 |
|
|
|
Billy Ray Irick
|
|
|
Born
|
William Ray Irick
August 26, 1958 Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S. |
|
Died
|
August 9, 2018 (aged 59)
Riverbend Maximum Security Institution, Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
|
Criminal
penalty
|
Death (December 3, 1986)
|
|
Criminal
status
|
Executed
|
|
First degree murder
(November 1, 1986) Two counts of aggravated rape (November 1, 1986) |
|
|
Details
|
|
|
Victims
|
Paula Kay Dyer
|
|
Date
|
April 15, 1985
|
William Ray Irick
(August 26, 1958 – August 9, 2018) was an American convicted murderer from Tennessee
who was sentenced to death and executed for the 1985
murder of 7-year-old Paula Dyer in Knoxville. Irick, then aged 26, had been
living with Dyer's family for over a year, and was babysitting five of the
family's children (including Dyer) on the night of the girl's murder.
Irick
is also notable for having been the first inmate executed in Tennessee in almost a
decade.
INTERNET SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Ray_Irick
Irick's
background
Irick
was born on August 26, 1958, in Knoxville, Tennessee. He allegedly suffered
extensive abuse from his family from a young age, including one incident where
a neighbor witnessed Irick's father clubbing him with a piece of lumber, as
well as Irick telling stories about how his parents would tie him up and beat
him from a young age. His mental health was reportedly first questioned in
March 1965, when he was 6. A psychological evaluation was subsequently
performed at the request of his school's principal, owing to his "extreme
behavioral problems". Nina Braswell Lunn, a clinical social worker who
performed the subsequent evaluation of Irick, described that Irick may have
been suffering from mild organic brain damage since birth.
Irick
was briefly institutionalized before being sent to an orphanage for emotionally disturbed children. During an
arranged visit to his parents' home in 1972, Irick (then aged 13) reportedly
hit the household's TV set with an axe of some description,
destroyed flower beds, and cut up his sister's pajamas with a razor blade.
Relationship with the Jeffers family
In
1983, while working as a dishwasher at a truck stop
in Knoxville, Irick met and befriended Kenny Jeffers, an auto
mechanic who lived in nearby Clinton. Jeffers later introduced Irick to
Kathy, his wife whom he had married the previous year, and ultimately in 1984
Irick moved in with the couple and five of the eight children between them
(seven of the children, including Paula Dyer, were the offspring of previous
relationships, while the Jeffers' first child together was born in 1983.) Irick
frequently babysat the children while the Jeffers parents worked long hours. At
the start of April 1985, the family home in Clinton burned down, an ordeal
during which Irick saved two of the boys from the burning building. Nobody was
severely injured or killed during the fire, however, the family had to live in
separate abodes as a result of difficulty in finding a house big enough for all
eight of them. Thus, Irick moved to the Western Heights neighborhood with Kenny
Jeffers, where they lived with Kenny's parents, while Kathy and the children
moved to a small rental home on Exeter Avenue in Knoxville.
Paula
Dyer
|
Paula
Dyer
|
|
|
Born
|
Paula Kay Dyer
March 5, 1978 Tennessee, U.S. |
|
Died
|
April 16, 1985 (aged 7)
Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S. |
|
Cause of
death
|
|
|
Resting
place
|
Glenwood Baptist Church Cemetery, Powell, Tennessee, U.S.
|
|
Parent(s)
|
Kenny and Kathy Jeffers
|
Paula Kay Dyer
was born on March 5, 1978. She was described as a positive young girl who saw
the best in others and was extremely trusting of people. Her mother claimed
that, when told she could not randomly try to hold hands with strangers, Paula
replied with: "Why, mommy? Jesus loves everybody. Why can't I?"
Paula's
kind personality quickly made a positive impression on the neighbors of their
new home. Her mother recalled one instance of Paula befriending a next-door
neighbor shortly after their arrival at the address, after presenting the neighbor
with flowers she had picked from the flower beds at the very front of the
house.
