Alabama is set to execute Keith Edmund Gavin, a 64-year-old man convicted of capital murder in the shooting death of William Clinton Clayton Jr. during a botched robbery attempt in 1998. The execution is scheduled for July 18, and Gavin maintains his innocence despite being convicted.
Gavin's parents came from 'highly dysfunctional families with histories of drug use, alcoholism, and incarceration.' His upbringing in a 'gang-infested housing project in Chicago' surrounded him with crime and violence. Despite these challenges, Gavin had been handling his own appeals leading up to the scheduled execution.
Alabama agreed to forgo a post-execution autopsy at Gavin's request due to religious beliefs. Under Alabama law, a medical examiner is required to investigate any death that takes place in any penal institution in the state, and the law gives discretion to state officials to order a postmortem autopsy if the death is deemed unlawful, suspicious or unnatural. Gavin's lawsuit seeking to stop plans for an autopsy was settled by the state.
William Clayton Jr., a courier service driver, had stopped at an ATM in Centre on March 6, 1998, to get money for his wife's dinner. Prosecutors said Gavin shot Clayton during an attempted robbery and drove off in the victim's van. A law enforcement officer testified that he began pursuing the van and the driver – later identified as Gavin – shot at him before fleeing on foot into the woods.
Gavin was on parole in Illinois after serving 17 years of a 34-year sentence for murder at the time of Clayton's death. A jury convicted Gavin of capital murder and recommended a death sentence, which was imposed by a judge. However, in 2020, a federal judge ruled that Gavin had ineffective counsel at his sentencing hearing because his original lawyers failed to present more mitigating evidence of his violent and abusive childhood.
Death penalty opponents delivered a petition to Governor Kay Ivey asking for clemency for Gavin. They argued that there are questions about the fairness of Gavin's trial and that Alabama is going against the 'downward trend of executions' in most states. If carried out, it would be the state's third execution this year and the 10th in the nation.
Gavin grew up in a 'gang-infested housing project in Chicago, living in overcrowded houses that were in poor condition, where he was surrounded by drug activity, crime, violence, and riots.' He had been largely handling his own appeals leading up to the scheduled execution. Gavin filed a handwritten request for a stay of execution but was denied by both a circuit judge and the Alabama Supreme Court.
Alabama's decision to forgo an autopsy in this case has drawn criticism from some quarters, with opponents arguing that it goes against transparency and accountability. However, the state maintains that it is respecting Gavin's religious beliefs.
