Death row inmate at Holman executed by lethal injection Thursday night

A death row inmate was executed by lethal injection tonight at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility just outside Atmore, according to the Alabama Department of Corrections.

According to a release, Keith Edmund Gavin was executed by lethal injection on July 18. He was pronounced deceased by a physician at 6:32 p.m., according to the ADOC.

ADOC officials said in a release that Gavin had three visitors and no phone calls on July 17. On July 18, he had four visitors, no phone calls, refused his breakfast meal, accepted a lunch meal, some snacks, refused his final meal and didn’t make any special requests.

Gavin was sentenced to death for the 1998 capital murder of William Clinton Clayton Jr. in Cherokee County.

Following the execution, a brief press conference was held at the media center with remarks from ADOC Commissioner John Hamm, and a statement by Matthew Joseph Clayton, the son of Clayton Jr.

According to the ADOC, no autopsy will be performed on Gavin, and his remains will be picked up by the attending funeral home.

“After a Cherokee County courier, William Clayton, Jr., finished his day’s work, he stopped at an ATM so he could treat his wife to dinner, only to be robbed of his life by Keith Gavin,” Gov. Kay Ivey said in a statement. “After receiving a death sentence, Mr. Gavin appealed time after time for years to avoid justice, but failed at every attempt. Today, that justice was finally delivered for Mr. Clayton’s loved ones.

“I offer my prayers for Mr. Clayton’s family and friends who still mourn his loss all these years later.”

Attorney General Steve Marshall released a statement following the execution earlier tonight.

“ Tonight, Keith Gavin was executed by lethal injection after having been convicted by a jury of his peers for the murder of William Clinton Clayton Jr. in Centre,” Marshall said. “There is no doubt about Gavin’s guilt for this heinous offense. In 1998, Gavin was identified by four witnesses, including his own cousin, for walking up to a corporate express van outside a Regions Bank, where he shot and killed the driver, William Clayton. He subsequently stole the van and drove off with the victim as Clayton’s life slipped away.

“William Clayton was a devoted father of seven who had just finished his workday and had stopped to get cash for a date with his wife,” he added. “He was slain in cold blood by a repeat murderer. I cannot imagine the shock, pain, and frustration that William’s family has endured over the last 26 years. I pray his family finds solace in the long-awaited justice by the State of Alabama.”

Marshall cleared the execution to commence at 6:15 p.m.

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