Dyer's murder
On
the morning of Monday, April 15, 1985, following an argument, Kathy Jeffers
kicked Irick out of the Exeter Avenue home. That night, because the family's regular
babysitter was unavailable, Kenny Jeffers dropped Irick off at the same house
to babysit the children. When Kathy left for work at 10 pm, the children were
asleep, and she felt uncomfortable leaving the children in Irick's care, on
account of the argument earlier that day, Irick's behavior, and her suspicions
that he had been drinking.
At
around midnight, Kenny Jeffers received a call from Irick, telling him to come
because Irick was unable "to wake (Paula) up". Upon arriving at the
Exeter Avenue address, Kenny found Irick standing in the doorway looking
vacant, before finding Paula unconscious on the living room floor in a pool of
her own blood. After finding a pulse, Kenny wrapped Paula in a blanket and took
her to the nearest children's hospital, where a doctor attempted unsuccessfully
for 45 minutes to revive her. The same doctor, Dr. Jim Kimball, pronounced
Paula dead of asphyxiation in the early hours of April 16, 1985. She was 7
years old.
Following
Paula's autopsy, her cause of death was confirmed to be asphyxiation. In
addition, the severe tears in her vagina and rectum were confirmed to be
consistent with a brutal rape, as well as a head injury sustained during her
ordeal being attributed to blunt force trauma that may have knocked her unconscious.
As a result of Paula's murder, the Knoxville police department told the
public on the morning of April 16 to be on the lookout for a man matching
Irick's physical description. By 5 pm, Irick had been found and arrested
beneath a bridge on the I-275. Paula Dyer was buried on April 19
following a fundraising campaign by the community she had been part
of for mere weeks.
Legal proceedings and incarceration
Police
testified that Irick readily confessed to murdering Paula Dyer, both verbally
and in writing, and described his behavior as cooperative and remorseful. On
April 17, 1985, Irick was arraigned in Dyer's murder, and was appointed two
attorneys by a judge after he claimed that he planned to confess and thus did
not want a lawyer.
On
October 26, 1986, Irick went on trial for killing Dyer. Six days later, on
November 1, he was found guilty by a Knox County jury. The defense had
launched a failed mental illness claim in an attempt to spare Irick from the
death penalty. Irick's mother refused to testify for the defense in an attempt
to save Irick's life. On December 3, 1986, that same jury sentenced Irick to
death by electrocution, with a tentative execution date of
May 4, 1987 (which was stayed). Upon delivery of this verdict, Irick merely
smiled and shrugged his shoulders.
Execution
On
March 28, 2017, the Tennessee Supreme Court (TNSC) upheld the
lethal injection protocols adopted by the Tennessee Department of Correction
(TDoC). Thus, on January 18, 2018, the TNSC scheduled Irick's execution for
August 9, 2018 — his sixth execution date since arrival on death row. In July
2018, a bench trial was held in Nashville regarding a lawsuit against the TDoC
and its execution protocol, filed by over half of the population of Tennessee's
death row. On July 26, the chair of the bench, Davidson County Chancellor
Ellen Hobbs Lyle, ruled in favor of the TDoC. On August 6, the TNSC refused to
grant a stay of Irick's execution to allow an appeal of the ruling. That same
day, Tennessee Governor Bill
Haslam refused to intervene in Irick's case.
Finally,
on August 9, 2018, the United States Supreme Court refused to
grant a stay of execution to Irick on the grounds of his mental health.
