Man says 'I didn’t kill anybody' - and then he's executed on death row

Anthony Boyd had this week begged for authorities to reconsider his execution, which had been scheduled for around 30 years since his conviction for the murder of Gregory Huguley

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A death row inmate who had for more than 30 years insisted he didn't kill a man was today executed for murder.

Anthony Boyd's last words were: "I didn’t kill anybody. I didn’t participate in killing anybody" but he was still executed by nitrogen gas at the Alabama jail. The 54-year-old man had begged the state’s governor to meet him "before an innocent man is executed" but the killing went ahead on Thursday.

Boyd was convicted of helping to burn Gregory Huguley alive in 1993 over a $200 (£150) drug debt. He spent the following three decades on death row at William C Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Alabama.

Speaking minutes before the nitrogen gas was deployed, Boyd said: "I didn’t kill anybody. I didn’t participate in killing anybody. There can be no justice until we change this system. He said he wanted to express love to those who are still fighting, before closing with, 'Let’s get it.'"

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Boyd clenched his fist, raised his head off the gurney slightly and began shaking after the gas was used. He then raised his legs off the the gurney several inches and his movements stopped some minutes later.

Alabama began using this controvesial execution method last year despite criticism. It has now been used seven times in this state and once in Louisiana.

The latest to blast the method was Rev Jeff Hood, who stood witnessed the execution. Rev Hood said: "This is the worst one yet. I think they are absolutely incompetent when it comes to carrying out these executions."

Boyd requested he was executed by firing squad, but this was denied. He had also hoped to talk to Alabama state governor, the Republican Kay Ivey, but it appears this did not happen ahead of the execution.

The inmate taped Mr Huguley’s feet together before another man doused him in gasoline and set him on fire, a court heard in the 1990s. Defence lawyers said Boyd was at a party on the night Mr Huguley was killed but the jury found Boyd guilty by 10-2, and he was sentenced to death.

After Boyd's pleas this week to reverse the sentence, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said the state "remains steadfast in its commitment to uphold the law and deliver justice for victims and their families."

He continued: "For more than 30 years, Boyd sought to delay justice through endless litigation, yet he never once presented evidence that the jury was wrong."