By Austin Rust-
On Saturday, March 14, several Adams County residents gathered to protest the controversial execution of Nathan Woods, 43, which took place via lethal injection Thursday, March 5 at a state prison in Atmore, Alabama. The local protest, organized by Sierra Farley of Manchester, began at Adams Lake State Park with the reading of a poem Woods had written while in prison, followed by a moment of silence and candlelight vigil. The protest then continued to the Adams County Courthouse, where protesters walked 16 laps – one for each year Woods spent in prison.
On June 17, 2004, Birmingham, Alabama police officers Carlos Owens, Harley Chisholm III, Charles Bennett, and Michael Collins went to a suspected drug house in an attempt to serve a misdemeanor assault warrant. This warrant was shown to Nathan Woods, a resident, who fled inside. The officers gave chase, entering the home with mace at the ready. Woods immediately surrendered to the officers. Another resident, Kerry Spencer, fired upon the four officers with a high-powered rifle, killing Officers Owen, Chisholm, and Bennett. Spencer later confessed to these fatal shootings and confirmed Woods’ innocence. Nevertheless, Woods was convicted as an accomplice to four capital murder charges, and the jury voted 10-2 in favor of the death penalty in 2005. Of the 29 U.S. states where capital punishment is currently legal, Alabama is the only state that allows a judge to sentence a defendant to death without a unanimous jury decision.
With a death sentence under such circumstances, combined with allegations of police misconduct and a botched defense, Woods’ case quickly made national news. Protesters led by Woods’ sister, Pamela, worked tirelessly in the Alabama state capitol, Montgomery, to collect signatures toward a petition asking Governor Kay Ivey for clemency. Celebrities and activists such as Bart Starr Jr., Martin Luther King III, and Kim Kardashian West lent their support to the cause, but ultimately, Governor Ivey did not stop the execution, and the U.S. Supreme Court denied a last-minute stay.
In Adams County, local resident Sierra Farley (of Manchester) heard news of Woods’ execution and she immediately decided to organize a protest.
“I’ve never marched in a protest before, or done anything like this, but I’ve always had a passion (for speaking out against) injustices that take place,” Farley explained. “When I first heard of this situation with Nate, I didn’t really believe it – I thought there had to be more pieces to this story.”
“When I found that the story out there was true, and that there really weren’t more pieces to what we were hearing, I was devastated,” said Farley. “I think as a nation, we should all be devastated, because this is something that took place in our home. It isn’t something that happened 100 years ago – it’s happening now – and it’s just as important for the big cities to do these things as it is for smaller communities to do… to protest the injustice and racism that is still alive in our country.”
Farley promoted this event on several social media sites, including Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram, and invited local media (newspapers and news stations) to attend. Despite the bad weather, and amid event cancellations due to coronavirus, several locals did show to protest.
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” said Farley, quoting Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. “And this didn’t happen in another country; this all happened just a few states down (from us). I get that it may not resonate with everyone, because this was a man they didn’t know, but this was an innocent man. He could have easily been your brother, husband, or father – he was all of those things to (the people in his life). The Governor had an opportunity to stop the murder of this innocent man, but she didn’t, she said, “This is how we do things here.”
In a wooden shelter at Adams Lake State Park, near West Union, Farley read a poem written by Nathan Woods aloud. This poem, entitled “The Man He Killed”, was written by Woods while he served on death row; it was given to his sister, Pamela, for release after his execution. After this poem had been read, Farley then recounted the events of June 17, 2004 which had led to Woods’ arrest, and described injustices in the handling of his court case, where he had been advised not to take a 20 to 25-year plea deal by an inexperienced court-appointed lawyer, for example, who had also told Woods that capital punishment was not on the table. A last-minute stay on Woods’ execution was announced then shot down in short order just days before his death, as well, said Farley, amounting to emotional torture for him and his family, and even after his death, the state failed to honor Woods’ last wishes, which were to be buried immediately according to his faith.
“They have the man that committed this murder – the man that has said he did it several times – but that was just not enough, because they didn’t want justice, they wanted blood,” said Farley. “Unfortunately, this story is all too familiar. There are stories like this one happening all across America, and not 100 years ago or 50 years ago. It’s happening today. This is not going to stop until we decide to stand up and say we’re not going to have it anymore. I’m not going to stand for this. This is not going to be a part of the country I live in; this will not be our history.”
After speaking, Farley led protesters in a moment of silence, followed by a candlelight vigil. The protest then continued at the Adams County Courthouse, where protesters walked 16 laps – one lap for each year Nathan Woods spent in prison – while chanting against the injustice of his death.
