Leroy White, who was convicted of killing his estranged wife while she held the couple's 17-month-old daughter, was executed tonight after refusing the opportunity for a final meal or last words.
When asked if had any statements to make before his death, White said, "No." He waved his fingers at the witnesses to his execution before being pronounced dead at 9:10 p.m.
Guards at Holman Prison in Atmore offered White a final meal this afternoon but he declined, instead buying a cheeseburger, a V8, pork skins a Yahoo! and coffee from the prison vending machines.
The families of both Leroy and Ruby White decided not to witness the execution. Family friends Jim and Shelley Douglass were the only two people who requested to view it.
White's execution had been scheduled for 6 p.m. but was delayed when the U.S. Supreme Court intervened, saying it needed more time to review White's appeal. Two and a half hours later, the court denied White's stay of execution and allowed the state to proceed.
White was convicted of murder in the Oct. 17, 1988, shotgun slaying of his estranged wife, Ruby White, at her northwest Huntsville home.
He is the fourth person from Madison County - and first since 1998 - executed since the state took over executions from the counties in 1927. Nine other inmates from Madison County are currently on death row: Nick Acklin, Benito Albarran, James Barber, Anthony Tyson, Jeffery Rieber, Mohammad Sharifi, Jason Sharp, Derrick Mason and Joey Wilson.
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