A man convicted of murder for helping his pal kill four people in 1997 was executed in Alabama Thursday night and uttered the last word “amen” before his death.
Michael Brandon Samra, 41, was pronounced dead at 7:30 p.m., following his lethal injection at Holman prison, authorities said.
“I would like to thank Jesus for everything he has done for me,” Samra said before the drugs flowed. “Amen.”
Samra and his friend Mark Duke were convicted of fatally shooting Duke’s father, the father’s girlfriend and slitting the throats of the woman’s two young daughters.
Evidence showed Duke planned the slaying because he was angry that his father wouldn’t let them use his pickup. Samra was 19 at the time.
“Today justice was carried,” relatives of the victims said in a statement.
Hours before the execution, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey denied a request for clemency from Samra.
Samra had gained hope for clemency on Wednesday when Ivey talked about the sanctity of life while signing the strictest abortion law in the nation, said Steven Sears, one of his attorneys.
“I guess she didn’t mean it,” Sears said after the execution.
With Post wires