Getty/YouTube O.J. Simpson (left) and Nathaniel Woods (right).
On March 5, O.J. Simpson took to Twitter to voice his support for Nathaniel Woods. Woods was convicted in 2005 of capital murder and attempted murder in the shooting deaths of three officers.
Woods’ attorneys submitted a last-minute request to the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the execution. It was temporarily delayed but eventually the request was denied, and the state of Alabama moved forward with the execution. Nathaniel Woods was executed, with the time of death at 9:01 p.m. Central (10:01 p.m. Eastern).
O.J. Simpson posted on Twitter:
Everyone deserves a fair trial and appeal. Come on Alabama do what’s right. #nathanielwoods
His caption reads: “Everyone deserves a fair trial and appeal. Come on Alabama do what’s right.”
In the video, he says Nathaniel Woods “was in a house with a friend, when some police officers came.” He continues, saying “while they were there, the friend flipped out, the friend flipped out, pulled a gun and killed three police officers. Killed them.” He explains that the friend admits he did it and Woods had nothing to do with the situation and didn’t know anything more about it.
O.J. Simpson also says “I’m against the death penalty, but you kill three cops or you’re a serial killer or something, well, you know, maybe you deserve capital punishment.”
“It’s just wrong,” he concludes. “I mean, come on! It’s wrong.”
Woods’ Co-Defendant in the Capital Murder Case Has Said Nathaniel Woods Is Innocent
Woods’ co-defendant in the case, Kerry Spencer, has said to CNN that Woods did not commit these crimes and is innocent. Spencer told CNN in a phone interview from prison that he was the only one who fatally shot the three officers. Spencer also said that Woods was not involved and actually “ran when the gunfire erupted.”
On June 17, 2004, police officers in Birmingham, Alabama, were arresting Woods at an apartment where Woods and Spencer were dealing drugs. Spencer opened fire on the officers, fatally shooting three and wounding a fourth. Woods and Spencer were both convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death in 2005. The New York Times reports that the jury wasn’t able to reach a unanimous verdict on the death penalty sentence and two jurors voted to spare Woods. As the Times explains, Alabama is particular because the state allows judges to give the death penalty to a defendant without getting a unanimous jury vote.
Nathaniel Woods is set to die by lethal injection at 7 p.m. Eastern in Holman prison, Alabama. His attorneys have filed a last-minute petition to the U.S. Supreme Court requesting that they block the execution due to their concerns about the execution method, CNN reports. A temporary stay was granted, but ultimately denied, and the execution was carried out.
In Addition to O.J. Simpson, Many Others Have Spoken Up In Defense of Nathaniel Woods
O.J. is not the first to publicly voice support for Nathaniel Woods and request that Alabama halts the execution. Martin Luther King III wrote a letter to the governor of Alabama a few days ago, saying: “In just 2 days, your state, and the state I was born in, is set to kill a man who is very likely innocent,” he wrote according to CNN. “Killing this African American man,” he continued, “whose case appears to have been strongly mishandled by the courts, could produce an irreversible injustice.”
Bart Starr Jr., the son of the Hall of Fame NFL quarterback Bart Starr, is also in support of Woods. He told WBRC “What took place was simultaneously a tragedy for three families of police officers, but now another potential tragedy because the system has failed an individual.”
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