Alabama Department of Corrections/AP
Alabama has executed a man who admitted to killing five people with an ax and gun in 2016.
Derrick Dearman, 36, was pronounced dead at 6:14 p.m. at Holman prison in southern Alabama.
He was sentenced to death after pleading guilty to the murders of Shannon Melissa Randall, 35; Joseph Adam Turner, 26; Robert Lee Brown, 26; Justin Kaleb Reed, 23; and Chelsea Randall Reed, 22.
Chelsea Reed, who was married to Justin Reed, was pregnant when she was murdered.
Prosecutors said the rampage began when Dearman broke into the home where his estranged girlfriend had taken refuge.
His execution took place after Dearman dropped his appeals this year and asked for it to proceed.
He addressed the family members of the victims in his final statement before his execution by lethal injection was carried out, The Associated Press reported.
“Forgive me. This is not for me. This is for you,” he said. “I’ve taken so much.”
He then told his own family: “Y’all already know I love y’all.”
This is a breaking story. More to follow.
