Killer Spits at Warden Before Execution

A British native who killed for $60 was electrocuted Friday night moments after spitting at the prison warden when asked for a final statement.

Nicholas Lee Ingram was pronounced dead at 9:15 p.m.

His impending execution had triggered a media frenzy in Britain and a torrent of phone calls and letters, including one from George Carey, the Archbishop of Canterbury, pleading for leniency.

Ingram was defiant to the end, glaring at the witnesses. After being strapped into the electric chair, he spit at warden Gerry Thomas when Thomas asked if he wanted to make a statement.

The warden then asked Ingram if he would like a last prayer; Ingram simply closed his eyes.

Ingram, 31, was sentenced to death for abducting 55-year-old J.C. Sawyer from his suburban Atlanta home in 1983, robbing him of $60, tying him to a tree and shooting him in the head. He also shot Sawyer’s wife; she survived and identified Ingram as the killer.

The execution at the state prison in Jackson, about 40 miles from Atlanta, was carried out after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a last-minute request for a stay.

Ingram, who holds dual citizenship, was born in England to a British mother and American father. The family moved to Georgia in 1964.

Britain effectively outlawed capital punishment in 1965, although it’s still on the books for treason. Many Britons had pleaded for leniency for Ingram.

“They believe the death penalty is a barbaric act,” state parole board spokesman Mike Light said. “They say the death penalty is a ritual that has no place in the 20th Century.”