MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama inmate is scheduled to be executed Thursday after waiving his right to further appeals in a 2010 capital murder case.
James Osgood, 55, is set to be executed by lethal injection at 6 p.m. CDT at William Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, according to the Alabama Department of Corrections. Osgood is among a minority of death row inmates nationally who have chosen to end their appeals, according to the Associated Press.
Osgood was convicted of capital murder in the death of 35-year-old Tracy Lynn Brown in Chilton County. Prosecutors said Osgood and his then-girlfriend, who was related to Brown, sexually assaulted Brown and that Osgood then fatally cut her throat. The girlfriend was sentenced to life in prison.
In a statement to the AP, Osgood said he accepts responsibility for Brown’s death.
“I am guilty of murder,” Osgood told the AP. “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’s body was found in her home on October 23, 2010. Authorities said Osgood provided a confession to law enforcement.
During his sentencing in 2014, Brown’s stepmother, Jackie Wileman, addressed the court.
“I can’t imagine anyone doing that to someone, even their worst enemy,” Wileman said, according to court records.
The sentencing judge cited evidence of a difficult childhood in Osgood’s background, including reported abuse and a suicide attempt, but stated that the decision to impose the death penalty was based on the facts of the case.
In a recent interview with the AP, Osgood said he regrets the impact on the families involved.
“I would like to say to the victim’s family, I apologize,” he said. “I’m not going to ask their forgiveness because I know they can’t give it. Only God can grant forgiveness.”
Osgood’s original death sentence was overturned due to a procedural error involving jury instructions. At a 2018 resentencing hearing, Osgood again asked to be sentenced to death.
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, more than 165 individuals have chosen to waive appeals and proceed with their executions since the resumption of the death penalty in 1977. The group reports that many of these individuals had histories of mental illness, substance abuse, or suicidal ideation.
