Sedley Alley
Encyclopedia
Sedley Alley was convicted of abducting
, raping
, and murder
ing 19-year-old United States Marine Corps
Lance Corporal
Suzanne Marie Collins
near Naval Air Station Memphis in Millington, Tennessee
.
married to an enlisted member of the military
, abducted Collins while she was jogging
near the Millington base late in the evening of July 11, 1985. After beating Collins, repeatedly striking her on the head with a screw driver, strangling
her, and raping her, he inserted a 31 inch tree limb into her vagina
with such force that it punctured a lung
. He was arrested in his on-base housing. He first said he had accidentally ran her over on his way to get more liquor while she was jogging. Alley confessed that morning, giving a lengthy description of his actions. He then accompanied investigators on a tour of his route and correctly pointed out the tree where he left her body and from which he obtained the limb.
, saying that he had multiple personality disorder, but was convicted of aggravated rape, aggravated kidnapping, and capital murder. He maintained the insanity defense during his post-conviction appeals
from 1985 until 2004, when he began to claim innocence. He filed a number of unsuccessful motions in state and federal courts to allow access to evidence for DNA
tests which he asserted would prove his innocence. He also claimed that the lethal injection
protocol would cause him pain and suffering and would therefore qualify as an unconstitutional
punishment.
Despite an 11th-hour barrage of petition
s from his defense
team and a last-minute stay
of execution ordered by a senior judge
of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
, Alley was executed by lethal injection at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution
in Nashville, Tennessee
at 2:12 a.m. on June 28, 2006. The state had planned back-to-back executions of both Alley and serial killer
Paul Dennis Reid, but Reid received a stay.
His last meal was Pizza pockets, ice cream, iced oatmeal cookies and milk.
He was pronounced dead at 2:12 a.m 06-28-2006.
The Collins family did not view the execution. Sedley Alley was the second person executed by lethal injection in Tennessee, the first was Robert Glen Coe on April 19, 2000. Prior to 2000, there was a hiatus of nearly 40 years in state mandated executions after William Tines was executed in Tennessee's electric chair, "Old Sparky," on November 7, 1960.
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
, raping
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
, and murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
ing 19-year-old United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
Lance Corporal
Lance Corporal
Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organizations. It is below the rank of corporal, and is typically the lowest non-commissioned officer, usually equivalent to the NATO Rank Grade OR-3.- Etymology :The presumed...
Suzanne Marie Collins
Suzanne Marie Collins
Suzanne Marie Collins was a Marine Lance Corporal who was raped and murdered by Sedley Alley on the morning of July 12, 1985. At the time of her murder she was stationed at Naval Air Station, Memphis in Millington, Tennessee...
near Naval Air Station Memphis in Millington, Tennessee
Millington, Tennessee
Millington is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 10,176. Millington was the home of the recently closed Memphis Motorsports Park. It was granted the title "Flag City Tennessee" by the Tennessee State Legislature. The Naval Support Activity Mid-South is...
.
The crime
Alley, a civilianCivilian
A civilian under international humanitarian law is a person who is not a member of his or her country's armed forces or other militia. Civilians are distinct from combatants. They are afforded a degree of legal protection from the effects of war and military occupation...
married to an enlisted member of the military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
, abducted Collins while she was jogging
Jogging
Jogging is a form of trotting or running at a slow or leisurely pace. The main intention is to increase fitness with less stress on the body than from faster running.-Definition:...
near the Millington base late in the evening of July 11, 1985. After beating Collins, repeatedly striking her on the head with a screw driver, strangling
Strangling
Strangling is compression of the neck that may lead to unconsciousness or death by causing an increasingly hypoxic state in the brain. Fatal strangling typically occurs in cases of violence, accidents, and as the auxiliary lethal mechanism in hangings in the event the neck does not break...
her, and raping her, he inserted a 31 inch tree limb into her vagina
Vagina
The vagina is a fibromuscular tubular tract leading from the uterus to the exterior of the body in female placental mammals and marsupials, or to the cloaca in female birds, monotremes, and some reptiles. Female insects and other invertebrates also have a vagina, which is the terminal part of the...
with such force that it punctured a lung
Lung
The lung is the essential respiration organ in many air-breathing animals, including most tetrapods, a few fish and a few snails. In mammals and the more complex life forms, the two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of the heart...
