Alabama to have third execution next week

WVAS | By Melanie Hogan

Published July 19, 2024 at 6:10 PM EDT

A man convicted of killing a delivery driver is facing scheduled execution Thursday evening in Alabama.

64-year-old Keith Edmund Gavin is set to receive a lethal injection at a prison in southwest Alabama. He was convicted of capital murder in the shooting death of William Clayton Jr. in Cherokee County.

Alabama last week agreed in Gavin’s case to forgo a post-execution autopsy, which is typically performed on executed inmates in the state. Gavin, who is Muslim, said the procedure would violate his religious beliefs . Gavin had filed a lawsuit seeking to stop plans for an autopsy, and the state settled the complaint.

If carried out, it would be the state’s third execution this year and the 10th in the nation, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

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Melanie Hogan

Melanie began her career as a work study student, working in the areas of news reporting, anchoring and news-gathering. After graduating from Alabama State University, she worked as a production assistant at the local NBC affiliate, WSFA-TV. As a News Director at WVAS-FM, Melanie leads her team to produce award- winning newscasts and talk shows. Her professional achievements includes News Reporter of the Year for a number of years and awards for talk show producer, by the Alabama Broadcasters Association and the Associated Press. She is an active member of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce. Her goals are to expand the reach of WVAS FM into more homes locally, regionally and nationally.

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