Alabama to execute Derrick Dearman for murder of 5 five family members. What to know

Alabama is set to execute Derrick Dearman on Thursday for the mass murder of five family members, including a pregnant woman, who were are all related to his girlfriend.

Dearman, 36, is set to die by lethal injection eight years after he used an ax and a gun to kill Laneta Lester’s family members as they slept on Aug. 20, 2016. They were: her brother Joseph Turner; Turner's wife Shannon Randall; Randall's brother Robert Brown; and Randall's niece Chelsea Reed, Reed's husband Justin and the couple's unborn baby.

The killings, which happened in the Turner home in the Mobile suburb of Citronelle, “shocked the whole town” in August 2016, former Mobile County prosecutor Ashley Rich told USA TODAY. “Nothing like this has ever happened in Citronelle.” 

If the execution proceeds as scheduled, Dearman will be the fifth inmate executed in Alabama in 2024 and the 20th or 21st in the nation, depending on whether he is declared dead before or after Robert Leslie Roberson, an inmate set for execution in Texas on the same day despite significant evidence that he's innocent.

Dearman has written in letters that he's guilty and deserves to die so his victims' families can have justice.

Here’s what you need to know about Derrick Dearman’s execution.

Who is Derrick Dearman?

Dearman suffered from a slew of mental health and substance abuse issues for most of his life, according to a lengthy statement from the Equal Justice Initiative, which previously served as counsel for Dearman in appellate proceedings.

"At just 4 years old, Derrick Dearman displayed symptoms of severe depression and spoke to his mother 'about wanting to die.' He was prescribed antidepressants at age 12 and began self-medicating with crack cocaine at 14," according to the statement. "That year, Derrick barely survived a car accident that left him feeling that he 'should have died.' At 16, he started using methamphetamines, and at 19, he drove his car off the road in an attempt to kill himself.'

Dearman was hospitalized in a psychiatric unit in his early 20s, years before he became a murderer.

Dearman, according to the Equal Justice Initiative, was not in his right mind the day of the murders. He had been hearing voices, believed that people were “after” him, had used a large amount of methamphetamine, and had not slept for six days, they said.

"He later said of the crime: 'It was like someone else had the steering wheel,'" they said.

He also "cried and repeatedly expressed horror and remorse for what he had done" at the police station. Those feelings and thoughts, specifically suicidal ideation, continued after he was charged, they said.

His attorneys acknowledged that Dearman's execution date was set as a result of the letters he wrote to state officials asking them to carry out his sentence and that he no longer wished to appeal. But, they said that "Alabama courts have repeatedly failed to adequately consider his serious mental illness."

"Derrick Dearman stopped his appeals only after a lifetime of severe mental illness and suicidal behavior that Alabama courts have repeatedly ignored," they said. "The State of Alabama now plans to execute him despite serious questions about the constitutionality of his conviction and death sentence."

What was Derrick Dearman convicted of?

An Alabama jury found Dearman guilty and unanimously recommended a death sentence in 2018 for the murder of all five family members. 

Dearman, who had a history of drug abuse, went on a drug-fueled rampage through the home, using an ax he found in a tree and two guns to murder each victim one by one hours after he was repeatedly asked to leave the home. 

Dearman also kidnapped Lester and Randall’s infant after the murders, making a couple of stops before he reached his father’s home in Mississippi. He later turned himself in. 

Dearman decided to drop his appeals and fired his appellate attorneys in April, writing a series of letters to four state officials asking that his death sentence be carried out. Dearman’s execution date was set six months later by Republican Gov. Kay Ivey. 

Dearman expressed remorse over his actions, according to a statement obtained by USA TODAY.

“I am willingly giving all that I can possibly give to try and repay a small portion of my debt to society for the terrible things that I have done," he said. "From this point forward, I hope that the focus will not be on me, but rather on the healing of all the people that I have hurt.”

Who were the five victims?

Joseph Turner and Shannon Randall were one of two couples at the house that night. They shared an infant son, who was kidnapped by Dearman after the killings. 

Justin Reed and his wife Chelsea, the other couple, were high school sweethearts pregnant with their first child. They planned on naming the baby Aiden.

The Reeds were "outspoken, spontaneous, and fun," Justin Reed's cousin, Wes Risher, told AL.com in a 2016 interview.

"If he was right, or if he was wrong, she stood by him ... He showed a love for Chelsea that I have never seen in my 32 years," Risher said. "It was very heartwarming. I just liked being around them."

Robert Brown, Shannon’s brother, and Lester were also spending the night with the family. 

What will Derrick Dearman’s last meal be?

The Alabama Department of Corrections will release Dearman’s last meal on execution day.

When and where will Derrick Dearman be executed?

Dearman will executed around 6 p.m. CT on Thursday in the death chamber at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, a small city about 130 miles south of Montgomery.

Who will witness Derrick Dearman’s execution? 

It was not immediately clear who, or how many of Dearman’s relatives will be in attendance. But “so many family members” related to the victims plan to be present, according to Rich. 

Robert Brown's father, Robert F. Brown Sr., told WPMI-TV that he plans to witness the execution.

"I had so much more to give my son,” he said. “And it was all took away from me."

Members of the media will attend the execution, including:

• The Montgomery Advertiser, part of the USA TODAY Network
• The Associated Press

When is the nation’s next execution? 

After Dearman's and Roberson's simultaneous executions on Thursday, the next execution in the U.S. is scheduled for Nov. 1 in South Carolina. Richard Moore is set to be executed for the 1999 fatal shooting of a convenience store clerk.