Subsequently, Irick was executed at the Riverbend Maximum Security
Institution on August 9, 2018, less than three weeks before what would have
been his 60th birthday. He was pronounced dead at 7:48 pm. Irick's execution
was the first in Tennessee since Cecil Johnson was executed on December 2,
2009.
 |
|
Crimes against children are the most heinous
crime. That, for me, would be a reason for capital punishment because children
are innocent and need the guidance of an adult society. – Clint Eastwood
[PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.azquotes.com/quote/85467]
|
'I'm really sorry': Rapist
and child murderer apologizes before 'coughing, turning purple and dying' from
lethal injection in Tennessee's first execution in a DECADE after a last supper
of a burger and onion rings
·
The Supreme Court denied Billy Ray
Irick's final request for a stay of execution
·
He was pronounced dead at 7.48pm on Thursday at a Nashville state prison
He was pronounced dead at 7.48pm on Thursday at a Nashville state prison
·
Irick ate a burger and onion rings before he was executed on Thursday night
Irick ate a burger and onion rings before he was executed on Thursday night
·
Midazolam, vecuronium bromid and potassium chloride stopped his heart
Midazolam, vecuronium bromid and potassium chloride stopped his heart
·
Irick's lawyers argued that the combination of drugs may not be enough to numb him to the pain and their use could constitute torture
Irick's lawyers argued that the combination of drugs may not be enough to numb him to the pain and their use could constitute torture
By Associated Press and Dailymail.com Reporter
Published: 05:43 AEST, 10
August 2018 | Updated: 07:11 AEST, 11 August 2018
The
last words spoken by Billy Ray Irick were, 'I just want to say I'm really
sorry,' before he was put to death in a Tennessee state prison on Thursday.
Witnesses
to Tennessee’s first execution in nearly a decade say Irick, 59, at first
signaled he would have no last words, but then gave a brief statement to those
in attendance.
Journalists
present reported that the blinds between a witness room and the execution
chamber were opened at 7.26pm on Thursday, and about one minute later, Irick
was asked if he had any words before the lethal injection drugs began flowing.
Irick
was convicted in the 1985 rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl he was
babysitting.
At
the question of whether he had any final words to say, Irick first appeared to
sigh and say 'no.'
But
then he said, 'I just want to say I’m really sorry and that... that’s it.'
Irick
was convicted of raping and murdering seven-year-old Paula Dyer in 1985.
'What he did to her is the reason he's where he is,' Kathy Jeffers, the other of Paula, told
WBIR.
'I am sick of hearing about his pain and his suffering. What about
her pain and her suffering? She was 7 years old, raped, sodomized, and
strangled to death. I'm sorry, I feel nothing for his pain. Nothing at all.
God, forgive me, but I don't.'
Irick
was babysitting Paula, along with four of her brothers, the night she was raped,
sodomized and strangled to death.
Her
brothers were just in the next room and tried to save their sister, but Irick
has barricaded the door and they couldn't break through.
He
had come to be a trusted member of the large Jeffers family, which included a
total of eight children, and had lived with them for more than a year before
sexually assaulting and killing Paula.
It
was Paula's father, Kenny Jeffers, who found his daughter, lying unconscious
with a pool of blood between her legs that night, after Irick had called him
home from work right around midnight, saying he couldn't wake her up.
Her
father took her to the hospital, and after 45 futile minutes of attempts at
lifesaving measures, Paula was pronounced dead.
One
minute after he said he was sorry for the horrific events of that night, his
eyes closed, and the sounds of snoring and heavy breathing could be heard.
The
subtle sounds gave way at 7.34pm to coughing, huffing and deep breaths.
An
attendant began yelling 'Billy' and checked the inmate and grabbed his
shoulder, but there didn’t seem to be any reaction.
Two
minutes later, Irick was not making any noise and began to turn dark purple.
He
was pronounced dead at 7.48pm.
Irick
is the first death row inmate to be executed by the state of Tennessee since
2009.
The
US Supreme Court cleared the way for his execution on Thursday afternoon,
denying Irick's final request for a stay.
But
Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued a blistering dissent, citing a recent state
court trial of a case brought by 33 death row inmates challenging Tennessee's
execution drugs.
The
state Supreme Court denied Irick a stay on Monday related to those challenges,
saying a lawsuit filed by inmates contesting the execution drugs being used
wasn't likely to succeed.
