he was "more than his worst actions." Mollman said, "He made mistakes, terrible ones that he regretted until his dying day, but he didn't make excuses for his actions. He was accountable and he was sincere."
Osgood was the second inmate to be executed this year in Alabama and the 14th in the nation. On February 6th, Alabama used nitrogen gas to execute 52-year-old Demetrius Frazier, for his conviction in the 1991 rape and killing of a 41-year-old woman.
In 2024, Alabama because the first state to conduct nitrogen gas executions, putting three people to death by that method last year. Also called nitrogen hypoxia, it involves replacing breathable air with pure nitrogen gas through a respirator mask, causing death by lack of oxygen. In Alabama, inmates on death row can choose execution by lethal injection, the electric chair, or nitrogen gas.
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