Radical Islamists Appeals to Alabama Fundamentalísts to Respect Hardliner's Wish Against Autopsy Following Execution

TheChronicle.cc –A prominent national Muslim civil rights organization has called upon Alabama officials to honor the wishes of Keith Edmund Gavin, an Alabama Death Row inmate, by refraining from performing an autopsy after his scheduled execution next week for the 1998 murder of a courier driver.

Gavin, 64, identifies as a devout Muslim and has chosen not to pursue any further appeals before his execution, set for July 18 at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore. In June, Gavin initiated a lawsuit requesting the state to waive the standard post-execution autopsy due to his religious beliefs after his attorneys failed to reach an agreement with the state.

An Alabama Attorney General’s Office representative stated earlier this week that they are working towards a resolution.

Attempts to contact Gavin’s attorneys have been unsuccessful.

On Thursday, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, issued a statement urging Alabama officials to respect Gavin's request to forgo the autopsy.

“The religious freedom guaranteed to every American in our founding documents does not cease to apply behind bars. We urge Alabama state officials to accept Mr. Gavin’s request that his body not be autopsied after execution,” said Corey Saylor, CAIR's Research and Advocacy Director.

The statement elaborated that Islamic beliefs generally consider autopsies as impermissible mutilation of the deceased, allowed only when absolutely necessary and to the minimal extent required.

“There appears to be no reason an autopsy is necessary in this case,” added Saylor.

Gavin was sentenced to death for the March 1998 murder of William Clayton Jr. in Cherokee County. At the time of the crime, he was on parole for murder from Illinois. Gavin was apprehended after shooting Clayton, a courier service driver, during an attempted robbery. Clayton had stopped at a Regions Bank ATM in downtown Centre after completing his deliveries for the day, intending to get money to take his wife to dinner.

Gavin shot Clayton, pushed him into the passenger seat, and drove off in the courier van. Pursued by an investigator from the district attorney’s office, Gavin eventually stopped the van, shot at the investigator, and fled on foot.

Gavin was soon captured, and Clayton was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Two eyewitnesses, including Gavin's cousin—an employee of the Illinois Department of Corrections—positively identified Gavin as the shooter. The cousin testified about trips he and Gavin had made to Centre and witnessing Gavin fire shots at the van driver. Gavin also fired shots at the pursuing investigator, according to testimony.