. He was arrested in his on-base housing. He first said he had accidentally ran her over on his way to get more liquor while she was jogging. Alley confessed that morning, giving a lengthy description of his actions. He then accompanied investigators on a tour of his route and correctly pointed out the tree where he left her body and from which he obtained the limb.
The trial and sentence
Alley pleaded insanityInsanity defence
In criminal trials, the insanity defense is where the defendant claims that he or she was not responsible for his or her actions due to mental health problems . The exemption of the insane from full criminal punishment dates back to at least the Code of Hammurabi. There are different views of the...
, saying that he had multiple personality disorder, but was convicted of aggravated rape, aggravated kidnapping, and capital murder. He maintained the insanity defense during his post-conviction appeals
Appeal
An appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....
from 1985 until 2004, when he began to claim innocence. He filed a number of unsuccessful motions in state and federal courts to allow access to evidence for DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
tests which he asserted would prove his innocence. He also claimed that the lethal injection
Lethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs for the express purpose of causing the immediate death of the subject. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broad sense to euthanasia and suicide...
protocol would cause him pain and suffering and would therefore qualify as an unconstitutional
Constitutionality
Constitutionality is the condition of acting in accordance with an applicable constitution. Acts that are not in accordance with the rules laid down in the constitution are deemed to be ultra vires.-See also:*ultra vires*Company law*Constitutional law...
punishment.
Despite an 11th-hour barrage of petition
Petition
A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer....
s from his defense
Defense (legal)
In civil proceedings and criminal prosecutions under the common law, a defendant may raise a defense in an attempt to avoid criminal or civil liability...
team and a last-minute stay
Court order
A court order is an official proclamation by a judge that defines the legal relationships between the parties to a hearing, a trial, an appeal or other court proceedings. Such ruling requires or authorizes the carrying out of certain steps by one or more parties to a case...
of execution ordered by a senior judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* Eastern District of Kentucky* Western District of Kentucky...
, Alley was executed by lethal injection at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution
Riverbend Maximum Security Institution
Riverbend Maximum Security Institution is a prison in Nashville, Tennessee, operated by the Tennessee Department of Correction. The prison opened in 1989 and replaced its 100 year-old neighbor, the Tennessee State Penitentiary. Even today, it is billed as one of the state's most high-tech facilities...
in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
at 2:12 a.m. on June 28, 2006. The state had planned back-to-back executions of both Alley and serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
Paul Dennis Reid, but Reid received a stay.
Execution
Reporter Janice Broach of WMC-TV in Memphis said his last words were, "Yes, to my children. April, David, can you hear me? I love you. Stay strong." Alley then thanked the prison chaplain and said, "I love you, David. I love you, April. Be good and stay together. Stay strong." He blew kisses through the window. His daughter said, “I love you, Dad, it’s OK,”His last meal was Pizza pockets, ice cream, iced oatmeal cookies and milk.
He was pronounced dead at 2:12 a.m 06-28-2006.
The Collins family did not view the execution. Sedley Alley was the second person executed by lethal injection in Tennessee, the first was Robert Glen Coe on April 19, 2000. Prior to 2000, there was a hiatus of nearly 40 years in state mandated executions after William Tines was executed in Tennessee's electric chair, "Old Sparky," on November 7, 1960.
See also
- List of individuals executed in Tennessee
- Capital punishment in the United StatesCapital punishment in the United StatesCapital punishment in the United States, in practice, applies only for aggravated murder and more rarely for felony murder. Capital punishment was a penalty at common law, for many felonies, and was enforced in all of the American colonies prior to the Declaration of Independence...
Sources
- Tennessee Supreme Court's decision on Sedley Alley's appeals
- New York Times article on Alley's Execution
- Link to "Journey into Darkness" on Amazon.com. The book, by John Douglas, dedicates three chapters to the trial and conviction of Sedley Alley
- Sedley Alley. The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney. Retrieved on 2007-11-18.