Alabama man executed for police shooting

COLUMBIA --- An Alabama man who broke out of jail 16 years ago and fatally shot a police officer and another man in the midst of a crime spree was executed by lethal injection Friday in South Carolina's death chamber.

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Associated Press

Thomas Ivey: Escaped convict shot and killed a businessman two days before killing a police sergeant in Orangeburg County.

Thomas Treshawn Ivey, 34, of Union Springs, Ala., was pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m.

He was put to death for killing Tommy Harrison, a 38-year-old Orangeburg police sergeant.

Mr. Ivey, whose bid for a stay was denied by the U.S. Supreme Court about an hour before he was put to death, made no final statement.

Earlier in the day, prison officials say, Mr. Ivey used the blade from a disposable razor to cut his neck. The wounds weren't considered serious, and officials kept him strapped in a chair until he was brought to the death chamber.

Authorities say Mr. Ivey's crime spree began in January 1993, when he and another inmate escaped from Barbour County Jail in Clayton, Ala., where Mr. Ivey was being held on a murder charge.

Mr. Ivey and Vincent Neuman stole a truck and drove to South Carolina, ending up in Mr. Neuman's hometown of Columbia.

There, the pair kidnapped businessman Robert Montgomery, who was working downtown with his janitorial service.

Mr. Ivey and Mr. Neuman drove Mr. Montgomery to rural Orangeburg County. Mr. Neuman later testified that while there, Mr. Ivey shot Mr. Montgomery in the head and chest, leaving his body to be discovered by hunters.

Two days later, the pair visited a mall in Orangeburg, where a clerk accused them of trying to pass a stolen check.

Sgt. Harrison responded to the call but let Mr. Ivey go when he realized Mr. Neuman was trying to use the check.

Mr. Ivey told police a handgun in his pocket fired accidentally as he walked away, and the bullet ricocheted off the floor, hitting Sgt. Harrison in the leg.

Mr. Ivey said he then panicked, shooting the officer five more times, according to court records.

Mr. Neuman, now 40, testified against Mr. Ivey and is serving a life sentence for murder in South Carolina. Mr. Ivey was convicted and sentenced to death for both murders, but Friday's execution was only for Sgt. Harrison's death.

David Montgomery, Mr. Montgomery's younger brother, said Mr. Ivey's execution didn't represent closure for the family but did bring some amount of solace.

"This was just senseless, but I guess this is just a day of reckoning," said Mr. Montgomery, 40, who lives in Camden. "This is not closure. We don't have my brother back."

Mr. Montgomery's parents, Marion and Jackie Montgomery, witnessed Mr. Ivey's execution but didn't speak to reporters afterward.

Mr. Ivey is the 42nd person executed in South Carolina since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976 and the 283rd in the state's history.