‘I’m tired. I want to complete my sentence,’ James Osgood said
James Osgood will be executed by lethal injection on April 24open image in gallery
James Osgood will be executed by lethal injection on April 24
Your support helps us to tell the story
Support Now
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.
A man who asked to be put to death for the rape and murder of a woman will get his wish in April.
Alabama prisoner James Osgood will be executed by lethal injection on April 24, the state’s Governor Kay Ivey has announced.
Osgood, 55, was convicted in 2014 of the 2010 murder of Tracy Lynn Brown in Chilton County and sentenced to death.
Prosecutors said Osgood cut Brown’s throat after he and his girlfriend sexually assaulted her.
Over the summer, Osgood dropped his court appeals, asking the state to set a date for his execution.
“I no longer feel as if I’m even existing. I’m tired. I want to complete my sentence,” Osgood wrote in a letter to his attorney in July 2024.
An appeals court originally threw out Osgood’s 2014 sentence, ruling that a judge gave improper instructions to jurors.
But at his resentencing in 2018, Osgood asked for the death sentence to be imposed.
Alabama Governor Kay Iveyopen image in gallery
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey (AP)
He believed in an “eye for an eye,” he told the judge.
“A couple of years ago I really screwed up. I’m guilty and I deserve death. That’s what I want,” Osgood said.
Osgood renewed his appeals after his sentencing until dropping them this summer.
Brown was found dead in her home on October 23, 2010, after her employer became concerned when she did not show up for work.
Prosecutors said that Osgood told police that he and his girlfriend sexually assaulted and attacked Brown after discussing how they had fantasies about kidnapping and torturing someone.
In the 2018 sentencing order handing down the death sentence, a judge noted that Osgood had a difficult childhood that included sexual abuse, abandonment and a suicide attempt.
His brain development was potentially hindered because of malnutrition he suffered as an infant, the judge found.
But the judge also said it was Osgood who cut Brown’s neck and stabbed her during the attack in which Brown begged them not to hurt her.
Osgood’s girlfriend, the other person charged in the murder, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison.
The execution authorization by Ivey comes two weeks after the Republican granted clemency to another death row inmate, commuting the death sentence of Robin “Rocky” Myers to life in prison. The governor said there were enough questions about his guilt that she could not move forward with his execution.
It was the only time Ivey has granted clemency. The last time an Alabama governor commuted a death sentence was in 1999.