An Alabama man who confessed to the rape and murder of a woman was executed this week after spending 10 years on death row.
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James Osgood, 55, was executed by lethal injection on Thursday at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Alabama. According to a statement from Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office, Osgood was pronounced dead at 6:35 p.m.
According to the statement, Osgood had spent over a decade on death row for the 2010 rape and murder of Tracy Lynn Brown in her Chilton County, Alabama home.
Osgood confessed to authorities that he and his girlfriend, Tonya Vandyke—who was also Brown’s cousin—sexually assaulted Brown before Osgood fatally slit her throat and stabbed her in the back, per USA Today.
In his final moments, Osgood offered an apology to his victim.
“I haven’t said her name since that day,” he admitted, per the Associated Press.
He also acknowledged the previous week that he deserved to face death for his crime, according to 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,” he said.
James Osgood Asked Alabama to Carry Out His Execution
In 2014, a jury convicted Osgood of capital murder, sentencing him to death. After years of pursuing post-conviction appeals, Osgood eventually confessed to the crime. He asked the state to carry out his death sentence, according to a statement from the attorney general’s office.
Brown’s body was discovered on Oct. 23, 2010, after her employer grew worried when she didn’t show up for work, according to the Associated Press. Prosecutors revealed that Osgood confessed to police that he, along with Vandyke, who is currently serving a life sentence for her involvement, attacked 44-year-old Brown after discussing fantasies of kidnapping and torture.
Meanwhile, Trish Jackson remembered her stepsister as a dedicated mother rebuilding her life after a divorce, per USA Today.
“She totally restructured her life, started from scratch,” Jackson recalled to the outlet. “Working at the nursing home, that’s part of who she was. She cared a lot about taking care of others and helping.”