A man convicted of brutally killing five, including a pregnant woman, with an axe and firearm in Citronelle in August of 2016 has been put to death by lethal injection.
Derrick Dearman pleaded guilty to five counts of murder made capital due to the murders being committed during a burglary and five counts of murder made capital because the victims were murdered by one act or pursuant to one scheme or course of conduct. The jury unanimously recommended a sentence of death.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall officially approved the execution just before 6 p.m.
“Tonight, Derrick Dearman was executed via lethal injection for the murders of Joseph Adam Turner, Shannon Randall, Justin Kaleb Reed, Chelsea Marie Reed, who was expecting her second child, and Robert Lee Brown,” said Marshall.
“Dearman’s request to halt appeals and proceed with the execution was appropriate in the interest of justice and finality for the families. As a jury of his peers unanimously agreed, the gruesome facts of this case merited the ultimate punishment. Dearman viciously struck his victims with an axe, leaving them conscious and suffering for some time before he executed each at close range. Dearman showed no pity and no mercy.”
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“Tonight, my prayers are with the families of Joseph, Shannon, Justin, Chelsea, Robert and especially with Joseph and Shannon’s son, who was three months old and present during the commission of this horrific crime.”
”I hope their families find some peace and closure now that the state has finally carried out the imposed sentence.”
Governor Kay Ivey also released a statement praising Dearman’s execution.
“Six lives, including an unborn baby, were gruesomely taken by Mr. Dearman in 2016. In using an axe and then a gun, he clearly made the decision to kill,” Ivey said. “Then he made the clear decision to flee to his hometown in Mississippi. And now, he himself has clearly stated his guilt and asked to move forward with his death sentence.”
“The state has obliged, and justice has been served.”
Dearman is the fifth person to be executed in Alabama this year.
Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @ShipleyAusten
