Governor Kay Ivey has set the execution date for a man convicted of the repeated rape and eventual murder of a Chilton County woman in 2010.
James Osgood, 55, was convicted of two counts of murder for the 2010 murder of Tracy Brown. The murder charges were made capital because it was committed during the course of first-degree rape and first-degree sodomy.
Ivey sent a notice to Alabama Department of Corrections commissioner John Hamm, alerting him that the Alabama Supreme Court had given the go-ahead to proceed with the lethal injection.
Ivey set the 36-hour execution window to begin at 12:00 a.m. on Thursday, April 24, and expire at 6:00 a.m. on Friday, April 25. She also stated she has no plans to exercise the right to clemency in the case.
Osgood has attempted appeals at multiple junctions, each one failing.
According to court records, Osgood confessed to repeatedly raping and eventually killing Brown with the assistance of his girlfriend, Tonya Vandyke.
Records state that Osgood and Vandyke had discussed murder, kidnapping and torture fantasies with one another and eventually decided on Brown as their victim. Osgood, Brown and Vandyke went running errands on Oct. 13, 2010. Once inside Brown’s trailer, Osgood choked Brown from behind until she was nearly unconscious.
Both Osgood and Vandyke then took Brown into the bedroom, where the pair forced Brown to perform multiple sex acts. Osgood repeatedly raped Brown and forced her to perform sex acts on himself and Vandyke, including while Brown was using the bathroom.
Brown unsuccessfully attempted escape before Osgood caught her, brought her back to the bedroom and continued the sexual assault.
Osgood then took a knife out of his sock and cut Brown on the side of her neck in an attempt to cut her jugular vein. Court records say he told detectives that he began to get scared because Brown was not dying fast enough. Osgood admitted that he then stabbed Brown in the back and continued to cut her throat. Records further claim Osgood apologized to Brown, telling her it “was nothing against her” and that she just “needed to quit fighting and just let go.”
The jury in Osgood’s case unanimously recommended the death penalty. Vandyke received a life sentence in 2015 for her role.
In his appeals, Osgood claimed that, although he signed a form waiving her Miranda Rights before confessing to police, his confession was unconstitutionally entered into evidence because he had previously invoked his right to council.
The court rejected the assertion since Osgood’s alleged invocation of his right to council was stating, “I need to talk to my attorney first” when asked if he would take a polygraph.
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