Sotomayor
wrote that the court is overlooking the potential for 'torturous pain' by that
method of execution.
Governor
Bill Haslam also had the power to stop his death, but declined to intervene.
In
addition to legal challenges, since its last execution in 2009, Tennessee has
had difficulties securing execution drugs including its previous chemical of
choice, pentobarbital.
But
none of those hurdles stopped the process for Irick, who was put to death on
Thursday using a combination of midazolam, vecuronium bromid and potassium
chloride injections, which stopped his heart.
His
final meal consisted of a burger, onion rings and a Pepsi soft drink.
But
Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued a blistering dissent, citing a recent state
court trial of a case brought by 33 death row inmates challenging Tennessee's
execution drugs.
The
state Supreme Court denied Irick a stay on Monday related to those challenges,
saying a lawsuit filed by inmates contesting the execution drugs being used
wasn't likely to succeed.
Sotomayor
wrote that the court is overlooking the potential for 'torturous pain' by that
method of execution.
Governor
Bill Haslam also had the power to stop his death, but declined to intervene.
In
addition to legal challenges, since its last execution in 2009, Tennessee has
had difficulties securing execution drugs including its previous chemical of
choice, pentobarbital.
But
none of those hurdles stopped the process for Irick, who was put to death on
Thursday using a combination of midazolam, vecuronium bromid and potassium
chloride injections, which stopped his heart.
His
final meal consisted of a burger, onion rings and a Pepsi soft drink.
In
July Irick's attorney asked for the Tennessee Supreme Court to delay his
execution once again amid a challenge to the state's lethal injection protocol.
For
the first time, Tennessee used midazolam as a sedative, the muscle relaxer
vecuronium bromid, and then potassium chloride to stop the heart.
At
question is whether midazolam is effective in rendering someone unconscious and
unable to feel pain from the other two drugs.
But
Tennessee Supreme Court judges ruled Irick's attorney had failed to demonstrate
a substantially less painful means to carry out the execution or that the drugs
the state plans to use would cause the inmate to be tortured to death.
Federal
public defender Kelley Henry had requested the US Supreme Court to delay his
execution.
The
Supreme Court rarely stays executions.
Henry
had asked Haslam to issue a temporary reprieve while the drugs are studied
further.
But
the governor quickly ruled it out, saying he would not intervene.
'My
role is not to be the 13th juror or the judge or to impose my personal views,
but to carefully review the judicial process to make sure it was full and
fair,' Henry said.
'Because
of the extremely thorough judicial review of all of the evidence and arguments
at every stage in this case, clemency is not appropriate.'
During
the last trial, Henry cited witnesses that described some inmates who still
could move, shed a tear, gasp and gulp 'like a fish out of water' while being
put to death.
'Today's
decision means that Mr Irick faces a scheduled execution date before the courts
have had a chance to thoughtfully consider the challenge to the new lethal
injection protocol,' Henry said in a statement on Monday.
In
a dissenting opinion, Justice Sharon Lee added that she 'will not join in the
rush to execute Mr Irick and would instead grant him a stay to prevent ending
his life before his appeal can be adjudicated.'
Attorneys
for the state have said the US Supreme Court has upheld the use of midazolam in
a three-drug series.
Paula's
mother, Kathy Jeffers, said she has no sympathy for Irick.
'What
he did to her is the reason he's where he is,' she told WBIR-TV.
'I
am sick of hearing about his pain and his suffering. What about her pain and
her suffering?'
'She
was seven years old, raped, sodomized, and strangled to death. I'm sorry, I
feel nothing for his pain. Nothing at all. God, forgive me, but I don't.'
OTHER
LINKS:
Remembering Why: Rape and
murder of 7-year-old Paula Dyer
Dad
says Channon Christian's killer deserves same fate as Billy Ray Irick
First
conservative TN Supreme Court in decades changed rule, paving way for Irick
execution
No comments:
Post a Comment