Alabama Sets Date for Man Found Guilty of 2010 Rape and Murder

In a terrifying development, Alabama has formally scheduled the execution of death row inmate James Osgood, who was found guilty of the vicious 2010 rape and killing of Tracy Lynn Brown in Chilton County. Osgood will be executed by lethal injection at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore between midnight on Thursday, April 24, and six in the morning on Friday, April 25, Governor Kay Ivey stated Friday morning.

On February 11, the Alabama Attorney General's Office petitioned the state Supreme Court to authorize and issue a death warrant for Osgood. On March 6, that request was approved, ensuring the demise of a man whose own deeds brought him to this point.

A Crime That Rocked the Neighbourhood

After missing work, Tracy Lynn Brown was discovered dead in her Chilton County home on October 13, 2010, committing the horrifying act. The attack's specifics are graphic: Brown was beaten in her mobile home, coerced into engaging in sexual acts at gunpoint, and then violently attacked. According to court documents, she was brutally assaulted, stabbed in the back, and had her throat cut in a heinous act.

James Osgood was found guilty on two charges of capital murder: first-degree sodomy and first-degree rape. When a jury unanimously recommended the death penalty, his fate appeared to be set in stone.

A Perverse Appeal for Fairness

The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals upheld Osgood's conviction, but the case took an odd turn. The court remanded the case for a new penalty phase because the judge gave the jury incorrect instructions before sentencing. Osgood, however, made a startling request to be returned to death row prior to the resentencing in 2018.

Osgood's answer to the issue of why he did it was frightfully simple. He declared his belief in "an eye for an eye" and his right to be executed. His resolute acceptance of his fate astounded the prosecutors.

The Last Countdown

Now, almost 15 years after Tracy Lynn Brown's life was ruthlessly taken, the legal process is coming to a close. One of the most unsettling cases in recent history is coming to an end as the state of Alabama gets ready to execute the sentence.