Man who killed 3 sleeping sons executed

Man who killed 3 sleeping sons executed

A man who fatally shot his three sons while they slept in 1982, shortly after his wife filed for divorce, was executed with both of his hands clenched in an obscene gesture.

Reginald Brooks of East Cleveland died at 2.04pm (1904 GMT, 3.04am Singapore time) on Tuesday, ending a nearly six-month break in the use of capital punishment in Ohio, which often trails only Texas in the number of annual inmate executions.

Brooks declined to make a final statement and remained silent. Witnesses, who included his former wife and her sisters, had a view of his left hand, its middle finger raised. Prison officials said he was making the same gesture with his right hand.

State and federal courts rejected attorneys' arguments that Brooks was not mentally competent and that the government hid relevant evidence that could have affected his case.

The execution was delayed by more than three hours as attorneys exhausted Brooks' appeals. The US Supreme Court refused on Tuesday to halt the execution.

Source: AP
Published Nov 17 2011