The man sentenced to death in a 1993 deadly robbery and ambush was executed Thursday night.
Casey McWhorter, 49, was pronounced dead at 6:56 p.m. at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore.
McWhorter was one of three who planned the robbing and killing of Edward Lee Williams. The 34-year-old victim was shot and killed in his own home in Marshall County on Feb. 18, 1993. His 15-year-old son was one of the three accused of planning the attack for nearly a month.
The plan was to steal guns and money. McWhorter and another teen were dropped off at Williams’ home before he returned home from work. When Williams arrived home, the two had already rummaged through the house and tested silencers they put on two .22 caliber rifles. McWhorter was the reported shooter, although he maintained it was not part of the plan to shoot Williams.
Investigators found that McWhorter shot WIlliams once before the rifle jammed. He picked up the other teen’s rifle and continued shooting. Williams tried to take cover in a bathroom, but McWhorter followed him and did not let him shut the bathroom door. He then picked up his rife, unjammed it, and shot Williams in the head.
Williams had a total of 11 gunshot wounds.
“It’s kind of unfortunate that we had to wait for so long for justice to be served, but it’s been served.” the victim’s brother, Bert Williams, said after the execution.
“Justice is the value we place on the life that was wronged,” said Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall. “I regret that Mr. Williams’s family had to wait for over three decades for this finality. Most of us will never understand the agony that families like the Williams faced, waiting to see if the justice system really is just.”
The others involved in the murder — Edward Lee Williams Jr. and Daniel Miner, who was 16 — were sentenced to life in prison, according to court records.
The execution was one of two in the U.S. on Thursday. David Renteria, 53, was executed in Texas. Renteria, who killed five-year-old Alexandra Flores, whom he kidnapped from Walmart, was pronounced dead at 7:11 p.m.
“As you might expect, the usual suspects are claiming that this just punishment is cruel and atrocious,” Marshall said of the Alabama execution. “I find it contemptible that so-called advocates have neglected to mention the details of Mr. Williams’s murder and the agony that his family has suffered since that terrible day. Edward Williams was shot 11 times, and as he lay on the ground fighting for his life, this murderer shot him in the head to ensure he was dead. In my book, that is cruel and atrocious.”
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email erica.thomas@1819news.com.
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