Shawn Paul Humphries
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Shawn Paul Humphries (October 19, 1971 – December 2, 2005) was a murderer executed by the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
of
South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
. He was convicted of the January 1, 1994, murder of Dickie Smith in
Fountain Inn, South Carolina Fountain Inn is a city in Greenville and Laurens counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 10,416 at the 2020 census, up from 7,799 in 2010. It is part of the Greenville-Mauldin-Easley Metropolitan Statistical Area. ...
. Humphries was pronounced dead at 6:18 p.m. EST on December 2, 2005, by
lethal injection Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium) for the express purpose of causing death. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but t ...
at the
Broad River Correctional Institution The Broad River Correctional Institution (BRCI) is a South Carolina Department of Corrections state prison for men located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States.
in Columbia.


Youth

His father was extremely abusive towards Humphries and introduced him to
alcohol Alcohol may refer to: Common uses * Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds * Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life ** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages ** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...
,
drugs A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestio ...
, and paint fumes when he was between the ages of six and ten. Humphries' aunt said that his father had said on several occasions that he did not love his children and wished that they had been
aborted Aborted is a Belgian death metal band formed in 1995 in Waregem. The group currently consists of vocalist, founder, and only constant member Sven de Caluwé, along with guitarists Ian Jekelis and Dan Konráðsson. Although the band originally ...
. Humphries had only been conceived after his mother had been
rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...
d at knife-point by her estranged husband. He lived with his brother and grandparents from the time he was three until the age of twelve. His grandfather testified that both he and his wife were heavy drinkers and that she grew
marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...
in their backyard. Only when their mother remarried did the boys return to live with her. Prior to the murders he had a
criminal record A criminal record (not to be confused with a police record or arrest record) is a record of a person's criminal Conviction, convictions history. The information included in a criminal record, and the existence of a criminal record, varies betwe ...
. Humphries was arrested in 1984 for two counts of
breaking and entering Burglary, also called breaking and entering (B&E) or housebreaking, is a property crime involving the illegal entry into a building or other area without permission, typically with the intention of committing a further criminal offence. Usually ...
and was placed on
probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offence (law), offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incar ...
. He received more probation after being suspended from school for fighting on several occasions. At fifteen he was sent to a state facility in Columbia for thirty days. In January 1989 he was arrested after breaking into a church while looking for food, as he was
homeless Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...
at the time. His first jail term was in
Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
from stealing a car. He received two years in prison followed by four years of probation.


Attempted robbery and murder

Humphries and his friend Eddie Blackwell had been driving around drinking beer on the night of January 1, 1994, and decided to rob the Max-Saver convenience store. When they entered the shop around 7 a.m., Dickie Smith asked the two men if they would like something hot. Humphries reportedly flashed his stolen gun at the owner, and demanded money. Smith then reached under the counter and Humphries fired one shot that hit Smith in the head. Fleeing the scene, Humphries left Blackwell in the shop, where he was arrested by police. Humphries was apprehended a short time later. Humphries said he panicked when he saw Smith reach behind the counter and was not a cold-blooded killer. This became a controversial part of the case, as Humphries's advocates said his sentence was too harsh.


Trial and appeals

He was convicted on August 5, 1994, of murder, attempted robbery, possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime, and criminal conspiracy. For the murder he received a death sentence, and concurrent sentences of twenty years for the robbery and five years for criminal conspiracy. For his part in the crime, Edward Blackwell received
life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...
. His conviction and sentence were affirmed by the
South Carolina Supreme Court The Supreme Court of South Carolina is the highest court in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The court is composed of a chief justice and four associate justices.
. After this he filed various petition for a writ of
certiorari In law, ''certiorari'' is a court process to seek judicial review of a decision of a lower court or government agency. ''Certiorari'' comes from the name of a prerogative writ in England, issued by a superior court to direct that the recor ...
and
habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a legal procedure invoking the jurisdiction of a court to review the unlawful detention or imprisonment of an individual, and request the individual's custodian (usually a prison official) to ...
including the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. All were denied. His appeals lawyers say that the trial had serious problems. During his closing statement, the prosecutor compared the lives of Smith and Humphries during a year, suggesting, in the words of Judge Wilkinson of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (in case citations, 4th Cir.) is a United States federal court, federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the United States district court, district cou ...
, that "his life is of less worth than that of someone else." The prosecutor stated that it was "profane to give this man a gift of life under these circumstances." Wilkinson wrote in his dissenting opinion that the fact that Humphries's lawyer did not object to these statements is the hallmark of ineffective counsel.


Execution

Humphries was executed on December 2, 2005, by lethal injection, in the 1001st execution since the ''
Gregg v. Georgia ''Gregg v. Georgia'', ''Proffitt v. Florida'', ''Jurek v. Texas'', ''Woodson v. North Carolina'', and ''Roberts v. Louisiana'', 428 U.S. 153 (1976), is a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court. It reaffirmed the Court's acceptance of the ...
'' decision in 1976. His final statement was read before the execution by his lawyer. The one-and-a-half-page handwritten statement said in part:
"I hope that my execution brings the Smith family some peace. But now I want to say something to everyone who supports this or any execution. We are all sinners, so what gives you the right as a sinner to take away a gift that God gave?"
He also mouthed the words "I'm sorry" while looking at Kathy Carpenter, one of Smith's sisters. When the woman nodded, a tear appeared to roll down his cheek. After the execution, Kathy Carpenter described those words as the "greatest gift that I could have ever received" and said she gave forgave Humphries. His
last meal A condemned prisoner's last meal is a customary ritual preceding execution. In many countries, the prisoner may, within reason, select what the last meal will be. Contemporary restrictions in the United States Contrary to the common belief t ...
consisted of a
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hamburger, french fries, broccoli and cheese, and oat cereal.


See also

*
Capital punishment in South Carolina Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of South Carolina. History Between 1718 and 2024, more than 680 people have been executed in South Carolina. Since the 1976 nationwide overturn of the ban on capital punishment, South Caroli ...
*
Capital punishment in the United States In the United States, capital punishment (also known as the death penalty) is a legal penalty in 27 states (of which two, Oregon and Wyoming, do not currently have any inmates sentenced to death), throughout the country at the federal leve ...
*
List of people executed in South Carolina The following is a list of people executed by the U.S. state of South Carolina since capital punishment was resumed in the United States in 1976. Since the 1976 U.S. Supreme Court decision of ''Gregg v. Georgia'', a total of 49 people have been e ...
*
List of people executed in the United States in 2005 Sixty people were executed in the United States in 2005. Nineteen of them were in the state of Texas. One ( Frances Elaine Newton) was female. The states of Connecticut and Maryland carried out their last executions in 2005, as both states abolish ...


General references


Report
from the
National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (NCADP) is an organization dedicated to the abolition of the death penalty in the United States. Founded in 1976 (the same year the death penalty was reinstated by the Supreme Court of the United ...

''Humphries v. Zmint'' (PDF)
No. 03-14 decision from
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (in case citations, 4th Cir.) is a United States federal court, federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the United States district court, district cou ...
* *


References

! colspan="3" , Executions carried out in South Carolina , - ! colspan="3" , Executions carried out in the United States {{DEFAULTSORT:Humphries, Shawn Paul 1971 births 2005 deaths American people executed for murder People from Fountain Inn, South Carolina 21st-century executions of American people 21st-century executions by South Carolina People convicted of murder by South Carolina People executed by South Carolina by lethal injection